Happy Patriots' Day!

What exactly is Patriots' Day? It's a state holiday in Massachusetts that marks the first battles of the American Revolution, Lexington and Concord. The battles took place on April 19, 1775, but since 1969 it's been commemorated on the third Monday of April--which is tomorrow.

Patriots' Day is also when the annual Boston Marathon takes place, some runners wear tricornes; the last time I ran Boston, I encountered a participant dressed as Old North Church. The organizers of the first Boston race in 1897 toyed with the idea of having the course of the race run through Lexington and Concord and ending in Boston, but the lack of train-lines, and the relative proximity of the two towns to Boston, led to the choice of a different route.

The battles are difficult to summarize, but I'll do the best I can.

On April 18, British General Thomas Gage left Boston with a force of redcoats with the goal of capturing Samuel Adams and John Hancock as well as seizing colonial weapon caches.

Aided by a light signal from the steeple of Boston's Old North Church, colonial riders Paul Revere and William Dawes warned militias of the advancement of Gage's army. Brutal fighting took place in Lexington and it appeared the British would rout the patriots as they marched towards Concord. But colonial reinforcements beat back the British, and the redcoats retreated to Boston.

The Revolutionary War had begun.

Happy Patriots' Day!

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