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Battles of Lexington and Concord
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Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, were the first major military actions between the British Army and Patriot militias from British America's Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. The opposing forces fought day-long running battles in Middlesex County in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge.
After the Boston Tea Party (1773), the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts (early 1774), including the restrictive Massachusetts Government Act. Patriot (Colonial) leaders in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, adopted the Suffolk Resolves in resistance to the acts. The leaders formed a Patriot provisional government, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, and called for local militias to train for possible hostilities. The Provincial Congress effectively controlled the colony outside of Boston. On September 17, the First Continental Congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves. In response, in February 1775, the British government declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.
On April 18, 1775, about 700 British Regulars in Boston, under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, received secret orders to capture and destroy colonial military supplies reportedly stored at Concord. Through effective intelligence gathering, Patriot leaders received word weeks before the British expedition that their supplies might be at risk and had moved most of them to other locations. On the night before the battles, several riders, including Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, warned area militias of the British plans and approaching British Army expedition from Boston.
The first shots between Patriot militiamen and Regulars at Lexington were fired at sunrise on April 19. Eight militiamen were killed and ten wounded. Only one British soldier was wounded. The outnumbered militia quickly fell back and the Regulars proceeded to Concord, where they split into companies to search for supplies. At the Old North Bridge in Concord, approximately 400 militiamen engaged 100 Regulars at about 11:00 am, resulting in casualties on both sides. The outnumbered Regulars fell back and rejoined the main body of British troops in Concord.
Then the British forces began a return march to Boston after a mostly unsuccessful search for military supplies. Meanwhile, more militiamen from neighboring towns arrived along the return route. The two forces exchanged gunfire at many places along the march throughout the day. Lieutenant Colonel Smith's troops were reinforced by Brigadier General Earl Percy's force at Lexington at a crucial time during their return. The combined British force of about 1,700 men returned to Boston under heavy fire and eventually reached the safety of Charlestown after incurring heavy losses. The militias then blockaded the narrow land accesses to Charlestown and Boston, starting the siege of Boston.
The British Army occupied Boston in 1768. Royal Navy units and Royal Marines were added to enforce the Coercive Acts of 1774, as colonists named them (later renamed by historians the Intolerable Acts). The British Parliament enacted these measures to punish the Province of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party and other acts of protest. In response, in the summer 1774, colonial leaders in Suffolk County, Massachusetts adopted the Suffolk Resolves declaring the Coercive Acts unconstitutional, recommending sanctions against Britain, urging Massachusetts residents to form their own government and to fight in its defense. The First Continental Congress endorsed the Resolves on September 17, 1774. General Thomas Gage, the military governor of Massachusetts, effectively dissolved the existing provincial government pursuant to the Massachusetts Government Act. Then, in line with the Suffolk Resolves, the colonists formed the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.
Gage also was commander-in-chief of the roughly 3,000 British military men garrisoned in Boston. He lost control over Massachusetts outside of Boston due to the colonial resistance where the Patriot Whigs were a majority and the pro-British Tories were a minority. Gage planned to avoid open conflict with the Patriots by removing military supplies from Patriot militias outside Boston through use of small, secret, and rapid military strikes. In one such strike, the British seized supplies but the Patriots succeeded in hiding supplies from other searches in a series of nearly bloodless events known as the Powder Alarms.
Colonial militias were formed from the beginning of colonial settlements to defend against Indian attacks. These forces also saw action in the French and Indian War between 1754 and 1763 while fighting alongside the British. Under New England colonies' laws, towns were required to form militia companies of all males 16 years of age and older (exemptions existed) and to ensure that the members were properly armed. Massachusetts militias operated under the jurisdiction of the provincial government but militia companies elected their own officers, as they did throughout New England.
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Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, were the first major military actions between the British Army and Patriot militias from British America's Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. The opposing forces fought day-long running battles in Middlesex County in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge.
After the Boston Tea Party (1773), the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts (early 1774), including the restrictive Massachusetts Government Act. Patriot (Colonial) leaders in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, adopted the Suffolk Resolves in resistance to the acts. The leaders formed a Patriot provisional government, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, and called for local militias to train for possible hostilities. The Provincial Congress effectively controlled the colony outside of Boston. On September 17, the First Continental Congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves. In response, in February 1775, the British government declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.
On April 18, 1775, about 700 British Regulars in Boston, under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, received secret orders to capture and destroy colonial military supplies reportedly stored at Concord. Through effective intelligence gathering, Patriot leaders received word weeks before the British expedition that their supplies might be at risk and had moved most of them to other locations. On the night before the battles, several riders, including Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, warned area militias of the British plans and approaching British Army expedition from Boston.
The first shots between Patriot militiamen and Regulars at Lexington were fired at sunrise on April 19. Eight militiamen were killed and ten wounded. Only one British soldier was wounded. The outnumbered militia quickly fell back and the Regulars proceeded to Concord, where they split into companies to search for supplies. At the Old North Bridge in Concord, approximately 400 militiamen engaged 100 Regulars at about 11:00 am, resulting in casualties on both sides. The outnumbered Regulars fell back and rejoined the main body of British troops in Concord.
Then the British forces began a return march to Boston after a mostly unsuccessful search for military supplies. Meanwhile, more militiamen from neighboring towns arrived along the return route. The two forces exchanged gunfire at many places along the march throughout the day. Lieutenant Colonel Smith's troops were reinforced by Brigadier General Earl Percy's force at Lexington at a crucial time during their return. The combined British force of about 1,700 men returned to Boston under heavy fire and eventually reached the safety of Charlestown after incurring heavy losses. The militias then blockaded the narrow land accesses to Charlestown and Boston, starting the siege of Boston.
The British Army occupied Boston in 1768. Royal Navy units and Royal Marines were added to enforce the Coercive Acts of 1774, as colonists named them (later renamed by historians the Intolerable Acts). The British Parliament enacted these measures to punish the Province of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party and other acts of protest. In response, in the summer 1774, colonial leaders in Suffolk County, Massachusetts adopted the Suffolk Resolves declaring the Coercive Acts unconstitutional, recommending sanctions against Britain, urging Massachusetts residents to form their own government and to fight in its defense. The First Continental Congress endorsed the Resolves on September 17, 1774. General Thomas Gage, the military governor of Massachusetts, effectively dissolved the existing provincial government pursuant to the Massachusetts Government Act. Then, in line with the Suffolk Resolves, the colonists formed the Massachusetts Provincial Congress.
Gage also was commander-in-chief of the roughly 3,000 British military men garrisoned in Boston. He lost control over Massachusetts outside of Boston due to the colonial resistance where the Patriot Whigs were a majority and the pro-British Tories were a minority. Gage planned to avoid open conflict with the Patriots by removing military supplies from Patriot militias outside Boston through use of small, secret, and rapid military strikes. In one such strike, the British seized supplies but the Patriots succeeded in hiding supplies from other searches in a series of nearly bloodless events known as the Powder Alarms.
Colonial militias were formed from the beginning of colonial settlements to defend against Indian attacks. These forces also saw action in the French and Indian War between 1754 and 1763 while fighting alongside the British. Under New England colonies' laws, towns were required to form militia companies of all males 16 years of age and older (exemptions existed) and to ensure that the members were properly armed. Massachusetts militias operated under the jurisdiction of the provincial government but militia companies elected their own officers, as they did throughout New England.
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