Stories

Rebecca Barrett's Field

Colonel James Barrett's farm was the primary target of the British expedition. Intelligence reports had identified it as a major storage site for colonial military supplies—cannons, powder, shot, prov...

Major John Buttrick

Fire! For God's Sake, Fire!

John Buttrick was forty-three years old on the morning of April 19, 1775. A farmer, a militia officer, a man who knew his neighbors and his land. He was not a professional soldier. He had never comman...

Martha Moulton

Martha Moulton Confronts the Regulars

Most of Concord had fled or hidden by the time the British arrived. But Martha Moulton, an elderly widow, remained in her home near the town center. From her window, she watched soldiers search buildi...

Beyond the Heroic Narrative

For two centuries, the story of Concord was a story about heroes. Brave minutemen standing against tyranny. The shot heard round the world. A straightforward tale of good versus evil. Modern scholars...

What the Bridge Still Teaches

I've given thousands of tours at North Bridge. School groups, families, international visitors, scholars. Everyone comes with questions, but they're usually the wrong questions. They want to know whe...