Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Florida, Tennessee, and Utah recognize or observe Patriots’ Day to commemorate the start of the American Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775. This conflict ultimately led to the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the U.S. Constitution in 1787.
Here is a chronology of the events of April 18–19, 1775, between the British soldiers and the colonial militia. The militia was composed of mostly local farmers, as well as tavern owners, blacksmiths and a couple of physicians.
April 18, 1775 @ 9-10 PM
Joseph Warren told Paul Revere and William Dawes that the British intended to leave by boat, crossing the Boston Harbor into Charlestown and then march through Somerville, Cambridge, Menotomy (Arlington), to Lexington, MA in order to capture the “arch-rebels” Samuel Adams and John Hancock. From there, the British intended to march to Concord, MA to capture a large supply of stored munitions. Robert Newman and vestryman John Pulling hung two lanterns in Boston’s Old North Church steeple to signal to the patriots who were across the Charles River in Cambridge (“one if by land, two if by sea”) that the British were rowing from Boston, across the Charles River, to Cambridge.
That evening, Adams and Hancock left Lexington and the colonist moved the munitions that were stored in Concord, MA.
April 19, 1775 @ 2 AM
The British finally left Boston by “sea” on April 19, 1775 at 2 AM, and then marched the 12 miles to Lexington, MA arriving at 5 AM April 19.
April 19, 1775 @ 5 AM
When the British soldiers arrived on the Lexington Common at 5 AM on 4/19/1775, they were met by a small contingent of about 70-77 American colonists and the “first shot,” was fired by an unknown person. Immediately, both sides started firing, resulting in the deaths of 8 and injuries to 9 colonists. The British suffered only one injury.
April 19, 1775 @ 7 AM
The British then marched 7 miles to Concord, arriving at 7 AM with the intent of capturing the cache of the colonialist’s munitions–which had already been moved to a new location.
April 19, 1775 @ 10 AM
At 10 AM, a small contingent of the British protected their flank at the Old North Bridge while a contingent of colonist positioned themselves on the other side of the bridge. For the first time, the colonist are ordered to fire upon the British. The British ultimately retreat into Concord, reunite with the other two British contingents.
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s grandfather witnessed the 1775 battle at the Old North Bridge. In 1837 Ralph Waldo Emerson lived in Concord, MA and wrote his poem “Concord Hymn” at the request of the city of Concord. It included the now famous phrase “the shot heard round the world” and firmly affixes this shot at the Concord Old North Bridge. The opening stanza of his 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.
The people of Lexington, MA believe “the shot heard round the world” was fired on the Lexington Common at 5 AM.
April 19, 1775 @ noon
Realizing they are outnumbered by an influx of colonist who were hiding themselves in the surrounding forest, the British began to marched the 16 miles back to Charlestown (Boston) along what has become known as the “running battle” and is now Minuteman National Historical Park and contains Battle Road trail. During the British retreat, they marched in formation and in open fields. The colonist hid in the woods and behind stone walls, sniping at the British, which the British believed was “absurd” and “unmanly.”
April 19, 1775 @ 4 PM
The 700 retreating British were met by 1,000 fresh British troops in East Lexington and continue their joint retreat to Menotomy, which is now Arlington, MA. At this time, the colonial militia had swelled to 5,100. Intense hand to hand combat occurred in Arlington and this was by far the most violent and deadly battle of the day, in which 40 British soldiers and 25 colonists (including non-combatant colonists who were defending their homes) were killed.
April 19, 1775 @ 6 PM
The British leave Arlington, chased by the colonial militia and arrive exhausted, in Charlestown at 7 PM. Immediately, the colonial militia begin to build fortifications that will prevent the British from leaving Boston by land and again enter Massachusetts. Thus began the Siege of Boston, which lasted until March 1776.
| British | Colonial Militia | |
| Killed | 73 | 49 |
| Wounded | 174 | 39 |
| Missing/Captured | 26 | 5 |
| Total | 273 | 93 |
June 14, 1775
George Washington was appointed as the first commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
March 1776
The British retreat from Boston, by sea.
July 4, 1776
A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled was printed and approved by New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. New York’s approval came on 7/9/1776.
August 2, 1776
The signed, handwritten version of our Declaration of Independence was titled “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America;” John Hancock signed it first, in his role as President of the Congress, on August 2, 1776.
January 6, 2021
The United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election.
January 20, 2025
President Donald Trump granted “a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
Worse still, the Trump propaganda machine is now in full swing, aggressively trying to re-write America’s history on multiple issues.
If you believe in democracy, if you want your children and grandchildren to enjoy all the benefits of democracy which you had enjoyed, you must engage like the American Patriots of 1775. Silence is not an option, as it will assuredly doom your progeny to an authoritarian future, a painful future.
Reclaiming Democracy for We the People
Hayward Zwerling
21 April 2026
Photo taken on Patriots’ Day April 2026. Note the Bunker Hill Monument (far left,) which is located in the Charlestown section of Boston and commemorates the Battle of Bunker Hill, a major American Revolutionary War battle that took place on June 17, 1775.
