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Happy Belated Patriots’ Day! AK Version

May 4, 2020 / / 0 Comments
View from the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail

Hoofbeats pounded up the wet road lined with a small crowd in the grey dawn. Coming closer, you could hear the rider crying out, “The Regulars are coming! The Regulars are coming!” Then came the faint sounds of fifes and drums, signaling the British army was not far behind.

Last year, in Massachusetts, my sister, friend, and myself celebrated Patriots’ Day with numerous historical activities. We woke up at 3:30 am to be in Lexington for the 5:30 am reenactment of the Battle of Lexington where the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” was fired. Later we marched with the Sudbury Minutemen along the same route the original company would have taken to join the fight. With high hopes I declared I would definitely be doing it all again next year.

But a few events put a crimp in those plans. First of all, moving across the country. Secondly, being required to quarantine for two weeks on either end of traveling. So the festivities were a bit different than I had imagined, but still enjoyable nonetheless.

Lexington Green, Patriots’ Day 2019

To commemorate the special day, my sister and I decided to walk the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which runs about 11 miles along the northern coastline of Anchorage, Alaska. The distance was approximately equal to the march we did with the Sudbury Minutemen last year. To note, the Sudbury Minutemen march on every April 19th early in the morning, in order to coincide with the exact date and time of the 1775 events. However, we walked on Monday the 20th, which is the official holiday of Patriots’ Day. We also left our starting line a little later than 2019’s 6:30 am.

Beginning of the Trail on the North Side of Anchorage

We arrived at the railroad depot just north of downtown Anchorage at 7:45am. Never before had we walked the entire Tony Knowles Trail from start to finish. With many access points, we had often walked short segments of the trail near significant city parks.

As we walked, we decided to wish any and all passersby a ‘Happy Patriots’ Day.’ Judging from their responses, none of them had the least idea of what we were talking about.

Patriots’ Day honors the first official battles of the American Revolution: Lexington and Concord. British soldiers marched out from Boston in the wee hours of the night, aiming to confiscate a store of ammunition located in Concord, Massachusetts. Revolutionaries spread the word of their impending arrival (the midnight ride of Paul Revere, anyone? – though Revere wasn’t the only one).

When the Redcoats reached Lexington in the early morning, a few brave souls stood on the green (common land in the center of town), defying the soldiers’ advance. A shot – to this day no one knows from which side it came– was fired. Within moments, eight colonists were dead or dying, and the British marched on.

As my sister and I marched, we paused at the planet stations placed strategically along the path. An Anchorage highschool student devised this clever “Planet Walk.” Signs representing the planets are positioned in order, radiating out from a sun sculpture in downtown Anchorage. Each intervening distance is calculated to equate to the light speed distance actually between them. Now pedestrians can stroll along at light speed. Apparently we were walking faster than light speed, because we completed the trail in just over 4 hours, instead of the predicted 5.5 hours.

The Planets I Remembered to Photograph (the Sun is Located in Downtown)

The second battle on April 19, 1775 took place in Concord. Upon their arrival, the Redcoats began burning supplies and cannons gathered by the colonists. From a hill vantage point, 400 minute men and militia saw the smoke and believed the town was being burned. They advanced on the town’s North Bridge, which was guarded by 96 British Soldiers, who fired upon them. The colonists shot back. Five fell dead and more were wounded.

But the exhausting day was nowhere near finished yet.

We stopped for a brief break at the Earthquake Park overlook point. This park is a crazy testament to the total upheaval of earth that takes place during earthquakes. Signs illustrate how the steep drop-offs and jutting hills you now see were all creating during Alaska’s 1964 Good Friday quake.

Not long afterwards, we reached Point Woronzoff, a park and beach that sits at the foot of the airport runway. We watched several planes take off directly overhead including the one videoed below. In the summer, we’ve enjoyed coming here to walk the steep path down to the muddy beach.

Plane Takes Off Over Point Woronzoff Park

The British began their march back to Boston. However, unbeknownst to them, more and more minutemen and militia from the surrounding country began to congregate around their return route. The first ambush waited one mile outside of Concord, at Meriam’s Corner. Subsequent attacks took place at Brooks Hill and the Bloody Angle in addition to other skirmishes, creating a “running 16-mile-long battle,” according to Minuteman National Park’s webpage on “Battle Site Explorations.”

Our views were a bit different from those the Redcoats and colonists traveled through 245 years ago. 🙂 In the photos you can see the infamous mudflats, with some snow still lingering on top. The day was pretty cloudy and foggy; on clear days there are mountains visible in the distance.

