apr 18, 1775 - Battles of Lexington and Concord

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The Continental Congress approved gathering of arms and ammunition by colonial militia, or “minutemen.” General Thomas Gage of the British garrison in Boston soon received orders to arrest rebels Sam Adams and John Hancock. He then heard about the colonists storage of gunpowder in Concord, a town near Boston, and sent 1,000 soldiers to capture the supplies without violence. Colonists William Dawes and Paul Revere heard about this and warned the minutemen at Lexington and Concord. When the British arrived on the night of April 18, 1775, they were met with colonial militia and violence ensuing, killing eight minutemen, Colonists killed many more British soldiers on the road back to Boston. This battle was widely publicized among the colonies and British aggression was exaggerated to encourage rebel support.

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