The weather - - the weather is what stressed me out the most for this event. The predictions leading up to it were not very promising, with calls for pretty much a rainy day.
Once the date is chosen, then it's time to pray that God blesses us with a good day.
Saturday, April 27 began as a damp, muggy morning, with rain cells floating overhead, spewing the drops all over southeastern lower Michigan. Then it would stop. Then begin again. Then stop.
Finally, it ended for good, though the clouds hung thick and heavy, giving us even more threats of rain. But, soon after our Patriot's Day event began, something wonderful happened: suddenly the sun broke through...hints at first...then outright a sunshiny day! With upper 70s to 80 degree temperatures to boot!
It could not have been any better!
And...you are about to see over 80 photos commemorating our commemoration!
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For the life of me I simply cannot understand why Patriot's Day, commemorating the start of the American War of Independence - the American Revolution, which took place at Lexington & Concord in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775 - is not a national holiday. Oh, a few states do: Massachusetts, Maine, Florida, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and North Dakota. Such a poor showing, if you ask me. Patriot's Day was first celebrated in Massachusetts in 1894 and was proclaimed by then-governor Frederic Greenhalge to diffuse a budding rivalry between Lexington and Concord — who had dueling celebrations to mark the beginning of the American Revolution.
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| We're doing our part. How about the rest of you? |
The holiday was originally observed on April 19, the anniversary of the battles themselves. Since 1969, however, the third Monday in April recognizes the battles as well as the aftermath of the "shot heard 'round the world." The day is celebrated with historical reenactments, sporting events (the Boston Marathon), and parades. Sadly, the Boston Marathon seems to have over-taken what the holiday is actually about (thank you, media---yes, I am being sarcastic here).
Perhaps this nation's beginnings should also be acknowledged and commemorated here in Michigan as well. Since 2019 (excluding the covid scare of 2020 & 2021) we have celebrated this historic event every last Saturday of April with a reenactment of the Massachusetts battles, and also include showing civilian life as well.
So here we are in 2024 - the 249th anniversary - and, believe it or not, I'm actually seeing quite a few notations/postings on Facebook about this "minor" holiday, and the honors are coming from friends belonging to both political parties.
That makes me happy.
Now to get the rest of the Country on board...
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Pre-Battle - Lexington:
Please remember that we are not actually in Massachusetts; we are at historic Mill Race Village, a Victorian open-air museum located in Northville, Michigan, who so very graciously opened its gates to my plans and have allowed such a dream come true. Therefore, everything done here is makeshift for Lexington and Concord.
We do our best to keep it as real as we can, and, for the most part, it works. And I realize that the distance between the opposing forces is far closer than what actually happened - that seems par for the course at most reenactments. We work with what we have, and that's why there is a narrator at this event.
There may be some who don't like what we're doing here.
Oh well.
We're not going to stop---in fact, it is growing in numbers for both reenactors as well as visitors who come to watch. Of that, I am very proud.
So---let's look at what happened back in 1775:
The actual beginnings of this so important day in history - April 19, 1775 - actually occurred in the wee hours the night before, with the warning rides of Paul Revere and dozens of others, and then the marching all night of the Regular army and the forming up of the Lexington militia on the Lexington Green and at Buckman's Tavern.
We decided not to reenact in the midnight and overnight hours (lol), for I don't believe we'd get too many participants, and we'da' had much less visitors, to come out at that time. And I am certain none of the neighbors would appreciate it. So, 'twas in the daytime hours - late morning - that we felt best.
The portrayers of the Lexington militia spent their time in our version of Buckman Tavern.
One of the most recognizable structures on the Lexington Battle Green (or Lexington Common) is the historic Buckman Tavern. Buckman Tavern was located near the intersection of the Boston-Concord Road and the road to Bedford. Like other taverns, the building served as a local eatery, overnight space for travelers, and a gathering place for official and unofficial local meetings. Taverns of the 18th century served as social and political centers of the community. Here, residents would meet to engage in debate, share information, and also hear news from those traveling through town and staying at the tavern.
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| A likeness of John Buckman, owner of the tavern |
In 1775, the tavern was operated by John Buckman. The Buckmans were politically labeled as Whigs (favorable to colonial resistance to British policies) and like many of the men in Lexington, John was part of the Lexington Training Band (local militia unit). Many of the civic and religious leaders in Lexington were outraged by the British response to the Boston Tea Party in the passing of the Coercive Acts, which served as a motivator for men to join their local militias. John Buckman agreed and took an active role in supporting the Whig cause.
Whig leaders, John Hancock and Samuel Adams, were staying that night in Lexington, only a few feet from the Buckman Tavern at the Hancock-Clarke House. That night Paul Revere rode into town to spread the alarm that British Regulars were on the move. Many believed that Hancock and Adams were British targets (though this has never been proven). The Lexington militia was soon called out and met on the Lexington Common led by Captain John Parker.
