Lexington, Concord & Portland

Our last night in Boston we slept in and got a late start. We just barely made it to breakfast and got the last of the eggs and sausages. Driving west around Boston avoiding the bumper-to-bumper traffic, we typed Lexington Green into Google Maps and arrived before noon. At the visitor's center they gave us a link to an audio tour (https://tourlex.glideapp.io) which was great.

On the evening of April 18, 1775, Lexington Militia Capitan John Parker made Buckman Tavern his headquarters, sleeping there with around thirty of his men. In the morning, before dawn, while his men were lining up on the green, Paul Revere arrived from Boston to retrieve John Hancock's trunk which contained important papers that must be kept out of the hands of the British. 

In about fifteen minutes after we entered the tavern, a person came to the door and said the British were within a half a mile. I then heard Captain Parker call his drummer and order him to beat to arms.
-- Robert Douglas of Woburn

Around 5:30 am, as the British regulars marched down what is now Massachusetts Avenue,  the Minutemen lined up on the green facing east. Captain Parker is reported to have said "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon. But, if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."

The British Major John Pitcairn rode out in front of his troops and ordered "Disperse! Throw down your arms ye villains, ye rebels." Captain Parker, seeing his troops were out numbered, ordered his men to disperse. Some did, but others held the line. Suddenly a shot rang out and mayhem ensued. When the air cleared, ten of the Colonists were dead and only one of the British troops was wounded. Afterwards, the British continued their march to Concord, where they arrived around 9:30am.

We left Lexington's Battle green around noon, headed for Concord and the Old North Bridge. We made a stop first at Walden Pond, so that we could say we'd been there. However, to get to the pond, you have to park, which is free for Massachusetts residents, but cost $30 for out-of-state cars. We thought that was a little much for a picture, so we found a nice stretch of the Concord River and dubbed it "Walden Pond Jr.".

There is actually a little rivalry between Lexington and Concord as to where the first battle of the Revolutionary War took place. Local resident Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem, The Concord Hymn, would cement in popular imagination, the phrase "the shot heard round the world."

The Concord faction claims that the war began here at the North Bridge because in Lexington, Captain Parker had ordered his men to disperse, while here in Concord, the Colonists were ordered to fire.

On the far side of the bridge is another Minuteman statue. The two statues anchor opposite ends of the five mile Battle Road Trail in the Minute Man National Historical Park. (I've tried to keep the spelling-Minuteman and Minute Man-as it appears at the sights we visited.)

During the battle, several British troops were killed, and their graves are on the east side of the bridge. The British retreated back to Boston, followed by the growing Colonist army. The next year, the British abandoned Boston, never to return. 

For us, it was after 2pm and our destination for the night was Portland, Maine. We stopped a few miles outside of Concord to buy supplies (Trader Joes!!!) and get a bite of lunch. One last plate of Massachusetts clam strips.

The traffic on the Interstate was really backed up for the first ten miles leaving the Boston area. Soon, though, things opened up and we arrived at our hotel (La Quinta) in Portland about 6:30pm. We unpacked and I talked Kathy into going downtown for an hour or so to get a bowl of clam chowder at a place I had read about. It was great!

After dinner, we walked around the historic section, got some ice cream, took a picture overlooking the bay, and then headed back to bed.