Lexington and Concord

The battle at Lexington and Concord was not as intense of a battle as people may think because of it's significance. Although it must have been thrilling for the colonists to have lost less men than the British, that is not what was important. Before America's conflict with England each area was it's own unit. There was not much unity, other than the fact that they were all under English rule. Lexington and Concord was the British's reaction to America's unification. The Continental Congress had recently agreed on a variety of propositions that varied from sending a letter of grievances to the King to stopping trade with Britain all together. When Paul Revere signaled that, "The regulars are coming out!", 60 to 70 minute men were ready to fight. Lexington and Concord was the accumulation of America's efforts to fight the crown, as one unified nation.

The original order for attacking Lexington and Concord were made up of two components, the desire to capture Sam Adams and John Hancock and to capture the illegal gunpowder in Concord. However, when I look at both of these causes I do not think they were the main drive behind the British's attack. Although they may have wanted it to seem like they were retrieving illegal items and capturing two rebels, I believe that the British had had enough of America and were looking for a reason to fight. They had every right to believe that they could easily beat the Americans, whose troops were groups of ragtag men without any professional military training, so why no put the Americans back in their place? Do you think that Lexington and Concord was merely and retrieval mission, or something more?