Meriam’s Corner – Concord
Meriam’s Corner is an important Revolutionary War sites in Concord, located near the Nathan Meriam House along Lexington Road within the Minute Man National Historical Park.
On April 19, 1775, after the British regulars had searched Concord and begun their march back toward Boston, they passed this junction near the Meriam family homestead. It was here that the nature of the conflict changed.
Until this point, the colonial militia had largely fought in organized clusters. But at Meriam’s Corner, as additional companies of militia from surrounding towns arrived and joined the Concord men, the fighting intensified. The colonial forces began to spread out along both sides of the road, using trees, stone walls, fields and natural cover to fire upon the British column as it retreated.
Historians often describe Meriam’s Corner as the place where the engagement shifted from a structured confrontation to a sustained battle. From this point eastward along the Battle Road, the British troops faced constant fire for nearly 16 mils back toward Boston.
Today, the corner remains peaceful with open fields, stone walls and colonial houses, but it marks the spot local farmers and townsmen fully committed to resistance, and where the retreat from Concord turned into the long, deadly march back to Boston.
