First Shot Fired in Rebellion!
April 19, 1775 – On midnight, the British set out from Boston for Lexington. They were on their way to capture the munitions supplies. They didn’t want to risk a war with their own colonies. They arrived at Lexington by dawn, but the town was already alerted by nearby local, Paul Revere. A line of 70 rebel soldiers stood there ready to fight. The British weren’t going to let anyone stand in their way. The British crushed the rebels, and then headed onto Concord, which was warned by Samuel Prescott. All behind buildings and walls patriots stood ready to surprise the British and protect the munitions supplies.
The battle ended in minutes. The patriots lost that battle, but picked off the British all the way back to Boston. The British death toll was in the 73 with 174 wounded. The patriot death toll was 49 dead and 39 wounded. But the question on peoples mind is: Who fired the first shot? Who really started the war? Both sides had orders to fire only if the other side fired, but someone fired, and nobody knows who. A soldier went down on both sides. Then, a firefight between the two erupted.
James Pattiner, a patriot captain in the local militia, explains what he saw.
“We waited for someone to take the shot,” Pattiner said. “Then, my friend Nick went down next to me. I tried shaking him, hoping he’ll get up but he didn’t. I picked up my gun, and shot those lobsters backs in the head. I had a thirst for vengeance.”
Colonel Transbard, a British colonel in the 101th regiment, as also explained what he saw.
“We marched as close to those yanks as we could go,” said Transbard. ”We waited for those scallywags to fire, and they did. Private McGlang got shot right in the throat and died instantly. I raised my sword and ordered “fire!” Soon, each side was shooting the other.”
Nobody is yet sure who fired the first shot. Each side is still blaming eachother but more research will have to be done in order to confirm which side fired.