250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord

( printed page 16991) Proclamation 10919 of April 17, 2025 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord A Proclamation Two and a half centuries ago, a small band of minutemen answered the call of freedom in the legendary Battles of Lexington and Concord, an epic tale of American strength and the first major armed conflict of the Revolutionary War. We honor the memories, remember the sacrifices, and summon the courage of every hero of liberty who gallantly shed his blood for the cause of independence on April 19, 1775. After years of intensifying frictions and escalating hostility between the British Crown and the American Colonies, all avenues to peace and diplomacy had been exhausted, and it became clear to the patriots that war was inevitable. Following the Boston Massacre, the oppressive Intolerable Acts, and the lasting grievance of taxation without representation, the colonists began organizing militias as a final recourse in defense of their right to self-government. The British regime's reign of tyranny reached a breaking point when, in his fearless midnight ride from Boston, Massachusetts, Paul Revere announced the news that the Redcoats were marching to Concord, Massachusetts, to arrest Colonial leaders and seize American arms. By the time they reached Lexington at dawn, the British encountered 77 intrepid American minutemen, led by Captain John Parker, boldly standing their ground in defense of their independence. The surprised British fired a volley, mortally wounding eight American patriots—the very first American soldiers to lay down their lives for our emerging Nation. The British ambush at Lexington became known as the “shot heard 'round the world,” prompting thousands of brave young men to leave behind their homes and livelihoods to fight for our freedom on the frontlines of the American Revolution—commencing the greatest fight for liberty in the history of the world. Later that morning, the Redcoats arrived at Co…