Senate Resolution No. 149 BY: Senator MAY COMMEMORATING the 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 2025 WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to commemorate significant events which represent turning points in our unique history and which are indelibly etched in the saga of our great Nation; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 2025; and WHEREAS, The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, kicked off the American Revolutionary War (1775-83); tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts; and WHEREAS, On the night of April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord to seize an arms cache; Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column; and WHEREAS, A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were hastily retreating under intense fire; many more battles followed, and in 1783 the colonists formally won their independence; and WHEREAS, Furthermore, reports say that British fifers and drummers teased the colonists by playing "Yankee Doodle," a now infamous and patriotic song which originated as a mocking tune during the French and Indian War in Fort Crailo, Rensselaer, New York; legend has it the colonial militiamen returned the musical insult as they counterattacked; the American Revolution had begun, and "Yankee Doodle" soon took hold as an unofficial anthem for what became the American Continental Army, as well as a symbol of resilience, defiance, and patriotism; and WHEREAS, This historic battle had its beginnings in late 1774, when Colonial leaders adopted the Suffolk Resolves in resistance to the alterations made to the Massachusetts colonial government by the British parliament following the Boston Tea Party; the colonial assembly responded by forming a Patriot provisional government known as the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and calling for local militias to train for possible hostilities; and WHEREAS, During this time, the Colonial government effectively controlled the colony outside of British-controlled Boston; in response, the British government in February 1775, declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion; and WHEREAS, About 700 British Army regulars in Boston, under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, were given secret orders to capture and destroy Colonial military supplies reportedly stored by the Massachusetts militia at Concord; through effective intelligence gathering, Patriot leaders had received word weeks before the expedition that their supplies might be at risk and had moved most of them to other locations; and WHEREAS, On the night before the battle, warning of the British expedition had been rapidly sent from Boston to militias in the area by several riders, including Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott, with information about British plans; the initial mode of the Army's arrival by water was signaled from the Old North Church in Boston to Charlestown using lanterns to communicate "one if by land, two if by sea"; and WHEREAS, The first shots were fired just as the sun was rising at Lexington; eight militiamen were killed, including Ensign Robert Munroe, their third in command; the British suffered only one casualty; the militia was outnumbered and fell back, and the regulars proceeded on to Concord, where they broke apart into companies to search for the supplies; and WHEREAS, At the North Bridge in Concord, approximately 400 militiamen engaged 100 regulars from three companies of the King's troops at about 11:00 am, resulting in casualties on both sides; the outnumbered regulars fell back from the bridge and rejoined the main body of British forces in Concord; and WHEREAS, The British forces began their return march to Boston after completing their search for military supplies, and more militiamen continued to arrive from the neighboring towns; gunfire erupted again between the two sides and continued throughout the day as the regulars marched back towards Boston; and WHEREAS, Upon returning to Lexington, Lieutenant Colonel Smith's expedition was rescued by reinforcements under Brigadier General Earl Percy; the combined force of about 1,700 men marched back to Boston under heavy fire in a tactical withdrawal and eventually reached the safety of Charlestown; and WHEREAS, The accumulated militias then blockaded the narrow land accesses to Charlestown and Boston, starting the siege of Boston; Ralph Waldo Emerson describes the first shot fired by the Patriots at the North Bridge in his "Concord Hymn" as the "shot heard round the world"; and WHEREAS, The Battles of Lexington and Concord was the beginning of a full-scale war of independence and paved the way for the creation of the United States of America; and WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body that when events of such historical consequences are brought to our attention, they should be recalled and recognized by all the citizens of the great State of New York; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 2025.