π On This Day in Military History
1 event across history
British regulars marched from Boston to seize colonial militia supplies at Concord. At Lexington, a small band of Minutemen faced them on the common β 'the shot heard round the world' was fired, scattering the militia. Reaching Concord, the British found little powder, but at the North Bridge they were repulsed by colonial farmers. The march back to Boston became a running gauntlet as thousands of militiamen fired from behind trees, walls, and houses.
The first military engagements of the Revolution shattered the myth of British invincibility and proved that colonial militia could stand against the world's finest army. The alarm spread throughout the colonies within days.
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