Battles of Lexington & Concord: Top 10 Cool Facts -

None of us were alive when this happened. Plus, I doubt many of us paid attention in history class when these battles were discussed.

As a matter of fact, if someone were to ask you what war the Battles of Lexington & Concord happened in, would you be able to answer correctly?

Okay, I’ll help you out with that one… It was the American Revolutionary War.

Scroll down and learn more history. Here are 10 cool facts about the Battles of Lexington & Concord.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War.[9] The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge. They marked the outbreak of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in America. ~ Wikipedia

#1: The First

These were the first battles in the American Revolution. This happened on April 19^th, 1775. It was the start of war between Great Britain and the original 13 colonies.

#2: The British Were Attempting To Take The Guns

One thing you probably recall from history class was the ride of Paul Revere…“The British are coming; the British are coming!”

It was that ride that prepared the Americans for the Battle of Concord.

You see, tensions were high and the British had learned of a huge cache of arms in Concord, so they were marching to confiscate them. But because of Revere, the colonists were ready first in Lexington.

#3: Guns Were Gone

At some point, the British were able to move on to Concord, but by that time, all the guns were taken away and the British were empty handed.

#4: The Other British Plan

Not only did the British have plans of confiscating guns and such, they were also planning on capturing 2 colonial leaders…

Sam Adams
John Hancock

#5: The First Battle

The British Redcoats marched from Boston and arrived in Lexington at about 5 AM. Coming into the area, they met a small band of militia led by Captain John Parker.

The British had more troops and the upper hand. They killed 8 of the Colonial militiamen. The militia retreated but had slowed the British progress immensely.

Many claim that because of the words Captain Parker said, the British must have fired the first shots. He said:

“Stand your ground; don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”

The heavily outnumbered militiamen had just been ordered by their commander to disperse when a shot rang out. To this day, no one knows which side fired first. Several British volleys were subsequently unleashed before order could be restored. When the smoke cleared, eight militiamen lay dead and nine were wounded, while only one Redcoat was injured. ~ History

#6: In Concord

While the arms had essentially disappeared from Concord before the British marched in, they did destroy some other supplies they found. On one of the Concord bridges, a company of militia attacked the Redcoats and drove them out in retreat.

#7: Not Just

Battles were not just waged in Lexington and Concord; there were also battles in

Lincoln
Menotomy which is now Arlington
and Cambridge

#8: What Led Up To These First Battles Of The American Revolution?

There were a number of things that led up to these battles. The colonists were being taxed and had no representation. Taxes with the…

Sugar Act
Stamp Act
and Townshend Acts

And in 1770 the Boston Massacre happened and not long after, the Boston Tea Party where colonists dumped loads of imported tea into the harbor which was a huge, costly insult to King George III. He had the Boston Harbor shut down until colonists would pay for the tea.

#9: Guerrilla Warfare

In those days, the armies of the world fought face to face, head to head. And the colonists brought a new style of warfare that was unheard of… Guerrilla Warfare. Hiding in trees and using what was then considered dirty war gave the colonists a strong advantage.

#10: A Win For Our Side

One would wonder if the outcome would have been different in these first battles if the Revolution would even had kept going. But because of these battles and the result, our ancestors fought on and freed us from oppression. The Battles of Lexington & Concord resulted in British casualties of 273 and American casualties of 95.

And the war waged on.

American victory. 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 colonists’ intricate alarm system summoned local militia companies, enabling them to successfully counter the British threat. ~ American Battlefield Trust

Final Thoughts

It is amazing how these men fought hard to give us freedom.

It is something we should never take for granted and this is why we can never allow any government entity the power to take our weapons.

King George III knew if he could confiscate American arms, we would be at his mercy.

I know this is a subject that is in hot debate now, but the key is learning from the past. Remember, the guns are just a tool but the people are the ones who need to be subjected to extreme punishments if misusing that tool.

If the punishments “fit” the crime, there would be less crime… Just saying…

Now, we are open to your comments, but please be respectful. Thank you and have a great day!

Battles of Lexington & Concord: Top 10 Cool Facts