Patriots' Day

Unless you reside in Boston or the surrounding area, the third Monday in April does not jump out and probably mean much. But the day is significant to just not Bostonians, but the whole country. Since 1969, Patriots' Day has been celebrated each April. Schools in the area are off and we see the Boston Marathon in the morning and a Red Sox game in the afternoon. However, why celebrate the day? For the non-history majors, geeks, nerds, or whatever; April 19th is the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, also known as the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. There are reenactments and other celebrations throughout the weekend and that Monday. Still, it seems that most Americans hardly recognize the day. They might watch the Marathon or the baseball game and think not much of it.

Allow me to take you back over 200 years ago. In 1775, tensions were high between the colonists and their oppressors across the Atlantic in Great Britain. On April 19th, tensions reached their boiling points as shots were fired near Boston. British forces under Francis Smith were given the charge to target the militia in Concord. Initially, the British's attack was supposed to be a surprise, but the militias were prepared just in case. Despite their best efforts, the Patriot fighters were overwhelmed by the size of the British army. However, despite losing several men; they were able retreat enough while taking some of the King's troops. As the militiamen were able to sustain the British attacks, the fighting started to shift towards Boston; where the militia was able to escape further damage. Smith and his forces positioned themselves back towards Lexington to gain momentum with assistance from close to 2,000 more British troops under Hugh Percy. The combined forces would move march towards Boston before turning towards Charlestown nearby to retreat. This would set the stage for events to occur in Boston including the Siege of Boston and later Bunker Hill.

It is almost poignant to bring up this historical set of events commemorated each April. The Tea Party movement is supposed to be similar to these early American patriots uprising against the over taxed and overbearing Great Britain. Not just those people, but many in this country would be hard pressed to know much about the first shots at Lexington and Concord. So, instead of jumping to conclusions; how about read a little history and appreciate where we have come from. I always preach looking at things in context. Patriots' Day is a lot more important than people acknowledge it for. You might not have the day off or enjoy history, but you should still take a moment and reflect about why the day exists. No matter what your political beliefs might be; at one point we were all patriots fighting for a cause. Maybe returning to those types of attitudes would not hurt our current climate.