Redcoats Research Paper

A British major yelled to put the weapons down, The heavily outnumbered militiamen had just been ordered by their commander to disperse when a shot rang out.But no one knows which side fired first. They started to shoot and when the smoke faded there were 8 militiamen dead and some injured and only one red coat was injured. The British then went into Concord to look for weapons, not knowing that the almost all had already been relocated. They decided to burn what little they found, and the fire got slightly out of control.After searching Concord for hours, the British prepared to return to Boston, located 18 miles away. The fighting son began again and this time the militiamen were firing from behind trees,sheds,houses. soon the left weapons.News of the battle quickly spread, reaching London on May 28. By the following summer, a war of independence had broken out.In the spring of 1776,a five-man committee was assigned to draft a declaration.It was a largely work of Thomas

Most people did not expect the colonists with their under trained militia to last long against the British superpower. The colonists did just that. In the night of June 16, 1775, a detail of 1200 troops under orders from Artemas Ward, and led by William Prescott was supposed to entrench themselves on the rise on Bunker Hill, but instead misunderstood the instructions and went to Breed’s Hill by mistake. The next morning, the British were shocked to see Americans threatening them. In the 18th century, British military custom urged that the British soldiers attack the American soldiers, even though the Americans were in a superior position. Major General William Howe, leader of the British forces could easily have surrounded the Americans with his ships, but chose to march his troops up the hill; to the Americans. Howe might have believed that the Americans would retreat in the face of a smashing, head-on attack. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how a person looks at it, William Howe was wrong. The Americans stood their ground, dug in their heels, and stood firm. In the first wave, the Americans waited until they were within forty meters, then opened fire. The British force retreated with their wounded for a second wave. The British rushed up yet again. Again they retreated, suffering a great number of casualties. By the time the

Over the first few months of 1775 Concord struggled to gain and train a functional militia. After month of angry talk amongst citizen and leader in Concord action became more prominent, Gross stated “Nearly all of local life took on a military cast” towards mid spring point of 1775(69).

On April 19th, 1775 British troops were marching to Lexington where many militia were already awaiting their arrival. The British were after the ammunition of the militia. Paul Revere had warned the militia ahead of time so that they could be prepared. They removed their stockpiles of ammunition from their hiding places and moved them to a new shelter. When the British arrived at Lexington, the militia were lined up, ready to defend themselves. The British stopped, prepared to face the militia. They

The Battle of Lexington and Concord was a significant part of the American Revolution as it was the first military engagement between the British soldiers (Redcoats) and the colonists citizen soldiers(Patriots). Throughout the early morning of April 19, 1775 word had spread in the colony of Massachusetts that British Redcoats were on the march to Lexington. Farmers, as well as craftsmen's, and citizen Patriots grabbed their guns and ammunition to protect the villages of Lexington and Concord. (Peacock 4) The 700 Redcoats had reached Lexington, where they were confronted by the Patriots to try and

The Battles of Lexington and Concord are the initial battles of the revolutionary war. In the Revolutionary war Britain descovers that the terrnosity of the Americans will not so easily be silenced. Hundreds of British troops, exstimated to be around 700, marched from Boston to Lexington on the evening of April 18, 1775, with secret orders to capture any weapons availble to the American militia. Thanks to the efforts of Paul Revere and William Dawes, who rode from Boston to Lexington in the middle of the night. Colonial leaders John Handcock and Samuel Adams were warned of the intentions of the oncoming redcoats. The British red coats clashed witlh American militia at Lexington on April 19, 1775.

On an “unremarkably clear and pleasant” day in April 19, 1775, the shot that was said to had been able to be heard around the world was fired. (A Guide to Battles) This began the battles in which we know as Lexington and Concord, and the war we know as the Glorious/American revolution. It was fought between the British whom had feared American retaliation for some time, and the American Colonies whom were tired of feeling oppressed by the British. General Thomas Gage advised his British superiors to prepare for war, but this advice was refused and when the time finally came, they were not prepared for the fight at hand. (History of AM Rev) Many events, rules, and regulations helped to lead up to the retaliation of the Americans.

