Battle at North Bridge

A few days ago, Porter and I were visiting our Grandma Pam. She lives in Lincoln, a town just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She took us to a few historical sites. The historical sites were about the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

The British army had a battle with the American Patriots in Concord, which is right next to the town of Lincoln. Grandma Pam took us to an important battlefield there. We were in the very same spot where the Patriots fought the Red Coats, a bridge called North Bridge. The Red Coats were better equipped and trained than the Patriots, who were really just a bunch of young and old farmers. There is a big statute at North Bridge of a Patriot on a pedestal. There is also a famous poem on the statute: Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Porter memorized the first part:

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.

 

After looking at the statue and reading the poem, we walked around the battlefield. The Patriots saw the Red Coats coming to North Bridge and were ordered to march down to the bridge. When they got to the bridge, a couple of Red Coats shot two Patriots down. The farmers shot back. The Red Coats, surprisingly, fled.

I thought the hill the Patriots walked down was beautiful. It was very green, grassy with many sturdy trees. We walked down it imagining all of the farmers with their muskets going to battle the Red Coats. The bridge was wide and pretty, though it was easy to imagine a battle taking place on it. Finally, we walked back to the car on the very same path that the Red Coats used to flee the battle.

It was a pretty fun interaction between me and the site of the Battle of the North Bridge. I like how the Patriots made the strong, very well-equipped, well trained troops of the King run away. I really liked learning the history of the Revolutionary War by going to one of its most important sites. – Jack Rabbit