This painting depicts the events of the Battle of Fiske Hill, one of the skirmishes between the colonists and the British along Battle Road on April 19, 1775. As the British retreated from Concord toward Boston, they were harried by Colonial militia utilizing the high ground for cover. At Fiske Hill, British second-in-command Major John Pitcairn was thrown from his horse and injured during an ambush by the colonists; this caused the already-demoralized British troops to break formation and “run, rather than retreat,” in the words of one officer. Upon reaching Lexington, a relief force led by Earl Percy (whose portrait hangs in the Genealogy Room) arrived to provide support. Although Parsons is best known for his landscapes and sporting scenes, he also produced a number of works depicting episodes from local history during the decades he lived in Lexington.