The Battle of Lexington took place on April 19 1775 in Massachusetts and is remembered as the first military engagement of the American Revolutionary War.
At dawn on that fateful day, the British, led by Major Pitcairn, arrived at Lexington Green to find a number of American militia armed and waiting for them. The militia were heavily outnumbered (around 70 to 240 British) and Pitcairn advised them to lay down their arms or be killed. Suddenly, a bullet whizzed through the air - immortalised as the shot heard around the world - and several more followed. When the smoke cleared, eight militia were dead and another 10 were wounded on the ground.
Historians still don't know who fired the first shot but American blood had been spilled. The remaining militia retreated and the British did not linger, heading onward to Concord to rendezvous with other soldiers.
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