As the nation marks 250 years since the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which ignited the American Revolution, one mystery refuses to die.
Who fired the first shot?
It’s been called “the shot heard ’round the world,” but when it comes to who pulled the trigger, the truth remains murky. What we do know is someone fired a musket.
A musket cracked through the early morning silence of April 19, 1775. When the smoke cleared, eight American militiamen were dead, and the world would never be the same.
That one shot lit the fuse for a war that would reshape history.
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Despite how it’s often portrayed, including in a recent piece by The Washington Post, the facts don’t actually point to the American militia as the clear instigator. Nor do they show the British firing under direct orders.
The Library of Congress is blunt about it.
“There is no evidence to show clearly which side fired the first shot in the skirmish at Lexington,” it maintains.
British Regulars march past a fallen New England colonial militia, also known as minutemen, during a reenactment celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and the start of the American Revolution Saturday in Lexington, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
In other words, the “fog of war” was already thick before a war had even officially started.
And yet the colonial side gained a powerful edge, telling its story first.
“Whatever the truth of who fired the first shot,” the Library of Congress notes, “the patriots were first to get their version of the events out to the American public. The effect was to rally hundreds, if not thousands, of colonists to the rebellion.”
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That messaging advantage, mixed with years of frustration over British control, helped turn the moment into a rallying cry. But historians are still debating the actual sequence of events. Was it a nervous redcoat? A skittish militiaman? Or just a misfire that no one intended?
One thing we can say is that no one has ever been definitively named as the person who fired first. Not a single British soldier. Not a single American with a musket.
New England colonial militia stand in line while facing the British Regulars during a reenactment celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and the start of the American Revolution Saturday in Lexington, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
The standoff began with shouted commands and high tension, then quickly escalated into deadly gunfire. As CBS Boston recently noted, trying to declare a single “official” start to the war is more complicated than many think.
The first to die fell at Lexington. Eight colonial militiamen, also known as minutemen, were killed and others were wounded. Just a few hours later, the fighting escalated at Concord’s North Bridge, where American militias pushed back British Regulars. That was the beginning of something much bigger.
A White House proclamation for the 250th anniversary calls the events at Lexington a “British ambush,” reinforcing a narrative of British aggression. But that language, while dramatic, doesn’t fully reflect the historical debate still unfolding. Even now, the incident remains cloaked in uncertainty.
British Regulars fire on New England colonial militia during a reenactment celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington Saturday in Lexington, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
So, did the British fire first?
The best evidence we have — eyewitness reports, British and colonial accounts and statements preserved by the Library of Congress — leans in that direction. It’s likely the first shot came from the British side, though not under direct orders. More likely, it was a moment of confusion, panic and fear. In the chaos, someone squeezed the trigger.
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But, again, no one individual has ever been proven to be that person. And maybe, in a strange way, that’s part of the story.
Because asking who fired the first shot isn’t just a history lesson, it’s a symbol. That single shot marked the start of America’s long road to liberty.
Two-and-a-half centuries later, the fact that we’re still asking only adds to the legend.
The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
