A Revolution Remembered

Childe Hassam's Colonial Graveyard at Lexington recalls the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first bloodshed of the American Revolution.

About 700 British troops marched overnight from Boston to Concord, Massachusetts, to destroy a rebel munitions arsenal.

At dawn on April 19, 1775, a small group of Minute Men met the redcoats on the village green in Lexington. When the rebels realized they were greatly outnumbered, they were told to disperse. During the shuffle, an unordered gunshot rang out.

Although no one knows who fired the "shot heard round the world," this event effectively began the American Revolutionary War. The British fired on the small band, killing eight and wounding ten, before continuing their march onto Concord.

Ultimately, the redcoats met with more resistance in Concord before a costly retreat to Boston. Hearing of the clashes in Lexington and Concord, local farmers and others turned out to ambush the British on their march back to Boston, during which they suffered more than 200 casualties.

News of Lexington and Concord spread quickly throughout the colonies, fanning the flames of revolutionary sentiment.

Pictured: Childe Hassam, 1859–1935, Colonial Graveyard at Lexington, about 1917, pastel, 17 3/4 x 21 1/2 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly.