The Story Behind Patriots’ Day

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.

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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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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.