With dozens of armed militia on the Common, Parker waited the arrival of the British column. But after several hours the British failed to arrive. Parker ordered the militia to disperse but to be ready to return if called upon. Many decided the best place to wait out the evening was at Buckman Tavern. Though it was early morning, John Buckman opened up the tap room and many of the militia passed the time with drinks and conversation. At about 4:30 a.m. a rider appeared and said the British Regulars were just down the road. The men poured out of the tavern and back onto the Common. At about 5 a.m. seventy-seven Lexington militia faced off with several hundred British Regulars.
(From THIS site)
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| Our two lovely ladies serving as the tavern wenches. Lynn, on the right, portrays herself as Mrs. Buckman, wife of John. Now, the term "wench" in our modern time would not be taken very kindly by most women. However, in days of old, "wench" went through many different definitions, depending on the era, and for our 1775 use of the word was akin to "waitress" today. So, no, it was not necessarily a bad or degrading word in 1775. |
Upon researching tavern wenches, the definitions are all over the place, and the meanings are as varied as the trees in a forest. I also found it interesting that the different search engines (Google, Duck Duck Go, etc) will link you to different meanings as well.
So, I got my initial information from an old book. Like everything else, word meanings change over time, and wench was once for a girl, then a servant, then a black servant girl, then a prostitute...and to find deep research can be difficult, sadly.
Bells rang, drums beat---"The regulars are out!" Women gathered children and silver and fled to swamps. Men seized muskets and powder-horns. Other men mounted and rode off to other towns to carry the warning.
Bells rang, drums beat---"The regulars are out!" Women gathered children and silver and fled to swamps. Men seized muskets and powder-horns. Other men mounted and rode off to other towns to carry the warning.
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| The militia accoutrements. It was a time-honored American rule for the men of town to empty their loaded weapons before entering the tavern, just as they had in the early morning hours of April 19, 1775. |
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| Charlotte, who's husband is also a Whig, happily serves the Lexington militiamen. |
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| A few of the militiamen, tired of waiting for the Regulars to show up, filed into the Buckman Tavern. |
Taverns were the pulse of 18th century urban life, and their importance to the local community cannot be overstated. These "publick houses" (or 'ordinaries,' as they were also known) have played an important part in social, political, and even military life, though we see their importance taking more of a back seat in their role in our Nation's history.
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| I see the minister in the background, who can give the militiamen the faith and strength needed to carry through the day. Rob and Bob discuss the possibilities of the day's events should the Redcoats come marching through. |
The Battle - Lexington:
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| We had a good crowd of people who came out to watch the reenactments, and so I was a sort of narrator of the events about to happen. Many know about Lexington & Concord but do not remember the details, so my narration and the reenactment unfolding before their eyes was certainly a history lesson! |
Paul Revere came a-riding into town - in this case, running into town - shouting how the Regulars are on the road, heading this way. In Lexington, as he approached the house where Adams and Hancock were staying, Sergeant Monroe, acting as a guard outside the house, requested that he not make so much noise. “Noise!” cried Revere, “You’ll have noise enough before long. The regulars are coming out!”
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| Ken Roberts, the man who has been reenacting since 1960 (!), had everyone take the oath before going out onto the field. He portrayed Capt. John Parker. |
"The Regulars are on the march!! The Regulars are coming out!! To arms!! To arms!!" And so I, as Paul Revere, ran to the school house and began to ring the bell.
And then...
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| Just as the militia hit our version of Lexington Green...the Redcoats came a-marching through. |
Reverend Jonas Clarke was hosting patriot guests John Hancock and Samuel Adams when they were awakened by Paul Revere and his famous warning in the early hours of April 19, 1775.
Dolly (Dorothy) Hancock, wife of John, gave her account of the events of April 19 and insinuated that from the moment Paul Revere had come into the parsonage belonging to Reverend Jonas Clarke the night before, she had felt the charge in the air all around her: change was coming. When John Hancock heard from Revere that British troops were on their way, he "gave the alarm and the Lexington bell was rung all night."
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| Just after dawn, British troops appeared at the far end of the Lexington Green. Dolly could see their uniforms, bright red against the lightening skies behind them. She drew back from the window, suddenly frightened. Dolly listened intently to the sounds coming from outside. She heard drums, feet shuffling, a rumble of jumbled voices. |
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| All was quiet and then a shot rang out. Dolly rushed to look out the window as the fighting began. Shouts, drums, musket shots... |
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| ...and cries of pain were the background to gray smoke against a vivid blue sky; |
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| Then she heard a voice calling out, ordering the militiamen to withdraw: "Lay down your arms, you damned rebels, and disperse." |
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| The militia and the Redcoats fired on one another, starting the revolution. Few of Parker’s men managed to fire more than once, if that. Nothing was right, except the courage.
