These were the first battles of the Revolutionary War. British troops were attempting to seize colonial supplies. Sam Adams and John Hancock were warned by Paul Revere that "The British are coming!". Actually, it was Revere, Dawes and Prescott :) Actually, it was Prescott, because Revere was arrested, and Dawes got lost. Actually, they didn't say the British are coming, because they still thought of themselves as British, and it was supposed to be all hush hush. (bro these definitions are making me cringe)