William
French, the First Blood of the Revolution
William French
(5), FFA Chart #2, William of Billerica, MA (1), John (2), William (3),
Nathaniel (4), William (5) of Dummerston, VT, thought to be the first person
killed in the American Revolution, 13 Mar 1775. more
From Henry
M. BurtŐs Illustrated Guide of the Connecticut Valley: This [Westminster, VT]
is a place of great historic interest, as here begun the opening scenes of the
American Revolution.
... the royal authorities fired into it, mortally wounding William
French and Daniel Houghton [Houghton lived for three days]. This scene occurred
March 13th, 1775. French was only 22 years of age, and was a resident of
Brattleboro. Previous to the attack on the court house, he [French] went from
Brattleboro to Dummerston, where he joined the Dummerston Rangers. He was
buried in Westminster... It is
claimed that the Westminster massacre so enraged General Gage, at Boston, the
British commander, showing as he thought the determined spirit of the people to
resist British authority, that he was induced to march to Lexington and inflict
the blow which opened the Revolution. If so, Westminster is entitled to the
honor of being the birth place of American liberty [and William French the
first blood of the Revolution].