Town Report

The Menotomy Minute Men

The Battle of Lexington and Concord is included in every American history book as the beginning of the Revolutionary War, but seldom mentioned in these texts is Menotomy. Known nowadays as the town of Arlington, it saw the bloodiest fighting of the day, with more men wounded and killed there than in all the other towns combined. Today, these men and their sacrifices are remembered by reenactments of their struggle and by preservation of the historic sites at which they fought. The fact that Arlington was involved with the Revolutionary War is well known to anyone who has walked down Mass Ave on Town Day; every year, the Menotomy Minute Men appear outside the Jason Russell House, dressed in traditional colonial garb and carrying functioning muskets, ready to explain all the curiosities they wear and carry.

Here, one melts down musket balls over an open fire, the way the historic Minute Men would have; here, one explains the leather drinking flask he uses. Many residents of Arlington have also taken the tour of the Jason Russell House, the site of the bloodiest conflict of those first battles—eleven men, including Russell himself, were killed by British soldiers, and the bullet holes left in the walls of the house are still visible today. With such history, it is small wonder that Arlington has numerous historical societies, all dedicated to preserving and disseminating our past. We have one other claim to patriotic fame: Arlington is known as the birthplace of Uncle Sam, who would later be used as a personification of the American government, shown in many a tussle with John Bull, Britain’s own symbol of government. For more info about Arlington’s historic past, check out www.arlingtonhistorical.org or www.menotomy.org.