The British colonial government enacted various Acts in thirteen different colonial frontiers in America with the aim of raising revenues. Some of these Acts included the Stamp Act, Sugar Act and Townshend Act. However, these developments were never invited by most of the regions colonized as they resented the taxation without representation. Matters got worse in Boston after the formation of Boston Tea Party. With the increased threat Boston was posing on the British colonial rule, King George of Britain ordered that the region be placed under a tight military scrutiny. In 1774, Boston’s city harbor was shut by the British authority until the residents paid taxes for the tea they exported abroad. This move angered the people of Boston even more. In 1775, Boston was declared an open rebellion.
After intelligence information reached the British colonial government that colonial rebels were storing military supplies and other ammunitions in Lexington, a small town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, they got ready to attack the location. Lexington and Concord battle is a battle that was fought in 1775 between the British colonial rulers and thirteen of the colonial territories under the British rule (Bogin, 1985). The aim of this paper is to provide a brief analysis of the battle. To achieve this, the paper will provide a deep look into what happened during the war, who was involved, where the battle was fought and the strategic outcomes of the battle.
In what was later referred to as the Battle of Lexington and Concord started on April 15, 1775 (Vine, 2015). During this time, General Thomas Cage was the British Military Governor. He received intelligence information that rebels were getting supplies in Lexington and ordered an immediate destruction of the stores in Concord. Before the commencement of the battle, on April 14, 1775, there were actions from both sides of the British and the Americans (Bogin, 1985). In America, the Provincial Congress continued with their activities and met several times even when it was illegal. Some of the notable leaders in the Provincial Congress included John Hancock and Sam Adams. In Britain, General Cage had already got the intelligence information about the meeting and made an order that Mass. Provincial Congress. On April 15, 1775, the Mass. Provincial Congress adjourned.
Under the command of General Cage of the British Military, a unit called the “Flanking Unit” was formed to take care of the destruction of Concord. Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Marine Major John Pitcairn were placed in charge of the unit. The battle did not take place until the night of April 19, 1775, when a troop consisting of 650-900 left Bolton heading to Concord (Bogin, 1985). The main reason the battle took longer to begin was because General Cage never wanted to make any mistake bearing in mind that the battle was very crucial for the colonial position of the British in America. The troop moved down the Charles River under a tight monitoring from Paul Revere. During this time, the Americans had been alerted and there was militia who were already alerted to the attack. The American militia waited to troops to protect Concord.
The Battle of Lexington and Concord were not the first time the British colonial government found themselves on the rebellion side. A few months before the battle, Cage met resistance in Salem and threatened to destroy the town, however, not even a single shot was fired. They are these events at Salem that made the people of Lexington become alerted. The Lexington Militia Captain John Parker was aware of the events at Salem, thus, he collected his men and trained them in the wake of the rebellion.
At dawn, the British troops made advancement into Concord under the command of Major Pitcairn. On reaching Lexington Green, the British troops were received by the Lexington Militia. Major Pitcairn ordered that the militia is surrounded and disarmed. The British troops’ attempt to surround the Militia did not succeed since Parker ordered the group to disperse. It was during this time that the first shot was fired, though it is unclear from what side the shot came. The British responded by firing many rounds of firearms. Eighteen casualties were reported from the Militia side. Eight people died on the spot while ten more survived with serious injuries.
According to Marciniak (2015), this battle marked the beginning of the American Revolution War. The Militiamen looked outflanked during the war and were not as motivated as the British troops. Additionally, most of their cannons had been destroyed, bridges destroyed and they ran out of firearms. However, even though the Militiamen of America were less motivated, their battle tactics made the British to lose morale. The Militiamen retreated to not forming a battle line instead; they fought under the protection of trees and walls. Fearing the speed and magnitude at which the Militia group of America was approaching; Lord Percy made a decision to retreat towards Boston. The British troops at this time had already suffered a huge casualty rate, approximately 20 percent. The Battle of Lexington and Concord led to the siege of Boston and most importantly, it marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
It can be concluded that the British troops, though well-equipped and highly motivated, were not able to match the intensity and strategy the Americans used during the battle. The main goal of the battle was to destroy Concord and Lexington which the British did not manage to achieve. The weapons used during the war were majorly firearms shot using cannons and rifles. Both sides, the British and the Americans suffered casualties, though a higher percentage was on the sides of the British. The battle led to the American Revolution War which marked the beginning of the present United States.
References
Bogin, R. (1985). " The Battle of Lexington": A Patriotic Ballad by Lemuel Haynes. The William and Mary Quarterly: A Magazine of Early American History and, 499-506.
Marciniak, K. (2015). The Revolutionary War: Why They Fought. Capstone.
Vine, B. (2015). American Spring: Lexington, Concord, and the Road to Revolution.New England Quarterly, 88(2), 348-350. doi:10.1162/TNEQ_r_00457
