“Listen, my children, and you shall hear, of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.” Alright, you won’t exactly be reading about the famous midnight ride of Paul Revere with us today. Instead follow us on a midday walk in the footsteps of the Minute Men and British Soldiers, who on April 19, 1775 engaged in the first battles of the American Revolutionary War.

On this date 246 years ago, hundreds of British troops marched from Boston, Massachusetts to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Paul Revere and other riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat column. A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting, and soon the British were hastily retreating under intense fire.

Today Battle Road Trail is a dog friendly trail from Concord to Lexington, Massachusetts that follows what remains of the original road, fields and forests.  This easy walk connects historic sites including Meriam’s corner where the Minute Men forced the British retreat back to Boston; the home of Captain William Smith, commander of the Lincoln Minute Men and brother of Abigail Adams; and the stretch of road where Paul Revere was captured thus ending the famous “Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.”

If you would like to follow along the events of that day in “real time,” we encourage you to visit the Minuteman National Historical Park for their special virtual program Revolution in Real Time: Follow the Action! Or for a more leisurely look at one of our favorite places to visit, you can watch this video of us exploring Battle Road Trail in 2016.