Episode 409: The Battles of Lexington & Concord, 1775

April 19, 2025 marked the 250th anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord—the moment the American Revolution turned from protest to war.

What do we really know about that fateful day? How did the people of Concord prepare for what they faced in April 1775?

David Wood, the longtime curator of the Concord Museum and the author of Eyewitness to Revolution: The American Revolution in the Concord Museum, joins us to explore answers to these questions.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Episode Summary

David Wood has been the Curator of the Concord Museum since 1985. Since then, he has developed a deep knowledge of the museum’s collections, Concord history, and interpretive methods. He has overseen the development of 40 temporary exhibitions and the Concord Museum’s NEH-funded permanent exhibition, Why Concord? He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and publications, including Eyewitness to Revolution: The American Revolution in the Concord Museum, a book that parallels the museum’s April 19, 1775 galleries.

During our exploration of April 19, 1775, David reveals how the people of Concord prepared—quietly and carefully—for war, months before April 1775. Why the British Army marched on Concord on April 19, 1775, and the resistance it met with at Lexington and Concord. And, the significance of the material culture—like a lantern from Old North Church—preserved in the Concord Museum’s vast April 19 collection.

What You’ll Discover

The Concord Museum and its Revolutionary Era Collections
Concord’s location in Massachusetts
The creation of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress
How the Massachusetts Provincial Congress prepared for war
Concord’s role in Massachusetts’ wartime preparation
Loyalties in Concord by April 1775
The Massachusetts Militia
How Concord’s townspeople prepared for war
Thomas Gage’s intelligence about the revolutionaries’ preparations
The midnight ride of Paul Revere on April 18, 1775
The Suffolk Resolves’ plan for alarm
The British march to Concord
The fight at Lexington Green, April 19, 1775
Paul Revere’s account of the fighting at Lexington Green
The British regulars’ march to Concord
Concord’s Old North Bridge
Origins of “the shot heard round the world”
The British Army’s march back to Boston
Casualty estimates for the Battles of Lexington and Concord
The British mission to destroy supplies at Concord
How news of the battles spread across the colonies

Links to People, Places, and Publications

Time Warp

In your opinion, what might have happened if the British had not marched for Concord on April 19th, 1775? How do you think the course of the American Revolution might have been different?