Menotomy was not just a point along Battle Road; it was the third battle of April 19, 1775.
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A postcard sits in the collections of the Arlington Historical Society in Arlington, Massachusetts. Printed on the front is a simple twenty-four line poem, credited to James G. Keenan entitled “Menotomy 1775.” Though now called Arlington, the town was once a village in the western limits of Cambridge, called Menotomy. Keenan poignantly and swiftly recalls the events and actions of its people on the fateful day, April 19, 1775, when under orders from Lieutenant Colonel Smith, the British retreated from Concord and Lexington following the first two military conflicts of the American Revolutionary War: “Menotomy’s plain was a field of war.”1 The Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord have become enshrined in history as the birthplaces of the American Revolutionary War while Menotomy has been reduced to a mere point along the stretch of the British retreat back to Boston now referred to as “Battle Road.” The Battle of Menotomy, long overlooked and overshadowed by Lexington and Concord, is equally as important to understanding the great sacrifices made on April 19, 1775, for it is within the borders of Menotomy where the battle went from organized to chaos, where the greatest number casualties occurred, and where ordinary townsfolk emerged from the sidelines as Patriots to defend their cause. The events that occurred in Menotomy on April 19, 1775, are significant to understanding the impact of the dawn of the American Revolution on both soldiers and common people. Menotomy was not just a point along Battle Road; it was third battle of April 19, 1775.
For nearly two hundred fifty years Menotomy has suffered from the same fate of the countless minutemen who also engaged in a famous midnight ride, much like their famed fellow rider Paul Revere. Perhaps it eluded the history books due to a lack of famed poets to enshrine the legacy of the village. Possibly Menotomy’s role has been omitted simply because it ceased to be Mentomy, evolving eventually to be West Cambridge and eventually Arlington. It is also feasible that a lack of primary accounts of the events have led historians to focus their efforts elsewhere. Keenan’s “Menotomy 1775” suggests that we are to “Remember that there are three” battlefields on April 19, 1775.2 The small village of Menotomy may not have heard the first shot, nor was it the site of the first forced retreat, but its story is one that is worth greater recognition. While organized lines of British soldiers faced lines of the colonial militias, once crossing over the Lexington border into Menotomy, a scene of mayhem unfolded. The British columns were attacked by militiamen, breaking from coordinated ranks. Menotomy witnessed the greatest number of casualties that day. As evening drew near, several homes along the stretch of Lexington Road, what is now Massachusetts Avenue, converted to hospitals, caring for injured soldiers regardless of the uniform they wore. While militia converged upon the small town to attack the retreating British columns, ordinary townsfolk found their opportunities as well. Menotomy became the site of the first captured supply train, a victory delivered by men who were not serving in the town’s militia. The story of Menotomy allows us to understand the chaos and terror felt by those whose homes were invaded, looted, and ransacked by angry British soldiers. While Lexington and Concord paint the tale of brave Patriot soldiers, Menotomy’s story widens the lens and allows a broader examination of the effect upon those traditionally excluded from the historical narrative. As the semiquincentennial of the Battles of Lexington and Concord approach, it is time that Menotomy joins its neighbors in recognition for the sacrifices made and the bravery and patriotism of its residents at the dawn of the American Revolutionary War.
Image Credits
Image Credits
Background Image:
Ruth L. Berry, The Fight at the Jason Russell House, 1975, Painting, Arlington Historical Society, https://arlingtonhistorical.org/learn/articles/the-art-of-ruth-linnell-berry/.
Menotomy Postcard:
James G. Keenan, "Menotomy 1775 (Indian name for Arlington," ca. 1907-1981, Card, Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/gh93hc83g.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1. James Keenan, “Menotomy, 1775.” Arlington Historical Society, Date of access: February 27, 2024, https://arlingtonhistorical.pastperfectonline.com/archive/
CCDE268B-6034-49FF-B056-692361711213.
2. James Keenan, “Menotomy, 1775.”
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