The Battle of Lexington and Concord | April 19th, 1775
22At about 5:00a.m. on April 19, 1775, 700 British troops, on a mission to capture Patriot leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Captain John Parker waiting for them on the town’s common green. British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moment’s hesitation, the Americans began to drift off the green. Suddenly, a shot was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. When the brief Battle of Lexington ended, eight Americans lay dead or dying and 10 others were wounded. Only one British soldier was injured, but the American Revolution had begun.
A few hours later, about 700 British troops would arrive at North Bridge in Concord. Old North Bridge is often referred to as the location of the "shot heard round the world," and the beginning of the American War for Independence. Colonial Militia from Concord and surrounding towns exchanged gunfire with British regulars guarding the critical river crossing.
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 53 were missing.