On April 19, 1775, a single gunshot — fired by nobody knows who — started a war that created a nation.
In the early hours of April 19, 1775, about 700 British soldiers marched secretly from Boston under orders to seize colonial weapons stockpiled at Concord. Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott rode through the night to warn the countryside.
At Lexington Green at sunrise, 77 colonial militiamen stood blocking the road. A shot rang out — no one ever determined who fired it — and within minutes eight colonists lay dead. The 'shot heard round the world' had been fired.
At Concord's Old North Bridge, colonial militia opened fire on British soldiers in the first organized armed resistance of the Revolution. The British, finding most of the weapons already moved, began their long march back to Boston.
The return march turned into a running nightmare for the British. Nearly 4,000 militiamen swarmed from every farm and treeline, firing from behind walls and trees at the column. By day's end, the British had suffered 273 casualties — far more than the Americans.
The battles instantly transformed a political dispute into an armed conflict. Within weeks, thousands of militia from across New England had descended on Boston, surrounding the city and beginning the Siege of Boston.
News of Lexington and Concord spread faster than anyone expected, carried by riders in every direction. By the time British reports reached London, American accounts had already been published in newspapers across the colonies, shaping the narrative from the start.