The Battle of Lexington & Concord
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Tensions Explode
By Spring 1775, there was so much tension building between British soldiers stationed in Boston and the colonists, that if this were a video game you would literally see the exclamation marks hovering above peoples' heads. Three thousand British regulars were stationed in Boston to keep the peace and the crowds didn’t miss a beat to taunt them every chance they got.
Militia companies began drilling in preparation for what seemed like the eventual showdown with British troops. If Parliament was intent on taking away their constitutional rights as British citizens, the colonists weren’t going down without a fight. Egged on by Sam Adams, the people of Massachusetts held their own illegal county conventions. The Sons of Liberty began what it called Tory-hunts, finding those still loyal to the king and running them out of town.
The Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Gage, was sent over by the king to restore law and order. But it seemed that everyday things in Massachusetts were spiraling out of control. Gage wrote back to London that he would need 20,000 troops to put down the rebellion before it spread to other colonies. King George thought Gage was being ridiculous. Surely, it didn’t take that many soldiers to deal with a bunch of “raw, undisciplined, cowardly” Americans.
On February 2nd, 1775, Parliament declared the colony of Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion. In response, the Continental Congress urged the colonial militia to mobilize. Military drills began in the town commons. Men were told to be ready on a minute’s notice, which earned them the nickname “Minute Men”.
And, for good measure, they broke into a British armory and stole the weapons and ammunition stored there. It was rumored that the stolen stash was hidden somewhere in the Boston suburb of Concord.
A slightly inaccurate hand-colored map depicting the 1775 Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Siege of Boston. J. DeCosta. 1775. Library of Congress.
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Paul Revere: Night Rider
On the night of April 18th, 1775, 700 elite British troops quietly marched out of Boston, armed with orders and muskets. Their mission: arrest rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock and seize the cache of weapons in Concord, Massachusetts.
But the local Patriots weren’t about to let that happen. By 10 p.m., two riders—Paul Revere and William Dawes—broke curfew, slipped past British sentries, and took off on separate routes to warn the countryside. Their warning system? A clever lantern code in the Old North Church: one if by land, two if by sea. General Gage even tried to fake them out, sending a small unit down the Charles River while the main force marched by land. The Patriots weren’t fooled.
We've all probably heard the story of Paul Revere riding through the night yelling "the British are coming!" However, there are a few problems with this story. First, colonists like Paul Revere were... British. And second, This was a covert op. You don’t sneak past guards just to start shouting like a town crier on espresso. That's a great way to get yourself arrested.
Around midnight, Revere and Dawes reached Lexington and delivered their message. Giving Adams and Hancock just enough time to grab their coats and disappear into the night. But the ride didn’t stop there. They picked up a third rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott.
The three men headed toward Concord, but ran into a unit of British patrols—exactly the kind they were trying to avoid. Dawes and Prescott managed to escape. Revere... not so lucky. He was caught by a British patrol and detained for questioning.
Revere quickly improvised a story about hundreds of armed militia waiting to ambush the British back in Lexington. Whether they believed him or just wanted to avoid trouble, the patrol turned around—giving the Patriots a few more precious hours to prepare.
Reenactment of British soldiers on their way to Lexington and Concord to seize the store gunpowder
Revere attempting to outrun the British sentries.
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The Battle of Lexington & Concord
When the 700 redcoats reached Lexington the next morning, they found a tiny group of colonial militia lined up on the town green waiting for them. It turns out that Revere had lied about the numbers.
But the Lexington militia wasn't here to fight, but to make a silent protest. The Americans had heard that the British were not allowed to fire unless they fired first. An anonymous British officer demanded the militia to “lay down your arms.” But the militia stood firm. In the tension, someone fired the shot 'heard round the world', as the line goes. The Americans claimed it was a British officer on horseback. Naturally, the British pointed the finger at the Americans. But it doesn’t matter; shots had been fired.
The British charged, stabbing with bayonets. The militia fired back from behind trees and tavern windows. By the time order was restored four militiamen were dead and ten wounded. The British continued to Concord, but the missing ammunition was already long gone.
When news spread like pee in a community pool that the British troops had killed Americans, farmers -- armed with muskets raced to Lexington. As the British marched back to Boston, they found themselves surrounded at every turn by angry colonials who, fighting Indian style, fired at the British regulars from behind trees and rocks. The British had to fight every inch of the way back to Boston. By the time the British reached their headquarters in Boston, 250 Red Coats were dead. The American Revolution had begun, even if nobody yet realized it .
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Why It Matters
The fighting at Lexington and Concord mattered because it made one thing crystal clear: there was no patching things up with Britain over a cup of tea. Until that point, a lot of colonists were still hoping things would calm down — maybe Parliament would back off, maybe there would be some compromise. Instead, the first shots made it obvious that both sides were past the point of no return.
It also showed that everyday people — farmers, blacksmiths, shopkeepers — were willing to stand up to one of the most powerful armies in the world. Not because they thought they would win easily (they didn’t), but because they believed their rights were worth fighting for.
Lexington and Concord were the start of what would eventually become a full-blown revolution. It wasn’t part of some master plan — it happened because tensions boiled over, and regular people decided they weren’t going to back down anymore.
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