The men armed themselves and captured two supply wagons bound for Lexington, as well as their escorts. Many of the “Old Men of Menotomy” were involved in the fighting later that afternoon that raged through their own homes.
Some Regulars fled this ambush, later surrendering for their own safety to an elderly woman called Mother Batherick. “If you ever get back, you tell King George that an old woman took six of his Grenadiers prisoner,” legend has it that Mother Batherick told them. The fighting came upon Menotomy so quickly that most noncombatants did not have time to flee. Many hid in their cellars or tried to wait out the fighting in their homes. When militia or minutemen began to use houses as cover to fire from, enraged Regulars began to set fire to houses along the road.
“Menotomy Minuteman Historical Trail: A Walking Tour of Arlington’s Past,” Menotomy Minuteman Historical Trail, http://www.menotomytrail.com/MenotomyMinutemanTrailGuide2.pdf.