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| Militiaman John Munroe, grazed across the cheek and with a scorch mark on his jacket where another bullet had passed between his arm and his waist, fired, retreated a short distance, then loaded his musket with a double charge, which blew off a foot of the barrel. |
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Pitcairn slashed at the air with his sword in a futile signal to cease fire. “Our men without any orders rushed in upon them,” Lieutenant Barker of the King’s Own told his diary.
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...black boots on green grass; and wounds that dripped red blood from a torn brown coat. Dolly stood back as two wounded men were brought into the parsonage. She bent down to see what she could do for them... |
(from the book, American Rebels by Nina Sankovitch)
Samuel Adams, upon hearing of the gunplay, exclaimed, “Oh, what a glorious morning is this!” But Adams had not been there to see the divine clay smeared on Lexington’s green, along with the litter of hundreds of torn paper cartridges. Reverend Clarke was there, watching from several hundred yards’ distance as Smith, who had prevented his men from pillaging the nearby houses, agreed to allow them a celebratory salute. The redcoats “drew up and formed in a body on the Common,” Clarke reported, “fired a volley and gave three huzzahs by way of triumph.” Then, forming again by companies, they turned and marched west, toward Concord.
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| And onward the King's Own marched to Concord to search for arms, not realizing that the vast majority had already been relocated. |
Deposition of Captain John Parker Concerning the Battle at Lexington
Lexington April 25th, 1775
I, John Parker, of lawful age, and Commander of the Militia in Lexington, do testify and declare That on the 19th Instant, in the Morning, about one of the Clock, being informed that there were a Number of Regular Officers riding up and down the Road, stopping and insulting People as they passed the Road, and also was informed that a Number of Regular troops were on their March from Boston, in order to take the Province Stores at Concord, ordered our Militia to meet on the Common in said Lexington, to consult what to do, and concluded not to be discovered, nor meddle or make with said Regular Troops (if they should approach) unless they should insult or molest us and upon their sudden Approach I immediately ordered our Militia to disperse and not to fire. Immediately said Troops made their appearance and rushed furiously, fired upon and killed eight of our party, without receiving any Provocation therefor from us.
John Parker
The first and most common description of women’s actions on the day of the battle is that they fled. Women gathered their children and valuable possessions and left the town to hide in the woods, in other houses, or in other towns entirely.
While many women and their children left their homes concerned for their safety, still others remained in the town to assist in the war effort. As the men of Lexington departed to meet the enemy, many of their wives and children gathered to prepare meals for their husbands, fathers, and sons. Reverend Cyrus Hamlin recalls that women brought beef, pork, potatoes, and cabbages from their homes and gathered them together collectively.
Many carried off their valuables such as silverware and brought what they could carry with them, some hid their silver in various places such as "a brush heap in back of the house," while others buried theirs in the ground, only to retrieve them after the excitement had ended.
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Burying their silverware so the Redcoats wouldn't find their treasures.
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The Battles - Concord:
Due to Paul Revere, Billy Dawes, Samuel Prescott, and dozens of other warning riders the night before, around 500 militia initially showed up at Concord. At least 3,500 were present by the time the British returned to Boston.
The web of riders worked perfectly.
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| The militiamen hustled to Concord’s North Bridge, which was being defended by a contingent of Redcoats, who fired first but fell back when the colonists returned the volley. |
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| Some say "the shot heard 'round the world" happened in Concord, but I feel whoever fired the first shot in Lexington - that was "the shot heard 'round the world." |
"After searching Concord for about four hours, the British prepared to return to Boston, located 18 miles away. By that time, almost 2,000 militiamen—known as minutemen for their ability to be ready on a moment’s notice—had descended to the area, and more were constantly arriving. "
(from THIS site)
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| "Captain Davis was ordered to move his Acton minutemen to the head of the column—“I haven’t a man who’s afraid to go,” Davis replied. |
Davis was followed by the two Concord minute companies; their bayonets would help repel any British counterattack. The column surged forward in two files. Some later claimed that fifers played “The White Cockade,” a Scottish dance air celebrating the 1745 Jacobite uprising. Others recalled only silence but for footfall and Barrett’s command “not to fire first.” The militia, a British soldier reported, advanced “with the greatest regularity.”
