Lexington and Concord

In honor of the 4th, a post about where the fight for independence all began...

On Friday morning, Rachel and I split up to see different sites of interest, she headed to Harvard and I went on my way to Lexington and Concord. The Battle Road takes you along the road marched by the British Regulars (and the road of the Midnight Ride) from Lincoln, Mass. to Concord with several key stops along the way. On the night of April 18, 1775, 700 British Regulars made their way to Concord with secret orders to destroy military supplies stockpiled there by the Massachusetts militia. They were unaware that the Patriots were well informed of the British plan thanks to the help of British General Gage's unfaithful wife. The hidden supplies were moved and the men in the countryside prepared to fight.

The first skirmish occurred in Lexington between the Minutemen led by Captain Parker and the Regulars. Knowing the supplies had been hidden in Concord and severely outnumbered, Parker made no attempt to engage the Regulars; they could easily march to Concord, find nothing and return to Boston. There was no need to sacrifice his men for nothing so they stood on the Lexington Green, not blocking the road, showing political and military determination. Parker gave to order to "Stand your ground; don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." The Regulars marched in ordering the Minutemen to lay down their weapons but a shot was fired from an unknown source. The Regulars then opened fire and the majority of the Minutemen retreated. Eight militia men were killed, 10 wounded, and 1 Regular wounded. The Regulars continued to Concord where the militia cautiously awaited their arrival.

Lexington Battle Green with statue of Captain John Parker

Upon reaching Concord, the Regulars where divided up to carry out their orders but had little success. The Minutemen sat atop a ridge overlooking the town and as they watched the search, their numbers swelled to 400 with men from the surrounding countryside answering the call to arms. A small infantry of Regulars (around 90 men) marched toward the North Bridge where the Minutemen were waiting. As the Regulars marched closer to the North Bridge, the Minutemen marched down to meet them but were ordered to not fire unless fired upon. There was much confusion among the Regulars and a shot rang out from a British soldier, "the shot heard 'round the world." Both sides opened fire from either side of the North Bridge.

The North Bridge

Severely outnumbered, the British retreated back into the town and the minutemen moved back into the hills. Their numbers continued to grow to 1000 as they waited for the Regulars to make their next move. As the column of Regulars marched back to Boston, the colonial militia men, now 2,000 in number, waited along the road to ambush the troops who broke into a trot to escape the gunfire. The Regulars were rescued by reinforcements in Lexington but the ambushes continued, some homeowners along the way even joined the fight. The British officers lost control of their troops and the soldiers began entering the buildings searching for their attackers. They eventually reached Boston late in the day despite the 4,000 militia men who had answered the call to arms. The fighting had stopped, however by morning, over 15,000 militia men surrounded the city of Boston... The Revolutionary war had begun.

The Midnight Riders

Two of my favorite stops on the Freedom Trail have to be Paul Revere's house and the Old North Church. If by chance you learned your history from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere," it's wrong on several accounts. So here is what really happened.

For several months, Revere, along with several other men, served as couriers sending messages around the colonies warning of the movements of the British troops. On April 7, 1775, Revere was sent out to Concord to warn the Massachusetts Provincial Congress (set up after they were stripped of their self-governments thanks to the Tea Party) of possible troop moments to Concord with orders to destroy military supplies. The townspeople immediately began to move their hidden stockpile of weapons. A week later, British General Thomas Gage was given the very order that the colonists expected as well as the order to arrest the rebellion's leaders, Samuel Adams (the voice) and John Hancock (the purse). On the night of April 18, the British attempted to carry out the orders in secrecy to avoid an uprising, but thanks to General Gage's unfaithful wife, Patriot Dr. Joseph Warren learned of the order and enlisted Paul Revere and William Dawes to ride to Lexington to warn Adams and Hancock. Dawes made his way out of Boston by the Boston neck (isthmus) and Revere by way of the Charles River.

Revere had previously contacted the sexton at the North Church and set up a signaling system of hang lanterns in the steeple to warn the people of Charlestown of the movements of the troops if Revere were for some reason unable to complete his ride. The signal would be "one if by land (following Dawes), two if by sea (following Revere)." After telling the sexton to give the signal, Revere was rowed across the Charles River by 2 friends then rode toward Lexington. Revere would NOT have shouted "The British are coming" for two reasons. 1) They were all still British, so he would have said Regulars and 2) he wouldn't have shouted at all because the success of their journey relied on secrecy. He did however, go from house to house warning fellow Patriots that the Regulars were on the move. Many of the colonists sent out riders of their own throughout the countryside. As a result, there were probably around 40 Midnight Riders that night, not just Revere.

Just after midnight, Dawes caught up with Revere in Lexington where they warned Adams and Hancock. More riders were dispatched from Lexington to warn surrounding towns while Revere and Dawes were joined by a third rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott and rode on to Concord. The three men were stopped by a British road block on the way. Revere was captured, Dawes evaded capture but was later bucked off his horse and did not make it to Concord. Prescott however, also evaded capture and did reach Concord to deliver the warning. Revere was questioned by the British soldiers at gunpoint. He told the soldiers everything he knew of the British movements and that there was a group of hostile militia men in Lexington waiting for their arrival. As they marched toward Lexington, the warning signals began to ring out - gun shots, church bells ringing - and Revere told the soldiers they were all dead men. The soldiers decided warning their commanders was more important than turning in Revere so they confiscated his horse and released him. Revere walked back to Lexington where he helped Adams and Hancock escape. He did not deliver the warning message to Concord.

Statue of Paul Revere (wearing a Bruins jersey) and the Old North Church Steeple

All of the statues around Boston showed their support for the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final.



Why is that Revere is the only rider Longfellow wrote about, or why didn't he write about Prescott, the only person to actually finish the ride? ... more words rhyme with Revere. Funny how history works.

One more post to come on Lexington and Concord.

Boston and the American Revolution

Oh Boston, it was wicked awesome! Ha! I am not a city girl but I have to admit that I do love Boston... The history of the city might have something to do with that. Although Philadelphia is the birthplace of the United States, Boston is the "cradle of liberty," the center of resistance that led to the American Revolution and the United States making it the perfect place to end our trip, at least in my opinion.

Wednesday night's visit to Fenway Park was an absolute blast! I wish I lived closer to a MBL team (the SA Missions don't count). Although the Sox were not victorious, the game was well worth it and so was however many dollars I paid for that Fenway Frank... yum!



We spent parts of Thursday and Friday visiting the sites on the Freedom trail. Thursday started off with a tour of some of the sites on the Trail. Our guide was one of the best, if not the best tour guide we've had on our entire trip (Jane was not a tour guide - he can't be her). He shared several interesting, mostly comical, facts about various Patriots. (Samuel Adams crowd surfing; an almost juvenile competition between John Hancock and George Washington) Although these stories did not, by any means, knock these men down off the pedestal I have placed them on for being extraordinary men, they did make the men a little more human.

After our tour, we headed to one of the more interactive stops on the Freedom Trail, the harbor, where we participated in a reenactment of the Boston Tea Party, Mohawk Indian feathers and all. The "destruction of the tea" was the culmination of the resistance to the acts imposed on the colonists by the British Crown and Parliament. In late 1773, three ships arrived in Boston harbor carrying 342 crates of King George's tea. After the Boston officials refused to let tea be shipped back to England, a group of colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded the ship and dumped the tea into the harbor to avoid having to pay the tax on the tea. Other port cities protested the Tea Act, but it was Parliament's reaction to the Boston Tea Party and the subsequent actions taken against the city of Boston and all of Massachusetts that established Boston's place in the history books. Those actions came in the form of a series of acts known as the Intolerable or Coercive Acts and contained several provisions including closing the port of Boston, stripping Massachusetts of its self-government, and the forced quartering of soldiers within Boston. The colonists reacted with more protests and a petition from the First Continental Congress to the King requesting a repeal of the acts. The request was ignored and tensions rose to the breaking point in April of 1775 just outside of Boston at Lexington and Concord.

Make sure to check back... I'll post again with more on the Freedom Trail!

Dump the tea into the sea!!!

  



The Assembly Room - Birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution

The history teacher in me had to do this...

