[guest post by JVW — yeah, really]

As we all know, the year 2026 will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our formal break from Great Britain which created the United States of America. Those of us of a certain age may still have some at least fleeting memories of the Bicentennial year. My recollections are of a comic book which my mom naturally later threw away, and of 200 fireworks being set off on July 4, 1976 at our local Independence Day pyrotechnics show.

Now, at a more advanced age, my interest in the event is a bit more fixed on history. As we pass through the Semiquincentennial (high school Latin, don’t fail me now!) of the American Revolution, it’s my hope to mark each year by visiting a location which played a key role in our fight for independence some twelve-score and ten years ago. I already managed to get a start on the celebration, when I entered the hallowed ground of Concord this past fall to stand in the location where The Shot Heard Round the World had been fired. Here are some pictures from my journey:

Concord Bridge, reconstructed from the original, where local militia first engaged the British Army on April 19, 1775.

Early that morning the British had been going through the town of Concord, door to door, to confiscate militia arms. At one point a fire started by British solders while burning a captured gun carriage ended up spreading to a local home, and the town’s residents quickly formed a bucket brigade to help put it out. About a mile away were militia members from Concord, Acton, Lincoln, and other nearby towns, and down the hill from them guarding the North Bridge of the Concord River, the main route back into town, were several companies of redcoats. With both sides apparently mistaking the accidental home fire for a British attempt to burn the city, the British began retreating from the bridge, pulling up planks to prevent the militia from crossing. Enraged, the militia men formed a column and advanced down the hill towards the bridge. This would have been the vantage point of the Colonial militia:

The North Bridge of the Concord River as seen by the advancing militia.

The British attempted to form a line, but a newly-arriving company of regulars caused confusion. Suddenly a shot — locals swear it came from the redcoats — rang out, followed by a couple more, then finally the entire British batallion fired in unison. Two militia men fell. The Patriots fired back, killing three British soldiers and wounding nine, including four officers. Now short of leadership, the badly-trained lobsterbacks (Great Britain did not send its most accomplished units to quell the rebellion in the American Colonies) panicked and beat a hasty retreat. The victorious Patriots stopped at the bridge, content to have run off the enemy. Four arriving British companies approached the bridge and crossed it coming in direct contact with the militia, yet curiously enough no more shots were fired and the four companies soon joined their comrades in retreating. The regulars regrouped in Concord and began marching back to Boston and Charlestown just before noon.

Today on the north bank of the river, right at the bridge, there exists a memorial to the militia: the venerated Minutemen, so named because they could spring into action with a minute’s notice. Two months later, a Virginian by the name of George Washington would be named Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and a more professionalized version of American fighting forces would be equipped and trained. Yet militias would continue to play a part in the American Revolution (the British also made use of Loyalist militias throughout the war), and today the Minuteman holds a special place in the imagination of all patriots. A famous statue, with which most of you will be familiar, stands eternal guard where those original Minutemen advanced into action.

Minute Man Statue by Daniel Chester French, unveiled on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Concord, April 19, 1875.

– JVW