apr 19, 1775 - Battles of Lexington and Concord

Description:

Start of the Revolutionary War. British soldiers found out that colonists were stockpiling ammunition for a revolution in Concord, so they came to put it down. Soldiers were intercepted at Lexington, as riders like Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott had forewarned the Patriots of the British arrival. It is unknown which side fired the first shot, but it was nicknamed "the shot heard round the world," and marked the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. The militia was outnumbered at Lexington, forcing them to retreat to Concord, where they received a large number of reinforcements. At Concord, the rebels were the ones with superior numbers, and managed to chase the British troops out of the city. The British retreated to Boston, being harassed by militiamen on they way back. The defeat was humiliating for the British, as they had one of, if not the strongest and best-trained army in the world, and yet they lost to poorly trained militiamen.

Deaths:
39 Patriot militiamen
73 British troops