Mark your calendars for a variety of historical observances with the Lincoln Minute Men.
Paul Revere’s Capture Ceremony
Saturday, April 6 at 3 p.m.
Minute Man National Historical Park
The Lincoln Minute Men march down Battle Road and narrate the story of Paul Revere’s capture at the actual site. Hear Revere, Samuel Prescott, William Dawes, Mary Hartwell, even Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Music, dramatic reading and musket fire in the Park. For all ages.
“Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride: The Real Truth”
Tuesday, April 9
Bemis Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Learn the real truth about Paul Revere and his midnight ride to warn the patriots that the British were coming. Actually, the regulars were coming, as everyone was British at that point. Who leaked the top-secret British plan to seize the munitions in Lexington and Concord? Did his journey begin in Boston or in Charlestown? Who directed Paul to make the ride? Did he act alone or with others? Did he make it to Lexington and Concord? Who was the real hero on the night of April 18, 1775? Learn the truth from Carl Zellner, who has accumulated knowledge, books, and files for over 30 years. His research includes a handwritten account by Paul Revere himself.
Battle Road 2013
Saturday, April 13 at 2:45 p.m.
Minute Man National Historic Park, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
With flags flying and to the tune of colonial fifes and drums, the Lincoln Minute Men and their guests will march from the Battle Road Visitors Center down Nelson Road, a section of the original Battle Road, to the Paul Revere Capture Site on Route 2A.
In a lively ceremony beginning at 3 p.m., the Minute Men will commemorate the capture of Revere and Dawes and the escape of Samuel Prescott and give a brief historical narrative of the events and the heroism of Lincoln residents in carrying the alarm to Concord. All this will be accompanied a musket salute and by colonial music performed by the Fifes and Drums of the Lincoln Minute Men, the Middlesex County Volunteer Fifes and Drums, and the Middlesex County 4-H Fifes and Drums.
The Lincoln Salute: A Concert of 18th-Century Fife & Drum Music
Sunday, April 14 from 1:45-3:30 p.m.
Pierce Park
Alarm and Muster
Sunday, April 14 at 7 p.m.
Lincoln Public Library lawn opposite First Parish Church
At 7 p.m., the Lincoln Company of Minute Men will re-enact a drama that unfolded in the center of colonial Lincoln just after midnight on April 19, 1775. Captain William Smith will arrive by horse to ring the bell of the First Parish Church and spread the alarm that the British Regulars are coming. The Minute Men will run from the nearby houses and muster before the church to receive their orders for the march to Concord. The event will include a horse and rider, historical explanations, colonial music, a musket salute, and lots of Revolutionary commotion.
Dawn Tribute and March to Concord
Monday, April 15 at 6:40 a.m.
Stone Church
At 6:45 a.m., the Lincoln Company of Minute Men will muster in preparation for their march to Concord. They will march first to the cemetery at Bemis Hall for a dawn tribute musket salute to the Patriots buried there. The Minute Men will then march along Sandy Pond Road toward Concord, with colonial music and musket firing along the way. The parade in Concord begins at 9 a.m., and the events in Concord will include a reenactment of the historic battle at the North Bridge beginning at about 9:30 a.m.
Old Burial Ground Tribute
Sunday, April 21 at 2:30 p.m.
Pierce House
The Lincoln Minute Men will assemble at the Pierce House and march to the Town Cemetery on Old Lexington Road accompanied by clergy, honored guests, and a contingent of British regulars including a bagpiper. At 3 p.m., there will be gravesite ceremonies honoring both the Lincoln patriots of the Revolution and the five British soldiers who were killed in Lincoln on April 19, 1775, and buried there. The ceremonies will include prayer, a commemorative speech, colonial music, and musket salutes. Following the ceremonies, the Minute Men and their guests will march back to the Pierce House, where refreshments will be served to all, courtesy of the Lincoln Historical Society.