Battles of Lexington and Concord
On April 19, 1775, British troops marched from Boston to seize colonial weapons stored in Concord, Massachusetts. At Lexington, they encountered about 70 armed minutemen. Someone fired "the shot heard round the world," and the Revolution had begun. The British reached Concord but found most supplies already moved. On the march back to Boston, thousands of colonial militia fired on them from behind trees and stone walls, killing or wounding nearly 300 British soldiers. These battles proved the colonists would fight, and within weeks, militias from across the colonies gathered around Boston, beginning the siege that would lead to full-scale war.
Key Takeaways
First shots of the American Revolution
Demonstrated that colonists were willing and able to fight the British Army
Minutemen's guerrilla tactics foreshadowed how the war would be fought