As tensions between the colonists and the British grew, a split
developed and widened between those taking sides in America as
the loyalists (colonists remaining loyal to the king) and the
patriots (those opposing British laws). Near midnight, April 18,
1775 General Thomas Gage (British commander-in-chief) sent his
soldiers toward Lexington . He wanted to seize patriot arms and
ammunition stored in Concord. Paul Revere and William Dawes rode
ahead to warn the local minutemen, or patriot volunteers. At dawn
70 minutemen met the English soldiers on the village green at
Lexington. The British again engaged in fighting at the bridge
north of Concord before retreating to Boston.
