Minute Man National Historical Park commemorates the opening battle in the American Revolutionary War. It also includes the Wayside, home in turn to three noted American authors. The National Historical Park is under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and protects 970 acres in and around the Massachusetts towns of Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord. Site's include Concord's North Bridge, Battle Road Trail, Hartwell Tavern, the Captain William Smith House, and Barrett's Farm.
SITE FEATURES
Gift Shop, Surviving Structures, Reconstructions, Programs, Exhibits
On this site...
In 1635, a group of English settlers led by Rev. Peter Bulkley and Major Simon Willard received a land grant from the General Court and negotiated a land purchase with the local indigenous tribes. They exchanged wampum, hatchets, knives, cloth, and other useful items for the six-square-mile purchase, which formed the basis of the new town, called "Concord" in appreciation of the peaceful acquisition. Middlesex County was created by the Massachusetts General Court on May 10, 1643.
VILLAGE
EST. 1635
MARCH
APR 19, 1775
BATTLEFIELD
April 19, 1775
The Battles of Lexington and Concord was the first major military campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in an American victory and outpouring of militia support for the anti-British cause. The battles 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. They marked the outbreak of armed conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and America's thirteen colonies.
About 700 British Army regulars in Boston, under Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, were given secret orders to capture and destroy Colonial military supplies reportedly stored by the Massachusetts militia at Concord. On the night before the battle, warning of the British expedition had been rapidly sent from Boston to militias in the area by several riders, including Paul Revere and Samuel Prescott, with information about British plans.
The first shots were fired just as the sun was rising at Lexington were. Eight militiamen were killed. The British suffered only one casualty. The militia was outnumbered and fell back, and the regulars proceeded on to Concord, where they broke apart into companies to search for the supplies. At the North Bridge in Concord, approximately 400 militiamen engaged 100 regulars from three companies of the King's troops at about 11:00 am, resulting in casualties on both sides. The outnumbered regulars fell back from the bridge and rejoined the main body of British forces in Concord. Gunfire continued throughout the day as the regulars marched back towards Boston. Lt. Col. Smith's expedition was rescued by reinforcements under Brigadier General Hugh Percy. The combined force of about 1,700 men reached the safety of Charlestown. The accumulated militias then blockaded the narrow land accesses to Charlestown and Boston, starting the siege of Boston.
HISTORIC PEOPLE
John Hancock
President
John Adams
Ambassador
Samuel Adams
Delegate
Joseph Warren
Brigadier General
Artemas Ward
Major General
Benjamin Lincoln
Major General
William Prescott
Colonel
James Barrett
Major
Robert Treat Paine
Delegate
Paul Revere
Post Rider
William Dawes
Post Rider
Thomas Gage
Lieutenant General
Francis Smith
Major General
Hugh Percy
Brigadier General
John Pitcairn
Major