J. L. BELL is a Massachusetts writer who specializes in (among other things) the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. He is particularly interested in the experiences of children in 1765-75. He has published scholarly papers and popular articles for both children and adults. He was consultant for an episode of History Detectives, and contributed to a display at Minute Man National Historic Park.

Subscribe thru Follow.it





•••••••••••••••••



Friday, April 08, 2016

Planning Your Patriots’ Day Season

The anniversary of the outbreak of the Revolutionary War is coming up on 19 April, and commemorations of that event start this weekend.

At one point I tried as a public service to catalogue all the celebrations, reenactments, parades, and other historic events scheduled for that season. I wore myself out keeping up with the details.

So I’m just going to point you to some fairly authoritative sources for information:
There are other events as well, especially communities’ local commemorations and traditions.

My own annual ritual usually includes listening to the Lincoln Salute, an outdoor assembly of fife and drum corps at Pierce Park in Lincoln, and watching the Boston Marathon four blocks from my house. This year I’ll probably throw in some PowerPoint preparation for our history comics workshops in the days that follow.

But I’ll note a couple of special tours of the Minute Man Park scheduled for next weekend.

Saturday, 16 April, 10:30 A.M.
Explore Bloody Angle with Edmund Foster
Hartwell Tavern, Hartwell Tavern Parking Area, 100 North Great Road, Lincoln
Edmund Foster, a volunteer from Reading (portrayed by park volunteer Ed Hurley), will lead a tour to this key battle site where he fought in 1775.

Sunday, 17 April, 2:00 P.M.
Revolutionary Dogs: “Paws for the Cause!”
Minute Man Visitor Center, Route 2A, Lexington
Join Park Ranger Roger Fuller and his pug, Cricket, in a 45-minute walk on the Battle Road to explore the lives of dogs in colonial America and in the Revolution. The tour proceeds about half a mile west with four stops along the way. Well-behaved, friendly dogs welcome.

2 comments:

Chris Hurley of Woburn said...

That's Mister Cricket to you, thank you very much. ;)

J. L. Bell said...

Phil’s press release just said “Cricket.” I wasn’t going to judge.