Along the very short Prospect Street in Acton, Massachusetts, are two monuments to minutemen of April 19th, 1775.
Blanchard Monument, Acton, MA
The Blanchard brothers were among the men from Acton serving under Captain Isaac Davis. Young Luther was a fifer. When the minutemen formed up to take on the British army at the Old North Bridge in Concord, Capt. Davis was heard to say “I haven’t a man that’s afraid to go.” as his company took the lead. Luther and the company drummer are reported to have been playing The White Cockade, a Scottish tune considered an insult to the British.
Photo of the Blanchard Monument from a book published in 1899.
The first shot fired by the British at the Americans was aimed at one of the commanders, Major Buttrick. The ball flew between his arm and side leaving him uninjured, but hit Luther Blanchard causing a minor wound.
Abner Hosmer Monument, Acton, MA
Abner Hosmer was 20 years old when he marched from his family’s farm in Acton to Concord. He was a private serving under Captain Davis and among the lead company when the fighting broke out. Abner and Captain Davis were shot and killed in the first volley from the British.
As the memorial states Luther and his brother went on to serve in the Battle of Bunker Hill and beyond. Young Luther died in September. The cause of his death is not clear, but some believe it was the lingering wound he received on April 19th.
Wadsworth Monument, Sudbury, Massachusetts
The monument reads:
This monument is erected by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town of Sudbury in grateful rememberence of the services and sufferings of the founders of the state: and especially in honor of
Capt. S. Wadsworth of Milton.
Capt Brocklebank of Rowley,
Lieut. Sharp of Brookline.
and twenty six others, men of their command, who fell near this spot on the 18th of April 1676 while defending the frontier settlements against allied Indian forces of Philip of Pokanoket.
1852
This monument replaced an earlier one that was erected on this spot in 1730 by Reverend Benjamin Wadsworth, President of Harvard College in memory of his father and the others killed that day in King Philip’s War.
Weston, Massachusetts
Made using an infrared converted Nikon D100 and processed in Aperture.
I just wanted to take a few minutes today to remember those who’ve made the supreme sacrifice in service to my country.
The Lexington Minute Man, Lexington, MA, stands as a monument to those that fought on April 19th 1775 beginning our revolution.
Civil War Monument, Westford, MA
World War I Monument, Chelmsford, MA
World War II Memorial, Washington, DC
Korean War Memorial, Washington, DC
Vietnam War Memorial, Washington, DC
A portion of the memorial in Chelmsford Massachusetts to Lance Corporal Zabierek who was killed in action in Iraq May 21st 2004.
I discovered another Creative Commons use of one of my photos in the wild today. This on is on a site called Heritage Key.
Bust of Ankhhaf, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
Here’s the original:
