2025 Holiday Season -

As 2025 literally closed, we celebrated the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington, Birthplace of American Liberty, where “the first blood was spilt in the dispute with Great Britain- GW” and the start of the Revolutionary War:

We arrived at Lexington & Concord, where Neal grew up and his mom still lives, and had planned a private tour (by Neal, who was a tour guide there almost 50 years ago) BUT the temperature was 25 and it “felt like” 2 degrees. So, we went to the visitor center, did a little walking around the Lexington Battle Green area (where the first battle of the War took place) and Neal and Tina drove us around and gave us an abbreviated car-based tour. Full re-enactments happen on the Green each Patriots Day.

In addition to a short film recounting the infamous day, we were "WoWed" by the diorama of Battle of Lexington (exhibited at the World’s Fair in New York in 1964). Early on April 19, 1775, an advance guard of British soldiers, led by Major John Pitcairn, arrived at the Lexington Green. The Lexington militia, commanded by Captain John Parker, stood waiting. Although neither Pitcairn or Parker intended to engage, a shot rang out. Both sides began fighting. It was over in minutes, with one British soldier wounded, eight militia dead, and ten more wounded. The American Revolution had begun. Who Shot First? Neither Pitcairn nor Parker had any intention of engaging in battle on the Lexington Green. So, who fired the bullet that triggered the skirmish? A British soldier or member of the militia? Accounts of the day differ and we will never know who fired first. See photo.

The Battle Road Trail between Lexington to Concord, where the first shots were fired, is a scenic trail in the Minute Man National Historical Park but our not for this weather.

The USS Lexington Memorial was across from the Green, 5 monuments to memorialize each of the five Navy ships named the U.S.S. Lexington. We heard that on Patriots’ Day each year (the third Monday in April) surviving crews commemorate the role played by the U.S.S. Lexington ships. The Lexington name has appeared in many key moments in military history. A U.S.S. Lexington has participated in the Revolution, the Civil War, and World War II (Star Trek keeps it alive).

Our “guide” pointed out Buckman Tavern, 1709, a gathering place for both locals and travelers and the site of many town meetings and the place that Captain Parker and his militia gathered early on April 19, 1775, to wait for the British Redcoats. The Hancock-Clarke House, 1737, where John Hancock I, the grandfather of the patriot John Hancock lived and where Paul Revere arrived on horseback to inform John Hancock and Sam Adams that "the Regulars are out" (or as we know “the British are coming"). The Munroe Tavern, 1735, became a tavern in 1774 (and a field hospital for British General Earl Percy on the afternoon of April 19th). In 1789 President Washington dined here. Next trip, in nice weather, we will be back to visit these historic buildings. See next posting of the Concord Museum.Read more