89R16571 KSM-D
By: Lowe H.C.R. No. 88
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, April 19, 2025, marks the 250th anniversary of the
Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts, when the "shot
heard 'round the world" signaled the beginning of the American
Revolutionary War--later culminating in the signing of the
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776; and
WHEREAS, Following years of simmering tensions between Great
Britain and its 13 American colonies, especially Massachusetts, the
level of conflict reached a boiling point in 1775; angered by the
imposition of onerous taxes and military rule, colonists protested
with the rallying cry "no taxation without representation" and
joined local militias; the colonial patriots had learned of the
British plan to seize their weapons cache in Concord, and late on
the night of April 18, Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Dr. Samuel
Prescott rode out to spread the news to minutemen, who quickly
mobilized; and
WHEREAS, Some 700 to 800 British soldiers arrived in
Lexington at dawn on April 19 and found about 80 militiamen gathered
on the town green; the British demanded that they disperse, but
before they could do so, a shot rang out from an unknown source; the
British subsequently attacked, killing 8 militiamen and wounding 10
more; some troops pursued fleeing militiamen while the light
infantry pushed on toward Concord; their search for hidden weapons
proved largely fruitless, as the colonists had already moved most
of them; the British then contended with a much larger colonial
force in a second skirmish, and as the "redcoats"--as British
soldiers were then called--retreated toward Boston, further
American reinforcements arrived to inflict heavy damage from behind
trees, walls, and buildings; during the increasingly chaotic fight,
73 "redcoats" were killed, over 170 were wounded, and 26 went
missing; American losses were 50 killed, 39 wounded, and 5 missing;
within two days, 15,000 men from across New England had surrounded
the British in Boston; and
WHEREAS, Although the April 1775 Battles of Lexington and
Concord did not constitute a serious military defeat for the
British, they proved politically disastrous, demonstrating that
the American citizen soldiers, most of them farmers or tradesmen,
could successfully stand up to an empire's professional army; the
violence ultimately transformed the colonists' antipathy toward
British policy into a blazing resolve to win independence; and
WHEREAS, In the words of John Adams, with the Battles of
Lexington and Concord, "the die was cast, the Rubicon crossed," and
it is indeed fitting to pay tribute to the courage, acumen, and
determination that characterized this momentous turning point in
the founding of the United States of America; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Battles of
Lexington and Concord.