Views of Cook Inlet From the Trail

Later that fateful day, the British were met by reinforcements as well, but not nearly as many as the colonists. The book, Reporting the Revolution by Todd Andrlik, says that “by the end of the day, almost 3,800 militiamen had seen action against about 1,500 regulars. More than 270 British were left dead, wounded, or missing; for the Americans, only ninety-four.” Keep in mind that these Redcoat soldiers had been up all through the night!

Our destination, the 10.5 mile-marker in Kincaid Park, was met with excitement, though I’m sure not nearly as much as the British must have felt upon reaching Boston. We only took just over four hours to make our goal, but the British had already been traveling for hours when they reached Lexington at 5:30am. Then they fought all through the day.

April 19th marked the official outbreak of the American War for Independence that had been brewing for years. Many men lost their lives that day in defense of their rights. We would do well to remember what has been sacrificed by others for our benefit, and to follow their example of standing up against injustice. Here’s to next Patriots’ Day!

Our Final Mile Marker

The Tony Knowles Trail is an amazing resource, whether you’re visiting Anchorage for the first time, or have lived here for 20 years. Make sure to check out their website and take a “light speed” walk through Anchorage 🙂

The Minuteman National park has awesome online resources! Check out their website, YouTube channel, and FaceBook page for Patriots’ Day activities and more.

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail/ Anchorage Coastal

The Tony Knowles Coastal Trail/ Anchorage Coastal

Want to march with the Sudbury Minutemen next year? The public is welcome – no historical garb required 😉

Sudbury Companies of Militia & Minute

Annually on April 19, the Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute march from Sudbury Center to the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. This event reenacts and commemorates the mission of our forefathers who did the same on April 19, 1775, at the start of the American Revolution.

Patriots’ Day 2020 – The 245th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. – Minute Man National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis, all planned Patriot’s Day events and activities scheduled to take place within the park have been cancelled.

Minute Man National Historical Park

Minute Man National Historical Park. 5.9K likes. National Park

Andrlik, Todd. Reporting the Revolutionary War before It Was History, It Was News. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks, 2012.

Todd Andrlik, Author at Journal of the American Revolution

Todd Andrlik is the founding editor of Journal of the American Revolution , as well as author/editor of Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News (Sourcebooks, 2012), named one of the Best Books of 2012 by Barnes & Noble and Best American Revolution Book of the Year by the New York American Revolution Round Table.

The Story Behind Patriots’ Day

May 14, 2019 / / 0 Comments
Barrett’s House in Concord

Between the getting up early for the bike ride, then the Sudbury Minutemen March, holidays, TeenPact, and the play I’ve had hardly enough sleep to actually write about what I’ve been doing. So I apologize for the sporadic (more like completely absent) posts of late. I really want to be more regular about posting every Tuesday. Hang with me there 😉

Back to business then. Now you know all about the Patriots’ Day reenactment itself, but do you know about the history surrounding the event? I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard of The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.” But I think we should dig a bit deeper than that. Especially since the first of those two is quite a bit misleading.

  • Paul Revere didn’t make it all the way to Concord
  • The Regulars marched all the way back in the same day

First of all, you should know that there are happenings all throughout the month of April commemorating April 1775. I headed to Minuteman National Historical Park for my information, but other towns along the route host their own celebrations. The Saturday before Patriots’ Day was particularly crammed with functions.

Once I got some family members to come along, we left for Lexington towards the end of the day’s festivities. Our first stop was at Whittemore House, just behind the Visitors’ Center. This building is not open very often, so I was excited to have a chance to peek inside.

However, it was a bit anticlimactic. By the time we arrived, all the reenactors had left. Inside, there were plaques mentioning important details about the house, and a few activities. I enjoyed looking through the recipe cards, and the daily tasks blocks.

  • Whittemore House
  • 12 Year Old Girl’s Jobs
  • Inside of the Walls
  • A Man’s Tasks
  • Fireplace with Ash Chute in Corner

After we explored, we drove back towards Concord to stop in at the Hartwell Tavern. Unlike Whittemore House, the Tavern will be open for the summer season on June 22nd.

In between these two buildings is the site of Paul Revere’s capture. Though the famous rider brought his warning to Lexington, he wasn’t able to evade the Regulars on his way to Concord. Fortunately, William Dawes got away, along with Samuel Prescott who dashed the message onwards.

