The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, marked the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The British, seeking to suppress a growing colonial rebellion, dispatched 700 elite troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith to seize a stockpile of arms and ammunition in Concord, Massachusetts. News of this impending operation quickly spread through the colonial network, alerting local militias.
The operation began with British troops crossing the Charles River to Cambridge and marching toward Concord under darkness. The confrontation began at Lexington Green, where a small contingent of colonial militiamen, under the command of Captain John Parker, faced a significantly larger British force. As the Regulars approached the town common, Parker told his men to “Stand your ground, don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here!”1
Each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from across the globe come to Concord, Lexington, and the surrounding towns to witness the time-honored traditions, tactical demonstrations, and festive commemorations that pay tribute to the first battle of the American Revolution. These amazing living history moments are only possible with the dedication and support of hundreds of passionate historical reenactors who work year-round to ensure the stories of our nation stay alive in the hearts and minds of visitors to our national parks.
The American Revolution, a new six-part, 12-hour series directed by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt and written by Geoffrey Ward will premiere on PBS on November 16, 2025. The series examines how America’s creation turned the world upside-down. Thirteen British colonies on the Atlantic Coast rose in rebellion, won their independence, and established a new form of government that radically reshaped the continent and inspired centuries of democratic movements around the globe.
On April 19, 1775, an estimated twenty to forty colonists of African or Native American descent fought in the first battle of the American Revolution. On that historic day, those men, often termed “Patriots of Color,” joined approximately 4,000 other men fighting British Regular soldiers along the “Battle Road” from Concord to Boston. Over the last 250 years, racism and historical bias have effectively ignored or trivialized the contributions of those men and many other people of color in the historic struggle that produced the United States. To understand who the Patriots of Color were, how they contributed to the American Revolution, and why they chose to do so, we must examine their social context.
In 1774 when Parliament passed the Boston Port Act in an attempt to break the Massachusetts colonists of their resistance to Crown policy, it also authorized English General and acting Massachusetts Governor Thomas Gage to undertake any military measures necessary to help bring the colony under control. In late winter and early spring of 1775, Gage received a series of dispatches from London ordering him to not only arrest the leaders of Massachusetts’ opposition party but to launch a major strike against the apparently growing provincial stockpiles of weapons and munitions located throughout eastern Massachusetts. As he contemplated these orders, Gage considered a variety of military options, including a long-range strike against the large store of weapons located in the shire town of Worcester, forty miles west of Boston.
Few places in America capture the spirit and legacy of a nation quite like Minute Man National Historical Park – located along the “Battle Road” corridor of Concord, Lincoln, and Lexington, Massachusetts. It was here that the first running battles of the American Revolution took place on April 19, 1775. Later, in the 19th century, Concord became the epicenter of a literary, philosophical, and environmental movement that endures today. Revolutions—whether on the battlefield or in the mind—demand vision, dedication, and sacrifice. The same is true for preserving the rich history to be found in these remarkable places.
The Acton Minutemen were formed at the end of 1774 at a town meeting. Tensions with England had grown to a boil, and towns everywhere were responding by training their men to fight. The town of Acton, which had previously been part of Concord, chose their best men from their existing militia units to form the new Minute Company, and those men voted 30-year-old Isaac Davis as their captain.
It was the law of the land that every man between the ages of 16 and 60 was required to serve in his town’s militia. They were not paid and met twice each year to conduct marching and musket drills. By contrast, minute companies were paid and met twice each week to drill and train and were arguably among the best trained soldiers in the area when hostilities broke out in April of 1775.
April 19, 1775, marked the first battle of the American Revolution. On that day, 700 British soldiers marched from Boston to Concord to seize a stockpile of military arms and supplies. The expedition caused Patriot leaders to raise the alarm and muster the militia. The scale of the response is truly staggering and hints at a surprising amount of organization.
In late winter and early spring of 1775, General Gage, the British military governor of Massachusetts, received orders from London to arrest colonial leaders and seize rebel arms and ammunition stockpiles. Contemplating his options, Gage prioritized the recovery of four brass cannons, which had been stolen from Boston and reportedly hidden in Concord, along with stockpiles of muskets, ammunition, and gunpowder. His plan called for seven hundred elite troops under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith to march to Concord on the evening of April 18, with orders to destroy all military supplies while minimizing harm to civilian property. A small party of officers was also dispatched ahead to intercept any messengers, ensuring no warnings reached Concord ahead of the troops.
