Last updated: January 19, 2023
Place
The Soldiers' Grave Near The Josiah Nelson Farm.
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
42.450216 -71.273187
Significance:
British soldiers killed on April 19, 1775 are buried atop this small knoll near the Josiah Nelson farm ruins. The knoll is known locally as "The Soldiers' Graves."
Designation:
Grave Site
Amenities
7 listed
Accessible Sites, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Pets Allowed, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Wheelchair Accessible
"The Soldiers' Graves"
In a heavily wooden segment of the Battle Road trail near the Lincoln-Lexington line there is a grave marker for British soldiers killed near the Nelson farms on April 19, 1775. Like many graves scattered throughout Minute Man National Historical Park, the identity of the soldiers buried in this location remains a mystery. While it is difficult to know exactly what happened in this stretch of road during the fight, 100 years after the battle historians collected family lore and local legends about the soldiers and their graves.
Under A Constant Fire
As the British column retreated from Concord to Boston on April 19, 1775, the Colonial militiamen swarmed the farmfields, woodlots, and buildings along the road. Concealed behind stone walls and trees the Militia poured deadly musket fire into the British ranks. From Concord to Boston the British column left a trail of blood and death in their wake. Near the farms of Josiah and Thomas Nelson in the town of Lincoln, local legend tells of one young militia man firing on the British soldiers at close range. After discharging his musket into enemy ranks, the boy, identified later as William Throning, retreated to a woodlot where he met a detachment of British Flankers. When the detachment opened fire, Thorning dove into a farm field ditch to avoid the hail of musketry that zipped overheard. After the soldiers moved on, Thorning continued eastward to a second field and took up position behind a large boulder. Using the rock as a gun rest Thorning fired into the British column again with deadly effect. Today, that boulder is referred to as the "Minute Man" boulder and remains the namesake for Minute Man National Historical Park. Although Thorning's story did not appear in the written record until the late 19th century, local legend holds that he killed two British soldiers along this stretch of the battle road. In 1890, local historian Frank Coburn walked the ground with George Nelson, a descendant of the original farm owner. During their walk, George indicated,
"Across the road from the [Josiah Nelson] house is a little knoll which is called "The Soldiers' Graves," even to this day, for therein sleep two British soldiers whose summons undoubtedly came from behind the Nelson bowlders."
While many historians question the accuracy of Thorning's story, it is difficult to definitively know the true events.
In the late 19th century, historians counted upwards of three British soldiers killed near the Nelson homes. Frank Coburn also recorded that the descendants of Samuel Hastings, a militia man that purchased Thomas Nelson Jr.'s home in 1779, recalled a British soldier mortally wounded on the doorstep of Nelson's house. According to family legend;
"As the British column swept along, one of the soldiers left the ranks and entered the house for plunder, unmindful of the dangers lurking in the adjoining woods and fields. As he emerged and stood on the door-stone, an American bullet met him, and he sank seriously wounded. There he lay, until the family returned later in the afternoon, and found him. Tenderly they carried him into the house, and ministered to his wants as best they could, but his wound was fatal. After his death they found some of their silver spoons in his pocket. He was buried a short distance westerly from the house."
Although the stories of those British soldiers killed along this section of the battle road do not appear in written records until well over 100 years later, their place in local legend remains critical to the narrative of April 19, 1775. Today a small gravestone marks the approximate area George Nelson identified as "The Soldiers' Graves," in the late 19th century.
Douglas Sabin, April 19, 1775: A Historiographical Study,(Minute Man National Historical Park, Concord, 1987).
Ellen Chase, The Beginnings of the American Revolution, Vol III, (Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd. London. 1911), 67
Frank Coburn, The Battle of April 19, 1775 in Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville and Charlestown, Massachusetts (Lexington, Ma: Author, 1912), 103.
Frank Hersey, Hero's of the Battle Road, 1775, (Boston: Perry Walton, 1930).
"The British Regulars' Route," The Boston Evening Transcript, April 18, 1900, 16.