Battles of Lexington and Concord
Fought on April 18, 1775, the Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements that
took place in the Revolutionary War (French, 2). The first shots are believed to have been fired just after sunrise and the
fighting took place all throughout the day and night, with the entire fighting taking place in Middlesex County,
Massachusetts. (French, 2). Though both British and colonial forces lost many men and suffered many injuries, it would be
the local colonial militia that would claim victory in the first battles of the war. At the end of the battles, the colonial militia
would report having 49 killed, 39 wounded and 5 missing, while the British claimed to have suffered 73 deaths, 174
wounded and 53 missing (Chidsey, 47).
By the next morning, Boston was surrounded by a huge militia army, numbering over 15,000, which had marched
from throughout New England (Brooks, 96). The militia army continued to grow as surrounding colonies sent men and
supplies. The Second Continental Congress adopted these men into the beginnings of the Continental Army. Even now, after
open warfare had started, Gage still refused to impose martial law in Boston. He persuaded the town's selectmen to
surrender all private weapons in return for promising that any inhabitant could leave town (Fischer 265).
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were not major ones in terms of tactics or casualties; however, in terms of
supporting the British political strategy behind the Intolerable Acts and the military strategy behind the Powder Alarms, the
battle was a significant failure for the British because the expedition contributed to the fighting it was intended to prevent,
and because few weapons were actually seized (Tourtellot, 203).
took place in the Revolutionary War (French, 2). The first shots are believed to have been fired just after sunrise and the
fighting took place all throughout the day and night, with the entire fighting taking place in Middlesex County,
Massachusetts. (French, 2). Though both British and colonial forces lost many men and suffered many injuries, it would be
the local colonial militia that would claim victory in the first battles of the war. At the end of the battles, the colonial militia
would report having 49 killed, 39 wounded and 5 missing, while the British claimed to have suffered 73 deaths, 174
wounded and 53 missing (Chidsey, 47).
By the next morning, Boston was surrounded by a huge militia army, numbering over 15,000, which had marched
from throughout New England (Brooks, 96). The militia army continued to grow as surrounding colonies sent men and
supplies. The Second Continental Congress adopted these men into the beginnings of the Continental Army. Even now, after
open warfare had started, Gage still refused to impose martial law in Boston. He persuaded the town's selectmen to
surrender all private weapons in return for promising that any inhabitant could leave town (Fischer 265).
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were not major ones in terms of tactics or casualties; however, in terms of
supporting the British political strategy behind the Intolerable Acts and the military strategy behind the Powder Alarms, the
battle was a significant failure for the British because the expedition contributed to the fighting it was intended to prevent,
and because few weapons were actually seized (Tourtellot, 203).