Eyewitnesses to the American Revolution
“The Shot Heard ‘Round the World.”
A classroom play by Team HOPE
Cast List
Sylvanus Wood……………………………. a member of the Lexington militia
Chief Student Correspondent
…………… in charge of facilitating the discussion
Student Correspondent 2 ………………….. co-host and moderator
Student Correspondent 3 ………………….. co-host and moderator
Student Correspondent 4 ………………….. co-host and moderator
NOTE: All responses by historical figures are based on actual eyewitness sources and reflect actual events as
closely as possible.
TEACHER NOTES
PERFORMANCE: The play is broken into eight separate acts that can be performed individually
in the context of a lesson, or performed together as a group. If done individually, ignore
directions that refer to all the historical figures. If you decide to perform a smaller grouping of
the acts, adjust directions accordingly.
SETTING: A contemporary classroom. It is advised to place eight desks (or a couple of tables)
for the historical figures in the front of the room in a semi-circle facing the rest of the class. The
four student correspondents can be anywhere in the room or placed in front seats facing the
historical figures. You may choose a podium for the chief student correspondent. A name plate
in front of each historical figure is highly recommended. A 5x8 index card folded in half works
great for this purpose. Several U.S. flags and appropriate American Revolution posters or maps
in the background are a nice touch. If you are only performing one act at a time, then it is
advisable to put the historical figure and the correspondents at the front of the room.
COSTUMES: Although not necessary, any period costumes for the historical figures are a great
addition. Even a simple hat or wig is excellent.
MASKS: Masks are an easy addition that will add to the drama and make the entire event more
fun for the students. First, go to www.google.com and click on “image search.” Type in the
historical figure’s name and find an image of the person. Copy and paste the picture in a Word
document. You may need to crop and then enlarge the photo so you get a picture large enough to
be used as a mask. Portraits obviously work best for this use. Print out the picture and paste it
onto a cardboard backing. You can tape a plastic spoon or popsicle stick to be used as a handle.
You may decide to make masks for the student correspondents as well, using pictures of
television news personalities for the masks.
Note: If there you cannot find a picture for an historical person, don’t despair! Almost any
random “period” person’s picture (as long as it not someone easily recognizable) would work as
a mask.
ROLES: Encourage students to act out the roles with as much energy as possible. Do not be too
terribly concerned that the sex of the historical figure matches the sex of the student.
The teacher may decide to take a part in the play, role-modeling one the historical figures. It is
recommended that twelve copies of the scripts are specifically set aside for each character in the
play. For each character, highlight all their lines in order to facilitate a faster pace of dialogue.
All other students should receive an unmarked copy of the play to read as the play is performed.
DISCUSSION: Use the corresponding worksheets to facilitate discussion before and after the
play. Students who are not directly involved in the play can attempt to write preliminary answers
as the play is performed. The audience should be told that they will be the primarily responsible
for the discussion questions at the end of the lesson, although those playing parts will be great
resource to the discussion.
Eyewitnesses to the American Revolution
NOTE: All responses by historical figures are based on actual eyewitness sources and reflect actual events as
closely as possible.
ACT ONE
The Story of Lexington: The Shot Heard ‘Round the World
CAST ABBREVIATIONS
Sylvanus Wood……………………..…… WOOD
Chief Student Correspondent ……..……CHIEF
Student Correspondent 2 …………………ST1
Student Correspondent 3 …………………ST2
Student Correspondent 4 …………………ST3
CHIEF
Today we welcome to our classroom Sylvanus (sill-vane-us) Wood from the
American Revolution (gestures toward him). He has been gracious enough to visit
us from the past and allow us learn about what they witnessed during our war for
independence. Let us jump right into the questioning.
ST1
Mr. Wood, what was your involvement in the Revolution?
WOOD
Well, I was a member of the Lexington militia.
ST2
A minuteman?
WOOD
Yes, we were called that because we might get called out at a minute’s notice. Kind
of like “Grab your gun and then run!”
ST3
What did you see in Lexington, Massachusetts?
WOOD
The famous “Shot Heard ‘Round the World!” The first shot fired in the great
American Revolution.
ST3
Please give details…
WOOD
Well, about an hour before the sun rose on the morning of April 19, 1775, I heard
the Lexington bell ringing.
ST2
What did that mean to you?
WOOD
Trouble! A church bell ringing before the rise of dawn could only mean trouble.
With the British army entrenched in Boston, everyone was on edge. We had heard
rumors that the British might bring troops inland and we were prepared for that.
ST2
What did you do?
WOOD
I got up, grabbed my gun, and ran as fast as I could to Lexington, which was about
three miles away.
