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A ragged volley of muskey fire ripped through the cool morning air as the American colonists unleashed the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” The slow-burning fuse on the powder keg that was the Massachusetts Colony, which had been lit years earlier, finally reached its zenith, exploding into open rebellion. On Wednesday, April 19, 1775, years of protests among the American colonists and proclamations issued by Parliament and King George III gave way to open rebellion.

Authorized by the King’s cabinet to quell the seeds of the growing rebellion by capturing its ringleaders, the commander-in-chief of the British Army in North America and military Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Gen. Thomas Gage, dispatched some 800 men west from Boston to capture arms and munitions stockpiled by the Rebels. The expedition led by Col. Frances Smith and Maj. John Pitcairn marched near 10 p.m. on April 18. Word was spread across the countryside to the Rebels by William Dawes, Paul Revere, and Dr. Samuel Prescott.

The King’s troops strode into the small town of Lexington around 5:00 a.m. Aligned on Lexington Green were more than 70 militia commanded by Capt. John Parker. “Damn you!” declared John Pitcairn as he admonished his fellow subjects to lay down their arms. The vanguard of the British force rushed forward upon the town green, and Parker immediately ordered his company to disperse. A shot rang out. And then the nervous British soldiers fired a volley, killing eight and wounding ten of the militiamen. The British column moved on toward Concord.

Arriving in Concord around 8:00 a.m., Smith and Pitcairn ordered about 220 troops to secure the North Bridge across the Concord River and then continue on another mile to the Barrett Farm. By the time the British arrived at the North Bridge, a force of some 400 militia from Concord and the surrounding towns had gathered on the high ground overlooking the bridge. From their vantage point on the hill, they could see smoke rising from Concord, the result of the British burning supplies they had uncovered. Believing that the Regulars were burning the town, Lt. Joseph Hosmer shouted, “Will you let them burn the town down?” As the Rebels marched across the bridge, the King’s soldiers opened fire. “For God’s sake, fire!” shouted a militiaman, and the minutemen replied with a volley of their own.

Smith and Pitcairn soon ordered a return to Boston, which devolved into a rout as thousands of Patriots descended on the area. The British were attacked from all sides by swarms of angry militiamen along what is now known as Battle Road. When they reached Lexington, John Parker and his men had their revenge, firing on the British regulars from behind cover. For the next 12 miles, the British were continually ambushed by Minutemen shooting from behind trees, rock walls, and buildings.

The British conducted a running fight until they could get under the cover of British guns in ships anchored in the waterways surrounding Boston. By 8:00 p.m., it was clear that the day had been a disaster for the British. A conflict that changed the world forever.