“By the rude bridge that arched the flood, their flag to April’s breezes unfurled, here once the embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard round the world.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
The battle of Concord Bridge was fought on this date in 1775, because the British army was attempting to capture the militia’s supply of powder and armaments, stored at the city of Concord.
That was the point of Paul Revere’s famous ride, and that of William Dawes, to warn the colonists that the British regulars were coming to disarm them.
When the Minutemen lined the bridge, it was solely for the purpose to stop the British from denying the Colonists the means to defend themselves. Moreover, it must be stated, the Colonists never took up arms against their government until King George tried to forcefully disarm them.
It was for this reason the Founders placed the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights. James Madison knew that the American people had just cast off a tyrannical government that couldn’t successfully impose its will on the people unless they were forcibly disarmed.
However, the Second Amendment didn’t grant Americans the right to bear arms; it simply denied the government the authority to take away those rights.
After all, rights come from the Lord, not governments.
from “America’s History Is His Story” by R. G. Yoho