Dawes is often forgotten, but he rode out from Boston as well. Revere was sent across the river, while Dawes bluffed his way by the guard at the Boston Neck. Prescott joined them just outside of Lexington, and he was the only one to actually bring the news to Concord. Dawes lost his horse, and Prescott arrived first, setting the alarm bell clanging.

At the Hartwell Tavern parking lot, the trail leading to the building is to the left. Once you pass the restrooms, the tavern is at the “T” in the trail.

When we arrived, the tavern was surrounded by reenactors, which looked very cool. They had gathered for a afterparty at the end of a long day, but visitors were still welcome for a little while longer.

I definitely want to go back to the tavern, maybe go on a tour. One room was full of women spinning yarn, another was a bedchamber, and the largest had a bar and table. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to stay long.

On Sunday, my sister, our friend, and I drove back out to see the Col. James Barrett’s Farm. The Regulars were lining up when we got there. In formation, they marched off down the road. We hopped back in the car, and followed them. Once we passed them, we parked, watched as they passed by. They were headed to the North Bridge, and so were we.

At the North Bridge Visitors’ Center, we saw a plank believed to be from the original North Bridge. There’s an exhibit with full size 18th century military regalia, a 3-D map of the battles of April 19th, 1775, and a short movie on the same. Of course, there’s also a gift shop.

After walking down to the North Bridge itself, we headed home. By the way, if you don’t want to walk as far, you can circle around from the visitor’s center to another parking lot. The path is significantly shorter.

The North Bridge was the last stop for some of the Regulars on that fateful day. Most of the soldiers stayed in Concord, but about 200 continued on. 100 were left at the bridge, and the rest marched on to Barrett’s Farm. They searched the house; the only person inside was a 65 year old woman.

From their perch on a hill, the gathered minutemen saw smoke rising from Concord. In actuality, it originated from the Regulars putting water on any fires, but the colonists thought the town was burning. So they descended upon the bridge.

Once the British soldiers were repulsed at North Bridge, a rout taking them all the way back to Boston began. Throughout the day, more and more minutemen and militia from surrounding towns arrived — there were even some from New Hampshire. I can’t help but think of the poor Regulars. Up in the wee hours, they marched for 6 hours, were shot at twice, then retreated to Boston amidst a rain of bullets.

Take a look at this Battle Road Trail Map! (Just a small section of their route.)

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Image result for april 19 1775 map
Found on math.harvard.edu
Image result for april 19 1775 map
Found on math.harvard.edu

Places To Go – Minute Man National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Vehicle Navigation Systems and GPS units may provide inaccurate information. This can send drivers the wrong way on roads to sites which never had actual assigned addresses (such as former farm fields and swamps), leading them to dead ends or areas prohibited to the public, or sending them on roads which are not for vehicle use.

Patriots’ Day Reenactment 2019

April 26, 2019 / / 0 Comments
The Inscription on the North Bridge Obelisk

Our experience on April 15th was not for the faint of heart. Scheduled to arrive at the original time of 5:30am, we biked in the pre-dawn rain from Concord to Lexington. Each year, dozens of reenactors and hundreds of spectators gather to relive the dramatic events of April 19th, 1775. This year, we would be with them, come what may.

  • The Regulars were not announced as the British or Redcoats
  • Some reenactors march the original routes every year
  • The official holiday is now held on the 3rd Monday of April

I had been told by others who had attended before that traffic and parking could be pretty difficult. So I decided to bike in. Fortunately, I found a friend who wanted to go with me. Although there was a drizzle when we woke at 3:40am, Facebook decreed that nothing was canceled. So we layered up, piled our bikes in the van, and drove to Concord.

We had decided to park about halfway between the towns. Then we would bike back and forth, ensuring that we could beat the crowds leaving afterward. However, we didn’t consider the fact that the rain would likely deter most of the hordes. So we parked in The Wayside: Home of the Authors parking lot anyways. We were the only car there.

Also take note that Massachusetts in April is dark at 4:30 in the morning. With no lights, and the road to ourselves, we biked to the Hartwell Tavern entrance to the Battle Road Trail. In the dimness of early morning, we rode through the rain to the end of the trail. Then we switched to the road at 5:40am, glad that the Redcoats didn’t arrive till 6 o’clock.

The Early-Morning Attendees at Lexington Green

Pedaling over the last few hills, we arrived just in time to hear the rest of the loudspeaker explanation of the events that were about to occur. We circled around the onlookers to find a spot where we could see the action. Right beside the road coming in from the east is where we ended up. We commandeered an excellent view of where the Regulars would come in, though it was a tad distant from the actual skirmish location.