Once the Redcoats were set up to the best of their ability, the militiamen continued to move forward. As the militiamen closed in the British fired the first volley, Private Abner Hosmer and Captain Isaac Davis were at the head of the march and were killed instantly. That volley was the start of the Revolutionary War and is now known as the “Shot Heard around the World”. The militiamen

On 19 April 1775, the battle begun. The colony protected by local militiamen was vastly outnumbered, armed with only 77 men including “minutemen,” named for their ability to be ready to fight in a minute’s notice were

On April 19th, 1775, infantrymen of the British Army clashed with colonial Patriots near Boston, MA. British troops, also known as redcoats, had been in Boston for seven years to ensure that the Intolerable Acts were enforced. Colonists had already demonstrated their displeasure for their king with the Boston Tea Party, and now the British were on the offensive attempting to confiscate the arms of the rebels. Militiamen were alerted and a standoff occurred at Lexington and Concord. History has left us in doubt about which side fired first, triggering the Revolutionary War. But various stories give different accounts. American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson called it the "shot heard 'round the world," and described it as coming from the colonials. There is more reason to believe that the first shot did come from the side of the Patriots simply because they had more to gain by initiating a war. This paper will show why it is more reasonable to believe that the Patriots fired first.

The British were informed that the colonists had weapons near Concord and went to find them, but the colonists were also informed that the British were going Concord. On the way to Concord, the British encountered a group of Minutemen in Lexington who were ready to battle, but the British easily won and many Minutemen were dead or wounded. Despite the loss, the colonists were willing to fight for freedom. Even though they knew they did not have a chance, they were willing to risk their lives. When the British reached Concord, they did not find guns, but they found Minutemen and soon the British were fleeing. The Minutemen would hide and every time they found a fleeing redcoat they would should at them and this was tactic that the British had not seen and it caused them to lose many men. America had a major debt problem after the Revolutionary War, but they were willing to deal with that because getting their freedom was so important to them. The mentality that the colonists had during the war allowed them to succeed and create their

England made any town meeting, except authorized by the governor illegal, and housed British soldiers in select public buildings. In Massachusetts the British military governor, General Gage, ordered his 3,500 British soldiers in Boston to seize armories and storehouses in Charlestown and Cambridge. After the seizure, 20,000 colonial militiamen mobilized to protect other military supply depots and in the town of Concord the famous defensive force, the Minutemen, were organized.2 With these acts Parliament declared that Massachusetts was in open rebellion. British Secretary of State, Lord Dartmouth, quickly ordered Gage to send his soldiers on a search and destroy mission to capture colonial leaders, and military supplies in Concord. “At the same time Gage would attempt to find, capture, or kill John Hancock and Samuel Adams.”3 The stage was set for the first major engagements of the American Revolution.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord occurred on 19 April 1775 between the British Regulars and the Patriot Militia, also known today as Americans, in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. “The Battles of Lexington and Concord is often referred to as the “Shot Heard Around the World” and the beginning of the American Revolutionary War” (Fischer, 1994). The Battles of Lexington and Concord consisted of in four events: the skirmish in Lexington between the British Regulars and the Lexington Training Band, the search and seizure of arms, munitions and military stores in Concord, the battles between the Regulars and the militias during the march of the Regulars back to Boston and the surrounding of Boston by the

The redcoats were supposedly the more disciplined, experienced and accoutred side, but their actions and decisions, once carefully analyzed, suggest that their superiority was not as clear as it seems. One lapse of judgement for the British was their mistreatment of the colonists. In a similar situation as at the outbreak of the civil war, during the Siege of Boston the regulars would embarrass “plunder every one's house and store who leaves the town” and even some of the civilians who stayed. This turned many of the locals who were undecided about the war against the regulars, and they would flee the city and often join the Patriot

Until 1763 the British government and the colonists had peaceful relationships. The Seven Years War, known in America as the French and Indian War, was a turning point. Although Britain achieved victory and defeated France and its allies in 1763, the war left Britain with debts. British parliament decided to increase taxes in the colonies. The increase in taxes dissatisfied the colonists.