The British troops were jaded with their long night march, but there was no rest or safety for them short of Boston. On their return march, the adjacent rocks and stone fences formed convenient breastworks, from behind which rustic marksmen sent the deadly bullet full into their ranks. Some were shot down: others dropped from sheer exhaustion; the rest hurried on with no care for their fallen comrades. Before reaching Lexington, Colonel Smith received a severe wound in the leg. About two o’clock in the afternoon, they were met by a detachment one thousand strong, with two field pieces. This was the reinforcement that had marched so gaily through Roxbury to the tune of “Yankee Doodle,” in derision of the rebels. The troops opened to the right and left, allowing the retreating soldiers to throw themselves into the hollow square to rest. A little after sunset the pursuit terminated at Charlestown common. A half hour afterward, a powerful body of men from Marblehead and Salem came up to join in the chase. Thus the ministerial troops narrowly escaped being cut off. The British loss was seventy-three killed, and one hundred and seventy-four wounded; that of the patriots forty-nine killed and thirty-nine wounded. The cry for vengeance at this desecration of American soil resounded through the land.--Measures were concerted in council; the outrage was discussed in cabin and palace, and around the camp-fire of the hunter; while the voice of supplication from altar and dwelling was heard, asking the Almighty to bless the patriot cause. As by common impulse, public attention was turned to the British fortresses of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, against which retaliatory measures could be employed with the best effect. As these forts were located near the homes of the Green Mountain Boys, and their hardy courage fitted them for a duty of this kind, requests were sent simultaneously from several of the provinces to Ethan Allen[D] and his followers to surprise and capture those places. The provincial Legislature of Connecticut, though not openly sanctioning the invasion, lent money from its treasury to those engaged in it, and appointed a committee to assist in raising troops and supervising their management. The force finally engaging in the expedition was about two hundred and seventy strong, composed of Green Mountain Rangers, with the exception of sixteen men from Connecticut and a score or so from Massachusetts. Towards the close of April, 1775, it was evident something of unusual interest was transpiring in the Hampshire Grants. The labors of the farm were neglected at a time when they would require most attention, and with one accord each sturdy husbandman shouldered his trusty rifle, and silently betook himself to a journey.