The regulars had pressed on through the attacks at Merriam's Corner and Hardy's Hill, but their difficulties were increasing as growing numbers of provincials leapfrogged ahead of the regulars. The road to Lexington next took a sharp left turn, then turned sharply right again 500 yards further down the road. On one side of the road, small trees and underbrush covered a hill that came down to the edge of the road. Some of the provincial soldiers, hearing the firing at Merriam's Corner, ran ahead to wait for the regulars. The sharp turns in the road and the surrounding landscape offered a natural ambush. The Massachusetts men, now approaching 1,500 strong all together, seized this opportunity. They caught the regulars in a vicious crossfire that killed or wounded roughly 30 men, including three more of the Crown officers. The regulars had no choice but to continue to press onward.

British Tiring Press Onward (Smith and Hartwell Properties)