The Battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775, the famous 'shot heard 'round the world', marked the start of the American War of Independence (1775-83). Politically disastrous for the British, it persuaded many Americans to take up arms and support the cause of independence.
The first battle of the American Revolution took place in Lexington on April 19, 1775 and the town has long been known as "The Birthplace of American Liberty". On that fateful spring morning some seventy-seven militia members led by Captain John Parker stood on the Lexington Common to challenge the British troops.
The British marched into Lexington and Concord intending to suppress the possibility of rebellion by seizing weapons from the colonists. Instead, their actions sparked the first battle of the Revolutionary War.
The Revolution Begins: The Aftermath of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Battles of Lexington and Concord took a toll on both sides. For the colonists, 49 were killed, 39 were wounded, and five were missing. For the British, 73 were killed, 174 were wounded, and 26 were missing.
When British General Thomas Gage ordered his men to travel toward Lexington, his main goal was to find weapons, supplies, and cannons that were stored by the colonial militia in Concord.
American Revolution: Battle of Lexington & Concord 1775
Did the British lose the Battle of Lexington?
They met resistance from minutemen, leading to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The British suffered heavy losses, marking the start of the Revolutionary War.
What famous saying came from Lexington and Concord?
Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the most noted residents of Concord, Massachusetts, penned these words for the town's bicentennial in 1835.
The battle was brief, lasting only about 15 to 20 minutes, yet it signified the beginning of a larger conflict between the American colonies and British authorities. Following the skirmish, the British continued to Concord, where they encountered further resistance from colonial militias.
What was the last battle of the Revolutionary War?
Virginia | Sep 28 - Oct 19, 1781. The Battle of Yorktown proved to be the decisive engagement of the American Revolution. The British surrender forecast the end of British rule in the colonies and the birth of a new nation—the United States of America.
The four acts were the Boston Port Act, the Massachusetts Government Act, the Administration of Justice Act, and the Quartering Act. The Quebec Act of 1774 is sometimes included as one of the Coercive Acts, although it was not related to the Boston Tea Party.
By the time they reached Lexington at dawn, the British encountered 77 intrepid American minutemen, led by Captain John Parker, boldly standing their ground in defense of their independence.
On the night of 16 December 1773, 340 chests of tea were destroyed in Boston Harbour, an event that has gone down in history as the Boston Tea Party. This political and mercantile protest was one of the key events in the lead up to the American Revolutionary War and, ultimately, American independence.
In 2025, we're celebrating Lexington's 250th anniversary with an entire year's worth of public events, including live music, food, arts, speaker series, and more.
British victory. The battle was a tactical victory for the British, but it was a sobering experience. The British sustained twice as many casualties as the Americans and lost many officers. After the engagement, the patriots retreated and returned to their lines outside the perimeter of Boston.
What important historical event happened in Lexington?
Battles of Lexington and Concord. The Battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775, the famous 'shot heard 'round the world', marked the start of the American War of Independence (1775-83). Politically disastrous for the British, it persuaded many Americans to take up arms and support the cause of independence.
Britain began to view the American war for independence as merely one front in a wider war, and the British chose to withdraw troops from America to reinforce the British colonies in the Caribbean, which were under threat of Spanish or French invasion.
Treaty of Paris, 1783. The Treaty of Paris was signed by U.S. and British Representatives on September 3, 1783, ending the War of the American Revolution.
As a Son of Liberty and member of the North End Caucus, Revere engraved political cartoons and helped plan and implement resistance to British policies. His career as a "Messenger of the American Revolution" began on December 17, 1773, carrying news of the Boston Tea Party to New York.
Approximately 24,000 to 25,000 British soldiers are estimated to have died over the course of the American Revolution. While about half of the British forces were loyalists who lived in the colonies, the other half was composed of soldiers who had traveled overseas.
What was the battle cry of the American Revolution?
The Greatest Rallying Cry: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death. March 23, 1775, a Thursday, was the fourth day of a revolutionary convention in Virginia. But just how revolutionary, nobody until that day could have predicted.
On the evening of April 18, 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren summoned Paul Revere and gave him the task of riding to Lexington, Massachusetts, with the news that British soldiers stationed in Boston were about to march into the countryside northwest of the town.
What famous line was said at the Battle of Bunker Hill?
Colonel Putnam had told the Patriot army, "Don't fire until you can see the whites of their eyes." (This quote was again used by General Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812.) The first two times the British attacked, they were bombarded with heavy artillery and had to retreat.
The "shot heard round the world" is a phrase that refers to the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, which sparked the American Revolutionary War and led to the creation of the United States.
