Existing comment:
A War Begins:
Fighting at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts started the war for independence.
On April 19, 1775, British troops in Boston marched in darkness toward nearby Concord to seize the local militia's cache of arms and gunpowder. Patriots from Boston alerted the countryside. At dawn, the British confronted a militia unit gathered on the green in Lexington. During the standoff, a shot was fired. In a brief melee, eight colonists were killed and ten wounded. Militiamen rushed to arms, and fierce skirmishes continued throughout the day. News of the fighting rallied "Friends of American Liberty" in all the colonies, and caused Britain to declare war. |