The Battle of Lexington and Concord

American Revolution is regarded as the most crucial aspect of the nation’s history. Before this war, the British colonialist oppressed the Americans and hence they the urge to fight for their rights and freedoms. America had been colonized by the British, and finally; it gained independence in 1776 through a series of battles among them the battle of Lexington and Concord. Battle of Lexington and Concord acted as the basis of America gaining independence from the British. It was the first armed arrangement in which the America betrothed the British along the revolution struggle. The battle was fought in various towns including Lexington, Concord, and Cambridge. The war had both positive and negative repercussions to both Britons and the Americans and witnessed the death of many people and massive destruction of properties. This paper will discuss the historical background of the battle of Lexington and Concord. Additionally, it will focus what triggered the outbreak of this battle. It will also look out how the battle was organized and the significance of the battle to the Americans.
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
It was at night April 18, 1775, when over seven hundred British soldiers begun to match towards Concord so as they can destroy weapons which were stored there by the American patriots. Earlier reconciliation between England and her 13 colonies had failed, and this led to parliament declaration that Massachusetts was a state of rebellion. When the British fighters reached in Lexington, they were shocked to find that about seventy military men prepared and waited for them.

Both sides faced each other as the Lexington Patriots came to a stop British progress towards Concord. A shot was fired, and this is what resulted in the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (Brown, 2013). It was is not yet clear who fired, but rumors suggest that it was done by one of the American spectators.
In that day about eight Americans were killed by British troops, and this led to Captain John Currier to send orders that all the soldiers should be mobilized so as to counter-attack the British troops. Many soldiers were assembled to fight against the British, and by the following day, about 273 of the British soldiers had already been killed. The battle between the American and the British forces also led to the destruction of properties in the form of houses, trees, and walls. The Americans adopted guerrilla warfare so as to best counter the British colonialist. They made surprise attacks, hid during the day and attack at night. The boats were used by the British as naval barges and to attack the Americans in the western fronts. In their battle, they carried along with them ammunitions and food (Mcwilliams, 1993). The Britons matched all the way from Concord to Lexington attacking the American soldiers. When Lexington soldiers heard that the Americans were coming, they prepared for the war sufficiently so that they can fight them.
At Lexington, there was a vicious battle between the British soldiers and Americans. American war stores were destroyed, and this weakened them. Americans had no any other alternative and ran away to Concord. The Briton followed them while the American retreated to the outskirt of the town (Fuhrer, 2012). They reorganized their forces, and they became stronger and more equipped than the Americans. Later the Americans decided to cross the over to Lexington so as to attack the British soldiers.
The Americans fought with a lot of confidence which led to the defeat of the British. Coronel Smith, the commander of the British troops, realized that the American fight was to continue and thus he commanded his troops to retreat. However, the American continued to attack the British claiming lives of 73 men’s while 174 injured. Unfortunately, the Americans also lost 49 men while 41 were wounded. After the retreat, the British engaged in a retaliation movement and hence they attacked the American forces (Mcwilliams, 1993). At the time the Americans lacked effective leadership hence they were easily defeated. Additionally, Smith had received reinforcement from Laure hence they took control of the town.
The battle between Concord and Lexington is the one that acted as the basis of American Revolution and fights for independence. Americans developed self-confidence, and they combined effort to fight against the British (Parker, 2002). At the end of the war, there was massive destruction of properties and the loss of lives, but better part of it was the attainment of Independence
References
Brown, R. A. (2013). Documents of the American Revolution, Series A, Part I, Lexington and Concord. The New England Quarterly, 19(2), 280. doi:10.2307/361494
Fuhrer, M. B. (2012). The Revolutionary Worlds of Lexington and Concord Compared. The New England Quarterly, 85(1), 78-118. doi:10.1162/tneq_a_00157
Mcwilliams, J. (1993). Lexington, Concord, and the “Hinge of the Future.” American Literary History, 5(1), 1-29. doi:10.1093/alh/5.1.1
Parker, L. K. (2002). The Battle of Lexington and Concord. San Diego, CA: Blackbirch Press/Thomson-Gale