NGC MS62 1875 Battle of Lexington Centennial Medal HK-17
Brand : NGC
NGC MS62 1875 Battle of Lexington Centennial Medal HK-17
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The Battle of Lexington was fought on April 19, 1775, in Lexington, Massachusetts. It was the first battle of the American Revolutionary War.
After more than a decade of unrest in the American Colonies, Thomas Gage, the Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America, was given the authority to use force to find and destroy military supplies that could be used in an uprising.
On the night of the 18th, Gage issued orders for around 800 British Redcoats to march to Concord to destroy weapons and ammunition that were hidden there. The Patriot spy network in Boston learned about the march, and Joseph Warren ordered Paul Revere and William Dawes to ride to Concord and warn the countryside on their way, including Samuel Adams and John Hancock, who were in Lexington.
Through the early hours of the 19th, Revere, Dawes, and another rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott, sounded the alarm through the towns. Upon hearing the alarms, the Minuteman companies gathered and waited for instructions.
By the time the British set out on their march to Concord, around 70 members of the local militia, under the command of Captain John Parker, were assembled on Lexington Green. As the sun rose, the British advance force, under the command of Major John Pitcairn, marched into Lexington.
Pitcairn ordered Parker and his men to disperse and leave their weapons. As the Americans fled, they took their guns with them. Within seconds, a shot was fired and then both sides opened fire.
By the time Pitcairn restored order, eight Americans had been killed, and 10 more were wounded. The British formed their ranks and continued the march to Concord, to complete their mission. However, the American Revolutionary War, and the fighting along the Battle Road for that fateful day, had only just begun.