As the rain petered out, hoofbeats clattered down the road, followed by frantic shouts for Captain Parker. “Captain Parker! Captain Parker!” the man cried. “The Regulars are coming! I need to speak with Captain Parker!”

The rider galloped up to the Buckman Tavern, where minutemen had stayed an uneasy night. The men poured across the green, where they formed into a solid line, bayoneted muskets held at the ready.

The Regulars’ Officers

From the distance, a faint sound of beating drums, and then a fife reached our ears. You could imagine the tension building, with the ominous implications carried in that sound. Then the minutemen rallied their own drummers, filling the air with the sound of war.

Anticipation mounted as the music increased, and the Regulars rounded the corner. Their identical red ranks were perfectly straight, each soldier walking in time with the other.

The Regulars March into Lexington – Video ClipDownload

Filing onto the Lexington Green, the Redcoats met the Lexington Minutemen. Angry shouting broke out from both sides. Then the Regulars fanned out, their numbers superior to the colonists’. They began to march forward, pressing towards the minutemen, who took a few hesitant steps back.

A shot rang out, and confusion ensued. Gunfire exploded back and forth, and colonists quickly fell dead and dying on the Green. Rounds blasted from an upstairs window of the Buckman Tavern, and soldiers fired back. The remaining colonists broke, fleeing. Called by their officer and the drums, the Redcoats regrouped into their columns. To the sound of Yankee Doodle, they marched across the field, now unopposed, onward to their goal of Concord.

A single boo rang out from the crowd at the huzzahs required of the Regulars, pulling a laugh from spectators. Then the soldiers were gone, leaving bloodshed in their path.

After a final thank you from the loudspeaker, the visitors dispersed rapidly, just as a downpour began. We stopped one of the scurrying reenactors to ask if they were marching to the North Bridge. He replied, “Not in this weather!”

But even when the Redcoats themselves bailed, sheltering in buildings and cars, we were stuck. Our vehicle awaited us back in Concord, so we pedaled on in the torrential downpour. The vague flickering from earlier formed itself into full-on lightning, accompanied by deafening thunder. Still we plowed on, through puddle-lakes along the Battle Road Trail. We stopped at the signposts, taking note of the various homes that witnessed the fateful day.

To note: April 19th, 1775 would have been a fine day, with no rain to spoil the muskets’ firing mechanisms.

Finally, we veered off the trail back onto Route 2A for the last leg. We decided to stop at the car and just drive into Concord. Approximately 11 miles were already under our belts, and we needed to leave right after the second reenactment.

Since it was 7:45am, the roads were still open. Beware: the roads are closed starting at 8:30 to make way for the parade route. We were able to snag a parking space right in front of the North Bridge Visitors Center.

After warming up, we walked down to the bridge. A small crowd had gathered on both sides, but there were no reenactors in sight. Finally, some park officials began to prepare for the event. Announcements were repeatedly made stating that the reenactment would start in 5 minutes.

The Acton Minutemen’s Arrival

At last, the Acton Minutemen, coming all the way from Acton by foot, arrived. However, not all the Regulars made it, so they agreed to just fire a salute from the North Bridge together.

Thoroughly soaked, and now chilly, we hustled away as soon as the second salute ended. We watched the third from the vantage point the 18th century colonists would’ve had on that fateful day.

When the smoke dissipated, we trudged to the car and drove home. Dry clothes were in short order!

Though you might be questioning your need to attend this event next year, I encourage you to go! No biking is necessary. There’s actually a school parking lot near the green where spectators can park. After the Lexington reenactment, multiple charities hold pancake breakfasts. I think that would be a great set up for those not inclined to a 10+ mile bike ride: warm up, eat, and then drive over to the North Bridge. The thrill from witnessing a critical moment from over 200 years ago is well worth it.

Also: be on the lookout next April for related events happening all month long! Here are two websites I found to have great information.

Patriots’ Day 2019 – The 244th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. – Minute Man National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Each year in mid-April, thousands of people flock to historic Lexington and Concord and Minute Man National Historical Park to celebrate Patriots’ Day. Patriots’ Day is a special Massachusetts State holiday commemorating the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775.

Patriots Day Schedule 2019 – Reenactments, Parades, Events – Boston Discovery Guide

Patriots Day schedule includes a Patriots Day Parade in Boston plus dozens of major re-enactments of the first day of the American Revolution as local Militia and Minute Men companies commemorate the events of April 19, 1775 in Boston, Lexington, Lincoln, Arlington, Bedford, and Concord.

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