The shot heard round the world began the American War of Independence and took place in what city

Following Revere’s warning to the Patriots, Captain John Parker began assembling minutemen to meet the British. After rousing approximately 137 men, they waited for the British to arrive. However, because it had taken the British two hours to receive supplies earlier in the evening, the minutemen were way ahead of schedule. Parker requested that the minutemen retire to nearby taverns until further notice while sending a few scouts from Lexington to approximate the arrival of the British. Many of these scouts were not seen again due to British arrest. One scout, Thaddeus Bowman, did return; he had narrowly escaped arrest by British soldiers and Pitcairn’s advance troop was only half a mile behind him. Captain Parker hastily assembled his minutemen again. When Pitcairn’s forces and Parker’s minutemen met, there were 77 minutemen prepared to fight nearly 250 British soldiers. A shot was fired; although it’s not clear which side fired first. More shots ensued. After the fight came to a close, eight Americans were dead and ten were wounded. This is in comparison to one wounded British soldier and several bullet wounds in Pitcairn’s horse.

In conjunction with the weapon’s hunt in town, a small detachment was sent by Smith to secure North Bridge and search Bartlett’s Farm located nearby. They unknowingly walked into a hornet’s nest of about 400 determined Americans. The British fired at them, killing two and wounding nine, and the Concord militiamen quickly returned the favor.

This return volley, fired from about 50 yards, came to be known as “the shot heard round the world” when on July 4, 1837, Ralph Waldo Emerson published his poem Concord Hymn:

By the rude bridge that arched the floodTheir flag to April’s breeze unfurledHere once the embattled farmers stood

And fired the shot heard round the world.

In any event, the Redcoats retreated to the safety of their comrades in town and, a little past noon, Lieutenant Colonel Smith ordered his men to return to Boston. However, the trip back would not be as pleasant as the outward journey since by now about 1,000 armed American militiamen were lining the road.

The seven miles to Lexington were shockingly hard on the British as Americans, hiding behind trees and fences, picked off the marching soldiers. Exhausted and running out of ammunition, it seemed the end was near for the Redcoats. Fortunately for them, a detachment of about 1,000 reinforcements under General Hugh Percy was waiting in Lexington.

After a brief rest, this combined force resumed its march to Boston. After a brief rest, this combined force resumed its march to Boston, passing through a phalanx of militiamen. The fighting between Menotomy (today’s Arlington) and Cambridge was especially intense as about half of the day’s casualties occurred in that stretch.

By the time the English reached the safety of their home lines late in the afternoon, there was about 4,000 Minutemen firing at them hot and heavy, and more joining every hour. Most of the Redcoats had been on their feet since 2:00am and were thankful to make it back.

All told, there were about 100 American casualties and about 300 for the English. More importantly, the Americans had shown the British that we were no rabble to be taken lightly. General Percy remarked, “Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob, will find himself much mistaken. They have men among them who know very well what they are about.”

Incredibly, by the next morning, an army of 15,000 American militiamen, which seemed to have fallen from the sky, had Boston and the British surrounded. Both sides were surprised at the rapid turn of events. Just two days before, the British were the masters of Massachusetts, and now they were bottled up tight inside Boston town.

About two months later, on June 17, 1775, this band of Patriots would again prove their mettle at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and, in Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress would adopt this force as the nucleus for our Continental Army.

WHY IT MATTERS

So why should the Battles of Lexington and Concord matter to us today? Quite simply, this fight marked the start of the American Revolution and our armed struggle to control our own destiny. We had proven to the world that we were committed to our cause and quest for independence.

Our brave Minutemen had demonstrated that the strong words we had been preaching and writing for the last few years had not been idle talk. At this point, as John Adams remarked, the die was cast and there was no turning back.

SUGGESTED READING

A Single Blow, written by Phillip Greenwalt and Robert Orrison, is an excellent account of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Published in 2018, this book is well written and a pleasure to read.

PLACES TO VISIT

Minute Man National Historical Park commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Encompassing over 900 acres, the park consists of sites in and around the towns of Lexington, Concord, and Lincoln. These include Concord’s North Bridge, Bartlett’s Farm, and the Battle Road Trail. This place where our War for Independence began is a must see for all Americans.

Until next time, may your motto be “Ducit Amor Patriae,” Love of country leads me.

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. 

Watch as Tyler Putman, the Museum's Gallery Interpretation Manager, commemorated the anniversary as he discussed Museum objects that were witness to the "shot heard round the world" and read an account of the encounter at Old North Bridge from Robert Gross's The Minutemen and Their World.

