As John Adams and John Hancock fled Lexington, gunfire echoed behind them, marking the onset of conflict. British troops at Lexington were unexpectedly met by Patriot militia forces, a diverse group including at least eight father-son pairs and one African American man. Despite orders from both sides to hold fire, escalating tensions culminated in the fateful “shot heard around the world,” sparking the American Revolution.

The confrontation at Lexington lasted 10 minutes, claiming the lives of eight American militiamen without any British casualties. Colonel Francis Smith allowed his troops a moment of celebration before marching toward Concord. There, approximately 400 minutemen, forewarned by Samuel Prescott and having concealed their artillery, awaited the British. As the British approached the North Bridge, the American militia descended from the hills, leading to another clash with casualties on both sides. As the British retreated from Concord, they fell into an ambush at Meriam’s Corner, where American minutemen utilized guerrilla tactics from behind trees and stone walls. This assault inflicted significant losses upon the British—73 soldiers were killed and many more were injured. Among those lost on the American side was Josiah Haynes, a 79-year-old minuteman.

The events of that day reverberated through the colonies, rallying approximately 20,000 minutemen by the end of April, effectively trapping the British forces in Boston.