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Published: November 7th 2007
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Posted by: Onaxthiel: We hung out in Imagisme and Catalysts' apartment until they had both headed off to work. Luckily, this delayed our departure until the Boston traffic pattern had slowed down somewhat. The weather was quite cooperative for a day of seeing Revolutionary War sights. Our route was out towards Lexington and Concord, the two targets of British raids that triggered violent confrontations resulting in the War of Independence. I have to give a hand to the British infantry of the day. They marched 20 miles from Boston harbor, out to Concord, conducted searches of suspect homes, then a return 20 mile foot march, all in less than 24 hours, taking fire during the entire exfiltration. That would be quite painful. Truth be told, I imagine that I would barely be moving for the next few days from the soreness.
The Lexington battle green is the old town commons, a triangle of green in a peaceful New England town. Here about 80 locals tried to play a game of brinkmanship with the Redcoats and found that lots of men pointing weapons at each other are prone to negligent discharges. It is interesting to read General Gage's written orders to
the 700 infantry that marched out into the countryside that day, and note that he specifically states that the Lt. Colonel in charge is to take care to not cause civilian casualties and minimize damage to private property. I found myself wondering if Gage actually cared about these issues, or if this was just a necessary late 18th century exercise in CYA in case he ever found himself hauled before Parliament to explain why the colonies weren't subdued yet. Of course, the British fought the colonies for eight years and suffered at least a few military defeats before they surrendered the war as lost, so perhaps the British officer corps wasn't as sensitive to these concerns as I speculate, and Gage really did just want his cannons and powder back.
Across from the green is the home of Jonathan Harrington, a minuteman famous for crawling, wounded, to his own door step and dieing at home. Ah, the advantages of working near home! There is a second placard on the home, telling us that it was once inhabited by John Augustus, a man that was was instrumental in the concept of probation in the United States. Well done sir. Thanks
for making sentences mean virtually nothing. Lexington is also home to several historic homes and businesses, all of which were closed for the season when we arrived.
Closer to Concord is the Minute Man National Park. It is a trail that runs along a large portion of the road the British used to get from and back to Boston. We walked a few short portions of the route and read all the placards telling of how the running battle occurred and noting the headstones of British soldiers that litter the park. The Visitors Center gives a better overview of what happened than I had prior to the visit, though I suspect the serious historian may still be disappointed by the Reverocentric story they tell. Finally, we arrived in Concord proper, and went to the North Bridge, sight of the “shot heard around the world.” When the assembled colonial militiamen finally began marching on the detachment stationed at the bridge, the British line fired one burst of sporadic gunfire, which the Militia returned, and then the Redcoats moved back to rejoin the main body. Again, I wonder how much of this was due to orders NOT to kill locals. Perhaps
the officers just didn't want to get cut off. Whatever the case, they gave ground, and in the long run, so did their government.
Also on display near North Bridge is the second of the four cannons the British came to Concord to find. This one is in better repair and much more accessible than its twin at Bunker Hill, and has a 15 minute documentary featuring a really hot female historian pretending to research all the things that the National Park Service tells you about the gun.
After leaving the park, we drove south towards Rhode Island. On the route we saw Walden Pond, and blew past with rather little discussion. For one thing, I kind of get the simple living experiment and don't feel a need to see how it went down two centuries ago. For another, it's basically just a pretty little pond. I have seen others, will see more, and have probably seen prettier. Lastly, there was the concern of making it to RI before it became too dark and rainy. We did manage to find a motel near Woonsocket in time to get some work done on the blog before going to bed.
Lessons Learned: Roads in New England are often very poorly marked. Once you are on them, they feel no need to reassure you that you are still on the same road, meaning you often drive for miles between road signs without seeing any that will confirm to you that you are still on the right route. Sometimes it means that you have driven for miles on the wrong route without noticing, because after all, the LOCALS know which road is which. Often exits and routes to primary artery highways are unmarked. Driving New England is lovely, but frustrating. In Boston proper, use the T passes. They are cheap and efficient for the tourist without the headaches of getting lost in your car. Lastly, the states are really tiny out here, so nothing is too far. We walked across most of Boston one morning in about two hours. This doesn't include food stops or squirrel feeding, but it does convey the smallness of the town. Lastly, Don't irritate your tour guides in Boston, or you might end up like the two at right.
Our Route to Date
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