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| Without orders, a British soldier fired into the river. The white splash rose as if from a thrown stone. More shots followed, a spatter of musketry that built into a ragged volley. Much of the British fire flew high—common among nervous or ill-trained troops—but not all. |
Captain Davis of Acton pitched over dead, blood from a gaping chest wound spattering the men next to him. Private Abner Hosmer also fell dead, killed by a ball that hit below his left eye and blew through the back of his neck. Three others were wounded, including a young fifer and Private Joshua Brooks of Lincoln, grazed in the forehead so cleanly that another private concluded that the British, improbably, were “firing jackknives." Others knew better. Captain David Brown, who lived with his wife, Abigail, and ten children 200 yards uphill from the bridge, shouted, “G** damn them, they are firing balls! Fire, men, fire!” The cry became an echo, sweeping the ranks: “Fire! For God’s sake, fire!” The crash of muskets rose to a roar.
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| The Redcoats did not expect such a response in Concord after what had happened in Lexington. |
Rebekah Fiske:
In the early morning of April 19th, word reached the Fiske family that His Majesty’s forces were advancing on Concord. As many of her neighbors fled for safety, Rebekah was in a difficult situation. Her 83-year-old father-in-law, Lieutenant Ebenezer Fiske, was seriously ill and bedridden. At the same time, her husband was also suffering from some unknown impairment and was excused from militia service. As a result, she made the difficult choice of staying in her home.
According to a 19th-century narrative she shared with the Harvard Register, Fiske recalled, “I heard the guns … at about day-break, but being unapprehensive of danger, did not, like most of our neighbors move off for fear of the enemy; especially as my father was confined to his bed of a severe sickness so that in fleeing from the house we must leave him behind, which I could not consent to. Our domestics had already absconded, we knew not whither. I, therefore, and my husband, who on account of a certain indisposition, was incapacitated for military service, remained in the house with our father, while the enemy passed; which they did without offering us any injury. I remember well, their exact order, red coats, glittering arms, and appalling numbers.”
(From THIS site)
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| By any means possible... |
Rebekah Fiske from THIS site:
Some time after, on their arrival at Concord, a report of musketry was once more heard, and in broken and incessant volleys. It was a sound of death to us. All now was trepidation, fever, and rushing to arms; women and children bewildered and scouring across the fields. With much ado we succeeded in yoking our oxen and getting father on his bed into an ox-cart, and thus moving him off as carefully as we could to a neighbor’s house, at some distance from the highway, on which we expected the enemy to return. Before leaving our house, I secured some of the most valuable of my effects, putting my large looking glass between two featherbeds, and fastening all the windows and doors. The house we carried father to had been already vacated, and here I was left alone with him. The dreadful sound of approaching guns was still ringing in my ears. Bewildered and affrighted, I betook myself into the house-cellar there to await my fate. Occasionally, I ventured to peep out to discover the approach of the enemy. After remaining some time in this dreadful state of fear and suspense, I at last discovered the enemy coming down a long hill on the highway partly upon a run and in some confusion, being closely beset by ‘our men’ in flank and rear. The terrific array of war soon came fully into view, and as soon passed off again from before my eyes, like a horrid vision, leaving only a cloud of smoke behind and the groans of the dying, who were strewed in its wake.
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After the rattle of musketry had grown somewhat weaker from distance, and my heart became more relieved of its apprehensions, I resolved to return home. |
More from Rebekah Fiske from THIS site:
“But what an altered scene began to present itself, as I approached the house—garden walls thrown down—my flowers trampled upon—earth and herbage covered with the marks of hurried footsteps. The house had been broken open, and on the door-step—awful spectacle—there lay a British soldier dead, on his face, though yet warm, in his blood, which was still trickling from a bullet-hole through his vitals. His bosom and his pockets were stuffed with my effects, which he had been pillaging, having broken into the house through a window. On entering my front room, I was horror-struck. Three mangled soldiers lay groaning on the floor and weltering in their blood which had gathered in large puddles about them. “Beat out my brains, I beg of you,” cried one of them, a young Briton, who was dreadfully pierced with bullets, through almost every part of his body, “and relieve me from this agony.” You will die soon enough, said I, with a revengeful pique. A grim Irishman, shot through the jaws, lay beside him, who mingled his groans of desperation with curses on the villain who had so horridly wounded him. The third was a young American employing his dying breath in prayer. A bullet had passed through his body, taking off in its course the lower part of his powder-horn. The name of this youthful patriot was J. Haywood of Acton. His father came and carried his body home; it no lies in Acton graveyard. These were the circumstances of his death: being ardent and close in the pursuit, he stopped a moment at our well to slake his thirst. Turning from the well, his eye unexpectedly caught that of the Briton, whom I saw lying dead on the door-step, just coming from the house with his plunder. They were about a rod from each other. The Briton know it was death for him to turn, and the American scorned to shrink. A moment of awful suspense ensued—when both simultaneously levelled their muskets at each other’s heart, fired, and fell on their faces together. My husband drew the two Britons off on a sled, and buried them in one of our pastures, where they now lie, beneath a pine tree which has grown up out of their grave. The Irishman was the only one of the three that survived.’
