What Happened at Concord Bridge?

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

You've probably heard the phrase "shot heard round the world", but you may not have known that the poet Emerson wrote it. And you may not exactly remember what happened that April day in 1775 that made that shot so important.

Let Schoolhouse Rock refresh your memory with a musical summary. Watch the video below.

"At the Old North Bridge we turned 'em back, and chased those Red Coats back to Boston town..." That's the American patriots' side of the story, of course.

• Do you think the British soldiers, officers, and supporters might have had a different view of things?

Whenever you read an account of a historical event, it's important to recognize the writer's point of view. Then, when you read another account of the same event, you can realize the second writer's point of view.

Comparing the two accounts, you can point out the similarities and differences.

In this lesson, you'll analyze three accounts of the Battle of Concord Bridge. The first is from a history website, the second is an eyewitness account of a British soldier, and the last is that of an American soldier.

The Readings for What Happened at Concord Bridge are given here, but you can also print them out from the Downloadable Resources in the right-hand sidebar. That way, you can underline or highlight sections of each text to compare with the others.

As you read, try to determine the author's point of view and note the similarities and differences in their accounts.

First, read this account of the Battle of Concord.

Battle of Concord

On April 18, 1775, the British troops easily defeated the colonial militia at Lexington, Massachusetts.

As the Redcoats marched toward the town of Concord, the church bells rang out after midnight. The Minutemen were called into action, and by the morning they were ready. Several hundred of them gathered.

The Redcoats had two goals in Concord. They wanted to destroy whatever colonial weapons they could find, and they wanted to get some food. They forced a townsman to tell them where the cannon was buried and they dug it up and damaged it so it couldn't be used. They went to all the houses in the town, searching for food and weapons.

The Minutemen retreated to a hill near the town and watched the British. When the Redcoats began to burn military equipment, the colonial militia thought they were burning houses in the town. They headed back to the town, and met the Redcoats at the North Bridge over the Concord River.

Someone started shooting. The Minutemen thought the British were just trying to scare them, until two Americans fell and the colonists shot back. They killed 73 Redcoats and wounded 174. The British left Concord in defeat, returning to Boston. Several townsmen began firing on the British as they marched away. The church bell kept ringing and many men dropped what they were doing to join in.

Look back at the passage above.

• Does the author have a perspective that is pro-British, pro-American, or neutral?

Now move to the Got It? section, where you'll read a British soldier's account of the battle!