Inside the Vault: Firsthand Accounts of the Battles of Lexington and Concord

Just hours after the first encounters between Massachusetts patriots and British regulars at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, Colonel Isaac Merrill sent hastily written orders to the captain of the Amesbury militia. Merrill’s call to arms demonstrates the patriots’ early military intelligence efforts and the uncertainty the colonists felt during the first major battles of the American Revolution. As part of our America 250 series, we will discuss Merrill’s account alongside reflections on the battles by poets Mercy Otis Warren and Lemuel Haynes.

On April 3, 2025, our curators discussed firsthand accounts of the Battles of Lexington and Concord with independent historian Dr. Brooke Barbier.

Download the slides here.

FEATURED DOCUMENTS

• Isaac Merrill to John Currier, April 19, 1775
• Mercy Otis Warren to Catherine Macaulay, August 24, 1775
• Ezekiel Russell, “Bloody Butchery by the British Troops,” Salem, Massachusetts, 1775

USE THE TIMESTAMPS BELOW TO JUMP TO THE TOPIC YOU WANT TO VIEW

01:32–07:05: Events Leading to Lexington and Concord
07:06–15:13: Isaac Merrill to John Currier, April 19, 1775
15:14–18:23: Battle of Lexington Engraving
18:24–20:31 Battle of Concord Engraving
20:32–25:50: “Bloody Butchery by the British Troops” Broadside
25:51–30:11: “The Battle of Lexington” by Lemuel Haynes
30:12–44:35: Mercy Otis Warren to Catherine Macaulay, August 24, 1775
44:36–47:19: Teaching the Battles
47:20–49:36: Primary Sources about the British Perspective
49:37–52:23: Loyalists in Boston
52:24–58:15: The Midnight Riders

RELATED RESOURCES

• Essay: “The Road to Revolution” by T. H. Breen
• Timeline: “The American Revolution”
• Video: “Taxation and Representation: The Imperial Debate between Britain and the Americans” by Gordon S. Wood
• Spotlight on a Primary Source: “A British view of rebellious Boston, 1774” by Philip Dawe