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| “Fire! For God’s sake, fire!” |
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| Rather than fight in Concord itself, the rebels withdrew to North Bridge. While the British fruitlessly searched the town for arms, the rebels awaited reinforcements there. |
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Some hours later there was a second skirmish between 90 light infantrymen sent to secure the bridge and around 500 militiamen led by Barrett. Finding themselves outnumbered and outmaneuvered, the light infantry retreated back to the town having suffered several casualties. |
Four companies of light infantry marched to Colonel Barrett's house and mill (James Barrett was Colonel of the Concord, Massachusetts militia. His farm was the storage site of all the town of Concord's militia gunpowder, weapons and two pairs of prized bronze cannons, according to secret British intelligence), which only a few weeks earlier had indeed been an important arsenal. But since April 7, when Paul Revere carried his first warning to Concord, the town had been hard at work, moving military supplies to safety. Much material had been sent to Sudbury, Stow, and other places. What remained was hidden with high cunning. At the last minute, Colonel Barrett's sons plowed a field on his farm, planted weapons in the fresh furrows, and covered them over again. The British soldiers passed by without a second thought, little suspecting the crop that has been sown there. British Ensign De Berniere wrote in frustration, "We did not find so much as we expected." In fact, they found scarcely anything at all.
The Battles - Road to Boston:
So far there had been fighting at Lexington Green where the first colonists were killed, about 5:00 a.m., and at Concord's North Bridge where the first British soldiers died, around 9:30 a.m.
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| The situation was about to get much much worse as the British column moved out east from Concord center on the road back to Boston. |
They were attacked by newly arrived minute and militia companies from Reading, Chelmsford, and Billerica at a road junction called Meriam's Corner. The British had to pull their flank guard in to cross a brook. The colonists took advantage of this choke point and opened fire.
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| This action is the start of what came to be known as the "Battle Road." From there the fighting continued as the column pushed east from Concord into Lincoln. |
Using his fieldpieces, British Lieutenant General Hugh Percy kept his men as far away as possible from the scattered fringe shooting on the match back to Boston. His job was only to get Major General Francis Smith's, the British commander during most of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, crippled force back to Boston and his own brigade with them.
The light infantry and grenadiers that had been to Concord sprawled exhausted on the fields around Munroe's Tavern, recovering their wind and strength, in the midst of what Percy staked out as a protected zone---a great square with his soldiers forming lines to make the boundaries.
Within the square there was, in addition to William Munroe's tavern, a settlement of seven or eight houses, most of them close to a century old. Among them was the house of the Widow Mulliken, where Dr. Samuel Prescott, who rode with Paul Revere the night before, had spent the evening before his participation on the midnight ride, courting Lydia. Mrs. Mulliken's seven children ranged from her oldest son, Nathaniel, twenty three, who had been on the common in the morning and fought again in the afternoon, down to a ten year old. Like most of the households along the main roads through Lexington from Concord to Boston, the Mulliken house was evacuated of women & children. And all morning while the British were occupied at Concord, the women had buried their silverware and other valuables all around the countryside, and then repaired to the remoter farmhouses until the British had left for good.
Near the Mulliken house were two others: the house and shop of Joshua Bond, the saddle and harness maker, and the considerably more pretentious establishment of Deacon Joseph Loring and his family of eight.
All three of these houses were burned to the ground by the British, without doubt at the order of Percy...Munroe's Tavern he used as a hospital for treating the wounded...
(from the book Lexington and Concord by Arthur B. Tourtellot)
The Battle at the Jason Russell House
On April 19, 1775, the house and its surrounding yard was the site of the bloodiest conflict of the first battle in the Revolutionary War, resulting in more colonial troop deaths than anywhere else along the battle road. As British troops marched back towards Boston, heavy fighting occurred along their route through Arlington (then Menotomy). Brigadier-General Hugh Percy gave orders to clear every dwelling to eliminate snipers, and houses along the way were ransacked and set afire by the retreating British. The running battle continued to Jason Russell's house, where Russell was joined by men from Beverly, Danvers, Lynn, Salem, Dedham, and Needham at his house.
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| The yellow "Hunter House" stood in for the "Russell House." |
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| There were a few militiamen hiding inside. They were found and brought out to the front. |
These skirmishes erupted into a full-fledged battle at the Jason Russell House. A company of minute-men under the command of Gen. Gideon Foster, along with several other companies of minute-men and militia, had left Danvers earlier. All reached Menotomy before the British. Many of them went into a walled enclosure near the Jason Russell House where they planned to intercept the retreating soldiers. Despite being warned to watch for a flank-guard, by Israel Hutchinson, one of their company captains, they focused on the main body of British as it passed. When the party flanking the Concord Road to the south surprised them, the Americans fled to the Jason Russell House.
