Tonight we look at the conditions that led up to the Battles of Lexington & Concord as we celebrate their 250th Anniversary. And as always, we’ll have some tunes to go along with our deep dive into history.
Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775
Paul Revere’s Ride
General Thomas Gage, Military Governor of Massachusetts
Response to Colonial Unrest:
The Boston Tea Party had demonstrated the colonies’ willingness to defy British authority, prompting Parliament to punish Massachusetts and reassert control. The Intolerable Acts included measures such as closing the port of Boston, restricting town meetings, and allowing British officials accused of crimes to be tried in England.
Replacement of Governor Hutchinson:
Thomas Hutchinson, the previous governor, was granted leave to return to England. General Gage, who was already commander-in-chief of British forces in North America, was chosen as his temporary replacement, with the expectation that his military background would help enforce the new laws and restore order.
Military and Civil Authority Combined:
Gage’s dual role as both military commander and governor was intended to strengthen British authority in Massachusetts. He was tasked specifically with implementing the Boston Port Act and other Coercive Acts, effectively placing the colony under military rule.
Arrival in Boston:
Gage arrived in Boston on May 13, 1774, to assume his new post. He was familiar to many colonists from his earlier service in America and was initially seen by some as a moderate, but his efforts to enforce British policy only deepened colonial resistance.
Why?
To suppress the possibility of rebellion by seizing colonial weapons and military supplies: British authorities, particularly General Thomas Gage, aimed to prevent open conflict by confiscating arms and gunpowder that the colonists had stockpiled in Concord. This action was intended to neutralize the military capability of the colonial militias and deter further resistance.
To enforce British authority and respond to growing colonial defiance: After the Boston Tea Party and the subsequent Intolerable Acts, Massachusetts had become a center of resistance. The colonial assembly formed a provisional government and called for local militias to prepare for hostilities. In February 1775, the British government officially declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion, prompting orders to restore order by force if necessary.
To arrest key Patriot leaders: General Gage also received instructions to arrest prominent colonial leaders such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were believed to be near Lexington. The hope was that capturing these figures would weaken the organizational capacity of the rebellion4.
To prevent violence by acting preemptively: Gage hoped that a surprise operation would allow the British to seize the supplies without bloodshed, thereby averting a larger conflict. However, colonial intelligence networks quickly discovered the British plans, and local riders like Paul Revere and William Dawes warned the militias, leading to the rapid mobilization of colonial forces.
Lexington:
- Facing an impending rebellion, British General Thomas Gage planned to seize weapons and gunpowder stored in Concord, Massachusetts.
- Around 5:00 am, approximately 800 British regulars arrived in Lexington and encountered a militia company of over 70 men led by Captain John Parker on the town green.
- Captain Parker ordered his men to disperse.
- A shot rang out, although it remains unclear which side fired first.
- The British soldiers then fired a volley, resulting in seven militiamen being killed and one mortally wounded. Only one British soldier was wounded in this initial skirmish.
Concord:
- The British moved on to Concord, but the element of surprise was lost. Most Patriot stores had been hidden or removed.
- Upon arrival in Concord around 8:00 am, British commanders ordered troops to secure the north bridge across the Concord River.
- Meanwhile, a large militia force of about 400 men from Concord and surrounding towns gathered on a hill overlooking the North Bridge. This force included several companies of minutemen – local men ready to fight at a minute’s notice.
- Seeing smoke rising from Concord (where the British were burning some supplies), and with rumors of a massacre in Lexington, the militia grew agitated.
- Under pressure, militia colonel James Barrett ordered an advance to the North Bridge, with orders not to fire first.
- Alarmed by the approaching militia, the British fired a ragged volley.
- The militia returned fire, resulting in a handful of men killed and wounded on each side. Captain Isaac Davis and Abner Hosmer of the Acton militia were killed. On the British side, three soldiers were killed and nine others wounded. This volley is considered “the shot heard round the world”.
- The outnumbered British redcoats retreated back to the town.
The British Retreat:
- Around noon, the British commander, Colonel Smith, recognized the danger and ordered a retreat back to Boston.
- Thousands of Patriot militia lined the road and launched a series of ambushes on the British.
- The British responded by entering homes and attacking those inside.
- The retreat became disorganized.
- Around 2 pm, the British force reached Lexington and was met by reinforcements from Boston, Lord Percy’s brigade.
- They faced nearly 4,000 Patriot militia. Percy’s artillery fire dispersed the militia, allowing the retreat to continue.
- Despite a more disciplined retreat under Lord Percy, militia sniping continued to take a toll.
- The British eventually reached the safety of Charlestown around nightfall.
Fatalities and Casualties: - By the end of the day, the British had lost 73 men killed and 173 wounded.
- The Americans suffered 49 killed and 39 wounded. One source estimates the total American casualties (killed and wounded) at 393 and British at 93, while another mentions 49 Patriots killed. Lord Percy acknowledged the effectiveness of the American forces, noting they were not just an irregular mob.
Whoever dares to look upon them as an irregular mob, will find himself much mistaken. They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about.
Colonial Response: John Dickinson and The Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms
The Battles of Concord and Lexington in 1775 signaled the intent of the British to treat the colonists like a conquered people, not as British subjects with rights. Dickinson teamed up with Thomas Jefferson to write the The Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms, where the right for the colonists to defend themselves was laid out in terms that presaged the Declaration of Independence.
Parliament adopted an insidious manoeuvre calculated to divide us, to establish a perpetual auction of taxations where colony should bid against colony, all of them uninformed what ransom would redeem their lives; and thus to extort from us, at the point of the bayonet, the unknown sums that should be sufficient to gratify, if possible to gratify, ministerial rapacity, with the miserable indulgence left to us of raising, in our own mode, the prescribed tribute.
The petition does reflect the different stages in both Jefferson and Dickinson’s thinking, and it is here that the appeal is made to King George that the colonies were defending themselves as British citizens who had no designs of breaking free from King George’s rule.
Lest this declaration should disquiet the minds of our friends and fellow-subjects in any part of the empire, we assure them that we mean not to dissolve that Union which has so long and so happily subsisted between us, and which we sincerely wish to see restored.-Necessity has not yet driven us into that desperate measure, or induced us to excite any other nation to war against them.-We have not raised armies with ambitious designs of separating from Great Britain, and establishing independent states.
Dickinson is known for his caution, and at this stage other delegates such as John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and Jefferson saw the writing on the wall with respect to any type of reconciliation. Adhering to principle over popularity, Dickinson remained against declaring independence, feeling that the colonies were unprepared. Clearly they would need support from foreign nations, as they had very little military might to go up against the British Empire, a world superpower at that time. His instinct to seek balance and avoid violence was not attuned with the times. He abstained from the vote to proceed. Had he not, he may have been the one to write the Declaration of Independence instead of Jefferson, as he was still a leading voice in this crisis.
