250 years ago, on April 19th 1775, the first muskets were fired in the American War of Independence - the famous "shot heard round the world".
In this special History Hit film, Dan Snow explores the key sites where it happened on this day - Battle Green, Lexington; The Old North Bridge, Concord; and the Battle Road that saw the British redcoats fight their way back to Boston under constant attack from provincial militia. Dan meets the archaeologists and military historians who are unearthing fascinating new evidence revealing exactly what happened, uncovering musket balls untouched since they were fired, working out where and how some of the famous firefights occurred, discovering battle damage in historic houses and making comparisons with detailed tests on the firing range.
As dusk fell on April 19th an uneasy peace had turned into all-out war - find out how it happened as experts unravel the momentous events of a day that changed world history.
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History Hit made this film with the exceptional help of many experts and organisations. Particular thanks must go to the National Parks Service, especially Minute Man National Historical Park who are doing great work to ensure the conservation and understanding of this important place.
Many exciting events are planned to commemorate the 250th anniversary. Visit: https://www.nps.gov/mima/planyourvisit/250-battle-road-demo.htm. They are also posting regularly on Facebook during the commemorations: https://www.facebook.com/MinuteManNPS
We also had great assistance from archaeologists and historians. You can find out more about some of their work here:
Parker’s Revenge Archaeology: “Archeologists Uncover Secrets of Revolutionary War Site”:
Geophysical survey work at Parker’s Revenge was carried out by Visual Environment Solutions provides consulting services for surface and sub-surface site mapping, visualization, and training in archaeological and built environment applications.www.ve-solutions.org
The Jason Russell House - this is a fascinating historic home that is featured in the film, peppered with 250 year old musket ball damage. https://arlingtonhistorical.org/visit/jason-russell-house
You can find out more information about Joel Bohy and Doug Scott’s work at the Jason Russell House at https://gunandswordcollector.com/product/bullet-strikes-american-revolution/. And also at: https://americansocietyofarmscollectors.org/
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