This Week In American History: On April 19, 1775 at the Battle Of Lexington, seventy armed militiamen confronted seven hundred British troops. The British were attempting to capture Patriot leaders and seize Patriot weapons and gunpowder. A shot fired from an undetermined gun signaled the beginning of the American Revolution.
The Battle of Lexington
British troops marched into Lexington on April 19, 1775. Armed minutemen under the leadership of Captain John Parker waited for them. Britain’s Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered minutemen to disperse. Out of nowhere, a shot was fired from an undetermined gun. At the end of the Battle of Lexington, 8 Americans died while only one British soldier did.
Tensions Run High Between the American Colonies and Britain
Tensions between the American colonies and the British government approached their breaking point by 1775. This was especially true in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts Patriot leaders formed a shadow revolutionary government. They trained militias to prepare for conflict with the British troops occupying Boston.
General Gage and His Troops March Against the Patriot Arsenal at Concord
In the spring of 1775 the British governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, received orders from England to seize all stores of weapons and gunpowder currently accessible to American insurgents. On April 18, 1775 General Gage ordered his troops to march against the Patriot arsenal at Concord. Furthermore, he ordered the capture of Patriot leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Adams and Hancock were hiding at Lexington.
The Boston Patriots Prepare to Meet General Gage and His Troops
The Boston Patriots had prepared for this kind of military action led by the British. Patriots Paul Revere and William Dawes set out to rouse the militiamen and warn Adams and Hancock of the British’s impending arrival. Due to this, when the British troops arrived in Lexington they found a group of militiamen waiting for them. Although the British quickly routed the Patriots, warfare had begun. This led to calls to arms across the Massachusetts countryside.
The Battle of Concord
The British troops found themselves encircled by hundreds of armed Patriots when they reached Concord. Although the British troops managed to destroy the military supplies the Americans had collected, a group of militiamen soon advanced against them. Meanwhile, the British troops were forced into retreating. While nearly 300 British soldiers died, suffered wounds, or went missing in action before making it safely back to Boston, the Patriots suffered less than 100 casualties.
The American Revolution
The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the American Revolution. Eventually, this conflict gave birth to the independent United State of America seven years later.
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Info Source: History.com
Photo Source: Pixabay.com
