The Shot Heard ‘Round The World
On April 19, 1775, seven hundred British troops marched out from Boston to seize any colonial weapons they found. When they reached Lexington, 75 American minutemen were waiting on the village green. Both sides were ordered not to shoot, but suddenly a shot rang out. No one is sure to this day who fired it. The surprised British ranks let loose a volley of shots and within seconds eight dead and ten wounded minutemen lay on Lexington Green. The British continued up to Concord, where another small battle ensued. They then decided to return to Boston but the road back became a nightmare for the redcoats as they were ambushed by Americans fighting guerilla style all the way back. At the end of the day, 250 British soldiers had been killed or wounded, and 90 colonists were lost. The struggle for independence had begun.
Though there were many factors leading up to the Revolutionary War, that one mysterious shot has resonated through history. Was it from a nervous soldier, perhaps startled by a noise or movement, his finger flinching on the trigger? Or maybe a revved-up soldier, confident from his own bravado, ready to fight and cease the endless circling in the ring. Was there really not a single person who saw the shooter and lived to tell??? In our tech-dependent world today, there would be camera phone videos of the shot on youtube, high-resolution pictures from helicopters splashed across cable news, and all the world would know the name of the shooter within 12 hours. The allure of history for many people is the mysteries and unanswered questions, such as who shot the “shot heard ’round the world?” For this reason, speculation and empathy can be very useful classroom tools. Ask your students today who they think made the shot and why. Do they think there were witnesses? Why did they not tell the world what they saw? What emotions must have gone through the crowd in the split second after the shot? Use one of the several lesson plans one our website to help bring the speculation, excitement, and horrors of the Revolutionary War to your own students.
Tags: 1775, Battle at Lexington, history, lexington greens
