The keyword term, a question, seeks to identify the historical foundation of the holiday. The main point of the answer is a noun: the specific events that initiated the American Revolutionary War. Patriots' Day is based on the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which occurred on April 19, 1775, marking the first armed conflict between colonial militias and the British Army.
The historical narrative begins with British troops marching from Boston under orders to seize military supplies stored by colonial patriots in Concord, Massachusetts. Riders, including Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott, alerted the local militia, known as Minutemen, of the advancing British forces. On the morning of April 19, the British advance guard confronted a small company of militia on Lexington Green, where the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired. The British then continued to Concord's North Bridge, where they were engaged by a larger contingent of Minutemen and forced to retreat. The British withdrawal to Boston was a grueling ordeal, as they were subjected to continuous guerilla attacks from thousands of militiamen who had mustered along the route.
The significance of these battles is that they represented the definitive transition from political protest to open warfare, sparking the American War for Independence. The holiday commemorates the courage and resolve of the citizen-soldiers who first took up arms against British authority. It is officially observed on the third Monday in April in Massachusetts and Maine, featuring historical reenactments of the battles and the annual running of the Boston Marathon.
