Revolutionary War Monument – Lexington

The Revolutionary Monument on Lexington Green, erected in 1799, is widely considered the first monument in the United States specifically commemorating the American Revolution.

The monument stands on Lexington Battle Green, the site where the first shots of the American Revolution were fired on April 19, 1775. Twenty-four years after the battle, the town of Lexington decided to create a permanent memorial to honor the local militia members who had been killed there.

The importance of this granite obelisk is greater than its appearance suggests. Beneath the monument lie the remains of several of the Lexington militiamen who were killed during the battle. Their bodies were originally buried in a nearby location, but in 1799 they were reinterred beneath this new memorial so that the site of the battle and the resting place of the fallen would be permanently linked.

The inscription on the monument honors the Lexington men who died defending their town when British troops marched from Boston to seize colonial military supplies in Concord. Those men were: John Brown, Samuel Hadley, Jonathan Harrington, Isaac Muzzey, Robert Munroe, Caleb Harrington, Jonas Parker, Asahel Porter.

At the time it was built, the idea of commemorating historical events with public monuments was still relatively new in the United States. The Revolutionary generation was only just beginning to reflect on the significance of the war they had fought.

For this reason, the Lexington monument is remarkable. It represents one of the earliest efforts by Americans to memorialize the Revolution in stone, marking both the site of the battle and the sacrifice of the local citizens who stood on the Green that morning in 1775.