The (Re)Shot Heard Round the World

Greg Marinovich

Lexington, MA. USA. 18 – 20 April 2015

Concord and Lexington, two small towns outside Boston, were the site of the first engagements between the British imperial forces and local “patriotic” militia. The first shots were fired at Lexington Green, and there followed an exchange of fire at Concord.

Throughout the previous night, towns that had been warned of the British forces’ march toward Concord sent small bands of men to take on the colonial forces. As the day of April 19th wore on, more and more militia converged on the British forces, which made a fighting retreat all 17 miles back to Boston.

In his “Concord Hymn,” Ralph Waldo Emerson commemorated the first volley fired in the American Revolution as the “shot heard round the world.” That shot is celebrated today as Patriot’s Day, a Massachusetts state holiday commemorating the April 1775 start of the revolution. Enthusiastic history buffs and latter day patriots relive those events through living history events and reenactments. Many take on the persona of one of the original participants of those momentous events, carefully researching the person to best reenact their life.

Read More: