Thomas Feisenden First Shot Analysis

Though the Shot Heard 'Round the World began the Battle of Lexington, the Shot Heard 'Round the World was caused by the Boston Tea Party. Samuel Adams led the Sons of Liberty in a rebellion against the Stamp Act. They disguised themselves as Indians and dumped tons of

The first shots of the Revolution rang out April 19 1775 at Lexington green. Reports say the British fired first killing eight patriots. I believe these reports to be true. There was a lot of controversy surrounding this, since none of us were there, no one can be certain on who fired first. Evidence shows the British fired first. I think based on the evidence provided it was very easy to see the British were the first to fire the shot of the revolution.

Similar to the way that the colonial and British perspectives greatly varied for the Boston Massacre, their opinions are once again vastly different for the Battles of Lexington and Concord. In this event as well, both parties attempt to place the blame on the other which is not unusual due the nature of the sources. However, this highlights the large amount of bias evident in all of the accounts. For the colonial perspective, there are two statements, each from a member of a colonial militia that fought during the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Both of these sources place the blame on the British soldiers and claim that the British fired first, killing several colonists. One account, from the Battle of North Bridge, claims that the colonists were ordered to hold their fire and that they didn’t fire until the British opened fire upon them. The other account, from soldier who fought during the skirmish at the Lexington Green, states that the colonists did not even get a single shot off, at least not before the soldier whose account this is was wounded. This source also claims that the British commanding officers were yelling at and insulting the colonists as their ranks closed on the milita. Both these sources are very similar to the colonial perspectives of the Boston Massacre because they all place the blame on the British soldiers and attempt to make themselves appear as the victims.

The British fired the first shot at the Battle of Lexington. For example, “...I believe between 200 and 300, formed in a common in the middle of the town….As we came near them, they fired one or two shots, upon which our men without any orders, fired and put them to flight” (Document A: Barker). Lieutenant John Barker was only one person in the British Army, and it is very unlikely that he was able to see, or hear, everything that was going on from his position on Lexington Green. As he approached the Green, he could have only been in earshot when the minutemen were firing in response to the British firing and not when the British first fired, or he thought the shot or shots were from the opposing side and not his own. Also, “While our backs

Who fired first in the historical Battle of Lexington? Well there is no right answer history has shown people have come up with theses trying to prove what had happened but we just really don’t know. But I think I have found the the answer. I believe the colonist fired first because they have a history of antagonizing the british in some situation’s it has turned deadly. Also on many accounts of the events they had been found guilty of firing first.My reasons to support my thesis are from British Lieutenant John Barker’s personal diary of the day of the event and George Leonard a colonist who wrote to British general to tell him what he experienced. My rebuttal sources are Simon Winship’s official deposition in which he claims that the

Washington fires the first shot with a mortar hitting a house with British soldiers eating starting the siege. Cornwallis had to rely on his ten forts called redoubts to defend Yorktown. General Washington knew he had to take out redoubts nine and ten in order to get close enough to attack Cornwallis. On one moonless night with Jupiter and Venus glowing brightly 400 French soldiers attacked redoubt nine while 400 (with one soldier thinking it was the signal to attack) American soldiers attacked redoubt ten. In an attempt to turn the tide Cornwallis sent the British army to attack the nearest allied troops in an attempt to spike (to take a spike usually made of iron pounded into the hole where the fuse in the cannon goes requiring the army to have to drill it out damaging the weapon) or fill the cannons with dirt rendering them useless until the cannons can be cleaned. The attack was doomed form the start, and the British were pushed back after a brief battle, and the allied army shortly repaired the cannons and put them back into the fight. After a few days of fighting the Cornwallis ran away to hide in Yorktown’s cave. Not really inspiring for the British army to have their general run and hide in a cave for that is very embarrassing for a

The British did indeed fire first but fell back when more and more militiamen showed up. By the time British soldiers were prepared to return back to Boston, almost 2000 militiamen arrived and more were arriving. Fighting had started yet again with militiamen hiding behind bushes in trees. British soldiers pulled back to Lexington where they had came into contact with more reinforcements of Redcoats. This didn’t stop the Patriots from continuing to resume attacks. The British tried and tried with Redcoats flanking and canon fire. The Patriots had a chance to finish the Redcoats off but were commanded not to. The British Redcoats retreated to Charlestown Neck. The Americans had won the battle, neither Samuel Adams or John Hancock had been taken and they only destroyed very little military supplies! By the end of the day Britain lost 293 soldier and the colonials 93. The colonial Patriots proved they were more than a group of unorganized colonial rebels.

The two sides eyed each other and waited for the first move. No one is sure who made the first move, all we know is that a shot rang out and the fighting started. This first shot is called the “shot heard round the world”.The militia or residential army alongside the minutemen who claimed to able to be ready to fight within a minute were no match for the British troops. The Americans were defeated and the British moved on to concord to seize the gunpowder. The British troops were met by more minutemen and more of the militia. This time the battle was much harder for the British and eventually they had to retreat. The British retreated toward Boston and were again sucked into combat with the colonial minutemen and militia. The colonists killed over 125 people including British officers. These fights where the British had killed Americans were taken and made into propaganda to increase the tension between the two

“Throw down your arms! Ye villains, ye rebels” (1775, 04/19: Battles of Lexington and Concord. (2007, June 26). The militiamen, who were greatly outnumbered, were ordered to leave when a shot rang out. No one really knows who fired first, but the British, hearing the shot, fired upon the small group of militia, killing eight and wounding 10 (1775, 04/19: Battles of Lexington and Concord. (2007, June 26).

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem, “Concord Hymn” supports that the first shot was fired at the North bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. The first stanza of the Concord Hymn is, “By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world.” Although, Emerson suggest that it was in Concord where the “shot heard around the world” was fired, desendents of the towns Lexington and Concord still debate this fact today. On Wednesday, April 19, 1775 at the village green in the village of Lexington in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay. Captain John Parker and around 60 militia men, many of the men being related to Parker faced off against 240 redcoats under General Gage’s comand. John Parker was a farmer and had previously fought along side the british. The militia men were not near as well trained or well equipt as the british regulars. There were over one hundred onlookers at the battle of Lexington. Both John Parker’s milita men and Gage’s redcoats were under orders to hold their fire. Nobody is exactly sure who fired the first shot at Lexington, some people believe that it could have been a spectator. Regardless of who fired the first shot.

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.

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

I think the British are the ones that first fired in Lexington Green, it came from the road and the meeting house. According to the map, it shows that the British came from Boston to Concord, but they first passed to the Green before they reached in Concord. Most of the sources were not sure of who exactly fired first. John Parker was the official deposition of commander of the colonial militia; when the British came towards them, he ordered to spread but not to fire, the British fired upon and killed eight of the militia without receiving any provocation. I believe the British fired the first shot on Lexington Green because they were defending themselves, violence and vengeance, and also my sources testify and declare.

The soldiers lined up, facing the crowd to try and dissolve the problem but the people were not backing down. Bostonians continued to taut the soldiers, yelling at them to fire their weapons. Not long after, shots were fired killing five Bostonians and wounding six others. The big question still unanswered today is whether or not Captain Preston yelled for the soldiers to fire or not.

The first battle that caused the Revolutionary War took place at lexington, Massachusetts on April 19th, 1775. Which side fired first is unknown. It could have been british or colonist, but from what we know about the event, the most logical answer would be the colonist fired first. Even though there are evidence for both sides of the story, evidence that proves colonist shot first is most reasonable and understandable. There are even more personal opinions that could persuade most people that they fired first. Also they had every right to do so.