Luka’s Corner

The Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775 were the fuse of the American Revolution. They were one of the reasons for the start of the inevitable war for independence, which ended eight years later. The skirmishes at these small towns also convinced the other colonies to help New England and rid themselves of British rule. At the time, New England was the only region that openly opposed the Crown. However, these two "battles" helped unite the divided colonies into one glorious country.

Lexington

The British plan was to search the town of Concord for hidden weapons and ammunition that the colonists were gathering in case of battle. The British did not want a war, so they planned to crush the rebellion in Concord. They didn’t expect a fight at Concord, let alone the small village of Lexington. The Battle of Lexington began at around 6:00 AM, but the colonists were well aware of the British plan long before that. Around midnight, Paul Revere had stepped foot into Lexington and began warning the colonists of the approaching British regulars. All of the militia, or minutemen, who heard Revere, then began to pack their supplies and head for Lexington Green. The sleepy and disgruntled militia waited impatiently on the village green for the British, but they did not come. After two hours, the militia leader, Captain John Parker, told the men to disperse and go back home. Most of them did because they thought that the British wouldn’t come at all. But, the night’s work wasn’t over yet.

The minutemen were awoken again at 4:30 AM by a loud drum. Capt. Parker had been notified by his scout, Thaddeus Bowman, that the British were quickly approaching Lexington. Parker then sounded the town drum and ordered his militia to the green. Seventy-seven minutemen gathered there and prepared to defend their town. At 5:00 AM, the British regulars arrived in Lexington under the command of Colonel Francis Smith and Major John Pitcairn. The redcoats were shocked to see the small group of "rebels" bravely awaiting them. When the British halted at the green, Major Pitcairn rode out into the middle of the field and told the militia, "Disperse, ye rebels, disperse!" Pitcairn did not want to start a battle or a war by attacking the colonists. A few of the militiamen actually started to head home.

This all changed when a single shot was fired. This shot is often called "the shot heard round the world" because it was the start of the war that created America. To this day, nobody knows who actually fired the shot. After hearing it, the British soldiers instantly started firing a hail of bullets at the militia. Caught by surprise, the colonists fired back, but with little accuracy or effect. Major Pitcairn frantically shouted at the regulars to stop firing, but he had lost complete control over his men. Hopelessly, Colonel Smith called for a drummer boy to sound a "cease-fire". When the troops heard the signal, they eventually stopped firing. When the smoke cleared, it revealed that the British soldiers had killed eight of the militia and wounded nine others. The regulars suffered only two casualties. As the minutemen retreated and tended to their wounded, the British continued their long march to Concord. But, they had no idea what awaited them there.

Concord

The militia stationed at Concord also knew of the British plan before the battle started. They were warned by the other colonial rider, Samuel Prescott, because Paul Revere had been captured by the British. Prescott arrived at Concord at 2:30 AM to warn the minutemen of the British regulars marching from nearby Lexington. Rumors of the British plan had been circulating around Concord for over a week and the townspeople had already hidden all of their weapons and ammunition in certain homes and in the fields.

After hearing Prescott’s warning, the people of Concord sounded the town’s drums and bugles. About 250 minutemen from Concord and nearby villages assembled in Concord. They waited in the town for five hours before they were informed by a colonial scout that the British were about to enter the city. Surprisingly, as the British came into view, the militia leader, Colonel James Barrett, moved his men to a ridge just outside of Concord. By this time, over 6,000 militiamen had answered Concord’s call and gathered on the hills above the town.

As time passed, the large militia force began to grow angry and restless as they watched the British soldiers destroy their beloved Concord. At last, Colonel Barrett was convinced by his impatient men that they should defend their town from the British. The colonists started marching down the hills to save the town, when they encountered the British standing in their way behind the Old North Bridge on Concord River. The militia then started marching across the bridge and toward the British troops. The regulars could only watch the "rebels" coming closer because they were ordered not to fire unless they were fired upon first. As the colonists approached, a few of the regulars fired warning shots into the river. This suddenly caused the entire British force to send a volley of bullets into the colonial front line. Taken by surprise, the minutemen fired back at the British soldiers.

After the two sides eventually stopped firing and tended to their wounded, they discovered that two colonial militiamen had been killed. The British had also lost three men and many more were wounded. After this short skirmish, the rest of the regulars were confused by the militia’s brave stand. They did not expect such a large colonial force to be mustered and they realized that they had to retreat. The regulars quickly gathered into two columns, left Concord, and started marching back to Boston.

Afterwards

The militia, however, wouldn’t just forgive the British for destroying their homes. They decided to attack the British while they were marching back to the city. As the regulars navigated through the wilderness of Massachusetts, the militiamen hid behind rocks and trees and shot at the British. They continued sniping at the remaining soldiers for the rest of their journey and they did so with deadly effect. The British soldiers, who had started out with almost 800 men, had suffered nearly 300 casualties before returning to Boston. But, as the British would soon find out, Boston would turn against them as well.

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