General Gage, the British commander in chief in the colonies, planned to launch a surprise attack on colonial military supplies in Concord to undermine the rebel movement. Paul Revere was warned of the plan and rode through the night to sound the alarm in Lexington, warning John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Revere was eventually captured by British soldiers but managed to spread word of the attack first. The next day, British troops engaged the colonial militia in Lexington, firing the first shots of the American Revolutionary War.