The Battles of Lexington and Concord and The Hartwell Tavern

Battle Road

The Rebels – The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. Fought, in my own county of Middlesex Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775. Following the Boston Tea Party, the colonists formed their own government, an illegal Patriot provisional government, known as the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and called for local militias to train for possible hostilities (the British). In response to the Patriots managing their colony with ease outside of British controlled Boston, the British declared Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion.

Battle Road Path

The Plan – An estimated 700 British Army regulars in Boston were given secret orders to capture and destroy rebel military supplies, rumored to be stored by the Mass Militia Patriots in Concord.  Through effective intelligence gathered (through spies, like Paul Revere) the Patriot colonials had received word weeks before the British's plan to invade, that their supplies might be vulnerable in Concord and moved them to different locations. Fortunately, they also received news and details about the British's plans on the eve of the battle and were able to notify the Patriots of the British invasion in enough time.

The Battle – The first shots were fired as the sun was rising in Lexington. Historians still don't know who fired first. The Patriots, though farmers and small in number, were no fools, after all, they did form for possible hostilities, and, although they risked being outnumbered (just 77 Patriots met 700 British soldiers at the Hartwell Tavern and the Americans suffered a deadly defeat), they refused to be out-smarted or surrender. While the outnumbered Patriots fell back, the British marched on to Concord, passing the Hartwell House and The Hartwell Tavern, where Mary Hartwell recollected: "The army of the king marched up in fine order and their bayonets glistened in the sunlight like a field of waiving grain. If it hadn’t been for the purpose they came for, I should say it was the handsomest sight I ever saw in my life." (Attributed to Mary Hartwell by her descendants).

The Battle Grounds

The Minute Man National Historic website has a wealth of information, this link references the Hartwell Tavern and Mary Hartwell's recollections:http://www.nps.gov/mima/hartwell-tavern.htm

This stone reads: "At this well – April 19, 1775 – James Hayward of Acton met a British soldier who raising his gun said you are a dead man and so are you replied Hayward – Both fired – The soldier was instantly killed and Hayward mortally wounded."

James Hayward - April 19, 1775

The site of the stone, as shown here, and the engraved words spoke loudly to me and I wanted to know more about James Hayward and who he was. So many brave young men were willing to fight and die to protect the United States of America and our independence and their names are unknown, unspoken and, often, unthought of. Hayward was a young school master, who was in an accident as a boy and was, therefore, not allowed to serve in the military. That didn't stop Hayward from being the first to arrive in the early morning hours of April 19th to Captain Davis's farm in Concord ready to fight and defend his country. Carrying only a hunting powder horn filled with loose gunpowder and being exhausted, from following the British for over 6 miles, Hayward found the house of Ebenezer Fiske (pictured below) to be abandoned and quiet. As he approached a well just to the side of the road, 2 red coats emerged from the Fiske house.  Hayward survived for another 8 hours and when found by his father stated: "Father, hand me my powder horn and bullet pouch. I started with one pound of powder and forty balls, you see what I have left, you see what I have been about. I never did such a forenoon’s work before. Tell mother not to mourn too much for me for I am not sorry I turned out. I die willingly for my country. She will now, I doubt not, by the help of God, be free. And tell whom I loved better than my mother, you know who I mean, that I am not sorry. I shall never see her again. May I meet her in heaven."

http://historicaldigression.com/tag/battles-of-lexington-and-concord/

Ebenezer Fiske House Site

Foundation of Ebenezer Fiske House

The Tavern – My favorite part of the historical battle road was The Hartwell Tavern which was built in 1732/1733 and given to Ephraim and his wife, Elizabeth, Hartwell along with 30 surrounding acres to raise their family.  In 1756, while 9 of their children were living in the house, Ephraim Hartwell applied for and received a license to open part of their home as an inn. Three of Ephraim and Elizabeth Hartwell’s sons were in the Lincoln Minute Man Company (Captain William Smith’s Co.) that fought at the North Bridge and on the Battle Road on April 19^th – All three went on to later military service in the Revolutionary War.

The Hartwell Tavern (& family) Then

This link is a short video on History.com which references the Patriots waiting for the arrival of the British in a tavern - The Hartwell Tavern. 

http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/battles-of-lexington-and-concord 

The Hartwell Tavern Now
(...if these walls could talk)

The Battle Road at The Hartwell Tavern

From the dirt road, the Tavern and it’s surroundings can be seen from a couple hundred yards away. As I got closer to the Tavern, I noticed a wooden fenced in area for horses and a sign, with a horse on one side and a minute man on the other, hanging in front of the Tavern. Knowing that Patriots, including Paul Revere, used this road and travelled from surrounding communities to enjoy the warmth of the Tavern and meet with fellow Patriots to discuss their plans and prepare for the imminent battle with the British was amazing.

A look inside.

The Horse Lot

The Outcome - The Patriots were untrained and, even with warning of the looming red-coated British invasion, they didn’t have time to receive proper militia training, but they believed in what they were fighting for - their futures, their freedoms and their country - and, that, the British could neither prepare for nor defeat.  The Patriots defeated the British on April 19, 1775 at the battle of North Bridge in Concord and the victory revitalized Americans' spirits and filled them with excitement at the thought of the final defeat over the British and the independence of the United States of America to come.

Path to the Battle Grounds