Lexington Green: First Blood in the Pre-Dawn Gloom

M many events through the course of time, become shrouded in mystery, leaving students and historians alike with more questions than answers. One such incident occurred on a village green outside Boston, Massachusetts, early in the morning of April 19, 1775. 

In the years following the French and Indian War, Massachusetts became a hotbed for resistance against the Crown. Relations boiled over on the night of December 16, 1773, when the Sons of Liberty dumped taxable tea into Boston Harbor. London responded by passing the Coercive, or Intolerable, Acts, designed to punish the colony and sending a new governor and commander in chief, Lieutenant General Thomas Gage, to enforce the new law. Still, local Whig leaders continued to collect supplies and prepare for armed conflict. 

Gage monitored the activity and eventually set his sights on the village of Concord. More than a local meeting place for the Provincial Congress, rumor had it there was also a significant stockpile of munitions housed there. The British commander made preparations for an expedition to leave Boston and march to Concord on the night of April 18.

Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith headed the operation, which consisted of 700 grenadiers and light infantry drawn from the line regiments of the garrison. Major John Pitcairn, a Royal Marine, acted as Smith’s second-in-command. Unfortunately for Gage, Patriot riders slipped through the patrols he had set, fanning out across the countryside ahead of Smith’s column to raise the alarm. One of them, Paul Revere, galloped into Lexington around midnight to warn the local militia and, critically, two of the most important Patriot leaders, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, who were staying there. 

Delayed as he marched out of the city, Smith decided to send Pitcairn ahead with the light infantry. About 5:00 a.m., word of Pitcairn’s imminent arrival reached Lexington. Captain John Parker, the commander of the local militia, called his men to arms on the green. According to reports by veterans of the engagement, he told them: “Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.” 

As the British arrived, Lieutenant Jesse Adair of the Fifth Regiment of Foot moved to the right, while Pitcairn took the light companies from the Fourth and 10th Regiments to the left. Pitcairn approached Parker and his men to order them to disperse. What orders Parker then issued remain a mystery, but suddenly, a shot rang out, followed by a volley from Pitcairn’s ranks. The violence continued, with some British breaking ranks to pursue retreating militiamen through the village. By the time Smith’s main column arrived and he restored order, eight militiamen were dead and 10 more wounded, alongside one British soldier. Despite the fighting, Smith chose to push on to his objective at Concord. 

We will never know who fired that first shot. What is certain is that it ignited the series of events that led to the creation of the United States of America.