Assessment Quiz

The North Bridge and Colonial Resistance at Concord

Concord, MA

Grades 6-8

Name: Date: Period:

The North Bridge and Colonial Resistance at Concord

Answer all questions based on our study of Concord in the American Revolution. For short answer questions, use specific evidence from the sources and materials we studied.

1. Why did the British specifically target Concord on April 19, 1775?
AConcord was a center of colonial political resistance and a major storage site for hidden military suppliesBConcord was the largest town in Massachusetts outside of BostonCThe British wanted to arrest the entire Provincial Congress during a sessionDConcord's militia had attacked a British patrol the previous week
2. What role did Colonel James Barrett play in the events leading up to April 19, 1775?
AHe commanded the British forces marching to ConcordBHe organized the concealment and dispersal of colonial military supplies on and around his farmCHe served as the messenger who rode from Boston to warn ConcordDHe was the minister who recorded the events in his diary
3. What triggered the militia's decision to advance toward the North Bridge?
AThey received orders from the Continental Congress to attackBThey saw smoke rising from the direction of Concord's town center and feared the British were burning the townCBritish soldiers crossed the bridge and attacked the militia firstDPaul Revere arrived with orders to engage the British
4. Captain Isaac Davis of the Acton militia was among the first Americans killed while advancing against British troops at the North Bridge.
True False
5. Explain how the colonial militia's response at Concord's North Bridge differed from the militia's response at Lexington Green earlier that same morning. What accounts for this difference?
Answer:
6. Major John Buttrick reportedly shouted "Fire, fellow soldiers! For God's sake, fire!" at the North Bridge. Using what you know about how historical quotations are recorded, evaluate how confident we should be that these were his exact words.
Answer:
7. What was the Provincial Congress, and why is its connection to Concord historically significant?
AIt was the official colonial legislature that always met in ConcordBIt was an extralegal governing body that met in Concord, making the town a center of organized political resistance to British authorityCIt was a committee of British officials stationed in Concord to monitor the colonistsDIt was a religious assembly led by Reverend William Emerson

The North Bridge and Colonial Resistance at Concord

The North Bridge and the Fight for Concord — Concord, MA

1.Why did the British specifically target Concord on April 19, 1775?
Answer:A
General Gage had intelligence that the colonists were stockpiling military supplies — cannons, musket balls, tents, and provisions — in and around Concord, particularly at Colonel James Barrett's farm. Concord had also served as the meeting place of the extralegal Provincial Congress. Seizing these supplies was the primary military objective of the expedition.
2.What role did Colonel James Barrett play in the events leading up to April 19, 1775?
Answer:B
Colonel James Barrett was a senior militia officer whose farm, located northwest of Concord center, served as a major depot for hidden colonial military supplies. Barrett and the townspeople worked to conceal cannons, ammunition, and provisions so effectively that the British search parties found relatively little when they arrived.
3.What triggered the militia's decision to advance toward the North Bridge?
Answer:B
The colonial militia had assembled on Punkatasset Hill overlooking the town. When they saw smoke rising from Concord center — actually from British soldiers burning military supplies they had found, not from burning buildings — they feared the town was being put to the torch. This alarm galvanized the decision to march toward the bridge, led by Major John Buttrick.
4.Captain Isaac Davis of the Acton militia was among the first Americans killed while advancing against British troops at the North Bridge.
Answer:True
Captain Isaac Davis led his Acton minute company at the front of the colonial advance toward the North Bridge. When British soldiers fired, Davis was struck and killed almost immediately, along with Private Abner Hosmer. Davis is often recognized as one of the first Americans to fall while on the offensive against British forces during the Revolution.
5.Explain how the colonial militia's response at Concord's North Bridge differed from the militia's response at Lexington Green earlier that same morning. What accounts for this difference?
Answer:[Accept answers that identify the shift from dispersal at Lexington to advance at Concord, and explain contributing factors such as greater numbers, time to organize, the alarm about the town burning, and the psychological impact of the Lexington casualties]
Strong answers will note that at Lexington, approximately 77 militiamen faced a much larger British force and dispersed under fire, while at Concord, militia from multiple towns had converged and outnumbered the British detachment at the bridge. The militia had also had time to organize under experienced officers like Buttrick and Barrett. The sight of smoke from the town center created urgency. The news of casualties at Lexington may also have hardened their resolve.
6.Major John Buttrick reportedly shouted "Fire, fellow soldiers! For God's sake, fire!" at the North Bridge. Using what you know about how historical quotations are recorded, evaluate how confident we should be that these were his exact words.
Answer:[Accept answers that demonstrate understanding of the challenges of recording exact quotations from chaotic events and the role of later memory in shaping historical accounts]
Strong answers will recognize that exact quotations from battlefield moments should be treated with appropriate caution. Like Captain Parker's famous words at Lexington, Buttrick's command was recorded after the fact by participants and observers whose memories were shaped by the passage of time and the significance that the events took on. The general meaning — an order to return fire — is well supported, but the precise wording may reflect later reconstruction rather than verbatim transcription.
7.What was the Provincial Congress, and why is its connection to Concord historically significant?
Answer:B
The Provincial Congress was an extralegal body — meaning it operated outside of and in defiance of British-authorized government. It met in Concord (among other locations) and made key decisions about military preparation, including ordering the collection and storage of military supplies. This is why Concord was not just a random town with hidden weapons — it was a seat of organized political resistance that had deliberately prepared for potential armed conflict.