Knowra Battles of Lexington and Concord Battles of Lexington and Concord The first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War, fought between British troops and colonial militia in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. The clashes began open warfare between Britain and its American colonies.
Paul Revere's Ride : Paul Revere's midnight ride on April 18–19, 1775, helped spread the alarm that British troops were marching toward Concord. Revere's alarm helped militia prepare before the British column reached Lexington.
Boston : A Massachusetts port city that was a center of resistance to British rule and the base of the troops sent toward Concord. The expedition left Boston under orders from its military leadership.
John Parker : A Lexington militia captain who commanded the local company on April 19, 1775. Parker led the militia assembled on Lexington Green as British troops approached.
Siege of Boston : The 1775–1776 military encirclement of British-held Boston by American forces. The militia response that followed the battles soon confined British troops in Boston.
Battle of Menotomy : A series of fierce clashes in Menotomy, now Arlington, Massachusetts, during the British retreat from Concord on April 19, 1775. The retreat's heaviest fighting occurred here, beyond the better-known clashes at Lexington and Concord.
Concord, Massachusetts : A town west of Boston where British troops searched for military supplies on April 19, 1775. The expedition's intended target was Concord's stores of arms and provisions.
Thomas Gage : A British general and colonial governor of Massachusetts who commanded British forces in North America during the early Revolutionary crisis. Gage ordered the expedition to Concord to seize military stores and arrest rebel leaders if found.
Francis Smith : A British lieutenant colonel who commanded the expedition from Boston toward Concord on April 19, 1775. Smith led the troops whose mission brought them into conflict with the militia.
Battle of Bunker Hill : A major battle fought near Boston on June 17, 1775, during the opening months of the American Revolutionary War. It became the next major test of the forces mobilized after Lexington and Concord.
Battle of Parker's Revenge : A skirmish near Lexington on April 19, 1775, in which militia ambushed British troops during their retreat. The encounter shows how militia attacks continued after the British left Concord.
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