Considering that John Bateman, a British regular, stated that his party was given the order to fire upon the Militia, it’s hard to believe that they didn’t fire the first bullet. The British did indeed fire first because they were already on the offensive; because they were already trying to take down the militia, and by sneaking around in the middle of the night, it wouldn’t seem as if they weren’t going to use
The sharpshooters were able to kill fifteen cavalrymen as they charged causing the rest of the cavalry to retreat. As the British infantry advanced, the second line was able to hold long enough to deliver the two volleys and then retreat. Tarleton saw Americans retreat as a sign that the battle was leaning towards a British victory. With overconfidence, Tarleton sent his infantry to advance on the American continentals, Morgan’s last line. Morgan gave the order to fire a volley and charge Tarleton’s infantry.
Fire, damn you! Suddenly the line of British muskets exploded to flame…” Then he Battle of concord on page 278 it stated, “Suddenly there was a burst of fire, and it was not the rebel’s nit was Laurie’s’ men… The rebels fired a second time with more precision still, but then all order was gone, the scene engulfed in vast fog, shouts and screams blending with hard pops and chatter of the muskets. Too many still moving away, pursued by their own shock, the awful horror of the unexpected, leaving their own dead and wounded behind.”
“On April 18, 1775 several hundred British regulars under orders from General Thomas Gage set out from Boston Massachusetts to capture weapons and ammunition being stockpiled by local colonists in the towns of Lexington and Concord” (Nix History.com). In addition to capturing munitions, the British soldiers were ordered to capture Samuel Adams and John Hancock who were wanted for high treason against the crown. Upon arriving at Lexington, the soldiers were met at the town center by numerous armed minutemen. It is not known who fired the first shot, but the colonists were in full retreat after a brief battle leaving left several dead behind. The British continued their journey on to the North Bridge outside Concord.
In June of 1775, 2,400 British soldiers met 1,600 militia members at Breed 's Hill. While the battle took place at Breed 's Hill, it 's famously called the Battle of Bunker Hill. In the middle of the night the militia members quietly set up at at Breed 's Hill. This forced the British to battle uphill. While it seems like the colonists had all the advantages, they ended up losing because they were extremely low on ammunition.
General Gage decided to conduct a frontal assault on the colonial positions because he under estimated the colonial position and their capabilities. If General Gage landed 1,100 Soldiers in the rear American position and established a base of fire, he could have utilized the other 1,100 soldiers to flank from Morton’s point. This tactic is commonly used today for most infantry units. Along with establishing a base of fire and a flanking maneuver, a report showed British Field Artillery used 12 pound balls for six pound guns. This failure drastically changed the artillery range and accuracy.
In April 1775 British general Thomas Gage ordered his soldiers to destroy American rebel Military stores in Concord, Massachusetts. British and American forces clashed in Concord and Lexington starting the Revolutionary war. The New England state militias firepower forced British general William Howe to abandon Massachusetts in March 1776. A new stage in the war began in June 1776 when the British sailed into New York harbor with an army of 34,000 soldiers forcing the militia to retreat. To counter the british fleet in the harbor, David Bushnell came up with the idea to make a small craft that could slip through british waters and plant explosives on ships.
The people of Boston 's weapons weren 't nearly as good as the soldiers. They had clubs and rocks that they threw at the soldiers. Muskets, the flintlock musket was one of the most important gun. They had bayonets on them so when people got close they could stab them. They shot one bullet at a time.
As stated several historians, the American revolution started more than six months before Lexington and Concord. This statement is true, according to evidences and examples in the article. Described by the Narrator “By early October 1774, more than half a year before a ‘shot heard around the world’ at Lexington, Massachusetts patriots had seized all political and military authority outside Boston”. This is a fine example of the pre-American revolution, which started roughly more than six months. The colonists began to riot inside and outsite of Boston.
In The Patriot there a few scenes showing the Britain lining up into different squads all neat, orderly, and marching, then the colonists start jumping up and out of trees, bushes, and grass; therefore, surprising the British, giving the colonists an advantage for a little while. The scene from The Patriot shows that during the Revolutionary War the British fought like you were supposed to: in squads and properly, while the colonists just showed up out of nowhere and used the element of surprise to their advantage. “Americans during the Revolutionary War adopted many of the guerilla warfare tactics.... The militias would go on the occasional drill, but they were by and large farmers, artisans, and merchants...not professional soldiers” ( War In the American Revolution).
On the evening of March 5, 1770 an angry mob of Colonist men began to form. Thangered men began to throw objects such as snowballs, rocks, etc. at the British soldiers. A british soldier fell and shots were fired. The whole scene became chaotic in a snap.
Throughout the night, outnumbered colonial forces built defensive fortifications in preparation for an imminent attack by the British. Prepared for the worst, Prescott gave his men the famous order: "Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes. " Historians believe Prescott’s order was given to save ammunition, in an effort to conserve the Americans’ limited supply of ammunition. On June 17, 1775, the British conquered the Americans at the Battle of Bunker Hill in Charlestown.
Within the night of October 2nd, the British let open a wave of fire to cover up for the movements of their calvary by the infantry men because they were trying to forge for food. This quickly escalated to them losing 50 men. On October 14th, Washington decided launch an attack on the British with the French following 30 minutes later, this was the bombardment. That night at around 6:30pm gunfire was heard symbolizing the start of the attack. Some movements looked as if there was an attack on Yorktown itself, which freaked the British out.
Captain Preston says to hold fire but the the colonists are screaming the opposite, it’s dark outside so it’s hard to see who is who, a british soldier accidentally fires
He even told them before heading into the street to not fire. Captain Preston was eavesdropping the night before and heard the Boston citizens planning on attacking the guard who was on duty at the custom house. For this is the reason the squadron was met with the mob. From Captain Preston’s Coy 2 account, it deems The Boston Massacre as provoked self-defense (Captain Preston’s Account of the Boston Massacre March 5 1770).
