The British marched into Lexington and Concord intending to suppress the possibility of rebellion by seizing weapons
from the colonists
. Instead, their actions sparked the first battle of the Revolutionary War.
Who were the British Army looking to capture in Lexington?
The British Army set out from Boston to capture
rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock
in Lexington as well as to destroy the Americans store of weapons and ammunition in Concord. The colonists were warned however, by riders including Paul Revere, that the British Army was approaching.
Who were the British trying to capture at the Battle of Lexington
The British Army set out from Boston to capture
rebel leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock
in Lexington as well as to destroy the Americans store of weapons and ammunition in Concord. The colonists were warned however, by riders including Paul Revere, that the British Army was approaching.
Why did the British attack Lexington and Concord?
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, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord
in order to seize an arms cache
.
What were British soldiers originally planning to do at Lexington?
Britain’s General Gage had a secret plan. During the wee hours of April 19, 1775, he would send out regiments of British soldiers quartered in Boston. Their destinations were Lexington, where they would
capture Colonial leaders Sam Adams and John Hancock
, then Concord, where they would seize gunpowder.
Who fired the first shot at Lexington?
More likely, the shots were fired at Lexington, where
the British
fired on the Patriot militia, who also may have taken a few shots in the confusion. One eyewitness to the skirmish was Paul Revere, who had been detained but not arrested by the British. He couldn’t tell who fired the first shot, in his account.
How did the conflict create tension between colonial militiamen and British troops?
The tensions between the colonies and Great Britain led to armed conflict in 1775. The First Continental Congress demanded certain rights from Great Britain. …
Delegates halted trade with Britain and alerted the colonial militia to prepare for war
.
What is the shot that was heard around the world?
“The shot heard round the world” is a phrase that refers to
the opening shot of the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775
, which began the American Revolutionary War and led to the creation of the United States of America.
Why were the British called regulars?
Unfortunately, all wrong. First, Revere didn’t use the term “Regulars” instead of “British” because most Americans still considered themselves to be British, he did so because British soldiers were called Regulars (
because they were in the regular army
).
Why was the Tea Act 1773 passed?
On April 27, 1773, the British Parliament passes the Tea Act, a bill
designed to save the faltering East India Company from bankruptcy by greatly lowering the tea tax it paid to the British government
and, thus, granting it a de facto monopoly on the American tea trade.
Did the British attack by land or sea?
There were two routes that the British soldiers could take:
by land through the Boston Neck and by sea across the Charles River
.
Was Lexington or Concord first?
The battles of Lexington and Concord were the
first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War
. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775 in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge.
Where was the first shot of the Revolutionary War fired?
April 19, 2020 marked the 245th anniversary of the first shot of the Revolutionary War – later called the “shot heard round the world” by American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson – at
the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts
.
Who actually warned the British were coming?
Thanks to the epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,
Paul Revere
is often credited as the sole rider who alerted the colonies that the British were coming.
What did Paul Revere say when the British were coming?
Paul Revere never shouted the legendary phrase later attributed to him (“
The British are coming!
”) as he passed from town to town. The operation was meant to be conducted as discreetly as possible since scores of British troops were hiding out in the Massachusetts countryside.
What bad luck did Paul Revere have after leaving Lexington?
What bad luck did Paul Revere have after leaving Lexington?
A Redcoat shot at him. A British Patrol spotted him and took away his horse.
