Nearby towns are etched in history as the first battle of the American Revolution, but there is still debate as to where the first shot was fired.
Daylight had not yet appeared when the bell rang at Lexington Common around 5am on April 19th, as we saw a reenactment of a skirmish that forever changed American history 250 years ago.
Nearby towns in Lexington and Concord were the site of the first battle between British regulars and colonial militias, known as Minutemen who promised to acquire weapons with a one-minute notice.
“On this day, 250 years ago, at the dawn of April 19, 1775, this commonality became the birthplace of American freedom,” said Henry Liu, chairman of the Lexington Minutes’ Male Reenactment Committee.
Richard Howell, who portrayed Lexington’s Minuteman Samuel Tid in battle, called the reenactment “important.”
“This is one of the most sacred grounds in the country, if not the world, because of what it represents,” Howell said. “To represent what happened that day, to show how the small town of Lexington was a vortex.”
The Battle of Lexington and Concord ignited a war that lasted eight years before the colonial forces commanded by General George Washington won in September 1783.
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Historians agree that the battle that took place 15 months before the Declaration of Independence was signed by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 marked the beginning of the American Revolution.
A reenactment of dawn was held on April 19th at Old North Bridge in Concord, about seven miles east of Lexington. The monument marks the location where the first British soldiers are believed to have fallen.
An estimated tens of thousands of people descended into town to commemorate the historic day.
Hundreds of protesters stood outside an area marked as the “free speech” zone across from Lexington Battle Green. Some had signs with messages that appeared to be directed towards President Donald Trump.
“We respect the memory, remember the sacrifices, summon the courage of all heroes of freedom who bravely threw his blood for the cause of independence on April 19, 1775.
“After strengthening years of friction between the British Crown and the American colonies and escalating hostility, all paths to peace and diplomacy have been exhausted and war has become apparently inevitable. We have begun the Boston genocide, oppressive unbearable acts, and the last taxation that has begun as a contractor’s taxation. Autonomy.”
The Minuteman statue belongs to Colonel John Parker, who led the Lexington militia at the Battle of Lexington. The statue is Minuteman National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts. Courtesy of Alan Wakim
Lexington and Concord are engraved in history as the birthplace of the American Revolution. Where the first shot was fired remains the subject of discussion.
“By an rude bridge that arches the flood,
Their flag to the April wind spread out,
Here, after the peasants who fought
Male captain Steve Cole of the Lexington militia told NBC:
Author and historian Alex Cain added that British forces marching towards Concord were the first to encounter colonial militias in Lexington.
“Schott was fired. Who knows. We don’t know. The British claimed it was American. The American claimed it was British,” Cain told NBC.
In March, Concord250 distributed a press release inviting media to Concord to commemorate “when the first shot of the American Revolution was fired at the old North Bridge in Concord.”
Boston was the largest city of 13 colonies. In 1773, the settlers were frustrated by the British crown’s unrepresentative taxation, and dumped 342 teas in the port of Boston. The event is known as the Boston Tea Party.
Angry at the uprising, the British crown enacted an excruciating act that closed the Boston port, restricted the power of the colonial government, and allowed British forces to be quartered on private land.
Tensions escalated when British warships and troops known as regulars arrived.
Future founders John Hancock and Samuel Adams were forced to flee from Boston to the Massachusetts countryside. In early 1775, the area around Boston was ruled by the British. The rest of Massachusetts was in a rebellion.
General Thomas Gage served as the Royal Governor of Massachusetts and led the British forces stationed in the colony.
Transferred to information from British spies, Gage ordered 700 soldiers to march on April 18, 1775, to destroy a stockpile of military supplies.
Paul Revere stopped by the Rev. Jonas Clark’s house and warned John Hancock and Samuel that the British were on their way. He urged him to run away immediately. Courtesy of Alan Wakim
In Lexington, Libya and Dawes met Dr. Samuel Prescott. Prescott was the only of the three midnight riders who reached Concord.
Three miles west of Lexington, midway through Concord, the three midnight riders were surprised by British patrols. Libya was taken into custody while Dawes and Prescott fled.
Libya told his prisoners that the town knew their mission and had gathered all the militias together. Distant bells and musket fire confirmed his warning.
Daws’ trip ended when he fell off the horse. Prescott was free and challenged Concord, where he arrived around 1:30am to notify the Sentry.
Libya returns to Lexington on foot and urges Hancock and Adams to escape.
Back in Lexington, Captain John Parker, a Lexington militia, gathered his company in the town’s greens. The man who did not wear uniforms and received no wages had a collection of blacksmiths, farmers, shopkeepers and school teachers.
The Wet British began a 16-mile march towards Concord, crossing the Charles River.
The British were confronted by the Lexington militia in Lexington Green around 5am. The exact details of that morning remain a mystery. Parker’s subordinates, with many, retreated. Gunshots from unknown sources have been fired. The British unleashed a series of shots.
The battle in Lexington killed eight settlers and wounded ten. Unharmed, the British resumed their march and headed for Concord.
Separately, alarm riders Prescott and Reuben Brown, stationed in Lexington, competed for Concord to inform the town of shots fired at Lexington. Concord Militia and Minutemen awaited the arrival of the British soldiers.
The alarm reached the farm, fields and villages. Minutemen flocked to Concord.
The numbers rose again, and colonial militias retreated away from the town centre and across the North Bridge. Seven UK regulars crossed the bridge and searched the home for weapons and military supplies.
From a vantage point on the hill, colonial soldiers could see smoke rising from Concord from the burning British supplies they found. Colonial militias thought the town was torched, and 400 colonial soldiers marched to Northbridge, with three British companies remaining to protect the intersection.
The shots rang out from the British side, and Major John Batrick of Concord ordered the militia to return fire. It was the first time a colonial soldier had been ordered to fire on the British.
Three British soldiers and nine others were injured in volleys, which became known as “the shots heard all over the world.”
The British soldiers retreated to Boston. Concord marked the first colonial victory in the newly induced American Revolution.
During the British retreat, a flock of settlers fired in line with rock walls, trees and buildings behind rocks, on what became known as Battle Roads, creating a deadly gauntlet for the 700 British regulars.
In Lexington, Parker and his men earned revenge when they fired fire on British regulars. For most of the trip to Boston, British regulars were ambushed by Minutemen on either side of the road.
By the time they returned to Boston, the British reportedly had lost more than a third of their troops.
While debate remains as to where the first shot was fired, what happened in Lexington and Concord generated support for the colonial militia.
Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Stacey Schiff has written a book that includes biography of Benjamin Franklin and Samuel Adams.
He said that Lexington and Concord “fired opinions exactly as Massachusetts men wanted, but still, that would be a long way to vote for independence, but Adams felt that it should have been declared on April 20, 1775.”
“When the shot was fired in Lexington, Samuel Adams and Joseph Warren did their best to gather statements from witnesses and circulate quickly. It was essential that the colony and the world understand who was fired first,” Schiff explained.
“Adams was convinced that the Lexington skirmish would be “famous in the history of this country.” He knocked himself out to make it clear who the invader was. ”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