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| One tried to escape and was shot dead. |
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| They were brought to their knees... |
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| ...and shot execution-style. |
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| And after the deed was done, the Redcoats made an attempt to get back to Boston. |
Russell was outside his house and joined his fellow minute-men as they fled toward it. Being old and slow, he was in the rear and was shot twice as he reached his own doorway and then stabbed eleven times with bayonets. The British then rushed into the house and engaged its occupants, prompting the minutemen to find shelter. Eight minute-men made it to the basement and fired up the stairs. When Jason's wife returned, she found her husband and all of the dead laid side by side in the kitchen. The house itself was riddled with bullet holes, many of them still visible. The blood stains on the floor were still visible when it was replaced in 1863.
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| I was pleased at the battle scenarios at this reenactment. Of course the men would not have been so close to one another in actual battle, but they also don't fire real musket balls either - we make do with what we have. |
Benjamin Cooper and his wife, Rachel Cooper, owned Cooper’s Tavern. Nearby, along the Menotomy River, was the prosperous farm of Samuel Whittemore, seventy-eight, father of nine children...he heard the Percy troops marching along the road, he grabbed his old musket, a brace of pistols, and the sword of his captain days, and went forth alone to do battle with a brigade. He took shelter in the advantageous position by Cooper's Tavern. Within the tavern sat two known topers (drinkers) of Menotomy, Jason Winship and Jabez Wyman, who, at forty-three and thirty-nine, were over three decades Whittemore's junior. With them in the bar were the innkeeper Cooper and his wife, Rachel, both of whom fled to the cellar as the British approached. But the convivial (cheerful/friendly) brothers-in-law, Winship and Wyman, refused to budge: They were drinking flip. Wyman was warned of the danger but says he, "Let us finish the mug, they won't come yet."
Outside the tavern, from behind his stone wall barricade, the well-armed Whittemore spotted an approaching British relief brigade. Whittemore loaded his musket and and killed a British soldier; ambushing the British Grenadiers of the 47th Regiment of Foot. He then drew his dueling pistols, killed a second and mortally wounded a third. By the time Whittemore had fired his third shot, a British detachment had discovered his position; Whittemore drew his sword and attacked, and several soldiers converged upon him.
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Beaten, shot, and stabbed several times, 78-year-old Samuel Whittemore still survived and lived to the age of 96! (Painting courtesy of the artist Don Troiani) |
The Redcoats, in the meantime, satisfied that they (thought they had) "killed the old rebel," turned their attention to the tavern, a famous Whig resort and a likely place for more snipers. Inside they found Winship and Wyman at their drinks and left them dead, for under the heavy fire that was raining on the British they took no time to interrogate able-bodied men along the line of their retreat. If they looked as if they could have fired, they were killed.
A month after the incident, Mrs. Cooper was interviewed and described the dramatic scene, “the King’s regular troops under the command of General Gage, upon their return from blood and slaughter, which they had made at Lexington and Concord, fired more than one hundred bullets into the house where we dwell, through doors, and windows,…The two aged gentlemen (Winship and Wyman) were immediately most barbarously and inhumanly murdered by them, being stabbed through in many places, their heads mangled, skulls broke, and their brains out on the floor and walls of the house.”
(from a variety of sources, including the book Lexington and Concord by Arthur B. Tourtellot)
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| This was our first go at Battle Road~ I was happy at the outcome and am already thinking about next year's 250th! |
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| The end of the battle meant that some women had become widows. |
The British soldiers who stumbled back into Boston late in the afternoon of April 19 were exhausted and disheartened by the day's battles. Almost half of (General) Gage's troops had been either injured or killed. The whole day had been a terrible awakening as to the capabilities of the Americans. Thousands upon thousands of colonists had shown up to fight, and they appeared to be disciplined, determined, and fearless. As reported by Lord Percy, "The Rebels attacked us in a vert scattered, irregular manner, but with perseverance & resolution...Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob, will find himself much mistaken."
(from the book, American Rebels by Nina Sankovitch)
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| My son, Robbie, portraying a militiaman/ a minuteman looks like he's had quite a day, eh? |
By the time the retreating regulars returned to Lexington, “the women and children had been so scattered and dispersed, that most of them were out of the way.”
"John Adams rode his horse slowly along the road that lead from Lexington to Concord. It was a battlefield that he rose through under damp and heavy skies, a descent into a hellish world of grays and browns, pounded dirt mixed with blood, rotting carcasses of horses, and torn garments, bloodied and burnt with powder, remnants of the injured and the dead.
He spoke to men and women he met on the way, who told him they had fought against terrible odds: 'if we did not defend ourselves they would kill us.' John became convinced that 'the die was cast, the Rubicon passed,' and a civil war had begun. John turned his horse around and returned to Braintree, feeling sick to his stomach all the way, with all that he had seen and heard."
