MA, USA
Arlington
The Revolutionary War history of Arlington.
Why Arlington Matters
Arlington—then called Menotomy—saw the bloodiest fighting of April 19, 1775. As the British column retreated from Concord, exhausted and increasingly desperate, they passed through a gauntlet of militia fire along what is now Massachusetts Avenue. Here the fighting turned vicious. Men died in houses, in yards, in hand-to-hand combat. More soldiers fell in Menotomy than at Lexington and Concord combined. The violence here foreshadowed what the war would become: not a series of formal battles but a grinding conflict where civilians and soldiers, regulars and militia, would kill each other in close quarters.
Themes
Citizen Soldiers
Militia from multiple towns converged here to fight
Liberty and Freedom
The deadliest fighting of the day that started the war
Women of the Revolution
Civilian women caught in the violence; Mother Batherick legend
Preservation and Memory
Jason Russell House preserved with bullet holes intact
Enslaved and Free Black Voices
Black militiamen participated in the fighting
Military Innovation
Guerrilla tactics and close-quarters combat
Propaganda and Communication
Menotomy casualties used in propaganda about British brutality
Loyalists and a Divided Society
Community torn apart; some fled, others fought
Historical Routes
Menotomy Battlefield Walk
Stop 1 of 3
Menotomy Battlefield Walk
Stop 2 of 3
Menotomy Battlefield Walk
Stop 3 of 3
Battle Road: Arlington Section
Stop 2 of 3