“On April 18, 1775 several hundred British regulars under orders from General Thomas Gage set out from Boston Massachusetts to capture weapons and ammunition being stockpiled by local colonists in the towns of Lexington and Concord” (Nix History.com). In addition to capturing munitions, the British soldiers were ordered to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock who were wanted for high treason against the crown. Upon arriving at Lexington, the soldiers were met at the town center by numerous armed minutemen. It is not known who fired the first shot, but the colonists were in full retreat after a brief battle leaving left several dead behind. The British continued their journey on to the North Bridge outside Concord. “By the rude bridge
They were sent to Lexington, to destroy the militia stash of weapons. Why would the militia, who weren’t even sure of the British’s journey to their town fire first? The British were on the offensive, “...and upon their sudden approach, I immediately ordered our Militia to disperse and not to fire. Immediately said Troops made their appearance, and rushed furiously, fired upon and killed eight of our party without receiving any provocation therefor from us.” -Captain
There are many events that led to the Lexington and Concord Battles. Some of the fights that led to the Lexington and Concord are the Boston massacre. This led to more riots in the streets and many other situations such as the Boston Tea Party. The same as the Boston Massacre this led to more problems. One of these problems is that British shut down the Boston Harbor.
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the very first fight of colonists against the British. The first shot of the battle was fired by the British according to the accounts of John Parker and Thomas Fessenden. As John Parke states, the first shot was fired by the British because they were colonists and they were not going to attack first unless they were fired upon first. John states that they fired at them and killed eight of their men. This account is reliable because it is an official testimony, he wouldn 't lie under oath.
After looking at both the American account and the English account from The Battle of Lexington, The English account provides more information to prove that the Americans might have shot first. The British soldiers wanted to avoid violence, when shots were fired it was a quick skirmish and the british army was barely wounded.1 Earlier a letter was sent to General Gage in January but received in April. The letter included that , Dartmouth, Gage’s higher in command ordered gage, in letter to use force against the patriots.2 The American’s could have figured out that the English were planning on coming because the General Gage was married to Margaret Kemble, an American colonial women. It is said that she had spied against him out of sympathy
Lexington and Concord was also known as "the shot heard around the world. " The battle started on April 19, 1775; the British troops were sent to confiscate colonial weapons, After searching Concord for about four hours, the British prepared to return to Boston located 18 miles away. By that time, almost 2,000 militiamen who were known as minutemen for their ability to be ready on a moment’s notice, had descended to the area, and more were constantly arriving. At first, the minutemen simply followed the British column. Fighting started again soon after, however with the minutemen firing at the British from behind trees, stone walls, houses and sheds.
History Story #1 Battle of Lexington Concord: During the wee hours of April 19 1776, Prescott warned all of the American Colonists to watch up because Prescott shouted, “The regulars are coming watch out, you will get captured and probably killed if you do nothing about it and just stay still. So, the American Colonists evacuated the place and went to a carriage! They had to come back to get the smoked fish which may have not been the best decision.
The British were going to confiscate all the colonist ammunition and weapons they got angry. When the British soldiers started to head out, the colonist were sitting in wait behind bushes and trees. And when the British started to walk that way a someone shot the first shot. The leaders of the British side were Colonel Smith, the Lieutenant colonel of the 10th regiment of foot.
The First Shots The American Revolution commenced with an explosive start in 1775, in Lexington, Massachusetts. Gunfire was exchanged between British soldiers and American militiamen, leaving men from both sides wounded, and for an unlucky few, dead. This event has been remembered throughout history, preserved in personal accounts and history texts, but what we have always been uncertain of is this: who fired the first shots? Accounts differ; some insist the British fired first, some say the Americans did, and some say they couldn’t really tell. However, because of personal bias in the accounts, pressure to argue for one side of the story due to who the accounts are being presented to, and how long after the event the account is being given, we can never figure out which side fired first.
In the early 1760’s, the tension between the people in Boston and the British soldiers started to grow until in early 1770, when the two groups reached their breaking point. On March 5, 1770, a group of men started intimidating a British soldier; he soon called for assistance but eventually the crowd had grown to practically one hundred people. Captain Thomas Preston and seven other soldiers arrived, trying to calm the situation down, but to no avail. A soldier fired into the crowd followed by the other soldiers firing soon after, resulting in five people being killed. Captain Thomas Preston happened to be arrested and charged with murder.
On March 2, 1770, a fight broken up between a group of Boston rope makers and three British soldiers. The conflict was nasty up three nights later when a British soldier looking for
On March 5, 1770 a street fight occurred between a mob of Boston citizens and British soldiers. The soldiers were increasingly unwelcome in Boston so the citizens threw snowballs, stones, and sticks at the group of soldiers who had been stationed here- the soldiers retaliated. The citizens were very outnumbered and the fight resulted in five deaths and six injuries from Boston. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty named this event the Boston Massacre. The morning after, John Adams was sitting in his law office when Paul Revere revealed an engraving that showed Thomas Preston (captain of the British soldiers) ordering troops to fire at point blank range on the citizens.
King George III sent 25,000 troops to Massachusetts where the first shot was fired and the war began. It is unclear which side fired the first shot but the Patriots felt they were merely defending themselves from the cruelty placed upon them by their government. King George III also allowed his troops to enter the homes of the colonies, take from them, and imprison the people without a fair trial or hearing which all went against clear laws and rights of Britain. It is for these reasons that support American Christians and the founding fathers who believe the American Revolution was
Increase was there when the American Revolution started. At about 5 a.m., on April 19 1775, 700 British Troops, on a mission to capture Patriot leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, marched into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Capt. John Parker waiting for them on the town's common green. British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moments hesitation the American began to drift off the green. Suddenly, the "shot" heard around the world" was fired from an undetermined gun.
In Lexington, the British were met with colonial armed forces known as minutemen. Here, eight colonists died. In concord, the two groups met again, but the minutemen left victorious. This event caused the beginning of the Revolutionary
I believe that the colonists fired the first shot of the revolutionary war. This is proven by the evidence that states that the British didn 't plan ahead to specifically target the colonists. Though, the Colonists purposely targeted the British. In the diary entry of Lieutenant John Barker, there was evidence to the British intentions of their traveling. It remarks, “...