(from the book, American Rebels by Nina Sankovitch)
The Citizens:
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| On the left, here, we had Dr. Bloodsworth, speaking on 18th century medical practices. On the right we had Jerry, the town brewer speaking about 18th century beer and its importance. I am so very happy that these two fellows (and Henry Trippe, who sets up near the Regular/Redcoat camp) come out to this event and present in the manner in which they do. It's a great learning experience for visitors. |
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| Speaking with Chris and Pastor Gerring. |
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| My wife, Patty, spent her day spinning at her wheel. |
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| "Did you hear of the news this day?" |
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| My lovely bride and myself - - - I love when she takes part in these events/reenactments~ |
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| My son, Robbie, portrayed a militiaman and a minuteman. Reenacting is in our blood. |
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| Captain Parker is very concerned about his health. Ken Roberts often portrays Parker during our Patriot's Day event, and does a fine job at his portrayal. |
John Parker was a New England colonial farmer, smith, soldier, and colonial militia officer who commanded the Lexington, Patriot, colonial militia at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.
The Lexington militia fired in a single group of attacks along the road that would inflict heavy casualties on the British Regulars as they retreated back to Boston from Concord late in the day, which was known as Parker's Revenge. John Parker did not live long into the war, suffering from tuberculosis, he died at the age of forty-six on September 17, 1775, and was buried at Lexington's Old Burying Ground. There are no known paintings or depictions of him, but it is said that The Lexington Minuteman statue erected in 1900 was modeled after him.
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| Miss Charlotte checked on Miss Patty to see how she fared after the shootings around her house. |
Various Images:
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| The 49th Regiment Of Foot - a part of His Majesty’s forces I certainly appreciate their help in making Patriot's Day the success that it has become! |
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| Dalton and Robbie - - Dalton's hand is as large as Robbie's chest! |
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| Ben Franklin and I did a flag-raising in the morning. |
As I was questioned (again) about why Ben Franklin was at our Lexington and Concord reenactment when the real Dr. Franklin was still on a ship on his way over to America after spending decades in England.
1) because he explains to the spectators the occurrences that lead America to this fate in the way he saw it while in England, as well as his own role in helping them to understand the colonist's point of view.
2) because he had a falling out with Parliament and was pretty much forced to make the journey back to America.So, yeah...I believe having Benjamin Franklin, perhaps the greatest American, at our event is a major plus.
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| No...'twasn't a flag of the period, though I believe it was a 48 star flag - before Alaska and Hawaii. |
Since this is April of 1775, we were not yet speaking the treasonous thoughts of independence quite yet. It really wouldn't be until January of the following year - 1776 - before such an idea would begin to make waves.
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May 7, 1775 Amidst all that good fellowship, yesterday, I missed the real news, which is that Philadelphia is preparing for war. At breakfast, Aunt Sally told me about the big events that happened while we were still at sea. What happened was the first battle — or the first two skirmishes — I don't know yet what to call them — between the Americans and the British. Blood was spilled and people were killed on both sides. |
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| My friend Emily, upon seeing this shot, wrote, "This picture is epic!" I'll take it! |
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When I snap a photograph at a reenactment, many of them will be natural - unposed - as if the viewer is gazing into the past. That's what I like to think of these two images as.
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| Inside our Buckman's Tavern. |
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| Enjoying some respite inside the tavern - away from the outdoor activity. |
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| Daily life... |
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| I spoke to our large group of spectators about the ladies hiding their silverware from the Redcoats! |
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| The British Regulars took over the school house. |
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| Bob, in the center, runs historic Old Fort Wayne in Indiana, and Tony, on the right, heads up the 1st Pennsylvania reenacting group. I like how the American flag is flying over my head. |
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| Jan Gibson (grandma Jan) and I had a fine talk. |
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| I am happy and honored to have one of the Founding Fathers - Dr. Franklin - take part. As Paul Revere, I suppose some might include me (in my portrayal) in that Founding Fathers category. However, there are those who do not consider Revere a Founding Father, but, rather, include him in the over-all generalization as being a part of the Founding Generation. Or a Patriot. |
When I looked up who was considered a Founding Father - oh my! - you'da thought it was an argument between ardent Trump or Biden supporters! Snarkiness was running high. The comments are as cut & dry as any I'd seen (if you do not agree, then you are a nick ninny!) So I looked for the more reasonable comments. And after bopping around a number of different sites, I think Jim Piecuch, writer for the Journal of the American Revolution, said it best:
"Anyone who played a significant role in the events leading up to the Revolution, the Revolution itself, the writing of the Constitution, and its implementation through Jefferson’s presidency is, in my opinion, a “Founding Father.” The actual service doesn’t matter; the individual could have been a leader of the Sons of Liberty, a politician at the local, state, or federal level, a military officer, or a diplomat. A “Founding Father” could even be a woman, such as the political writer Mercy Otis Warren."