On April 19, 1775, the first shots of the American Revolution rang out at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. A few months later on May 10, 1775, the Second Continental Congress of 56 delegates convened in Philadelphia to take charge of the war effort. One of their first acts was the creation of the Continental Army and appointment of George Washington as the commanding general. Although the Congress acted much like a central government, it still derived its power from the individual states. So when it came to talks of separating from the British Crown, several delegates had to petition their states for the authority to declare independence. One of the most influential reasons for declaring independence from Britain was to establish foreign alliances with other countries in the Old World. The Declaration of Independence was drafted to announce the United States' entry into the international system as an individual entity, a Model Treaty established commerce with other states, and the Articles of Confederation established "a firm league of friendship" among the newly independent states. Once these three documents were approved, Congress convened in the Assembly Room of the Pennsylvania State House and drafted the formal announcement of the United States Declaration of Independence which was approved on July 4, 1776 and announced in the following days. (Little known fact, the final draft wasn't completed and signed until August 2) The Continental Congress governed the United States until the Articles of Confederation were finally ratified in March of 1781.

By 1787, the states accepted that the government set up by the Articles of Confederation was not effective and therefore 55 men were elected or appointed to attend the Constitutional Congress in Philadelphia to revise the document. These delegates from every state except Rhode Island, most of whom where delegates to the Continental Congress, soon agreed an entirely new system of government was needed and began setting up a new framework. The majority of the debate surrounded the issues of representation in Congress, the power of the executive, and slave trade, and of course, a bill of rights. Through a series of compromises, the United States Constitution was completed and signed on September 17, 1787. By July of 1788, nine states ratified the Constitution and it went into effect. Soon after the first Congress convened under the new Constitution, it approved the first ten amendments and the Bill of Rights became a part of the Constitution. The Constitution as endured for over 200 years and adapted to the various changes our nation has withstood.

We owe a great deal to these men for their continued devotion to the protection of individual freedoms and perseveration of the American Democratic Experiment. I was honored and humbled to stand in the room where those brilliant men once stood and formed our nation. Although the nation they created might not be perfect, I wouldn't want to call any other home. It is our obligation now to perpetuate the very ideals they so painstakingly established in that Philadelphia Assembly Room.

Philadelphia to Boston!

We've arrived.

2600+ miles and 64 hours in the car (and counting), and the Cruisin' Cousins have landed at their final destination: Boston, Massachusetts.

Before we embark on our Boston adventures, let me recount our time in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After arriving in Philly late Monday night, we woke up early Tuesday morning to begin touring. First, we went to the National Constitution Center. The center unpacked meanings of our U.S. Constitution and how those meanings are questioned, debated and argued throughout presidencies, social movements and policy issues throughout history. The opening 360-performance gave Lucy and me chills!

After spending time with our new friends at the NCC, we even got to put our John Hancock on a U.S. Constitution!

Next, we went to the Liberty Bell Museum. The Liberty Bell is a symbol of United States independence. The bell used to hang in the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall). John Pass and John Stow recast the bell after it cracked when being rung after its arrival to Philadelphia. According to our exceptional National Park Ranger, Jane, the bell was more of an "American backyard special" made out of recycled material. Jane says it's a miracle the bell didn't crack the same year it was commissioned in 1752.

Despite the amateur bell casters, who added pewter instead of pure copper/tin when recasting the bell, the original Liberty Bell still stands (or hangs).

Liberty Bell

After grabbing some coffee and souvenirs, we headed towards the City Tavern for dinner. Along the way, we passed the First Bank of the United States and the Second Bank of the U.S. Thanks to Alexander Hamilton, who insisted the U.S. acquire a central bank for economic stability, the First Bank of the U.S. began in 1791. But it was only chartered for 20 years. Claiming the bank as unconstitutional, Jefferson and Madison led others in arguing that the bank didn't benefit the U.S. majority. Today, the First Bank of the U.S. is simply a historic site and after making changes to the First Bank's charter, the Second Bank was chartered in 1816 to 1836.

First Bank of the U.S.

Our delicious City Tavern meal gave us enough energy to face the rain (again) and snap a picture at the JFK Plaza with the famous LOVE letters.

