The bloodiest engagement of April 19, 1775, where more combatants fell than at any other point that day, and the first British soldiers were taken prisoner.
Key Facts
- Date
- April 19, 1775
- Colonial forces engaged
- 5,100 men
- Combined British force
- 1,700 men
- Rebel casualties
- 25 killed
- British casualties
- 40 killed
- Towns represented (colonial)
- 30 towns
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After the initial skirmishes at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, a British force originally numbering 700 regulars received reinforcements at East Lexington, swelling to 1,700 men. As they retreated toward Boston, colonial militia from four counties and thirty towns, totaling some 5,100 men, converged on the village of Menotomy to intercept them.
At Menotomy, colonial forces clashed with the retreating British column in intense street and house-to-house fighting. The engagement proved the deadliest of the day: 25 colonial fighters and 40 British soldiers were killed. It was also during this battle that British soldiers were captured for the first time in the Revolutionary War.
The heavy British losses at Menotomy contributed to the overall toll suffered during the retreat to Boston, demonstrating the colonial militias' capacity to mount sustained, organized resistance. The battle reinforced the momentum of the colonial rebellion that had begun earlier that same day at Lexington and Concord.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent