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Battle at Concord's
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(Continued from: Battle on Lexington Green) |
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Word of the Lexington engagement was rushed to Concord, where the local Minutemen retreated across the North Bridge over the Concord River in the face of the powerful British force. The Battle of Concord started with the struggle for command of the bridge. The British forces were unable to take it, which was a victory for the much smaller colonial force. But the redcoats pursued their mission in town, discovering and burning some wooden gun carriages. The smoke rising from the town convinced the Minutemen, holding their position at North Bridge, that their homes were in flames, and they fought all the more fiercely. The shot heard 'round the world was fired from a Minuteman's musket at Concord North Bridge, where this band of farmers held off professional soldiers. But this first battle of the American revolution was actually won by the colonists as the British retreated. Sniping from behind trees and stone walls along the road back to Boston, Minutemen brought the British casualty count up to 200, a grievous and embarrassing loss for the powerful forces of the Crown. News of the events in Lexington and Concord spread like wildfire through the British colonies in America, forcing every American to choose sides: would one be loyal to the Crown, or committed to the revolutionary cause? There was no middle ground. Next: Battle of Bunker Hill New England in the 20th Century Timeline of New England History
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Old North Bridge in Concord MA.
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