Battle of Concord

What do you know about the Battle of Concord during the American Revolutionary War? Try the U.S. History Made Easy Trivia quiz. "Check Your Answers" at the end of the page.

1) The militiamen of Concord and Lincoln, in response to the raised alarm, had mustered in Concord. They received reports of firing at Lexington, and were not sure whether to wait until they could be reinforced by troops from towns nearby, or to stay and defend the town, or to move east and greet the British Army from superior terrain.

• True or False?

2) A column of militia marched down the road toward Lexington to meet the British, traveling about 1.5 miles until they met the approaching column of regulars. As the regulars numbered about 700 and the militia column turned about, and marched back into Concord, preceding the regulars by a distance of about 500 yards. What was the size of the militia?

• 250 men
• 500 men
• 800 men

3) The militia retreated to a ridge overlooking the town and the command discussed what to do next. Caution prevailed, and the Colonel surrendered the town of Concord. Who surrendered the town of Concord?

• James Barrett
• James Jones
• James Parker

4) The Colonel led the men across the West Bridge to a hill about a mile north of town, where they could continue to watch the troop movements of the British and the activities in the center of town.

• True or False?

5) When the troops arrived in the village of Concord, Colonel Smith divided them to carry out Gage's orders. The Regiment's company of grenadiers secured South Bridge under Captain Mundy Pole. What was the British regiment?

• 10th Regiment
• 15th Regiment
• 20th Regiment

6) Seven companies of light infantry under Captain Parsons, numbering about 100, secured the North Bridge near Barrett's force. What was size of the force?

• 100 men
• 200 men
• 300 men

7) Captain Parsons took four companies from the 5th, 23rd, 38th and 52nd Regiments up the road 2 miles past the bridge to search a farm, where intelligence indicated supplies would be found. What was the farm?

1. Barrett's Farm
2. Conner's Farm
3. Clymer's Farm

8) Using detailed information provided by Loyalist spies, the grenadier companies searched the small town for military supplies. When they arrived at Ephraim Jones's tavern, by the jail on the South Bridge road, they found the door barred shut, and Jones refused them entry. While holding the tavern keeper at gunpoint, he ordered him to show him where the guns were buried.

• True or False?

9) Colonel Barrett's troops, upon seeing smoke rising from the village square, and seeing only a few companies directly below them, decided to march back toward the town from their vantage point on Punkatasset Hill to a lower, closer flat hilltop about 300 yards from the North Bridge over the Concord River. As the militia advanced, the two British companies from the 4th and 10th that held the position near the road retreated to the bridge and yielded the hill to Barrett's men. A shot rang out, and this time there is certainty from depositions taken from men on both sides afterwards that it came from the British Army's ranks.

• True or False?

10) yelled the order, At this point the lines were separated by the Concord River, the bridge, and were only 50 yards apart. Who said "Fire, for God's sake, fellow soldiers, fire!" ?

• Major Anderson
• Major Buttrick
• Major Hancock

11) During this tense standoff of about 10 minutes, a mentally ill local man named wandered through both sides selling hard cider. Who was the mentally ill local?

• Elias Brown
• John Brown
• Alvin Brown

12) Even after a small skirmish, and with superior numbers, the colonists, wary of reprisals by the force still in the town, remained alert, refusing to fire, and the regulars did nothing further to provoke them. The regulars continued to search for and destroy colonial military supplies in the town, ate lunch, reassembled for marching, and left Concord after noon. This delay gave the colonial militiamen from outlying towns additional time to arrive and participate in the running battles that occurred during the regulars' march back to Boston.

• True or False?