Posted on 04/19/2014 6:15:45 AM PDT by gusopol3
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy (present-day Arlington), and Cambridge, near Boston. The battles marked the outbreak of open armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its thirteen colonies in the mainland of British North America.
You have to watch the sidebar animation on Youtube of RWE reciting the poem
Bookmark for later.
5.56mm
Just when you're feeling small and grateful and too full of emotion to feel anything else and begin to leave, you come across the graves of three British soldiers, marked with two plaques. One plaque reads:
Grave of British Soldiers
In your heart you embrace Revolution and Liberty, but you make room for mothers of the British soldiers.
They came three thousand miles and died,
to keep the past upon its throne:
Unheard, beyond the ocean tide,
their English Mother made her moan.
April 19, 1775
It sure does. While taking the 'day trip' tour bus in Boston, I stopped at the North Bridge. I was totally mesmerized looking at the Bridge and the Statue. I was so into it, the bus driver had to come and get me and said, "Sir, we have to go now." It's hard to describe the feeling. . I highly recommend it to all patriots to see it if you're in the Boston area.
". . one of the participants recalled Parker's words as being what is now engraved in stone at the site of the battle: ''Stand your ground; don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."
For those in the area who like to hike, take Steadman Street off of Route 225 in Carlisle. At the end of the street is a trailhead to the "Estabrook Trail." This trail will take you into Concord and eventually to the North Bridge area by the back way and you'll avoid all the camera-toting tourists and parking hassles. It's about a five mile walk each way.
Just a quibble - that’s the Minuteman statue in Lexington, not the Minuteman statue in Concord.
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