A View of the Town of Concord Plate II

Ralph Earl (1751-1801)
Date: 1775
Engraver: Amos Doolittle (1754-1832)
Printer: Amos Doolittle (1754-1832)
Medium: Hand-colored etching and engraving on laid paper
Dimensions: 14 3/4 H x 19 1/4 W (sheet)
Inscription:

Printed top center margin: Plate II. A View of the Town of Concord; printed lower right margin: A. Doolittle Sculpt; printed lower center margin: 1. Companies of the Regulars marching into Concord. / 2. Companies of Regulars drawn up in order. / 3.A Detaichment [sic] destroying the Provincial Stores. / 4. & 5. Colonel Smith & Major Pitcarin viewing the Provincials / who were mustering on an East Hill in Concord. / 6. The Townhouse. / 7. The Meetinghouse.
Credit: Gift of Dr. Bela J. Ward and H. Judd Ward
Accession Number: 1920.2.2
Comments:

This hand-colored line engraving on copper is one of four by Amos Doolittle at the Albany Institute. They have immense historic value because they show contemporary views of the battles at Lexington and Concord. Doolittle, a member of the New Haven Company of Guards, visited the sites just after the battles and interviewed some of the participants, then made the engravings. This plate shows Lt. Col. Smith and his second in command surveying the terrain from the Concord graveyard. The 700 or so British troops they commanded are lined up through the center of town and—at the same time—they are shown throwing American military stores into the millpond in the background. The Battle of Concord proved pivotal for the upcoming War of Independence.