CHIEF
What did you see in Lexington?
WOOD
At first, nothing. I saw Captain Parker, the commander of the Lexington minutemen,
and I asked him the news. As we began to converse, a messenger ran up and told
him that the British troops were within a half a mile. Parker immediately turned to
his drummer and ordered him to beat the drums to alert the men into formation.
ST1
Why were the British there?
WOOD
We had been storing ammunition in Concord case a fight with the British erupted.
And you can’t get to Concord without going through Lexington. It was not a secret
the British came to confiscate our arms. We were prepared to fight.
ST3
So after the drums started beating, what happened next?
WOOD
Upon hearing the drums, men started gathering around Captain Parker, a veteran of
the French and Indian War. We looked to him to lead us. He then said in a
commanding and urgent voice, “Everyone of you who is armed, follow me; and
those of you who are not armed, go into the meeting-house and equip yourselves
from the magazine, and immediately join the company!” A group of men turned and
ran off toward the meeting-house.
ST1
Obviously, you followed Parker?
WOOD
Oh yeah. He led us to the north end of the Lexington commons, a grassy park in the
middle of the town square, and lined us up in single file. I was located in the center.
ST2
How many men did you have?
WOOD
I counted no more than 38. Soon we would learn that the British had over 1800 men.
CHIEF
(Exasperated) 38 ill-equipped farmers standing up to 1800 well trained British
regulars?
WOOD
(smiling) Yeah, we were a little outnumbered.
ST3
How long did you have to wait before the British showed up?
WOOD
Literally moments. By the time that we lined up and were counted, the redcoats
marched right to the spot where Parker had first met with us. Quickly, a group of
British wheeled around so as to cut off the men who went to get arms at the meeting
house. We knew we were in big trouble and men started to get nervous. But Captain
Parker roared, “Stand your ground men! Don’t fire unless fired upon! But if they
mean to have a war, let it begin here!” Nobody moved.
ST1
Did the British immediately attack?
WOOD
Not quite. The British troops approached us rapidly. Their officer on horseback
stopped right in front of me, not more than 50 feet from where I stood. His troops
stopped and formed behind him. I was scared, but stood firm. I couldn’t take my
eyes off that officer and started wondering if this was it.
CHIEF
Did he speak?
WOOD
Oh, yeah, I remember his words well! He swung his sword in the air and said, (in a
commanding loud voice) “Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, or you are all
dead men!” Nobody moved. But soon the first shot was fired.
ST2
There is some debate on who fired first, did you or the British?
WOOD
The British! Their officer soon yelled “FIRE!” Some guns were fired at us by the
British front line, but nobody was killed or hurt. Probably their guns were only
charged with powder. Just then Parker started yelling “Retreat! Everyman for
himself!” I turned and ran.
ST3
Was that the end of it?
WOOD
No. Our men were running in all directions, leaping over a nearby stonewall, when
the second line of British fired a second round and charged. I saw several of our men
fall with terrible screams of agony. Captain Parker’s cousin was bayoneted.
ST3
How many fell?
WOOD
They killed eight Americans.
ST1
Did any of the minutemen return fire on the British?
WOOD
At first, I didn’t think so, but later one of the minutemen said that after he ran a good
distance, he turned and gave them “the guts of his gun.” Three British soldiers were
wounded in Lexington, but after that they marched straight to Concord and
destroyed all our militia ammunition stores.
ST2
Did it end there?
WOOD
No way! Minutemen poured into the area from all across eastern Massachusetts and
as the British marched out of Concord back to Boston, we attacked. Hiding behind
stonewalls and trees, we harassed the British from both sides of the roads! In the
end, 275 redcoats were dead, wounded, or missing. We showed the British we could
fight!
CHIEF
Mr. Wood, thanks for sharing with us your eyewitness account!
"Battle at Lexington Green, 1775," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2001).
Bennett, William J., America: The Last Best Hope, Nelson Current, Nashville: 2006, p 77-79.
America: The Last Best Hope, Chapter 3—The Greatest Revolution
The Story of Lexington: The Shot Heard ‘Round the World
______________________________________________
QUESTIONS FROM THE PLAY
To be discussed as a class after the play is performed…
1. Who was Sylvanus Wood?
2. Why were the Minutemen
given that name?
3. What was “The Shot Heard
‘Round the World?”
4. What was the date?
5. What was the purpose of
the British mission into
Lexington and Concord?
6. How many British troops
arrived in Lexington?
7. What did the British
officer tell the Minutemen?
8. Who fired first?
9. How Americans were killed?
10. How did the Minutemen
attack the British as they
marched back to Boston?
11. How many British were
killed in these attacks?