The Battle of Menotomy is regarded as a continuation of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The original force of 700 British regulars had been met by reinforcements in East Lexington to form a combined force of 1700 men. As for the colonial forces, a plaque placed at The Foot of the Rocks in Arlington Heights observes that “British Troops in retreat from bloody first skirmishes at Lexington and Concord were here opposed by colonial forces gathering from four counties and thirty towns. More men fell at the Foot of the Rocks and on the plains of Menotomy than in every other locale through which the adversary forces fought, that long day, April 19, 1775." 5,100 men from eastern Middlesex County and southern Essex County gathered in Menotomy to meet the retreating British troops on their way to Boston from Concord. 25 rebels and 40 British troops were killed in this battle. It was here in Menotomy that the first British soldiers were captured.