This is a holiday peculiar to Massachusetts. April 19th, 1775 was the date of the “battles” at the Concord Bridge and Lexington Green. Captain Isaac Davis of the Acton Minutemen led his company on a nine mile march to the Concord Bridge, where they were joined by other companies. Captain Davis, whose house in Acton is still standing and who still has descendants in the area, is famous for allegedly saying, “I haven’t a man who is afraid to go.” This may be true; in any event, Captain Davis was surely fearless, as he was right out in front at the Bridge and hence was blown away in the first volley of British musket fire. He is buried under a suitably phallic monument in Acton, and there is a lock of his hair in a glass case in the library.
When I lived in Acton, every Patriot’s Day hundreds of people would gather at the Isaac Davis House and walk along the approximate route the Minutemen took, following the modern-day companies of Minutemen (which now include some women). There would be ceremonies at the Bridge, and if it was your first year walking, you got a map; each year after that, you got a sticker to put on the map. It was kind of fun, and a pretty walk, if the crack of dawn appeals to your aesthetic sensibilities. Here is some more detailed information for the historically inclined.
Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts is now commemorated by the running of the Boston Marathon, as well as various historical re-enactments. State government and municipal services get the day off, and it’s the start of April vacation week for the schools, but everything else (post office, stores) is open. Some employers give the day off, some allow employees to negotiate for it, but for most it’s a business day. I usually had it off because I worked for the Acton Schools for a number of years.
This is a photo I took of the Townsend Minutemen at one of my dad’s band concerts last summer–it was some anniversary for Townsend, 225th or something like that. Note that the fifer in male garb, front and center, is a woman. There were several older women in 18th century women’s garb–but at least one of them carried a vintage flintlock pistol, which she loaded and fired along with the muskets when the men did several rifle volleys.
Pepperell has its own Revolutionary War story which is less dramatic and more entertaining than the Concord Bridge, but I’ll tell that another time.
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