Captain John Parker:
"Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."
He witnessed his cousin Jonas Parker killed by a British bayonet. Later that day he rallied his men to attack the regulars returning to Boston in an ambush known as "Parker's Revenge."
The Lexington Battle Green, properly known as Lexington Common, is the site of the opening shots of the American Revolution in 1775 during the Battle of Lexington.
In 1775 local militiamen emerged from Buckman Tavern (picture above) adjacent to the common and formed two rows on the common to oppose British forces marching from Boston to capture guns and powder stored by the Americans in Concord.The militiamen suffered the first casualties of the American Revolution when the British troops opened fire. The Battle Green is located at the centre of Lexington, Massachusetts, and serves as the main staging area for the annual reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. A statue representing a common Lexington Minuteman stands at the eastern edge of the Common. It was erected in 1900 at the bequest of Francis Brown Hayes, and was sculpted by well-known Massachusetts artist Henry Hudson Kitson.(from wikipedia)
Jonathan Harrington was one of the militia under Captain Parker’s command who faced the British Regulars early in the morning of April 19, 1775 at Lexington Green. Harrington was shot during the fight. He managed to crawl to the doorstep of his home near the Green. Unfortunately, he perished right before his wife, who ran out of the house, was able to reach him.
The house of Jonathan Harrington is located just across the street from Battle Green. It is a private residence.
Read more: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/caee6/c2330/1/#ixzz1PSwuoVRO
