In the early morning hours of April 19, 1775, the American colonies and Great Britain fought the first battles of the American Revolution. These battles took place in the small towns of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
Tensions had been building for years. After the Boston Tea Party in 1773, the British government passed laws to punish the colonists, including closing Boston Harbor and placing Massachusetts under military rule. Many Patriots believed their freedom and way of life were in danger. They formed militias, trained as minutemen, and prepared to defend their rights.
In April 1775, British General Thomas Gage received orders to seize colonial weapons stored in Concord and arrest rebel leaders. On the night of April 18, about 700 British soldiers, led by Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, secretly marched out of Boston. But their plan was quickly discovered. Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode through the countryside, warning colonists that the Redcoats were coming.
By 5:00 a.m., about 77 colonial militia, led by Captain John Parker, were assembled on Lexington Green. The British arrived and ordered the colonists to leave. As the militia began to leave, a shot was fired. No one knows who fired first. The British soldiers then fired a volley, killing eight colonists and wounding ten. The British continued their march to Concord.
When the British reached Concord around 8:00 a.m., they searched for weapons but found very little because the colonists had hidden most supplies. Meanwhile, several hundred American militiamen gathered near North Bridge. A small group of British soldiers tried to hold the bridge, but the colonists fired upon them. This exchange became known as “the shot heard ‘round the world.” The British were forced to retreat back into Concord.
Around noon, Lieutenant Colonel Smith ordered his troops to march back to Boston. By this time, thousands of American militiamen had assembled along the road. As the British marched, colonial soldiers fired at them from behind trees, stone walls, and houses. The retreat became chaotic, with the British suffering heavy losses.
The British reached Lexington again, exhausted and low on ammunition. Fortunately for them, about 1,000 reinforcements under General Hugh Percy arrived with cannons to help cover their retreat. After a short rest, the combined British force of about 1,700 soldiers resumed the march to Boston. However, they were under constant attack from colonial militia along the way. The heaviest fighting happened between Menotomy (now Arlington) and Cambridge.
By the time the British reached Boston in the late afternoon, they had 73 men killed, 174 wounded, and 26 missing. The Americans suffered about 49 dead and 41 wounded. Within a day, nearly 15,000 colonial militiamen surrounded Boston, beginning the Siege of Boston.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were a turning point in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War. They showed that ordinary colonists were willing to fight for their rights. This fighting marked the start of the American Revolution and would eventually lead to independence from Britain.