Patriots' Day 2019 - The 244th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
Captain David Brown's Company of Minute Men, North Bridge, Concord, Minute Man NHP
Each year in mid-April, thousands of people flock to historic Lexington and Concord and Minute Man National Historical Park to celebrate Patriots' Day. Patriots' Day is a special Massachusetts State holiday commemorating the opening battle of the American Revolutionary War, April 19, 1775.
The holiday (Officially observed on Monday, April 15, 2019), and the entire weekend, is celebrated with parades, reenactments and commemorative ceremonies.
For more information, please call (978) 318 - 7825 or e-mail us
For Information on Lexington's Patriot's Day Events,visit them here.
Press and Media Inquiries, please contact Phil Lupsiewicz at (978)-318-7833 or e-mail us
Photographers, filmakers and volunteers who are planning on image collection, please contact Phil Lupsiewicz at (978) 318-7833 or e-mail us
Meriam's Corner Exercise
Saturday, April 6th
Bedford Pole Capping
Willson Park, Bedford
10:30 a.m.
This ceremony features a march, displays of musketry, and fife and drum music. The main event is the raising of a tall wooden pole, which is climbed by a Bedford Minuteman and affixed with a red knitted cap.
Meriam’s Corner Exercise
737 Lexington Rd, Concord
1:00 p.m.
Minute companies, fife and drum, and the Concord Independent Battery commemorate the fight at Meriam’s Corner. There will be musket and cannon firing and fife and drum music.
Paul Revere Capture Ceremony
200 North Great Rd, Lincoln
3:00 p.m.
The Lincoln Minute Men observe the historic capture of Paul Revere with a dramatic re-telling of Longfellow's famous poem, fife and drum music and a musket fire salute.
Battle Road / Parker's Revenge
Saturday, April 13th
Battle Road: “Parker’s Revenge” Battle Demonstration
Battle Road Trail behind Minute Man Visitor Center, Lexington
12:45 p.m.
Watch as a procession of civilian evacuees fleeing their homes before the fighting begins. (see Caught in the Storm of War description below). This will be immediately followed by a battle demonstraton as hundreds of British and colonial Reenactors engage in a tactical weapons demonstration with musket firing and fast-paced battle action along a stretch of the actual Battle Road of 1775. Park staff will be on hand to direct you to parking and viewing areas. Due to construction, limited parking is available at Minuteman Regional High School, 758 Marrett Road, Lexington MA
Visit Hartwell Tavern
136 North Great Road, Lincoln
Hartwell Tavern 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m..
Park staff and living history volunteers will be demonstrating various historic trades and aspects of life in Massachusetts at the beginning of the American Revolution.
Explore Bloody Angle with Edmund Foster
Hartwell Tavern, 136 North Great Road, Lincoln
10:00 a.m.
Edmund Foster, a volunteer from Reading, Massachusetts (portrayed by Park Volunteer, Ed Hurley), and Don Hafner, captain of the Lincoln Minute Men, will lead a tour to this key battle site where he fought in 1775.
Caught in the Storm of War: Civilians of April 19th
Captain William Smith House, 136 North Great Road, Lincoln
9:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
What would you take with you if you had to leave your home in a hurry, uncertain of your return? Learn about the local civilians on April 19, 1775. Once the refugees leave the Smith house, you may encounter them along the Battle Road Trail heading towards Lexington and the Minute Man Visitor Center just prior the the Parker’s Revenge Battle Demonstration.
Visit Whittemore House (Behind Minute Man Visitor Center, Rt 2A Lexington) 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Visit Whittemore House, staffed by costumed park volunteers, and discover what life was like in 1775. Try on colonial children's clothing, gather ingredients for a meal, and listen to stories of the Whittemore family and their experience of April 19, 1775.
Junior Ranger Day at Minute Man National Historical Park
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Earn your Junior Ranger Badge Minute Man Visitor Center, Rt. 2A, Lexington., 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
North Bridge Visitor Center, 174 Liberty St., Concord, 9:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Pick up your very own Junior Ranger Booklet. This is a fun way to learn and explore Minute Man National Historical Park while completing the pages in the booklet. When you are finished, show your work to a Ranger to earn your new badge. Receive your badge and take your oath at 11:00 am, 12:00 pm,
1:00 pm, 3:00 pm, and 4:30 pm. Recommended for ages 4 and up.
Sunday, April 14th
"Warlike Preparations" and the Search of the Barrett Property
Colonel James Barrett House (448 Barrett's Mill Road, Concord)
1:00 - 4:00 p.m. (British soldiers arrive at approximately 3:00 p.m.)
Visit the home of Colonel James Barrett and his family. Learn about the intense military preparations that took place in and around the home in the weeks leading up to the outbreak of war (April 19, 1775). Help make cartridges for the minute men. Keep watch for British soldiers and help hide the military supplies before they arrive!
Commemoration of the North Bridge Fight
Monday, April 15th (Patriot's Day observed)
Lexington Battle Reenactment
Lexington Green, Lexington. Information is here. 5:30 a.m.
British and Colonial reenactors stage a reenactment of the early-morning battle.
Commemoration of the North Bridge Fight / Concord Parade
North Bridge, Concord
8:45 a.m.
British and Colonial reenactors will commemorate the “Shot heard round the world” with a battle demonstration. Immediately following, the Concord Patriot's Day parade will arrive around 9:30 a.m. NOTE: all of the roads in the center of town are closed to vehicles beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Visitor Center Hours:
North Bridge Visitor Center: 7:00 am - 5:00 pm
Minute Man Visitor Center: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Participants in the Patriot Vigil reading the names of the April 19th dead by candlelight
Thursday, April 18th
Patriot Vigil
North Bridge
Lantern light procession: 7:50 p.m. (step off at North Bridge Visitor Center)
Ceremony at North Bridge: 8:00 – 8:45 p.m.
As darkness descends upon the North Bridge battlefield we invite you to come and reflect on the events of April 19, 1775 and the meaning of liberty. The evening ceremony will feature a lantern-light procession, poetry, music, and a recitation of the names of the Patriots who gave their lives on that “ever-memorable” 19th of April. Please note, if you would like to participate in the procession at 7:50 p.m. we ask you bring your own enclosed candle lantern - no flashlights in the procession please.
Dawn Salute
Friday, April 19th
Dawn Salute
North Bridge, Concord
6:00 a.m
The Concord Minute Men and the Concord Independent Battery observe the
opening battle of the Revolution in a 21 gun salute with musket and cannon fire.
Visitor Center Hours:
North Bridge Visitor Center: 5:30 am - 5:00 pm
Minute Man Visitor Center: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Arrival of the Sudbury Militia
North Bridge, Concord
11:30 a.m. (approximately)
The Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute will make their annual march to
North Bridge from the Town of Sudbury. They will fire three musket volleys off North Bridge as a soldierly salute.
The British Redcoat
Minute Man Visitor Center, Rt 2A Lexington
1:00 pm and 3:00 pm
Join Ranger Roger Fuller for a twenty-minute program on the experience of the British soldier in 1775. Program concludes with a musket-firing demonstration.
Militiamen standing in front of Hartwell Tavern with arms and supplies for the war.
NPS
Saturday, April 20th
After the Battle - The War Has Begun
Hartwell Tavern, 136 North Great Road, Lincoln
2:00 - 7:00 p.m.
War between the people of Massachusetts and Governor Gage and the British regulars has just broken out. Thousands of men are preparing to leave home for the front lines around Boston. Whole communities are faced with numerous challenges demanded by this frightening new reality. Step back into the year of 1775 and get involved.
