The Battles of Lexington and Concord were fought on April 19, 1775, two hundred and fifty years ago. This is the start of the Revolutionary Bicentennial. While I encourage you to visit those two towns to see the Revolutionary history, you should also stop by to see monuments to men who fought in the Civil War.
You should start by going to Cary Memorial Hall at 1605 Massachusetts Ave., just a couple of blocks east of Lexington Green where the Revolution started. In fact the street in front of you, Massachusetts Avenue, was the very route that the British army took into Lexington.
The Hall was built in 1928 with a donation from the daughters of Isaac Harris Cary. The building was renovated in 2015. It is an attractive Colonial-style building that hosts town meetings, concerts, and plays.
The statue of a Civil War soldier was originally placed in a new town hall. The statue and three others were unveiled in 1871. The three other statues commemorate John Hancock, Sam Adams, and the Minutemen. James Batterson and Carl Conrads sculpted the Civil War soldier. Conrads had already sculpted a larger version of the statue and in the coming years he would reproduce the statuary soldier for other towns.
This building has other purposes besides honoring the men who fought in the Revolution and Civil War, so it has the feeling of a municipal building on the inside. However, right as you come in you can see artistic representations of the Revolution with a painting of the fight on the Green. On either side are the statues of Hamilton and Adams.
We asked an attendant where the Civil War statue was and he took us upstairs to a meeting room in the middle of the building. On one side was the Revolutionary militiaman symbolic of the first loss of life in the Revolution.
Across from the Minuteman was the Civil War soldier. It had been installed in the old town hall, but it was moved to Cary Hall before the town hall was demolished. Lexingtonians saw the two wars as carrying out the same purpose, according to it dedicatory speaker George Loring. He said that the Civil War had not only restored Union to the states, it also taught the world to admire Americans devotion to “the broadest doctrines of human rights as the foundation of good government.” The abolition of slavery was extremely important in Lexington.
While similar statues exist in several towns in New England, this is unique because it is not raised up high on a plinth. It is at eye level, giving the viewer an opportunity to study the work. Also, it is made of marble where other versions are granite.
On the main floor you can go to the left side stairway where there is a marble plaque honoring the men who gave their lives during the war or soon thereafter from illnesses and wounds received during the Civil War. Interestingly it says that it honors the “residents of Lexington and others serving on her quota.” States had a quota for each town to supply men. Towns would seek out men from out-of-town to join the army under the town’s “quota.”
Unlike the statue, the plaque is easily accessible.
We went outside and walked up Massachusetts Avenue towards Lexington Green. There was an artwork honoring women in American history. Across from it was the town’s visitors center.
Next to the visitors center there are six monuments honoring the six navy ships named Lexington. The third ship was a river gunboat which served in the West during the Civil War. The Lexington was assigned to Grant’s command in 1862 and she participated in the capture of Fort Henry and she was one of the two famous gunboats that helped defend the Union position at Shiloh. Afterwards gunboat served on the Red River.
The flagpole is arrayed like a ship.
After that, we went to the Lexington Green. We found out that in 1875 Ulysses S. Grant attended the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Lexington. Attendance exceeded all expectations with nearly 80,000 visitors. The weather was bitter and local merchants did not prepare enough food for the large masses of patriotic citizens. Since it was a two day event, visitors left tired and cold.
There is a sign explaining the 1875 commemoration.
The Battle Green with the First Parish Church in the distance. There were three prior meeting houses, the first one started in 1682. It was originally a Puritan congregation but in the 19th Century it became Unitarian and still remains a Unitarian church.
John Parker had commanded the Lexington militia in 1775. He was the grandfather of the prominent abolitionist Unitarian minister Theodore Parker. Theodore was born and raised in Lexington and was a member of the Secret Six which supported armed struggle against slavery. He died the year before the Civil War broke out.
The church was built in 1847 and many member of the congregation spoke out against slavery during the twenty years before the Civil War.
The church is still active in civil rights.
The Minuteman statue is the most famous monument in Lexington. Unfortunately, the men commanded by Parker were militiamen, not Minutemen.
All color photos are by Pat Young.
To see more sites Pat visited CLICK HERE
Sources:
Massachusetts Civil War Monuments Project
Battle of Lexington & Concord Centennial Celebrations
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Thanks for the story. I had the privilege of living in Lexington from 1977-99. Rising prices pushed us out. It was and still is a very beautiful but rapidly losing all it’s open space. My Father-in-laws place with he purchased for about $18K with a 2 bedroom Cape Cod, now has 5 houses on it each valued at over $2 million. I have actually never seen the Civil War statue. My mother-in-law, who was actually from New Jersey, volunteered at the reception center opposite the Battle Green for years.
I always liked being in Lexington and walking the Battle Highway.