Lexington Celebrates!
Sermons, Grand Balls, and a New Holiday
Lexington Historical Society hosts multiple exhibits each year in the front window of the CVS pharmacy at 1735 Massachusetts Avenue. Enjoy our current exhibition, expanding the scope of Lexington Celebrates! Parades, Pageants, & Pandemonium at Buckman Tavern.
April 19, 1910 Parade. Donated by Hunt estate via Lewis H. Ballard
Sermons, Grand Balls, and a New Holiday
The celebration and commemoration of April 19th is a source of pride for the town of Lexington. Now on view at Munroe Tavern, The President & Le Général describes the visits of George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette as they visited the Green to honor the events of April 19th. Our exhibition at Buckman Tavern, Parades, Pageants, and Pandemonium, examines our many significant anniversary celebrations and relates them to the upcoming Semiquincentennial. Beyond these major commemorative events, Lexingtonians have found different ways to celebrate across the day’s almost 250-year history. Here are some highlights!
1776 - 1800
Sermons
On April 19, 1776, Reverend Jonas Clarke, known for his patriotic sermons, gave a memorial sermon to honor the one-year anniversary of the Battle on the Green. Clarke had harbored Samuel Adams and John Hancock on the night before the battle, witnessed the fighting, and aided the burial of the eight men fallen on the Green to protect them from the British returning from Concord. For the next six years, preachers from surrounding towns would consider sermons as the official form of observance of April 19th.
Copy of sermon by Jonas Clarke given on April 19, 1776 in Lexington. Published by Franklin Press, 1875.
Card of admission to burial services for Lexington soldiers killed in the Battle of Lexington, 1835.
American Revolutionary Monument
In 1799, the American Revolutionary War monument was built on the Green in honor of the men who had fallen during the Battle of Lexington. It took several attempts by Lexington resident Joseph Simonds to convince the Massachusetts General Court to financially support the monument. The Lexington Revolutionary War Monument is the oldest war memorial in the United States.
Image of painting View of the Monument and Battle-Ground, at Lexington Mass. 1853. Painting in the archives of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
1800 - 1835
The First Reenactment of April 19, 1775
The first known account of a special commemoration on the Battle Green itself was on April 19, 1822. Twenty veterans of the battle participated in a reenactment. Col. William Munroe portrayed Captain John Parker.
Portrait of William Munroe donated by James S. Munroe
Jonathan Harrington
In 1850, the towns of Lexington and Concord honored the sole surviving patriot from the Battle of Lexington, 96-year-old Jonathan Harrington, with an enormous celebration. Jonathan was just sixteen on April 19, 1775 and was the fifer of Captain Parker’s company.
Jonathan Harrington’s daguerreotype donated by the 1913 History Committee
Ticket, sociable at Lexington House, April 19, 1859 donated by Annie L. Muzzey
Reinterment Ceremony
On April 20, 1835, sixty years after the battle, seven of the eight men honored on the American Revolutionary War monument on the Lexington Green were exhumed from Lexington Old Burying Ground and reinterred in a tomb beneath the monument in an elaborate ceremony with full military honors. Nineteen survivors attended the ceremony.
1836 - 1867
Grand Balls of the 1800s
During the 1800s grand balls were common practice for major celebratory events. It's unclear when the first ball was held in Lexington, but pictured here is a ticket from a ball at the Lexington House on April 19, 1859. Balls continue to commemorate the start of the American Revolution up to the present day..
1868 - 1900
Proclamation of 19th of April
In 1894, Lexington Historical Society successfully petitioned the Massachusetts General Court for a holiday to commemorate April 19th and the birth of “liberty and union.” Today, Massachusetts celebrates Patriots’ Day every third Monday in April.
Copy of proclamation making April 19th a legal holiday in MA 1894. The Act of the Legislature was approved 4/19/1894. Donated by Mrs. Gerald B. Litchfield.
Image Rehearsal of the Battle of Lexington by members of the Lexington Minute Men, April 11, 1971. Photographed by S. Lawrence Whipple.
Lexington Historical Society marching in the April 19, 2024 parade. Photo courtesy of Anne Lee.
Lexington Historical Society Lexington Celebrates Parades, Pageants, and Pandemonium exhibit opening. Photo courtesy of Amy Horsburgh.
Minuteman Statue
On April 19, 1900, the unveiling and dedication of the Hayes Memorial Fountain and Captain John Parker statue were the highlights of the 125th celebration. Charles Parker, the great-grandson of John Parker, was granted the honor of unveiling the Minuteman Statue.
Photograph of the unveiling of the statue on the Hayes Fountain by Albert S. Parsons
1901 - 1930
Anticipation for Rev250
In 2024, the town of Lexington continues these celebrations and anticipates next year's Semiquincentennial. Lexington 250th anniversary events have already begun, starting with the 250th anniversary of the Tea Burning in December 2023. With new exhibitions at Buckman Tavern and here in the center of town, Lexington Historical Society explores past commemorations and asks, how should the United States celebrate its 250th birthday?
William Diamond’s Drum
In a public ceremony in 1903, the drum used by William Diamond to summon the Minute Men was turned over to Lexington Historical Society by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The drum still remains under the Society’s care and is now on view in Buckman Tavern.
William Diamond Drum
Lexington Girl Scouts First Drum and Bugle Corps circa 1922, donated by Marilyn Perry
1931 - 1960
Margaret Kimball
During Patriots’ Day celebrations in 1933, visitors and Lexingtonians watched aviatrix Margaret Kimball, contemporary of Amelia Earhart, maneuver her plane over the Battle Green.
Image from a memorial Margaret Kimball Scrapbook, 1928-1970, donated by Richard Kimball Harsh.
1961 - 1990
Revival of the Battle Reenactment
In 1971, the Minute Men, along with His Majesty's 10th Regiment of Foot and other British reenactment groups, reenacted the Battle of Lexington for the first time since they were established in 1910, in preparation for the Bicentennial. Since then, these organizations have sought to bring history to life, making the annual reenactment of the Battle of Lexington a significant part of the town’s celebrations.
1934 Declaration
On April 19, 1934 on the 159th anniversary, a declaration to Congress protesting New Deal policies was read aloud on the Green. The petition advocated against federal policies some Lexingtonians believed to be oppressive, including 1) federal interference in business, 2) indefinite extension of emergency legislation, 3) increase of bureaus, and 4) wasteful expenditure of money for frivolous projects.
Booklet, Declaration by Lexington Citizens to US Congress, 1934.
1991 - 2011
Battle Road 2000
In 2000 the 225th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord included local traditions from the past years, such as parades and ceremonies. The highlight was the mammoth Battle Road 2000. More than 2,000 reenactors from across the country and internationally came together to recreate the battles of April 19th, with approximately the original number of participants, at the original locations in Lexington, Concord, and Lincoln. There were six connected reenactments in a twelve-hour period. According to Paul O'Shaughnessy, the commander of His Majesty’s 10th Regiment of Foot in 2000, it was an impressive and physically demanding experience.
Photos courtesy of Paul O’Shaughnessy.
2012 - 2024
Lexington Girl Scouts
On April 19, 1922, Lexington Girl Scout Drum and Bugle Corps made their debut in the Lexington parade, having held their first meeting as a Lexington council of the Lexington Girl Scouts just one year before.