Submitted by the Bedford Historical Society
On the afternoon of April 19, 1775, the British were retreating from Concord and marching toward Boston, when they encountered numerous attacks from local militia companies whose members were angry about the British attack on Lexington Green that morning, and the loss of colonists in that attack.
Among those ambushes was one orchestrated by the Lexington militia led by Captain John Parker. Many of his men had fought, and been wounded, in Lexington, and were anxious to avenge their dead compatriots.
The courage and determination demonstrated by Parker’s Minutemen was typical of the courage shown by Colonial soldiers throughout the War for Independence. Parker’s men, like other militiamen through the eight years of the war, continuously faced better trained and equipped British enemies. But the colonists refused to accept defeat, and this attitude helped them eventually to prevail.
An archeological dig at the site of Parker’s Revenge was conducted recently by the Minute Man National Historical Park (MMNHP), and will be the topic of the Sept.28 meeting of the Bedford Historical Society.
Jim Hollister, Education Coordinator at MMNHP, will be the Society’s guest speaker on Sept. 28 to discuss the cutting-edge archaeological methods used and describe some of the artifacts found that were witness to Parker’s Revenge.
The evening will begin with refreshments at 7:15 pm in the Great Room of Old Town Hall, 32 South Rd., Bedford. At 7:45 pm, Society President Don Corey will honor the Bedford High School students who received awards at the State and National competitions of National History Day. After brief descriptions of the student projects, MMNHP’s Hollister will begin his presentation.
The program is free and open to the public.
About Jim Hollister
Jim Hollister’s career in museum education and interpretation began at the Old Manse in Concord, a property of The Trustees of Reservations, and at The Concord Museum where he presented programs from Native American and early colonial settlement to the Revolutionary War, and the 19th century Concord authors. In 2002, he entered the National Park Service as a park ranger at Minute Man National Historical Park. He currently serves as the park’s Education Specialist, Historic Weapons Supervisor and Living History Coordinator.
This Bedford Historical Society event is the first of its 2016-17 season. Other programs include:
- Sunday Oct. 30 (2 pm): History of Halloween with author Lesley Bannatyne followed by the classic thriller movie, “Dial M for Murder.”
- Sunday, Nov. 13 (2 pm): The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment re-enactors tell the story of this African American Civil War group.
- Sunday, Feb. 19 (2 pm): Author Alan Earls will tell stories behind the Blizzard of ’78.
- Wednesday, March 29 (7:15 pm): “If My Walls Could Talk;” three local residents describe their historic Bedford homes.
- Sunday, April 23 (2 pm): A Rufus Porter expert will describe Porter’s Folk Art murals.
- Tuesday, May 23, 2017 (6 pm): Following the Society’s Pot Luck dinner and Annual Meeting, Town Historical Sharon McDonald will present “What’s Below Bedford: Our Local Geology.”
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