>>8630106 /PB

By Kennedy Hickman

Ken Hickman

Updated March 11, 2019

https://www.thoughtco.com/battles-of-lexington-and-concord-2360650

The Battles of Lexington & Concord were fought on April 19, 1775, and were the opening actions of the American Revolution (1775-1783). Following several years of rising tensions that included the occupation of Boston by British troops, Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party, and the Intolerable Acts, the military governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, began moving to secure the colony's military supplies to keep them from the Patriot militias. A veteran of the French and Indian War, Gage's actions received official sanction on April 14, 1775, when orders arrived from the Secretary of State, the Earl of Dartmouth, commanding him to disarm the rebellious militias and to arrest key colonial leaders.

This was fueled by Parliament's belief that a state of rebellion existed and the fact that large parts of the colony were under the effective control of the extralegal Massachusetts Provincial Congress. This body, with John Hancock as its president, had formed in late 1774 after Gage dissolved the provincial assembly. Believing the militias to be hoarding supplies at Concord, Gage made plans for part of his force to march and occupy the town.

Updated March 26, 2018

Complete List of American Revolution Battles

https://www.thoughtco.com/american-revolution-battles-2360662

By Kennedy Hickman

Ken Hickman