MA, USA
Battle of Lexington
April 19, 1775
The first military engagement of the American Revolution. Approximately 77 Lexington militiamen, led by Captain John Parker, assembled on Lexington Green before dawn to face the approaching British column of about 700 soldiers under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith and Major John Pitcairn.
As the British formed up and demanded the militia disperse, a shot was fired—by whom remains unknown. In the ensuing chaos, the British fired volleys into the militia. Eight Americans were killed (Jonas Parker, Samuel Hadley, Jonathan Harrington, Robert Munroe, Isaac Muzzey, Caleb Harrington, John Brown, and Asahel Porter) and ten wounded. Only one British soldier was injured.
The brief, lopsided engagement lasted perhaps ten minutes, but its consequences were revolutionary.
People Involved
Commander of the Lexington militia who ordered his men to stand on Lexington Green. Parker, 45 and suffering from tuberculosis, made the fateful decision to face the British.
Cousin of Captain John Parker, Jonas was among the eight killed on Lexington Green. Wounded and on his knees, he was reportedly bayoneted while trying to reload.
An enslaved man who fought on Lexington Green and was wounded. Estabrook represents the complex position of Black Americans in the Revolution.
Mortally wounded on Lexington Green, Harrington crawled across the road to die at his wife's feet on their doorstep—within sight of his home.