Patriots' Day commemorates the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which occurred on April 19, 1775. These events marked the first armed engagements of the American Revolutionary War and are often symbolized by the phrase "the shot heard 'round the world," signifying the start of the conflict for American independence.
The events began when British troops were dispatched from Boston with orders to seize a colonial arms cache located in Concord, Massachusetts. Colonial intelligence, however, became aware of the plan. Riders, most famously Paul Revere and William Dawes, were sent to alert the colonial militia. The first confrontation took place on Lexington Green, where a small group of minutemen faced a much larger British force, resulting in the first casualties. The British soldiers then proceeded to Concord, where they were met by a larger, organized contingent of colonial militia at the North Bridge. Here, the colonists successfully repelled the British advance, forcing them into a strategic retreat back to Boston. During this retreat, the British column was subjected to continuous guerilla-style attacks from colonial militiamen along the route, incurring significant casualties.
Today, Patriots' Day is an official public holiday observed on the third Monday in April in Massachusetts, Maine, and Wisconsin. It is marked by historical reenactments of the battles and Paul Revere's ride. The most prominent modern event associated with the holiday is the Boston Marathon, which has been held on Patriots' Day annually since 1897. It is important to distinguish this observance from Patriot Day, a national day of remembrance in the United States held on September 11 to commemorate the victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
