April 18, 1775 Midnight Ride

British looking for weapons in Concord (20 miles from Boston)

Also looking for John Hancock and Sam Adams

Colonists have weapons hidden.

Spies everywhere

Patriots have system of signals to alert if British are coming to raid weapons.

• Lanterns in Old North Church

– 1 if by land 2 if by sea

• Riders

– Paul Revere, William Dawes, Samuel Prescott ride to warn patriot militia (minutemen) “The regulars are coming!”

The Spark: Lexington & Concord

• April 19, 1775

• What happened: Lexington: Someone fires a shot, then both sides start shooting. Who shot first?—doesn’t matter—war has started.

• Concord: British take what little weapons they find, get attacked at North Bridge, then retreat back to Boston.

• Fighting Styles: British in lines/groups

• Patriots: Guerilla (hit & run)

• End of the Day: British are back in Boston, they had suffered 273 casualties, or deaths.

• American losses came to just under 100.

• 16,000 New England militiamen surrounded Boston, trapping General Gage’s Redcoats inside the city.