Battles of Lexington and Concord

Setting the scene

The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, began the American Revolutionary War. After the Coercive Acts, Massachusetts formed a Provincial Congress and stockpiled weapons at Concord. General Thomas Gage, British commander in Boston, ordered a secret expedition to seize these supplies. On the night of April 18, 700 British regulars under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith marched from Boston. Patriots, warned by Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott, spread the alarm.

What happened

At dawn on April 19, the British reached Lexington, where 77 militiamen under Captain John Parker assembled on the green. A shot was fired—'the shot heard round the world'—origin unknown. The British fired a volley, killing eight Americans and wounding ten, then marched to Concord. At Concord's North Bridge, 400 militiamen confronted 100 British, and after a brief firefight, the British retreated. The real battle was the 16-mile march back to Boston, as thousands of militiamen harassed the British column from behind walls and trees, inflicting heavy casualties.

Why it still matters

By day's end, British casualties were 73 dead, 174 wounded, 26 missing; American losses were 49 dead, 39 wounded, 5 missing. The battles proved colonial militia could stand against regulars and galvanized the colonies—within days, 20,000 militiamen besieged Boston. The Second Continental Congress met in May and created the Continental Army, appointing George Washington commander. Lexington and Concord transformed a political dispute into armed rebellion. The battles' significance lies not in their military scale but in their irreversibility—after April 19, 1775, independence became the likely outcome.

Background

The American Revolutionary War was underway. Even centuries later, this episode remains a reference point for how empires rise, fracture, and transform.