lexington and concord
April 19, 1775
Author: Peter T Young
In 1775 there were 7,000 British redcoats in America, with around 4,000 in Massachusetts itself.
The royally appointed governor, Thomas Gage, had been granted broadly expanded powers.
Rebellion was in the air.
Acting on intelligence that the militia were stockpiling weapons, Gage ordered British Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Smith to march to Concord and seize the arms.
The rebel intelligence network suggested that the British aim in Lexington was to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock, two of the prominent Patriot leaders.
But the size of the British army force was large enough to suggest they had bigger goals in mind.
The British soldiers and rebel militiamen raced to Lexington during the night; they confronted each other at Lexington Green - a village common area - just as the sun was rising on April 19.
Captain John Parker, a veteran of the French and Indian War, led a contingent of 80 Lexington mili-tiamen, known as minute men because they had to be ready to fight at a minute’s notice.
Most of the militiamen were farmers or tradesmen.
Non-uniformed, they were armed with a variety of firearms include-ing muskets and fowling pieces.
On April 19, 1775, initial skirm-ishes between British regulars and American Patriots marked the beginning of the American Revo-lutionary War.
It is unclear who fired the first shot. A skirmish ensued, during which eight militiamen were killed and only one British soldier wounded.
After order was restored, the British soldiers began the march to Concord. Total losses were American 95, British 273.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord roused New Englanders to join forces and begin the Siege of Boston, resulting in its evacu-ation by the British the following March.
Lexington and Concord led many Americans to support the ‘revolution’.
They showed that American citi-zen soldiers could stand up to redcoats; something previously doubted by many on both sides.
It was the turning point in the future of the continent and an everlasting change in what would become the United States.
It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who coined the phase ‘Shot Heard Round the World’ and used it his 1837 poem, ‘Concord Hymn,’ that he wrote for the dedication of a battle monument at the site of the North Bridge.
________________________________________Presented by: The Hawaii Society Sons of the American Revolution
Information here is primarily from Veterans Museum; Khan Academy, Britannica; British National Army Museum; British House of Commons Journal; Smithsonian, Ferling; Library of Congress In an effort to provide a brief, informal background summary of various people, places and events related to the American Revolution, I made this informal compilation from a variety of sources. This is not intended to be a technical reference document, nor an exhaustive review of the subject. Rather, it is an assemblage of information and images from various sources on basic background information. For ease in informal reading, in many cases, specific quotations and citations and attributions are often not included – however, sources are noted in the summary. The images and text are from various sources and are presented for personal, noncommercial and/or educational purposes. Thanks, Peter T. Young