And this comment by Thomas Fleming also makes sense:
"By consensus, most historians limit the narrow definition to six: Washington, Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and Madison. A broader definition would include many worthwhile individuals, such as Sam Adams, John Hancock, Joseph Warren, Nathanael Greene, etc."
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| Benjamin Franklin, though still on the Ocean's waters during Lexington & Concord, became an important political figure not long after his arrival: |
The voyage for Benjamin Franklin crossing from England to America was notably calm, but in America the long-brewing storm had begun. On the night of April 18, 1775, Franklin was in mid-ocean. When Franklin landed in Philadelphia on May 5, delegates of the Second Continental Congress were beginning to gather there. There was still no consensus, except maybe among the radical patriots in the Massachusetts delegation, about whether the war that had just erupted should be waged for independence or merely for the assertion of American rights within a British Empire. Dr. Franklin was selected as a member of the Congress the day after his arrival. Nearing 70, he was by far the oldest. Most of the 62 others who convened in the Pennsylvania statehouse— such as Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry from Virginia and John Adams and John Hancock from Massachusetts—had not even been born when Franklin first went to work there more than 40 years earlier.
(From an excellent article in the Smithsonian Magazine)
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| Stirring music by the Plymouth Fife & Drum Corps ~ |
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| The Plymouth Fife & Drum Corps played period music and was very much a crowd-pleaser. |
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| Lynn joined me in watching the wonderful musicians. |
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| Brent, Ken, and Bob~ Brent heads up The Massachusetts Provincial Battalion - a French and Indian War unit. So glad he came out as a minuteman here. |
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| It was nice that in between the battles and scenarios we all had the chance to visit with each other and even answer questions from the spectators. |
Thank you to either WWJ or WJR radio (there was a couple - spectators - who came up to speak with me and told me they heard about our event on the radio, but they could not remember which one of these radio stations they heard it on). In fact, a few interested guests showed up on account of one of those radio stations announcing that, "If you hear musket fire coming from Northville's Mill Race Village, don't be alarmed - it's the Revolutionary War reenactment!"
That was so very cool to hear!!!
And, again, thank you!
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| I always try to have an annual group photo taken of all participants~ Here are two:
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| From that ol' conservative President, John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address. Well, I suppose he would be considered conservative by today's standards. |
I am very proud of what we are able to accomplish with our representation of Lexington & Concord.
And seeing that no other historical museums in our area have announced any sort of celebration of America's 250th, I am so very pleased that Mill Race Village is as accepting as they are, and are willing to step up and host such an event. I mean...we're in Michigan, for Pete's sake---not Massachusetts! And yet, look what we're doing and accomplishing - - - yes...very proud indeed.
Next year, my friends, will be Lexington & Concord's 250th - we're on the edge.
And I'm already planning to make Patriot's Day 2025 the best one yet!
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| Get used to seeing this in my posts - - since it seems very few are openly wanting to celebrate America, I plan to as often as I can. |
The sun is rising on the Semiquincentennial - the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States of America. So far the 250th anniversaries of the Bloody Massacre in King's Street (Boston Massacre) and the Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor (Boston Tea Party) have both been commemorated and celebrated and reenacted.
Next up - - the 250th remembrance of the Battles Of Lexington & Concord.
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| Until next time, see you in time. |
And, coming up shortly:
Taylor (Michigan) Colonial Days Event
Taylor (Michigan) Colonial Days Event
It's been many years since Taylor has hosted a Revolutionary War event. And with Colonial Kensington not taking place this year, this new/old one will be most welcome!
Lynn Anderson
Charlotte Bauer
Jean Cook
Patty Giorlando (my dear wife)
Bob Jacobs
Brent Kemmer
Sheila Lee
Mary Marshall
More about Historic Mill Race Village:
History is preserved at Mill Race Historical Village, a gem of the Northville community. Created in 1972 by the Northville Historical Society, Mill Race Village serves as a focal point for the Northville community.
A living museum, the Village was built on land donated to the City of Northville by the Ford Motor Company. Once the site of a grist mill, the Village is home to a church, gazebo, school, rustic wooden bridge, an inn, blacksmith shop, general store, interurban train station, and several homes reminiscent of an era gone by. The New School Church was built in 1845 by a splinter group of the First Presbyterian Church of Northville. The Church exhibits a Greek Revival architectural style with a columned entrance portico. Moved to the Village in 1972, the Church is currently used for meetings, classes, and weddings.
The ramblings of the Rouge River also flows through the Village.
Click HERE for even more information about this gem.
Happy Patriot's Day!!!