Lexington and Concord

Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord was a part of the American Revolution. It played a big role in the revolution because the battles marked an outbreak of open armed conflict between the kingdom of Great Britain and the mainland of British North America. The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagement of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex county, province of Massachusetts Bay. The British Army’s lieutenant colonel Francis Smith ordered about 700 British army regulars to capture and destroy military supplies that were reportedly stored by the Massachusetts militia at Concord. Dr. joseph Warren alerted the colonist of what the British were going to try to do and so the Patriots had enough time to move most of their ammunition to safety. The first shots were fired just as the sun was rising in Lexington, and the colonists then knew that they were outnumbered so they fell back. Hours later the colonists fought and defeated three of the kings companies at the North Bridge in Concord. More Minutemen arrived soon thereafter and inflicted heavy damage on the British troops as they marched back toward Boston. The British failed to keep the secrecy and speed required to conduct a successful strike into hostile territory, yet they did destroy some weapons and supplies. The numbers of the men who served in the battles of Lexington and Concord were unknown for the Americans. The Americans did not exceed the losses of 90 men. The British had about 1800 men and they lost 19 officers and 250 soldiers were killed and wounded. The British army was called many nicknames such as “lobster backs” and “devils” by the colonists, but the most used nickname was “Redcoats”. The British Army’s had occupied Boston since 1768 and had been augmented by naval forces and marines to enforce the Intolerable Acts. The struggle for supplies led to one British success and then to several patriot successes in a series of nearly bloodless conflicts known as Powder Alarms. |

The British Army marches from Boston to Brookline. They also marched from Boston to up to Arlington and Colonel Smith was the one that commanded them there. Then from Arlington they marched on forward to Lexington and had the first battle there. After the battle of Lexington the Redcoats marched on upward to Concord and that is where they had their second battle. The Minutemen defeated the British and had them running back to Boston. Their Colonel, Colonel Smith was shot in action and then Colonel Howe stepped in his spot. The patriots left Northern America on March 27, 1776. That day was when we claimed our independence from Great Britain.

Works Cited
Hodges, Miles. "The Conflict becomes Violent." The Conflict Turns Violent. N.p., 30 2011. Web. 3 Nov 2012. <http://www.kingsacademy.com/mhodges/04_American-Government/04_Independence/04b_The-Conflict-Turns-Violent-2.htm>.
Logan, Joseph. "The Battles of Lexington and Concord ." theamericanrevolution.org. N.p., 29 2001. Web. 3 Nov 2012. <http://theamericanrevolution.org/battledetail.aspx?battle=1>.
"Taking Action." ThinkQuest. N.p., 24 2003. Web. 3 Nov 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/boflandc.htm>.

Cited: Hodges, Miles. "The Conflict becomes Violent." The Conflict Turns Violent. N.p., 30 2011. Web. 3 Nov 2012. &lt;http://www.kingsacademy.com/mhodges/04_American-Government/04_Independence/04b_The-Conflict-Turns-Violent-2.htm&gt;. Logan, Joseph. "The Battles of Lexington and Concord ." theamericanrevolution.org. N.p., 29 2001. Web. 3 Nov 2012. &lt;http://theamericanrevolution.org/battledetail.aspx?battle=1&gt;. "Taking Action." ThinkQuest. N.p., 24 2003. Web. 3 Nov 2012. &lt;http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312848/boflandc.htm&gt;.