The truth is non-partisan

The Massachusetts legislature was meeting in Concord in April 1775 far
away from Boston where Britain's General Gage and his troops were
housed. Colonial leaders feared the British would attempt to capture
members of the legislature and also the armory in Concord. Paul
Revere in concert with other revolutionaries developed a system of
transmitting messages should the British decide to go after their
leaders and the guns. They agreed to hang lanterns in Christ's Church
steeple to signal riders on the opposite shore who would make their
way to Concord to warn the revolutionary leaders. The signal was to
be one lantern if by land and two if by sea.

On Tuesday evening, April 18 Gage's troops gathered on the Boston
Common. They were soon being ferried across the Charles River to
Charlestown where they would set out for Concord. Paul Revere crossed
the river and was on his way to warn the revolutionaries. In
Lexington Captain Parker called his Minute Men out to meet on the town
green. Rather than face the British regulars, they voted to disband so
went back to their homes. At 5 a.m., however, the Minute Men were
called out again. All 38 stretched out across the green, determined
not to fight, but to stand fast. As the British approached, they
called out to the Colonials to disperse. Parker called on his men to
disperse, a shot from an unknown location caused the British to panic
and start firing. Before the smoke cleared eight Minute Men were
dead.

In the meantime colonial militia were traveling toward Concord. In
Concord the British found the armory was empty and that the
revolutionary leaders had fled. They started the armory on fire with
the few armaments that were there. The militia, when they saw the
smoke, thought the British were burning their homes. They advanced on
the British soldiers holding the bridges. The British opened fire so
the Minute Men returned fire and soon the British were fleeing into
town. As the British left the town, the militia watched. As the
British marched along the road, the militia found refuge in the trees
and behind buildings where they were easily able to fire upon the
fleeing British. Once they had fired, they rushed a head behind walls
or an embankment, loading as they ran. Then when loaded they would
pop up again and fire upon the advancing British columns. The
crossfire kept the British pinned to the road.

Above Lexington a relief column of British waited with canon for their
retreating comrades. By the time they reached Boston, 20 percent of
the British soldiers who had taken part in the operation had been
killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Seventy-three British soldiers
were dead compared to 49 Americans. The first shots of a revolution
had been fired. For many there was no going back now.

// posted by John Fisher @ 7:45 PM