We’d like to remind you that April 19th, 1775 is the true beginning of the American Revolution and not July 4th, 1776, the official date of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
On the morning of April 19th, a year before the Continental Congress sat down to write the Declaration, events on the commons of Concord between British Troops bent on seizing the arms of the Militia and the Colonists resulted in what we now call the “Shot Heard ‘Round The World.”
It ignited the American Revolution, a worldwide conflict which would engulf the super powers of the day in battles as far away as India, and last for another eight years.
Rebellion had already been brewing on the North American continent for a decade. Finally, in the early hours of the day, North American Militiamen fired on British troops, starting a war that would result in the ascendency of the American Eagle over this land we now call the United States.
This battle is also where we draw our concept of the iconic Minute Man from.
Each Patriot’s Day, we honor those men at Concord and consider what it must have been for them to stand there together, in the face of the world’s greatest army and take up arms in the defense of their colony from oppression.
This militia came together on that morning to protect their arms from seizure by an oppressive government. That is an indisputable fact. We find the roots of the Second Amendment in the events of that day.
“Stand your ground. Don’t fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here.”
-John Parker
Captain of Militia
As the initial volleys of fire were exchanged near daybreak on Lexington Green, colonial volunteers fell back in the face of over 500 occupying British troops. But as the battle moved on to Concord, the tide turned, and the redcoats were routed as more and more colonists joined the fray.
The British troops retreated through Concord where they were reinforced. Despite boasting a strength of 1700 men, they remained no match for the determined colonists who forced them to retreat to the safety of Charlestown in Boston. The militiamen continued their pursuit which transformed into the Siege of Boston.
Today, join me in honoring those early American warriors who pledged their lives to give us our hard fought freedoms and this great land.
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