THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR BEGINS
By the spring of 1775 tension in the colonies was reaching the breaking point. The British occupied Boston and appointed Thomas Gage as the Governor of Massachusetts with orders to put down any efforts of American resistance.
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After years of appeals to the British crown fell on deaf ears, colonists had become so frustrated they began to prepare for armed conflict.
Governor Gage received orders to seize weapons and gunpowder from the colonists to prevent a rebellion. On April 18th, he ordered Major John Pitcairn to march with 700 men to accomplish two directives:
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Capture American patriots Samuel Adams and John Adams, who were in hiding in Lexington, and
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Seize the patriot arsenal at Concord
The colonists knew that the British were planning some sort of military action and had been preparing for weeks. When they learned of General Gage’s orders, they sent Paul Revere and William Dawes from Boston to Lexington and Concord to warn their fellow patriots.
The Battle of Lexington
As the sun was coming up, Pitcarn’s British troops arrived in Lexington. They were met at the town’s public green by American militia captain John Parker and his 77 minutemen. Pitcairn ordered the colonists to disperse. Outnumbered almost ten to one, the colonists stood their ground briefly before they began to back off the green. It appeared as though the battle would end before it began, but then an unknown rifleman fired a shot and the battle of Lexington began.
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When the smoke cleared, eight Americans laid dead and ten others were wounded. The British suffered only one injury.
The Battle of Concord
By about 7 am, the Red Coats were in Concord. Seeing they were outnumbered, the American militia who had been waiting for them, retreated to the outskirts of town, leaving Concord to the British.
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The troops poured through the village searching for weapons and ammunition. They found very little since American’s had been warned of their mission and managed to hide most of it.
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While the search in Concord continued, American minutemen from surrounding communities flooded to the area and soon the patriot force numbered about 400.
British Captain Parson led a small group of soldiers over Old North Bridge to search the Barrett family farm just outside of Concord. Minutemen looking from atop a hill near the bridge saw an opportunity to cut off this smaller contingency. They poured down on top of the British and after a skirmish, that resulted in the death of three Red Coats, the British were able to retreat to the bridge to join more of their ranks.
A standoff at the Old North Bridge ensued both sides staring down the other. Eventually, the British marched back to Concord and regrouped. Lieutenant Colonel Frances Smith (Pitcairn’s superior), ordered his men to return to Boston without directly engaging the Americans.
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During their 16-mile journey they were harassed by patriot marksmen who fired upon them from behind trees, rocks and stone walls. As they passed through Lexington, Parker’s militia was waiting for them, and picked off several of them. By the time the British soldiers reached the safety of Boston, nearly 300 men had been killed, wounded or were missing in action.
Patriot casualties for the day totaled less than 100.