Glen Rock Road2Liberty

Our kickoff event is the April 18th Anniversary of the Midnight Riders. 

On April 18, 1775, the Sons of Liberty in Boston were organized and ready to oppose any moves made by the occupying forces of the regular British army, or the Red Coats. When the Regulars marched out to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock in Lexington, the signal was flashed, two lanterns hung in the Old North Church, to let the riders know that the Regulars were crossing the Charles River by boat, the quickest route. The midnight riders were off to warn the Minute Men and soon, early the next April morning, the first shots of the war were fired—what is famously known as “the shot heard ’round the world.”

On the morning of April 19, British troops marched from Boston to seize colonial weapons and arrest revolutionaries in Concord. At dawn, they were met by a small group of colonial militia on Lexington Green.

Though outnumbered, the militia stood their ground, and in a tense standoff, a shot rang out—its origin unknown. In the brief skirmish that followed, eight colonists were killed.

The British then advanced to Concord, where they were met by a growing number of armed colonists. At the North Bridge, the colonial militia engaged the British in open combat, forcing them to retreat. The British soldiers then began a harrowing march back to Boston, under constant attack from colonial forces firing from behind stone walls and trees along what is now known as the Battle Road.