Aaron Parker was a typical New England farm boy of fifteen. His parents had five children and Aaron was the eldest. Being the oldest meant that he had the most responsibility.
It was April and with the winter’s thaw, Aaron’s primary job was to help his father clear the fields. His farm grew corn, which was a vital crop to the area at the time. Each day Aaron’s day consisted of getting up with the rooster’s crow, milking the two dairy cows, and feeding the chickens. By eight in the morning he was ready to till the soil for the family corn.
This particular humid day, Aaron’s father, John, was away and had been gone for a week. Mr. Parker was a secretive man and recently had been away at meetings with other farmers in the area. Aaron had wanted to go, but his father had told him that he was the man in the house and that he needed to keep the farm intact. Aaron was disappointed that he could not go with his father, but Aaron knew his role in the family and did his part for the family without being asked.
Just before lunch, Aaron and his brother Abner took a break from their chores and were skipping rocks on the Concord River, near the Parker’s red barn shaped house, which was located near the North Bridge. The North Bridge was an old bridge that crossed the Concord River.
Suddenly Aaron heard a familiar but frightening sound coming from the village. Then he saw a familiar face who gave him the news that the British had just invaded Concord, and they were marching towards Aaron’s old house.
Without hesitation Aaron told his younger brother to tell his mother and four other siblings to get in the cellar and not to come out until he or father returned. He then told Abner to get Father’s musket and bring it to him. Aaron had heard his father talk about the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Massacre, but the idea that war was knocking on his door was unimaginable.
Aaron found a position behind a stone wall overlooking the bridge. And when his brother returned with the musket all he could do was wait, scared. By mid afternoon, tired and frightened, Aaron saw in the distance, three British soldiers walking towards him. Aaron prepared himself to fire to protect everything that he held dear.
Just as the redcoats were about to cross the creek, a flash of light came from the brush across from his position. Minute Men attacked the redcoats, instantly killing five of them. As the other redcoats fled back to Concord Aaron realized that one of the Minute Men was his father. Aaron never fired a shot.
And as Captain John Parker walked over to Aaron his father said, “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here. Son, you make me proud.”