19 apr 1775 anni - Battles of Lexington and Concord

Descrizione:

The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19th, 1775, were the first major military actions between the British Army and Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Colonies during the American Revolutionary War. The opposing forces fought day-long running battles in Middlesex County in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge. The British action and American victory increased support for the anti-British cause.

Following the Boston Tea Party (1773), the British parliament passed the Intolerable Acts (early 1774), including the restrictive Massachusetts Government Act. Colonial leaders in Suffolk County, Massachusetts adopted the Suffolk Resolves in resistant to the acts. The leaders formed a Patriot provisional government known as the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and called for local militias to train for possible hostilities. The Congress effectively controlled the colony outside of British-controlled Boston. On September 17th, the First Continental Congress endorsed the Suffolk Resolves. In response, in February 1775, the British government declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.

On April 18th, 1775, about 700 British Army Regulars in Boston, under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, were given secret orders to capture and destroy Colonial militia military supplies reportedly stored at Concord. Through effective intelligence gathering, Patriot leaders had received word weeks before the expedition that their supplies might be at risk and had moved most of them to other locations. On the night before the battles, several riders, including Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott, sent warning of the British expedition and information about British plans from Boston to area militias.

The first shots at Lexington were fired at sunrise. Eight colonial militiamen were killed and ten were wounded. The British suffered only one wounded. The outnumbered militia quickly fell back. The Regulars proceeded to Concord, where they split into companies to search for the supplies. At the North Bridge in Concord, approximately 400 militiamen engaged 100 Regulars from three companies of the King's troops at about 11:00 am, resulting in casualties on both sides. The outnumbered Regulars fell back from the bridge and rejoined the main body of British forces in Concord.

The British forces began their return march to Boston after their unsuccessful search for military supplies. Meanwhile more militiamen from the neighboring towns continued to arrive along the route. Gunfire erupted between the two sides at many places throughout the day as the Regulars marched back towards Boston. Lt. Col. Smith's expedition was reinforced by Brigadier General Earl Percy force at a crucial point in their march. The combined British force of about 1,700 men returned to Boston under heavy fire and eventually reached the safety of Charlestown after incurring heavy losses. The Patriot militias then blockaded the narrow land accesses to Charlestown and Boston, starting the siege of Boston.

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