The shot heard 'round the world

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Emerson's words are engraved on this monument at North Bridge.

The first battle of the American Revolution began at dawn, April 19, 1775, with a one-sided British victory in Lexington. 8 militiamen were killed and 10 wounded. It ended that evening with the British Regulars fighting for their lives on the road to Boston against nearly 4,000 Colonial militiamen.

This is the Common outside the Lexington Visitor Center where the eight militiamen were killed by British soldiers.

Inside the gift shop were these costumes for sale.

Along the trail in Minute Man National Park between Lexington and Concord is the grave of British soldiers who died April 17, 1775.

We walked to the North Bridge outside of Concord where the British Regulars turned and fled when they saw the resolve of the militiamen.

Walking along the path that leads from Boston through Cambridge to Lexington and Concord, I thought a bicycle would be a good idea.

A multi-media production in the Visitor Center narrated from the voice of an actual artist who watched the events of the day and drew pictures, an early version of photojournalism, is impressive.

Later we went to Bunker Hill in Boston where the next battle of the Revolution took place.