The Battle of Lexington and Concord 19.4.1975

The US 1975 10¢ Lexington-Concord stamp was issued on 19.4.1975 at Lexington, MA to commemorate The Battle of Lexington and Concord. The stamp portrays a painting titled “Lexington & Concord” by Henry Sandham.

The battles of Lexington and Concord were fought in the state of Massachusetts in April 1775. They were the first military engagements of the American Revolution. Due to unrest in the American colonies, British General Thomas Gage received orders to use force against the defiant colonials. Consequently, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith led a British column from Boston to seize the gunpowder of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress at Concord. On the morning of April 19, 1775, Smith’s redcoats scattered a company of local militiamen at Lexington. Several militiamen were killed by unauthorized fire.

When Lieutenant Smith arrived at Concord he was only able to find a partial store of the gunpowder – Paul Revere and his associates had brought news of his mission to the local militia. As the British marched back to Boston, they were assaulted by Massachusetts militiamen, who inflicted 273 casualties.

The U.S. Bicentennial was a series of celebrations during the mid-1970s that commemorated the historic events leading to America’s independence from Great Britain. The official events began on April 1, 1975, when the American Freedom Train departed Delaware to begin a 21-month, 25,338-mile tour of the 48 contiguous states. For more than a year, a wave of patriotism swept the nation as elaborate firework displays lit up skies across the U.S., an international fleet of tall-mast sailing ships gathered in New York City and Boston, and Queen Elizabeth made a state visit. The celebration culminated on July 4, 1976, with the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. 

Thank you Merja.