Minute Man statue by Daniel Chester French
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.
We took advantage of today’s beautiful weather and took an excursion to Minute Man National Park in nearby Concord, Lincoln and Lexington. I’ve been a dozen times, but each new visit brings an appreciation of what happened on April 19, 1775. For instance, I’d always known that the North Bridge was significant because there the colonists first inflicted casualties on the “regulars” (a ranger corrected me when I referred to them as “the British” because at that time, everyone was still British), but the — tactical situation, shall we say? — at the bridge always confused me. After conversing with a park ranger, here’s how I now understand it:
The objective of the British army column was to march out from Boston through the night of April 18-19 and arrive in Concord at daybreak to find and seize arms (including four cannon possessed by the Massachusetts militia) and ammunition. Because of the excellent intelligence service organized by Paul Revere and his companions, colonial militia as far north as Dracut knew of the army’s approach before the troops had finished crossing the Charles River into Cambridge. Shortly after dawn, the 700 soldiers encountered the 80 members of the Lexington militia on that town’s common. Shooting erupted and eight militia were killed. The British army column continued on to Concord.
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