King George III had said that the colonies would not become independent without a fight, and in 1775, the colonists gave the British just that. The first armed conflict of the Revolutionary War took place at the towns of Lexington and Concord, in the Massachusetts Colony, on April 19, 1775.
Colonial militias based in Boston were getting ready for a fight against the British troops by storing ammunition in the nearby town of Concord, Massachusetts. Groups of untrained men known as "militias" started to form all throughout New England. A militia is a group of untrained amateur soldiers. These militias became known as Minutemen, because they were ready to fight a minutes notice. The British troops learned of their secret and headed to seize the supplies and arrest the leaders, but the militia learned that the British were headed to Concord and went to face them.
On the night of April 18, 1775 Paul Revere and William Dawes rode on horseback all night to let the militia know that the British troops, or redcoats, were coming. Revere arrived first in Lexington, followed by Dawes and a third rider named Samuel Prescott. Together the three left Lexington for Concord to warn others that.... "the British are coming! .. the British are coming!"
The British troops marched through the night and arrived in Lexington in the early morning. They faced the colonists in the town square, and then someone fired a shot. No one knows who fired first. Shooting began between the two groups at sunrise.
The redcoats outnumbered the minutemen and chased them back. The British troops moved on to Concord. The colonial militia at Concord were more successful. They defeated the British troops, and the colonial militia swarmed the countryside and attacked the British troops as they retreated back to Boston. The Battles of Lexington and Concord officially started the Revolutionary War.
The colonial militia wanted to prevent another Lexington and Concord style battle so they surrounded the city of Boston, where the British troops were stationed, to keep the redcoats from attacking the countryside.
Colonial troops set up a small base on the high ground overlooking the harbor on nearby hill. The British troops were surprised by this and set out to take the hill for themselves. The battle began and the colonists resisted well at first, but the British troops made it to the top of the hill and sent the colonial militia fleeing. The British troops, however, had suffered heavy losses.
The Battle of Bunker Hill boosted morale and confidence for the colonists. It showed that they were ready to challenge the British troops, but the battles also forced Britain to prepare for war. After the Battle of Bunker Hill, Britain believed that the American Colonies were in open rebellion and the King wanted to do something about it!
After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Continental Congress knew it needed an army. In June 1775, just days before the battle of Bunker Hill, the Continental Congress formed the Continental Army. George Washington was named the leader and General of the Army. By September, the colonies had supplied troops for the army and the Continental Congress had a plan to pay, feed, and supply the troops.