BGuthrie Photos: MA -- Minute Man NHP -- North Bridge

MA -- Minute Man NHP -- North Bridge:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. MMBRID_190809_001.JPG: The North Bridge Minute Man National Historical Park Minute Man National Historical Park was the starting place of the American Revolution: here the resolve of citizens willing to risk their lives for the ideals of liberty and self-determination was instrumental in the formation of the American identity. The park preserves sites where Colonial militia men and British soldiers clashed on April 19, 1775. A force of 700 British soldiers left Boston to seize military supplies stockpiled in Concord. Alarm riders alerted the countryside. In area towns, militia companies assembled, ready to defend their communities and their liberties if necessary. After brief battles at Lexington Green (5:00 a.m.) and Concord's North Bridge (9:30 a.m.) fighting escalated along the "Battle Road." As the British troops marched back towards Boston, militia companies poured in. By afternoon, nearly 4,000 Colonists unleashed "an incessant fire" upon the British soldiers. At the end of the day, the Colonists surrounded and laid siege to Boston. The Revolutionary War had begun. The North Bridge Three companies of British Regulars (about 96 men) guarding the North Bridge opened fire upon 400 Colonists advancing from the opposite side. Major John Buttrick of Concord then issued the fateful command, "Fire fellow soldiers, for God's sake fire!" For the first time, Colonists were ordered to fire upon the army of their King, and, for the first time, they killed British soldiers. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his 1837 poem The Concord Hymn, immortalized this event as "the shot heard round the world."
2. MMBRID_190809_014.JPG: The Muster Field "Will you let them burn the town down?" -- Lt. Joseph Hosmer of Concord "I haven't a man who's afraid to go." -- Captain Isaac Davis of Acton "Do not fire on the King's troops unless first fired upon." -- Colonel James Barrett of Concord In the field beyond, Colonists held the first council of war of the American Revolution. There, on the high ground above the North Bridge, stood 400 citizen-soldiers – the assembled ranks of the colonial militia from Concord and surrounding towns. They were determined to maintain their liberty by force of arms if necessary. With smoke rising from the center of town and the bridge held by 96 British Regulars, they made the decision to march into the town to save it. Under strict orders not to fire first, the Colonists began their march in a "very military manner" towards the Regulars at the bridge below. "We determined to march to the center of town for its defence or die in the attempt."
3. MMBRID_190809_018.JPG: Ephraim & Willard Buttrick Houses Circa 1697
4. MMBRID_190809_029.JPG: Reflections of the Revolution Concord Hymn By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April's breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, And fired the shot heard round the world. The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps; And Time the ruined bridge has swept Down the dark stream that seaward creeps. On this green bank, by this soft stream, We set to-day a votive stone; That memory may their deed redeem, When, like our sires, our sons are gone. Spirit, that made those heroes dare to die, and leave their children free, Bid Time and Nature gently spare The shaft we raised to them and thee. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson "And Time the ruined bridge has swept . . . " The landscape surrounding the North Bridge area has changed considerably since "the embattled farmers stood." Farms have been abandoned. The old bridge was dismantled and old roads have disappeared. "We set to-day a votive stone . . . " Other changes were the deliberate work of reverent townsfolk seeking to celebrate and understand our revolutionary past. The North Bridge sits in a 19th-century commemorative landscape. Two grand rows of trees create a ceremonial entrance from the east. The bridge and the monuments embody the ideals and self-government embraced by the Patriots in 1775. In 1837, the first monument was dedicated on the site. Since there was no bridge at that time, it was placed on the "British" side, which was closest to town. During the dedication ceremony, the "Concord Hymn" by Ralph Waldo Emerson was sung, forever linking the phrase, "the shot heard round the world" with the North Bridge fight.
5. MMBRID_190809_034.JPG: Two Revolutions The 18th-century American Revolution was followed by a 19th-century literary revolution in Concord, which advanced our ideas of individual liberty and equality. Concord authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau and Nathaniel Hawthorne helped Americans to realize their own national and cultural identity. In the same year that the "votive stone" was dedicated, Emerson gave one of his famous speeches, "The American Scholar" at Harvard. It was praised as America's "declaration of intellectual independence" because it advocated a distinctive American style of writing and thought. Emerson inspired by the momentous events in his town, expanded the meaning of the Revolution. "Our day of dependence, our long apprenticeship to the learning of other lands draws to a close. The millions that around us are rushing into life cannot always be fed on the sere remains of foreign harvests. Events, actions arise, that must be sung, that will sing themselves. We will walk on our own feet, we will work with our own hands, we will speak our own mind." Ralph Waldo Emerson "The American Scholar" "Do we call this the land of the free? What is it to be free of King George and continue to be slaves of King Prejudice? What is it to be born free and not to live free? What is the value of any political freedom, but as a means to moral freedom?" Henry David Thoreau "Life Without Principle" "By and by there will come a day of reckoning, and then the tax-paying women of Concord will not be forgotten I think, will not be left to wait uncalled upon . . . I devoutly wish that those so bravely bore their share of that day's burden without its honor, will rally around their own flag again, and following in the footsteps of their forefathers, will utter another protest that shall be ‘heard round the world.'" Louisa May Alcott on women's suffrage "The Concord Centennial"
