This site presents original research into the early morning “fight” between the British regular army and American town militiamen in Lexington, Massachusetts on 19 April, 1775, an event marked by many as the opening of the American Revolution.
What started as a family history project has become something approaching a crusade, a quest to reconstruct a pivotal moment in New England history lately at risk of disappearing into the sands of time. The atrophy is already severe. We used to know the part of the story the patriots wanted to tell. Now even that is gone. These days, most books about the Revolution’s opening day present a laundry list of what might have happened on Lexington Common. The rest skip the first shots entirely.
Filling the growing void are wild online theories based on cherry-picked sources. Even respected journals publish pieces that favor some eyewitness statements over others. Their work, unsurprisingly, is about as satisfying as a paleontologist’s reconstruction of a dinosaur with half the bones still in the box.
What To Read Next:
Why New Research Can Answer Old Questions
How to Reconcile Every Eyewitness Account
The Best-Fit Version of the First Shots
Or start with the punchline:
Thank you!
The folks at the Lexington Historical Society, Lexington Minutemen, and other New England history organizations, plus the many Tidd relatives I have dragged into this world, have been enormously supportive.
Thank you!
The Lexington Fight 