Why lexington and concord

A bloody confrontation erupts. After the British push on, eight colonists lie dead on the green; ten more are wounded. In Concord, the Regulars are met by an even greater force, which repels them at North Bridge. The Regulars, in retreat, are pursued by a growing militia force, drawn by widely rippling alarms. In time, both sides accuse each other of bloody butchery. To prevent Gage's troops from making any more forays into the countryside, 20, provincials lay siege to Boston.

From the safety of its meeting place in Watertown, Dr. Joseph Warren, president of the Provincial Congress in John Hancock's absence, says what is on the minds of many. To "defend Our Wives and our Children" , he declares, each Massachusetts town should enlist men to form an army. But Gage soon strikes a deal: he issues permits to pass in and out of Boston so long as Bostonians first surrender their weapons. It seems further bloodshed is averted, at least for the time being.

The speed with which news of the battles spread was in large part due to fast post riders and dispatchers from the Committees of Correspondence and the Committee of Safety. Palmer, who was a delegate to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, sent a dispatch from Watertown describing the fighting, which subsequently made its way by couriers on horseback to central Massachusetts and then into Connecticut before traveling even farther south.

These manuscript dispatches were then translated into print. In some instances they were printed as handbills, but usually the battle news was put into the next edition of a newspaper. William Pitt, an American sympathizer in Parliament, rejoiced for the colonists because they had employed military force to defend their beliefs. While Pitt was pleased, Thomas Gage was shocked. Such a reaction to his arms raid was highly unexpected and cast Gage in a negative light.

While the Patriots celebrated their victories at Lexington and Concord and prepared for a revolution , Gage was later shipped back to England in shame. Ask about our Virtual Tour programming! Tour Hours: 10am - 4pm. Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. On the night of April 18, , hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache.

Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column. A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were hastily retreating under intense fire.

Many more battles followed, and in the colonists formally won their independence. Starting in , Great Britain enacted a series of measures aimed at raising revenue from its 13 American colonies.

Soon after, the British Parliament declared that Massachusetts was in open rebellion. Did you know? The operation was meant to be conducted as discreetly as possible since scores of British troops were hiding out in the Massachusetts countryside. Furthermore, colonial Americans at that time still considered themselves British.

On April 18, , Joseph Warren, a physician and member of the Sons of Liberty, learned from a source inside the British high command that Redcoat troops would march that night on Concord. Warren dispatched two couriers, silversmith Paul Revere and tanner William Dawes, to alert residents of the news. They went by separate routes in case one of them was captured. Revere crossed the Charles River by boat to get to Charlestown, where fellow patriots were waiting for a signal about the movement of British troops.

If there was one lantern hanging in the steeple, the British were arriving by land. If there were two, the British were coming by sea.