"The Shot Heard Round the World"

Lexington Battle Green

The green where 77 men from the local Militia faced the British Regulars at sunrise on April 19, 1775.

Militia statue on the green.  All able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 were required to participate in their local militia.  

Monument to the eight men who died and where seven of them are buried - oldest war memorial in the country.

Church seen from the battle green.

Buckman Tavern, 1709, gathering place of the Lexington Militia on April 19, 1775.

Hancock-Clarke Parsonage, 1737, the Lexington destination of Paul Revere and William Dawes.

Door to the parsonage where John Hancock and Samuel Adams were staying when Paul Revere and William Dawes stopped during their famous midnight ride on April 19, 1775 to warn them that the regulars (British) were coming.

Munroe Tavern was General Percy's headquarters and field hospital for the British Redcoats.

Roofline, President George Washington dined here in 1789 when he came to inspect the battlefield.  Inside we saw a chair he sat in on his visit and a lock of his hair!

Door latch

Colonial garden in back of the Monroe Tavern.

Jacob Whittemore House

Witness House, one of eleven in the national park that existed on April 19, 1775.

Granite marker along Battle Road near Whittemore house, 12 3/4 miles to Boston Harbor.

Battle Road

Paul Revere Capture Site

Here a British patrol ended the rides of Paul Revere and William Dawes; only Samuel Prescott reached Concord.

Captain William Smith House

Battle Road between Hartwell Tavern and Smith house.

Hartwell Tavern

Samuel Prescott arrived at Hartwell Tavern to warn that the Redcoats were coming and was asked if he'd stopped at Captain William Smith's house, leader of the local militia.  He hadn't seen the house high on a hill so he asked Mary Hartwell so send someone to notify Captain Smith as he continued on to Concord.  She couldn't get anyone to go, handed her baby to a servant girl, and went herself to warn the captain!  Three of the Hartwells joined the fighting on April 19.

Brooks Village

The Brooks family lived here for over 250 years where they farmed, raised livestock, and operated a tannery.

Highland cattle would have been familiar to the minute men and their families.

Samuel Brooks House

Hornets nest

Farm field, in 1775 most of the land had been cleared for farming.

Battle road and stone wall.

The Wayside

Home to the Alcott family, Nathaniel Hawthorne and family, and Margaret Sidney.  April 19, 1775 minuteman Samuel Whitney lived in the home.  The Alcott's were abolitionists and while living in this house part of the Underground Railroad.

Home of the Alcott family and author Louisa May Alcott who wrote Little Women among other titles.  We visited many historic houses and this was one of my favorites.  80% of the furnishings belonged to the Alcott's and it was the most lived in.  Louisa's family was poor so she wrote Little Women to help her family financially and the book is about her 3 sisters and their life in this house!  May, a sister, was an artist and many, many of her paintings and drawings are displayed in the house.  She was allowed to draw on her bedroom walls, door, and window sills.  Orchard House is also a witness house.

Bronson Alcott was a teacher and philosopher; this is the Concord School of Philosophy and Literature (formerly Hillside Chapel) he built behind their house.  Some of his educational theories are still practiced today; he encouraged children to think, explore, and have an opinion.  He also believed in RECESS!

Concord Museum

Paul Revere's lantern

The famous "one, if by land, and two, if by sea" lantern, immortalized by Longfellow's poem, Paul Revere's Ride.

Amos Dolittle Engraving, View of the South Part of Lexington

The Engagement at the North Bridge in Concord

In 1872 Bronson Alcott began the tradition of leaving a stone at the entrance to the Walden cabin.

Henry David Thoreau's desk, chair, and bed used in the cabin at Walden Pond.

Emerson House

Home of Ralph Waldo Emerson, where he lived and wrote from 1835 until his death in 1882.

Scott looking over the menu.  Colonial Inn was a storehouse for arms and provisions in 1775 and sits on Monument Square, Concord's town common.

Bumblebee gathering pollen while we had lunch at the Colonial Inn.

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery 

Henry David Thoreau buried on Authors Ridge; several literary figures are buried together atop this hill in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Alcott Family

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Old Manse 

Home of minister William Emerson, his grandson Ralph Waldo Emerson, and the honeymoon home of Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne.  Sophia etched quotes into the upstairs windowpanes with her diamond wedding ring!

Above the door is the center of poured glass used for windowpanes (the cheapest cut).  We've noticed several houses have had this same architectural feature; most likely using the better glass for windowpanes you actually look through!

Side door and Concord grape vine - did you know Concord grapes originated here?

Boat house and dock at Old Manse.

Foundation of the boat house.

Old North Bridge, view from the boat house.  

Tree in the backyard along the Concord River.

The Emerson family watched the confrontation on the North Bridge from the upstairs study (2 windows on the left and one window on the end of house are the study windows).

Old North Bridge 

Granite marker along the Battle Road Trail.

This was our guide on the Liberty Ride Trolley Tour of Lexington and Concord.  It was really very informative and gave us an overview so we knew where we wanted to go back to the next day.  And as it turns out, the day after that too!

North Bridge over the Concord River, where colonial militia were first ordered to fire upon British regulars after an unknown shot was fired - "The Shot Heard Round the World".  To the right of the bridge is the grave of three British soldiers who died during the battle.

View downriver...

Close-up of North Bridge, Minute Man statue is behind the people walking.

Minute Man Statue

Daniel Chester French's Minute Man statue.  Minute men were required to be ready at a minutes notice, they carried their muskets with them wherever they went which is why this minute man has his jacket thrown over a plow.  He was required to have it with him even when working his farm.  Minute men had more training than the regular militia and were selected by their community.

Daniel Chester French also sculpted the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.  The Minute Man was one of his first statues and established him as a renowned artist.  We saw several pieces of his work at the Concord Museum along with Lincoln's death mask and hands used as a model for the Lincoln Memorial.  French didn't like how Lincoln's hands were cast so, in the end, he used his own!

Concord Hymn, by Ralph Waldo Emerson is carved on the base of the Minute Man statue.

Caesar Robbins House

African American and Abolitionist Center

North Bridge Visitor Center

The visitor center is the Buttrick Mansion, a home built by the descendants of Major John Buttrick, the colonial officer that gave the order to fire at the North Bridge.  I thought this staircase was beautiful, notice how there are three different spindles that repeat themselves on each stair.

Colonel Barrett House

This was the British destination.  British commanders were sure Barrett had hidden weapons here, but they found little because Barrett was warned and they dispersed the weapons throughout the countryside.

Views of the Concord Lexington Area

Trailer steps looked like every morning when we went outside - the truck too!