Boston, Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill
Wednesday, September 14 (7:30 PM) thru Saturday, September 17 (5 PM)
Headquartered in Billerica, MA
Led by William Welsch and Bruce Venter
Registration Fee: $425.00
Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend, “If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,–
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm.”
How many of us memorized Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Paul Revere’s Ride in school, or at least the first stanza? We all remember the famous “One if by land, and two if by sea” line. The poem’s image stirs patriotic zeal for all Americans who enjoy the Revolutionary War period. It was on the Lexington Green where our country was born amid the musketry of British regulars firing on untrained Massachusetts minutemen. But were the Redcoats responsible for the bloodshed that day? Our tour of Boston, Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill will explore this question and many more as we reconstruct a story which treats of the events of 1775 in equal light.
Our first stop will be in Boston where we’ll make a brief stop at the Boston Common where Redcoat regiments camped before marching into the countryside. Following the city’s narrow street grid past the site of the Boston Massacre, we’ll visit the Paul Revere House, a very unique 17th century structure. We’ll walk to the Old North Church where the famous lanterns were hung on the evening of April 18. Near the church is Copp’s Hill, a graveyard that provided British Maj. Gen. John Burgoyne with a clear view of the American fortifications on Charlestown Neck. It’s a short ride to Lexington where we’ll walk the famous Green and visit Buckman’s Tavern. After lunch at a local restaurant, we’ll drive to Concord where we’ll trace the British march up to the famous North Bridge where “the shot heard ‘round the world” was heard. We’ll continue our march over the bridge to the Muster Field where the brave Minutemen gathered on April 19, 1775. We have made special arrangements to the see the Barrett House (currently under renovation and closed to the public) which was the objective of Lt. Gen. Thomas Gage’s mission that day. Gage believed the colonists had secreted gunpowder and arms at the Barrett House for safekeeping.
Our second day will be spent on British Lt. Col Francis Smith’s retreat route from Concord. We will follow the Redcoats’ line of march along Battle Road with stops at Merriam’s Corner, The Bloody Angles, Hartwell Tavern, The Bluff and Fiske Hill as well as the site where Revere was captured by two British officers during his “midnight ride.” After lunch we’ll stop at Munroe’s Tavern to see where reinforcements under Brig. Gen. Hugh Earl Percy rallied Smith’s shattered column just east of Lexington. We’ll then follow the British retreat back to Boston with stops at Morton’s Point, Memotomy (now Arlington) and Acton.
Our third and final day will be spent at Bunker Hill National Monument where Col. William Prescott shouted his legendary order: “Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” We’ll walk the battle at Breed’s Hill where famous American commanders like John Stark, Israel Putnam and Nathanael Greene made their début appearance. We’ll also hear about two British generals, Maj. Gen. William Howe and Maj. Gen. Henry Clinton who would later play major roles in the war as King George III’s commanders-in chief in the colonies. We are also planning a special stop at the Longfellow House in Cambridge which served as George Washington’s Headquarters during the siege of Boston in 1775.
Registration Fee: $425.00
What’s included: motor coach transportation, three lunches, beverage and snack breaks, a map and materials package, all admissions and gratuities, and the services of two experienced tour guides-historians. Tour participants are responsible for transportation to the headquarters hotel, and securing a room reservation, if necessary. Dinner is on your own. Tour goes out rain or shine. Please see our policy page for information about cancellations.
Hotel: We have arranged with the headquarters hotel for a group rate of $89 per night. Please call the Hampton Inn Bedford/Burlington, 25 Middlesex Turnpike, Billerica, MA 01821 directly at 978-262-9977 and ask to reserve your room at the America’s History group rate. This rate will be guaranteed up to 30 days prior to the tour, so please make your reservations soon.
Our Tour Guides/Historians:
William M. Welsch is a frequent speaker on the American Revolution and an experienced tour leader of Revolutionary War sites. He is a founding member and president of the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond, VA. His article “Washington’s Indispensable, Yet Unknown Lieutenants” appeared last year in American Revolution magazine.
Dr. Bruce M. Venter, CEO of America’s History, LLC is an experienced Revolutionary War tour leader. He led a similar tour of these sites in 2006. His article, “Behind Enemy Lines: Americans Attack Burgoyne’s Supply Line” will appear in the May/June issue of Patriots of the American Revolution magazine.
Register Online:
If you need to make payment arrangements for an amount other than the full price, please use the phone option to register.
Register By Phone:
Phone: 1-855-OUR-HISTORY (687-4478)
Register by e-mail:
info@AmericasHistoryLLC.com
Register by Postal Mail:
America’s History LLC, P. O. Box 1076, Goochland, VA 23063
Bruce, Can you recommend a book out there that would help as preparation reading for this trip.