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The American Revolution
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The Revolution Begins
Blood was finally spilled on April 19. Seven hundred redcoats had been
dispatched from Boston the previous night. Their mission was to seize
gunpowder and other military supplies the Patriots were believed to have
stockpiled in Concord. If possible, they were also to capture Patriot lead-
ers Samuel Adams and John Hancock.
The British mission was supposed to be secret. But Patriots found out
about it. Militias were alerted.
Shortly after sunrise, redcoats clashed with a small group of militiamen
at the village of Lexington. Later, when the British reached Concord, Min-
utemen from surrounding areas began converging on the town. Colonists
routed a British detachment guarding Concord’s North Bridge.
The British began a retreat. But swarms of militia ambushed them and
conducted relentless hit-and-run attacks. The colonists kept up the fight
even after a thousand-man relief column met the retreating redcoats at
Lexington.
Around dusk, the exhausted British finally reached safety just north
of Boston. The British had suffered more than 70 dead and about 175
Words to UNDERSTAND IN THIS CHAPTER
breastworks
—chest-high defensive works, usually con-
structed quickly by digging a trench and piling the soil
in front of it.
casualties
—in warfare, the toll of soldiers who are killed,
wounded, captured, or missing after a battle.
Hessians
—German professional soldiers hired by the British.
Loyalist
—a colonist who supported Great Britain during the
American Revolution.
redoubt
—a strong, usually temporary fortification.
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