Living history: reenactments in New England commemorating America’s 250th anniversary

On an early spring day, patriotic bystanders lined Hancock Street in Lexington, Massachusetts to cheer on their favorite horse rider. Some were dressed in colonial hats and others were just casually attired. They were all pretty excited and there to see one thing: a historic reenactment of one of the most defining moments in American history. They were waiting for the appearance of the reenactor of Paul Revere.

While they waited, they got to mingle with several reenactors on hand, who were there to play out the night of fateful April 18, 1775, when patriots in Boston overheard British troops discuss their plans to march to Concord in order to confiscate rebel supplies and weapons. They also had the goal of arresting patriotic leaders Samuel Adams and John Hancock.

Revere and William Dawes set off to rural Massachusetts to warn the countryside, making it to Hancock’s home in Lexington, MA in order to alert him and Adams. This year’s reenactment of that fateful ride took place right in front of the Hancock Clarke House on April 17, with an enthusiastic crowd eagerly watching a demonstration of the events that transpired that evening.

The reenactment wasn’t just about Revere’s famed horse ride, but also included several reenactors representing Hancock, Adams, their family members and other patriots who were made aware of the coming threat from the British redcoats. And it wasn’t just the Revere actor that history buffs got to witness, the detailed reenactment also included an older Paul Revere who addressed the crowd and reflected on the events that took place and his role in the nation’s history.

The Battles of Lexington and Concord

For the nation’s 250^th anniversary, there are a number of events commemorating the occasion, with the most highly anticipated reenactment battle taking place at exactly the time it occurred over 250 years ago, at approximately 5:00 a.m. on the Lexington Green in Lexington on April 19, 1775. Shrouded by mist, in the dark early morning hours, various patriot minute men took to the field to act out the historic events that set the Revolution in motion. They rushed women and children to safety and the crowds gathered to watch could sense the growing tension. Once the much larger British militia entered the field, flanked by ominous fifes and drums, the atmosphere became electric.

Then, just like that somber day 251 years ago, a single shot was fired, the shot Ralph Waldo Emerson would immortalize in his poem, “Concord Hymn.” It was “the shot heard around the world,” and much like those moments over two centuries ago, the reenactment vividly made real the kinds of fears and strain the ragtag group of 77 patriots must have faced when seeing the much larger British militia of about 700 redcoats descend upon the battlefield. All of this played out at this year’s event in Lexington and it’s no wonder why packed crowds got up in the very early hours of April 18 to stake their spots for one of the most important events that helped shaped the nation.

Once the action in the reenactment began, groups dressed as rebel minute men ran with muskets in hand as they handled fire from the much larger British militia. Just like that somber day in 1775, eight patriots would lie dead on the field, and the reenactment announcer paid homage to each of their names at the battle’s culmination.

A calendar of events throughout New England

New England is proud of its Revolutionary roots and communities across the region are holding reenactor events to commemorate the occasion including, in the nation’s smallest state, Rhode Island. The “Ocean State” often doesn’t receive the lion’s share of attention for the start of the revolution, but Rhode Islanders know the pivotal role the small state played in setting the stage for rebellion.

Just a year and a half before the Boston Tea Party, a group of Rhode Island rebels set the Gaspee schooner on fire in June of 1772, because they felt British ships were aggressively stopping and searching colonial ones in Narragansett Bay. This event will be commemorated in the Gaspee Days festival in Warwick this summer, as the nation marks 250 years since 1776.