6. MMBRID_190809_037.JPG: An Evolving Legacy "The world has seen no grander movement than that of our Revolution . . . The people, to a man, were full of a great and noble sentiment. It is marvelous to see how many powerful writers, orators, and soldiers started up just at the time when they were wanted . . . all made to unite in the one object of establishing the freedom and independence of America." Nathaniel Hawthorne "The Whole History of Grandfather's Chair" For the Centennial Celebration in 1875, a new bridge crossed the river to a new monument, "The Minute Man" by Daniel Chester French. The Minute Man stands today as a powerful symbol of our continuing struggle for liberty. He also embodies "a progress toward a true respect for the individual" – the evolving legacy of the Revolution. "The progress from an absolute to a limited monarchy to a democracy, is a progress toward a true respect for the individual." Henry David Thoreau "Civil Disobedience" "Every revolution was first a thought in one man's mind." Ralph Waldo Emerson "History"
7. MMBRID_190809_045.JPG: The Road to Colonel Barrett's In 1775 you would be standing at a fork on the Groton Road. The east fork, restored by the National Park Service, today leads up the hill to the Visitor Center. The west fork, now traced as a mown path, led to Colonel Barrett's farm over a mile away. 120 British soldiers marched down the west fork, determined to seize cannon, muskets, and ammunition known to be hidden at Barrett's farm. Another 96 were left behind to guard the Bridge. Barrett's farm was the furthest point reached by any of the soldiers on that fateful British expedition from Boston. General Gage, who ordered the march to Concord, believed that seizing stockpiles of weapons was not only a military necessity, but his prerogative as governor of the colony. The Colonists actively disagreed. "Having received intelligence that a quantity of Ammunition, Provision, Artillery . . . and small arms, have been collected at Concord, for the Avowed Purpose of raising and supporting a rebellion . . . you will march . . . with the utmost expedition and secrecy to Concord, where you will seize and destroy all Military Stores whatever. But you will take care that the Soldiers do not plunder the inhabitants, or hurt private property." -- General Thomas Gage's orders to Lt. Colonel Francis Smith
8. MMBRID_190809_052.JPG: On the morning of April 19, 1775, approximately 400 colonials stood on the hill overlooking the North Bridge. As smoke rose from Concord center, the order to march was given. In the exchange of fire that followed, Captain Isaac Davis, who had exclaimed "I haven't a man who is afraid to go," was killed together with Abner Hosmer, a private, also from Acton. This memorial was erected by the Captain Isaac Davis Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, April, 1975.
9. MMBRID_190809_074.JPG: By the Rude Bridge that arched the flood, their flag to April's breeze unfurled, here once the embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard round the world.
10. MMBRID_190809_095.JPG: Welcome to The Old Manse
11. MMBRID_190809_104.JPG: Grave of British Soldiers They came three thousand miles and died to keep the past upon its throne. Unheard beyond the ocean tide, their English mother made her moan. April 19, 1775
12. MMBRID_190809_111.JPG: Here on the 19th of April 1775 was made the first forcible resistance to British aggression. On the opposite bank stood the American Militia. Here stood the invading Army and on this spot the first of the enemy fell in the War of that Revolution which gave Independence to these United States. In gratitude to God and in the love of Freedom this monument was erected AD 1836
13. MMBRID_190809_113.JPG: Concord Fight On the morning of April nineteenth, 1775, while the British held this bridge, the minute-men and militia of Concord and neighboring towns gathered on the hill across the river. There the Concord Adjutant, Joseph Hosmer, demanded, "Will you let them burn the town down?" There the Lincoln captain, William Smith, offered to dislodge the British. The Acton captain, Isaac Davis, said "I haven't a man that's afraid to go!" and the Concord colonel, James Barrett ordered the attack on the regulars. The column was led by Major John Buttrick, marching from his own farm. His aide was Lt. Colonel John Robinson of Westford. The minute-men of Acton, Concord, Lincoln and Bedford followed. After them came the militia. At the British volley Isaac Davis fell. Buttrick cried, "Fire, fellow-soldiers, for God's sake fire!" and himself fired first. The British fled; and here began the separation of two kindred nations, now happily long united in peace. Allen French
Wikipedia Description: Old North Bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The North Bridge, often colloquially called the Old North Bridge, is a historical site in the Battle of Concord, the first day of battle in the American War of Independence. The current wooden pedestrian bridge is a replica of the one that stood at the day of the battle. It and nearby sites are now part of the Minute Man National Historical Park of the National Park Service, an extremely popular tourist destination.

