Commemorating 250 Years of Liberty: Patriots’ Day Events at Minute Man National Historical Park
Signature events on Battle Road will include more than 750 living history volunteers
CONCORD, Mass. – On April 19, 2025, the “shot heard ‘round the world” will echo once more as the National Park Service (NPS) commemorates the 250th anniversary of the battles at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, which began the American Revolution in 1775.
On the Battle Road, now part of Minute Man National Historical Park, one of the largest and most historically accurate Revolutionary War tactical demonstrations ever staged in New England will take place. More than 750 living history volunteers from the U.S. and the United Kingdom will provide visitors with a glimpse into the lives of soldiers and citizens and demonstrate period-accurate weaponry and military tactics used by both British regulars and colonial militia in 1775.
The commemoration will include tactical demonstrations in two locations on Battle Road within the park. Tactical demonstrations display era-specific strategies, techniques, weaponry and other aspects based on historical evidence. The first one will take place near Hartwell Tavern and reflect tactics used during a colonial-on-British ambush that happened at that location exactly 250 years ago. The other one will occur in an eastern section of the park called Parker’s Revenge, named after Lexington militia Captain John Parker. These conflicts both followed bloodshed on the Lexington Green as well as the “Shot Heard Round the World.”
In addition to the tactical demonstrations on Patriots Day, visitors can interact with volunteers portraying colonial civilians forced to leave their homes, minute men who answered the sudden call to arms, British soldiers fighting for king and country, and civilians who remained loyal to the British crown. Learn more about these and other Patriots’ Day 250 events on the Minute Man NHP website.
Schedule for April 19, 2025, at Minute Man National Historical Park:
· Sunrise Park grounds open
· 9:00 am Minute Man Visitor Center opens
· 9:30 am-11:30 am Hartwell Tavern open house
· 9:30 am-11:30 am Captain William Smith open house
· 9:30 am-4:30 pm Living History Area at Minute Man Visitor Center
· 11:30 am Hartwell Tavern/Elm Brook Hill Area Secured for Demonstration
· 11:45 am Elm Brook Hill Tactical Demonstration
· 12:30 pm-4:30 pm Hartwell Tavern Open House
· 1:00 pm Parker’s Revenge Tactical Demonstration
· 1:30 pm-4:30 pm Living History Area at Minute Man Visitor Center Open
· 1:45 pm Prisoners of War program at Whittemore House
· 3:00 pm After the Battle program at Hartwell Tavern
· 3:00 pm-4:30 pm Nathan Meriam Open House and Meriam’s Corner Program
· 3:00 pm Patriots of Color Program at Concord’s Old North Bridge
· 4:30 pm Historic Houses closed
· 5:00 pm Minute Man Visitor Center closed
· Dusk Minute Man National Historical Park grounds closed
www.nps.gov
About Minute Man National Historical Park
Minute Man National Historical Park protects the historic structures and landscapes associated with the opening battle of the American Revolution which occurred on April 19, 1775. Many of the historic structures and landscapes in the park stand as witnesses to the events that happened at the North Bridge and along the Battle Road as the colonists engaged with the British regulars during their retreat to Boston.
