“I was eleven years of age, and my sisters Rachel and Susannah were older. We all heard the alarm, and were up and ready to help fit out father and brother, who made an early start for Concord. We were set to work making cartridges and assisting mother in cooking for the army. We sent off a large quantity of food for the soldiers, who had left home so early that they had but little breakfast. We were frightened by hearing the noise of guns at Concord; our home was near the river, and the sound was conducted by the water. I suppose it was a dreadful day in our home, and sad indeed; for our brother, so dearly loved, never came home.” Alice Stearns Abbott, Citizen of Bedford, Massachusetts, on the Beginning of Fighting Concord, 1775 The context surrounding the event in the excerpt provided may best be described as a) intercolonial unity in the face of British attack b) strategically planned offensive in the wake of British hostilities c) incremental buildup of tension throughout Massachusetts over British occupation and legislation d) defiance of the Proclamation Line of 1763 and the subsequent conflict over land between American Indians, British, and colonists

“I was eleven years of age, and my sisters Rachel and Susannah were older. We all heard the alarm, and were up and ready to help fit out father and brother, who made an early start for Concord. We were set to work making cartridges and assisting mother in cooking for the army. We sent off a large quantity of food for the soldiers, who had left home so early that they had but little breakfast. We were frightened by hearing the noise of guns at Concord; our home was near the river, and the sound was conducted by the water.

I suppose it was a dreadful day in our home, and sad indeed; for our brother, so dearly loved, never came home.”

Alice Stearns Abbott, Citizen of Bedford, Massachusetts, on the Beginning of Fighting Concord, 1775