The current bridge is located in its original location off Monument Street in Concord, Massachusetts. It spans the Concord River 0.5 miles northeast from the start of the river at the confluence of the Assabet River and the Sudbury River at Egg Rock.

Battle

In 1775, five companies of Minutemen and five of non-Minuteman militia occupied a hill near the bridge with groups of other men streaming in, totaling about 400 against the British light infantry companies from the 4th, 10th, and 43rd Regiments of Foot under Captain Walter Laurie, a force totaling about 90-95 men. The British retreated across the river and the two sides faced each other across the North Bridge.

A brief exchange of fire ensued which saw the first instance of Americans firing to deadly effect on British regulars, after which the British retreated. Ralph Waldo Emerson, positing that world history pivoted at that moment (an assertion that is disputed, as earlier events at Lexington Battle Green could be termed the true opening of the battle), called the first shot of this skirmish the "shot heard round the world" in his 1837 poem "Concord Hymn".

History of the bridge and the associated sites

The original North Bridge was dismantled in 1793 by the town of Concord because its use as a bridge had become impractical; a new bridge was erected a few hundred yards away. The bridge was rebuilt multiple times in 1875, 1889, and 1909. The current replica was built in 1956 and was based on drawings of the bridge built in the 1760s. The bridge was restored in 2005.

1836 memorial

In 1836, when there was no bridge at the site, the residents of Concord erected a memorial obelisk on the east side of the river, the side closest to the town center. Inscribed on the eastern (approach) side of the monument is: "HERE On the 19 of April, 1775, was made the first forcible resistance to British aggression[.] On the opposite Bank stood the American Militia[.] Here stood the Invading Army and on this spot the first of the Enemy fell in the War of that Revolution which gave Independence to these United States[.] In gratitude to GOD and In the love of Freedom this Monument was erected AD. 1836."

On Independence Day, July 4, 1837, the memorial was dedicated, an event for which Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote his "Concord Hymn". The first, and best known, of the four stanzas of this poem is:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.

1875 memorial

The first stanza of "Concord Hymn" is inscribed at the base of the statue Minute Man by Daniel Chester French. The statue, which stands on a 7-foot-tall granite pedestal, was cast in the Ames Foundry in Chicopee, Massachusetts and was made from seven American Civil War cannons donated for the project by Congress. The statue, and the 1875 bridge, were dedicated on April 19, 1875 at a centennial recognition of the original battle of April 19, 1775.

Graves of British soldiers

American poet James Russell Lowell wrote in his poem "Lines" (1849) of the graves of two of the three British soldiers who died at the bridge:

Two graves are here: to mark the place,

At head and foot, an unhewn stone,
O'er which the herald lichens trace
The blazon of Oblivion.

But in 1910 residents of Concord placed a plaque to mark the graves using other lines from Lowell's poem:

Grave of British Soldiers

They came three thousand miles and died,
to keep the past upon its throne:
Unheard, beyond the ocean tide,
their English Mother made her moan.
April 19, 1775

The grave is at a rock wall near the bridge at its eastern end.

1975 Bicentennial Commemoration

On the 200th anniversary of the battle, President Gerald Ford traveled to Concord and gave a speech at the bridge as part of the United States Bicentennial celebrations.

Nearby sites

Among the natural areas near North Bridge are Egg Rock 0.5 miles southwest (upstream) at the confluence of the Assabet and Sudbury rivers, where they form the Concord River. Just 0.7 miles downstream from the bridge is a portion of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, an outstanding New England birdwatching location with a trail. Punkatasset Hill is northwest of the bridge and is where the colonial militias watched the British forces at the bridge. The hill is adjacent to Estabrook Woods, a wild tract of more than 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) of woodland, hills, ledge, and swamp that used to be visited by Henry David Thoreau.

A mansion was built over looking the bridge in 1911 by Stedman Buttrick, a great great grandson of Major John Buttrick who led the colonial forces to the bridge when they were fired upon by the British. In 1962 the National Park Service bought the mansion, its once extensive flower garden and surrounding land from the Buttrick family. It uses the building for a visitor center and administrative offices. Although the gardens created and cared for by Stedman Buttrick and his son Stedman have suffered since their purchase by the Park Service they were once grand enough to have been featured in a 15-page article in the May 1959 issue of National Geographic magazine.

The Old Manse, Emerson's ancestral home and later residence of writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, is immediately adjacent to the North Bridge.

On the east side of Monument Street, where the pedestrian crosswalk from the parking lot goes to the all�e leading to the bridge, is chiseled in blocks a line from Emerson's address at the 1875 dedication of French's Minuteman statue alluding to how the local resistance to the King's troops had far-reaching effects: "The thunderbolt falls on an inch of ground, / but the light of it fills the horizon."

Other

The bridge was the inspiration for a bridge in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, specifically the bridge leading from the hub in front of Cinderella Castle to the area celebrating American independence called Liberty Square.

The bridge also appears in the Bethesda Softworks game Fallout 4, in a dilapidated form, at the starting area of the game.
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