Unable to get Independence Hall tickets Tuesday, we were praying that an early Visitor Center arrival would assure us two tickets Wednesday morning. And thankfully, it did! We stood in the room where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were signed! In fact, Lucy and I stood in Independence Hall for so long that we were asked by a National Park Ranger to leave. Whoops!

Independence Hall

(Inside Independence Hall - Signing of the Declaration of Independence & U.S. Constitution)

Later, we toured Congress Hall, the place Congress occupied when Philadelphia was the U.S. capital from 1790 to 1800. The House of Representatives functioned downstairs, reserving the upper floor for the Senate.

Congress Hall (House Floor)

 Congress Hall (Senate Floor) 

After Congress Hall, we visited Christ's Church - the first Episcopalian church of the U.S, founded in 1695. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin both attended Christ's Church. The architecture was beautiful! The church still holds services today, and after talking to one of the tour guides, most of the members are surprisingly young - between their 20s and 30s. After Christ's Church, we visited Benjamin Franklin's graveside.

Christ's Church

Franklin's Pew at Christ's Church:

To conclude our tour of Philadelphia, we chowed down on our first Philly cheesesteaks at Pat's King of Steaks. There's an art to ordering a Philly Cheesesteak: "One, whiz, wit." Translation: One Philly cheesesteak with cheese and onions. We butchered our order pronouncing the "with" is a grammatical error in Philly. Nevertheless, this experience exposed us to true Philadelphian culture.

After lunch, we headed to Boston to catch the Red Sox at Fenway! Bucket list: singing Sweet Caroline at a Red Sox game. Check. One game at Fenway might've turned me into a Sox fan. My brother, a Yankees fan, is a little disappointed... Go Sox!

Fenway Park!

We're ecstatic to be in Boston! Our plan is to fit in as much as possible before Saturday's departure. Let's go!!

Gettysburg

Out of all of the Civil War sites we have planned to visit, I've been looking forward to Gettysburg the most. A town, by a twist of fate, became the site of the most brutal battle ever fought on American soil, claiming more casualties than any other battle of the war (51,000) and marking a turning point in the war. Union Maj. General George Meade successfully defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee and ended Lee's second invasion of the North. The Union forces of nearly 94,000 collided with the Confederate forces of 71,600+ men in a battle that lasted 3 days, leaving a 25 sq. mile stretch of land littered with bodies and a town almost completely destroyed.

The museum exhibit at Gettysburg is one of the best we have visited. It began with an incredible film, "A New Birth of Freedom," narrated by Morgan Freeman and the Gettysburg Cyclorama which depicts the final day of the battle - Pickett's Charge. The museum exhibit that followed was full of relics, films, and photographs; both Rachel and I were overwhelmed by the impressive amount of artifacts and wealth of knowledge that was on display. We also lucked out in having the opportunity to see a special exhibit of additional artifacts on display for the 150th anniversary of the battle.

After lunch, we set out on a self-guided auto tour of the park. Monuments and cannons line the roadway and acted as a constant reminder to me of the sacrifices that were made on that ground. On the first day of the battle, July 1, 1863, the Confederate army successfully pushed back the Union troops, and on the 2nd, the Union troops held their position, leading to the 3rd and final day of the battle. On July 3, a cannonade raged for about 2 hours after which Lee ordered his men to launch a frontal attack, now known as Pickett's Charge. More than 14,000 troops marched out of the tree line across the field toward the Union line. Federal guns fell silent in awe of the vast number of men steadily marching toward them. The Union opened fire on the advancing rebels but the Confederates bravely marched on. They finally reached the Union lines where the fighting turned to hand-to-hand combat. They successfully broke through the Union lines at "the Angle" or "the high- water mark of the Confederacy," (the closest point they came to winning the war) but were quickly pushed back. The rebels were forced to retreat, Pickett's Charge had failed. Lee reportedly watched the assault from the tree line and exclaimed that "this has all been my fault." Over 50% of the Confederates who charged the Union lines didn't make it back to the tree line, including several generals. This ended the fighting at Gettysburg, but the battle was not yet over. 

