where did the initial shots of the american revolution ring out
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The regulars soon reached a point in the road now referred to as the `` Bloody Angle '' where the road rises and curves sharply to the left through a lightly - wooded area . At this place , the militia company from Woburn had positioned themselves on the southeast side of the bend in the road in a rocky , lightly - wooded field . Additional militia flowing parallel to the road from the engagement at Meriam 's Corner positioned themselves on the northwest side of the road , catching the British in a crossfire , while other militia companies on the road closed from behind to attack . Some 500 yards ( 460 m ) further along , the road took another sharp curve , this time to the right , and again the British column was caught by another large force of militiamen firing from both sides . In passing through these two sharp curves , the British force lost thirty soldiers killed or wounded , and four colonial militia were also killed , including Captain Jonathan Wilson of Bedford , Captain Nathan Wyman of Billerica , Lt. John Bacon of Natick , and Daniel Thompson of Woburn . The British soldiers escaped by breaking into a trot , a pace that the colonials could not maintain through the woods and swampy terrain . Colonial forces on the road itself behind the British were too densely packed and disorganized to mount more than a harassing attack from the rear .
The regulars soon reached a point in the road now referred to as the `` Bloody Angle '' where the road rises and curves sharply to the left through a lightly - wooded area . At this place , the militia company from Woburn had positioned themselves on the southeast side of the bend in the road in a rocky , lightly - wooded field . Additional militia flowing parallel to the road from the engagement at Meriam 's Corner positioned themselves on the northwest side of the road , catching the British in a crossfire , while other militia companies on the road closed from behind to attack . Some 500 yards ( 460 m ) further along , the road took another sharp curve , this time to the right , and again the British column was caught by another large force of militiamen firing from both sides . In passing through these two sharp curves , the British force lost thirty soldiers killed or wounded , and four colonial militia were also killed , including Captain Jonathan Wilson of Bedford , Captain Nathan Wyman of Billerica , Lt. John Bacon of Natick , and Daniel Thompson of Woburn . The British soldiers escaped by breaking into a trot , a pace that the colonials could not maintain through the woods and swampy terrain . Colonial forces on the road itself behind the British were too densely packed and disorganized to mount more than a harassing attack from the rear .