The Battle of Lexington On April 19, 1775, British soldiers fought local militias, killing eight Lexington minutemen before marching off to Concord. Two visitors from Connecticut witnessed the battle on the village green in Lexington: Amos Doolittle, a silversmith, and Ralph Earl, a portraitist. From Earle’s sketches, Doolittle engraved the militiamen scrambling for safety, while the main redcoat column advances from the north. Superstock/Everett Collection