Thousands of bodies lay in the fields and in the buildings of Gettysburg. Four months later, President Lincoln traveled to the battle site to dedicate the Soldiers' National Cemetery. He delivered one of his most famous speeches, the Gettysburg Address, in which he so eloquently honored the fallen and redefined the purpose for fighting the war - preservation of the Union and true equality for all. There are over 3,500 solders buried in the cemetery, over half of them are unknown, several of them are simply marked by a number. I cannot find words to adequately describe the emotions that came over me as I sat on a bench and looked upon the resting place of these brave men. It was a shocking realization that these men were less than 10% of the casualties of the Battle of Gettysburg. It is a site I believe every American should see to remind them of the sacrifices that were made on our behalf and to serve as an example of what it means to truly fight for your freedom and rights. 

The Virginia Memorial with a statue of General Robert E. Lee at the top. Lee watched Pickett's Charge from this location.

View of the field where Pickett's Charge occurred. The Virginia Memorial can be seen in the background on the tree line.

The gravestones which mark the resting places of the unknown soldiers who fell at Gettysburg.

I'll leave you with the words of one of the greatest men who has ever led our nation, a man who carried a burden most would crumble under:

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from earth." 

Abraham Lincoln

Gettysburg Address

Antietam

Although this won't be posted until early Monday morning, it is our Sunday post so... Happy Father's Day to two incredible men, my dad, Carper, and Rachel's dad, Patrick! We love you and can't thank you enough for all that you have done for us and helping shape us into the women we are today.

Before I talk about our visit to Antietam, I wanted to comment on Appomattox. As Rachel said, it was a very moving experience to walk through the gravel streets where General Lee rode up to the McLean House on horseback, stepped into the parlor, and forever changed our nation's history. The simplicity of the town of Appomattox Court House reflects the ease of surrender; a war that had been fought so ferociously between friends, brothers, ended with a harmonious "Gentlemen's Agreement." I have no doubt that Appomattox Court House will remain in one of the top slots of my favorites of this trip.

In the spirit of Sunday, we got some much needed rest and didn't head out to Antietam until noon. The Battle of Antietam might not be one that comes to mind when most think of the Civil War, but it is definitely one for the history books. September 17, 1862 marks the bloodiest single-day battle in American history; 23,000 men were killed, wounded, or missing. The battle was the culmination of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the North. His Maryland Campaign had many objectives: secure Southern independence through a victory in the North and gain recognition from Britain and France, move the war out of Virginia, obtain supplies, influence the mid-term elections (get anti-war Northern Democrats in office), and liberate Maryland, a Southern state in the Union. 

The fighting broke out at dawn near the small town of Sharpsburg, MD where the men fought through the Cornfield, the East Woods, West Woods, the Sunken Road and around Dunkard Church as the Confederate Army tried to stop the three major attacks made by the Union Army. After 12 hours of combat, the battle ended in a draw and both sides gathered their wounded and buried their dead. The Confederate Army retreated back across the Potomac, ending Lee's invasion of the North. This provided President Lincoln with the opportunity to announce his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation which freed all of the slaves in the rebellious states. Therefore, Antietam is in the history books for a second reason: the war was not only being fought to preserve the Union, ending slavery had become a second purpose. 

Antietam Battlefield with Dunkard Church in the background 

The memorial honors the men who fought in Hood's Texas brigade during the Civil War. They quickly developed a reputation for fierce tenacity but also suffered the greatest losses of any infantry regiment, both North and South, in the Civil War.

The Cornfield

Antietam National Cemetery

Photographer, Mathew Brady, (father of photojournalism) sent photographer Alexander Gardner and his assistant James Gibson to photograph the carnage of Antietam. The photographs were displayed in Brady's New York gallery in an exhibit titled "The Dead of Antietam." This was the first time many Americans were exposed to the realities of war through the graphic photographs of corpses laying on the battlefield. Although the bodies have long been removed from the fields, I stared at the fields with tears silently rolling down my cheeks. I can't escape the thoughts about the many lives that were changed because of the events that occurred on this hallowed ground. Although I am not personally connected to the site, my life has been changed by the sacrifices of these men, and for that, I am eternally grateful.