Episode 17 covers the night ride of Paul Revere, the confrontation on Lexington Green, and the running fight back to Boston that opened the Revolutionary War. It's the story of how 77 militiamen faced 700 British regulars and sparked a continent-wide conflict. Students will understand why April 19, 1775 is considered the beginning of the American Revolution.

Key Takeaways

• Paul Revere arranged for lanterns in Old North Church to signal which route the British were taking: one if by land, two if by sea.

• Captain John Parker's reported order, 'Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon,' reflects the militiamen's intent to confront, not necessarily to start a war.

• No one knows who fired the first shot on Lexington Green. Both sides blamed the other.

• The British found almost none of the stockpiled arms at Concord. The colonists had hidden or moved most of them.

• British casualties for the day totaled 273. The colonists lost 95, but the redcoats had been chased 20 miles back to Boston by farmers firing from behind walls and trees.

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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: What was the 'shot heard round the world'?

The phrase comes from Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1837 poem 'Concord Hymn.' It refers to the first shot fired at Lexington or Concord on April 19, 1775, which began the Revolutionary War. It's called the shot heard round the world because the conflict it started eventually reshaped global politics and inspired independence movements on multiple continents.

Q2: Why did the British march to Concord specifically?

Colonial patriots had been stockpiling weapons and ammunition at Concord for months. General Gage's intelligence told him this was one of the largest caches in the region. Seizing it would cripple any serious armed resistance. The mission failed because colonial spies learned of the plan and much of the stockpile was moved before the British arrived.

Q3: Did Paul Revere actually shout 'The British are coming'?

Almost certainly not in those words. The mission was supposed to be secret, so Revere wouldn't have been shouting loudly enough to wake entire towns. More importantly, colonists still considered themselves British at that point. His warning was likely more specific, something about the regulars marching, rather than a declaration about 'the British.'

Q4: How many men did the colonists have compared to the British at Lexington?

About 77 militia faced roughly 700 British regulars on Lexington Green. The numbers were so lopsided that Parker's men had no realistic chance of stopping the march. Their purpose was more symbolic than tactical. By the time the British retreated from Concord, however, militia from surrounding towns had assembled in large enough numbers to inflict serious casualties.

Q5: Why is April 19, 1775 considered the start of the Revolutionary War?

It's the date of the first organized military confrontation between colonial militia and British regular forces. The deaths on Lexington Green and the firefight at Concord's North Bridge represented a clear crossing from political protest to armed conflict. The Second Continental Congress, which met the following month, treated the events as the beginning of a war.

The Ride to Lexington

On April 18th, 1775, 900 British regulars left Boston for Concord, just 20 miles to the west. Their objective: to seize ammunition stockpiled there. They left quietly, making their way through Boston streets in the dark, hoping for no advance warning. But spies were about town, members of a network that would soon alert their fellow patriots that the regulars were on the way. News of the operation reached Dr. Joseph Warren, a leader in the colonial separatist movement. After the Boston Massacre, Warren had built a network of spies out of his medical office. As soon as he heard reports of the 900 regulars heading west, he dispatched Paul Revere to warn his fellow patriots. Revere ordered two lamps to hang from Christ Church, also known as Old North Church, a signal to his contacts across the Charles River that the British would cross by boat and not by land along Boston Neck. Two friends rowed Revere from the north end of Boston to Charlestown.

Under the cloak of night, the boat eluded the British warship the HMS Somerset. Once safely on the other side, Revere borrowed a horse from John Larkin. It was 11:00 at night. Just outside of Charlestown, Revere was almost captured by the British. He changed his route and headed to Medford, then on to Lexington, where he arrived around midnight. There he warned John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the regulars were coming. The colonies had been pushed to the brink by the laws covered in our episode on the Intolerable Acts and First Continental Congress.

Stand Your Ground

In Lexington, Revere was joined by William Dawes, a second rider. The two men continued on to Concord to make sure the supplies there were secreted away. A third rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott, joined them on the other side of Lexington. All three riders ran into a British patrol. Revere was held and questioned, then released, but only after his horse was confiscated. He returned to Lexington by foot. Dawes and Prescott escaped capture, but Prescott alone made it to Concord to warn his fellow patriots. He ordered the town bell to ring and sent out riders to gather the militia. Hours later, dawn broke over Lexington. Major Pitcairn and 250 of the redcoats moved into position at the eastern end of the town green. On the western end stood a band of 80 militiamen under the command of farmer John Parker.

Someone from the British side shouted a demand that Parker and his men lay down their arms. "Stand your ground," ordered Parker. "Don't fire unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." The patriots were badly outnumbered. Parker would not surrender. Instead, he ordered his men to disperse. To this day, it is not known who fired first. But as the Americans began to move, a shot rang out. Once fired, that shot triggered a battery of fire from the British. Eight Americans were killed, 10 more wounded. The next major battle would unfold above the city of Boston, as we cover in our episode on the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Concord and the Long March Back

Having won the first skirmish, Pitcairn and his men rejoined Smith and the others. The column moved down the road toward Concord, 10 miles away. Three hundred militiamen had gathered there to confront the advancing redcoats.

As the British entered town, the patriots positioned themselves across the old North Bridge on the other side of the Concord River. The regulars searched the town's homes but found only a few pieces of ammunition. In the meantime, more militiamen arrived. The numbers of armed patriots grew by 200. Soon, the two forces confronted each other from either side of the old North Bridge. This time, the militia got the better of the redcoats. Twelve regulars were shot, nine wounded and three dead. The crown's army was rattled. They retreated to the road and began marching back to Boston. All along their journey back, militiamen hidden by the woods on either side of the road sent sniper fire into the British column. When the regulars stopped to return fire, the patriots slipped away deeper into the woods. Familiar with the region, they used woods, back roads, and hills to make their way ahead of the enemy and continued to fire into the exposed British line.

The Patriots Had Proven Otherwise

General Gage had worried such dire straits would strike the expedition. Already he had ordered 2,000 men to join the regulars dispatched to Concord. The two British forces met just east of Lexington. The original troops were now diminished and exhausted. As the column marched toward Boston, the Patriot militia kept up their relentless sniper fire. Altogether, they inflicted close to 300 casualties on the British. The redcoats made it back to Boston, having wounded or killed roughly 100 of the farmers and tradesmen who opposed them. The whole expedition, however, had gained the British nothing militarily.

As the sun rose on April 19th, the British troops took their position at the eastern end of Lexington Green. Their red coats were formidable. To the ragtag militia on the opposite side, they seemed unbeatable. By nightfall of that day, American patriots had proven otherwise. There were now 3,500 militiamen present as the defeated British re-entered Boston, a spirited sign to anyone with eyes to see. The Americans would fight for their freedom. For the story of how American forces finally pushed the British out of Boston, see our episode on Henry Knox and the cannons of Ticonderoga.