The Shot Heard 'round the World

The Old North Bridge, as the North Bridge is sometimes called, was built in 1760 and spans the Concord River. The timbers of this wooden structure reverberated with the shots that began the Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775. Paul Revere rode across this bridge earlier that day to warn the residents of Concord that the British were on their way. This warning gave the colonists time to hide their stockpiles of arms and ammunition that the British had come to confiscate and destroy. And it gave about 400 minutemen and militia time to occupy Punkatassett Hill and prepare themselves to face about 90 to 95 Brtitish soldiers. Under the command of Major John Buttrick, the colonial forces charged the Old North Bridge and overwhelmingly defeated the British regulars. Three British soldiers were killed, two of whom were later buried by the colonists near the east side of the bridge (the side closest to the town center). The heavy damage inflicted by the patriots caused the British to withdraw and march back to Boston in defeat. Three-quarters of a century later, American poet James Russell Lowell wrote a poem about those men who had been killed on the bridge. Today a stone marker on the eastern end of the Old North Bridge marks the spot where the British soldiers are buried. A four line inscription on the stone from Lowell's poem reads:
Grave of British Soldiers
"They came three thousand miles and died
To keep the past upon its throne
Unheard beyond the ocean tide
Their English mother made her moan."
April 19, 1775

Another American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, wrote and recited his poem "Concord Hymn" for the July 4, 1837 dedication of an obelisk monument, located on the east side of the Concord River near the Old North Bridge, to commemorate the anniversary of this historic site. Years later when Concord celebrated the centennial of the battle that took place on the North Bridge, a statue of the "Minuteman" was erected on the West side of the bridge. Four lines of Emerson's "Concord Hymn" poem were etched into the granite base of the Minuteman statue. The lines read:
"By the rude bridge that arched the flood
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world."

The Lexington Green

On the morning of April 19, 1775, seventy-seven militia men lined up acros the Lexington Green (a triangular grassy field that hasn't changed in over 200 years) to meet the incoming British Regulars. The British "Redcoats" had marched shoulder to shoulder from Boston and were on their way to the Lexington and Concord arsenal to confiscate the ammunition the colonists had stockpiled. The soldiers were ordered by the military governor of Massachusetts, General Thomas Gage, to remove and take possession of the contraband without any incident and return to Boston. But something happened along the way in Lexington. It is believed that General Gage's wife alerted the colonists about what was to happen. This gave the colonists time to hide most of their stockpile in the freshly-plowed fields in Concord (where the majority of the arsenal was located). Meanwhile, Captain John Parker, who was in charge of the militia in Lexington, instructed his fellow farmers to, "Stand your ground. Don't fire until fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." No one knows who fired first, but in the end, eight Lexington farmers were killed and ten were wounded. Two British soldiers also died.

Headquarters

In the early morning hours of April 19, 1775, the Lexington militia men met at Buckman's Tavern (yellow building), across the street from the Lexington Green, to await the British soldiers. Shortly before sunrise the militia learned that the British soldiers were approaching the town. The bell in the meeting house, which stood at the head of the Lexington Green, was sounded. William Diamond beat his drum and Captain Parker and his men left the comfort of Buckman Tavern to assemble into two lines across the foot of Lexington Green. Once the British arrived, a single fire was shot and the skirmish began the American Revolution. The central location of the tavern made it a popular stopping point for churchgoers during the noon break in Sunday services and for drovers who brought their herds to market. (Drovers were those who herded cattle or sheep.) The original front door of the tavern still displays a bullet hole from the 1775 Battle of Lexington.

William Munroe was the proprieter of the Munroe Tavern. When the Munroe family heard the news that the British were approaching, William joined Captain Parker and the other militia men at Buckman Tavern while his wife and children fled to hide from the soldiers. British Brigadier General Earl Percy and his 1,000 reinforcements occupied the Munroe Tavern (red building) as their headquarters and field hospital in the afternoon of April 19, 1775. The tavern dining room was converted into a medical center to treat the wounded. A bullet hole in the ceiling of the taproom from the short occupation by the British (they were in the tavern for one and one-half hours) is still visible today.

Alerting the Countryside

The colonists resented the taxes and the lack of a voice in their government for a long time. They also felt that King George III didn't care about them. They believed that he was solely interested in their money to make himself and England rich. The patriots truly disliked the actions that King George had taken against them when he sent British soldiers to the colonies to enforce his laws. The American patriots became more and more resentful and began to make and store ammunition in different parts of the colonies, especially in Concord, Massachusetts. The colonists knew that they were breaking the law but they felt that they had to defend themselves against an unfair king. To prepare themselves for any sort of confrontation, the patriots set up a system to alert the militia and minutemen that the British Regulars (soldiers) were on their way. Paul Revere, a patriot and a member of "The Sons of Liberty", had arranged that a signal from the Old North Church bell tower in Boston be given using a lantern. If the British were coming by land, one lantern should be used. If the British were coming by sea, two lanterns were to be displayed in the church bell tower. On the evening of April 18, 1775, the signal from the Old North Church sent Paul Revere, William Dawes, and other riders through the countryside awakening every household announcing that the British were on their way to Lexington from Boston. Church bells began to peel, drums began to beat, and gun shots began to roar, warning all patriots of the imminent danger and the call to arms of the militia and minutemen.

The Hancock-Clarke House in Lexington (yellow house with red door) was the destination of Paul Revere and William Dawes on the night of April 18, 1775 to warn the sleeping Samuel Adams and John Hancock (first signer of the Declaration of Independence) of the approaching British soldiers. Dr. Josephy Warren of Boston sent the two riders to Lexington, fearing that the British might capture Adams and Hancock. Revere and Dawes arrived seperately at the house around midnight, and then rode on to Concord to warn the remainder of the inhabitants.

Two historical objects of great importance are housed in the Hancock-Clarke House: the drum William Diamond used to rally the militia on the morning of April 19, 1775 and Major Pitcairn' pistoles. Major Pitcairn was in charge of the British soldiers at the Battle of Lexington and lost his matching pistols when his horse was shot out from under him. Patriot, Israel Putnam, carried the two pistoles with him throughout the Revolutinary War.