Learn more about the "shot heard round the world" by visiting the Museum’s Virtual Tour to explore the Lexington and Concord Gallery and learn about the artifacts from that day, including:

• an original beam from the Old North Bridge, on loan from the Concord Museum
• the gun carried by Captain David Brown, leader of a company of Concord minutemen, as he confronted a British force across the Old North Bridge
• a British musket a soldier of the 4th (King's Own) Regiment of Foot
• a mirror from Captain David Brown's house that was damaged by a British soldier on April 19, on loan from the Concord Museum;
• a powder horn and sword carried by men who stood with Captain Brown to confront the British troops at the bridge, on loan from the Concord Museum.

The Museum also celebrated its third birthday on Sunday, April 19, 2020. Download recipes to learn how to make a celebratory 18th-century “Whisky Cake” or rum shrub cocktail (or mocktail). 

Facing an impending rebellion, British General Thomas Gage decided to seize weapons and gun powder being stored in Concord, Massachusetts, twenty miles northwest of Boston, to prevent violence. Patriot spies soon got wind of Gage’s plan. Paul Revere and other riders spread the word of the 800 British regulars who were dispatched to Concord.

Departing Boston late in the evening of April 18, the King’s troops marched into the small town of Lexington around 5:00 am to find, facing them, a militia company of more 70 men led by Captain John Parker. When the vanguard of the British force rushed forward upon the town green, Captain Parker immediately ordered his company to disperse. At some point a shot rang out-- historians still debate who fired the shot. The nervous British soldiers fired a volley, killing seven and mortally wounding one of the retreating militiamen. The British column moved on towards Concord, leaving the dead, wounded, and dying in their wake. Parker and his men would have revenge later that afternoon.

Arriving in Concord around 8:00 am, British commanders Francis Smith and John Pitcairn ordered several companies, about 220 troops in all, to secure the north bridge across the Concord River and then continue on another mile to the Barrett Farm, where a suspected cache of arms and powder was presumably located. By the time the British arrived at the North Bridge, a growing assembly of close to 400 militia from Concord and the surrounding towns had gathered on the high ground overlooking the north bridge. From their vantage point on the hill they could see smoke rising from Concord, the result of British burning some supplies that they uncovered. Thinking the town was being put to the torch, Lieutenant Joseph Hosmer of Concord shouted to his fellow officers, “Will you let them burn the town down?” The decision was then made to take action. Col. James Barrett ordered his companies to march upon the bridge but not to fire upon the British soldiers unless first fired upon. The Acton Company, commanded by thirty-year old Captain Isaac Davis, was placed at the head of the column. When asked if they were prepared to confront the British troops Davis said, “I haven’t a man afraid to go.”

The Minute Men formed up and marched down the hill. As they did so, the British soldiers, intimidated by the colonial numbers and orderly advance, retreated to the opposite shore and prepared to defend themselves. When Davis’s company came within range, British soldiers opened fire, killing Isaac Davis and also Abner Hosmer, another Acton Minute Man. Major Buttrick of Concord shouted, “For God’s sake, fire!” and the Minute Men replied with their own volley, killing three British soldiers and wounding nine others. This volley is the volley considered “the shot heard round the world.” The rest of the British troops retreated back to town.

Smith and Pitcairn soon ordered a return to Boston, which devolved into a rout as thousands of minute men patriots descended on the area. As the British were attacked from all sides by swarms of angry Minutemen along what is now known as Battle Road. When they reached Lexington, John Parker and his men had their revenge, firing on the British regulars from behind cover. For the next 12 miles, the British were continually ambushed by Minutemen shooting from behind trees, rock walls, and buildings.  The emotions of this fight carried well beyond April 19, inspiring American warriors to "rise up and fight again" even in the face of staggering odds against them.

Having heard of the morning fighting at Lexington, General Gage ordered Lord Percy to march from Boston with a relief column. The column reached Smith and Pitcairn’s men on the eastern outskirts of Lexington, but Minutemen continued to pour in as word spread quickly throughout the area. Among these minute and militia companies were many African Americans, both free and enslaved, who took up arms and fought alongside their white neighbors.

The British conducted a running fight until they could get under the cover of British guns in ships anchored in the waterways surrounding Boston. By 8:00 pm, it was clear that the day had been a disaster for the British. They lost 73 killed and many more wounded compared to the patriot’s loss of 49 killed.

Concord poet Ralph Waldo Emerson dubbed them the “embattled farmers.” They were not American citizens, yet. That would have to wait until 1776 and the Declaration of Independence. On April 19, 1775 they were simply loyal British subjects who believed that they were standing up to defend and fight for their rights. In doing so they changed the world forever.