Senate Resolution No. 149
BY: Senator MAY
COMMEMORATING the 250th Anniversary of the Battles
of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 2025, and
recognizing their impact on the history of New York
State
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to commemorate
significant events which represent turning points in our unique history
and which are indelibly etched in the saga of our great Nation; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and
Concord on April 19, 2025, and to recognize their impact on the history
of New York State; and
WHEREAS, On the morning of April 19, 1775, hundreds of British
troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord to seize an arms cache;
Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen
began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column; and
WHEREAS, After a confrontation on the Lexington town green that left
nine people dead, the British soldiers marched on to Concord, where some
400 armed colonial militia members engaged the soldiers and forced them
to retreat back to Boston; and
WHEREAS, On April 23, 1775, word of the battle reached New York and
prompted many in the city to join or form militias; students from Kings
College, including Alexander Hamilton, joined a militia that would be
called the Hearts of Oak; and
WHEREAS, News of the battles of Lexington and Concord materially
altered the political landscape in New York; prior to that time, the New
York General Assembly had opposed efforts by the 12 other colonies to
resist British rule, had voted against the proceedings of the first
Continental Congress and refused to send delegates to the Second
Continental Congress; and
WHEREAS, By mid-May, 1775, the New York Provincial Congress convened
as a pro-independence alternative to the New York General Assembly, and
New York delegates James Duane, Lewis Morris, and Philip Livingston
attended the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, On May 26, 1775, one hundred New Yorkers signed a document
seeking "the salvation of the Rights and Liberties of America," among
them Abraham Ten Broeck of Albany County, Nathaniel Sackett of Dutchess
County, Theodorus Polhamus of Kings County, John DeLancey and John Van
Cortlandt of New York County, Zebulon Williams of Queens County,
Christopher Tappen of Ulster County, and Gouverneur Morris of
Westchester County; and
WHEREAS, Many New Yorkers would go on to distinguish themselves as
Patriots in the course of the war, including Alexander Hamilton, Isaac
Sears, Hercules Mulligan, Increase Carpenter, Colonel Peter Gansevoort,
and Generals Nicholas Herkimer, Nathanlel Woodhull, and Robert van
Rensselaer; and
WHEREAS, In light of the courage of those early combatants in the
war of American independence, and in consideration of the profound
impact their actions had on the course of history, April 19 is
celebrated as Patriots Day in Massachusetts; and
WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body that when events
of such historical consequence are brought to our attention, they should
be recalled and recognized by all the citizens of the great State of New
York; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and
Concord on April 19, 2025, and to recognize their impact on the history
of New York State.
