““Though the numbers were small, the principals they fought for were of the greatest possible value to struggling, advancing mankind. The battle of Lexington though but the commencement of the strife, yet it decided that on which all rested viz- that the people of the Colonies knew their rights, and as brave people dared to maintain them.””

— President U.S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant took pride in his family history, mentioning the role his grandfather Noah played in the American Revolution in his memoirs. In early 1875, the nation was preparing to mark the centennial of its revolutionary struggle for independence. The last Revolutionary War veteran had died only seven years prior, and many had parents or grandparents in the conflict. Centenarians like Hannah Hawley of Boston were celebrated for being living witnesses to the Revolution. Hawley, daughter of a Revolutionary War veteran, claimed that she had met George Washington in her youth and stated that she would like to meet President Grant as well. President Grant showed his support for commemorating the centennial by signing legislation in March to help fund the Centennial Exhibition planned to be held in Philadelphia in 1876.

The Towns of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts were proud of their claim as the place where the American Revolution began (although both claimed the first shot) on April 19, 1775. Both towns had marked previous anniversaries and engaged in extensive planning for the 100th anniversary, including inviting prestigious guests like President Grant. A rivalry had grown up between the two towns, so to be equitable, the president resolved to visit both observances.

On April 17th, President Grant attended a banquet at the Parker House in Boston along with members of his cabinet, after which the President’s party left for Concord by special train. The president stayed at the home of Ebenezer Hoar (referred to as Judge Hoar), who had served as Attorney General in his administration and more recently as a U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts.

President Grant (second from left) with Ebenezer Hoar and members of his cabinet at the Hoar residence on Main St.

First Parish Unitarian Church - Concord, MA

On the 18th, President Grant was accompanied to the historic Unitarian Church by the Concord Company, Ransom Guards, and Portland Blues. There were throngs of people awaiting the distinguished guests and the President’s party were seated at pews in the center of the church. Reverend Grindall Reynolds, son of a Revolutionary War officer, gave a passionate historical sermon. Reynolds emphasized the historic nature of the building as the meeting place of The First Provincial Congress of Massachusetts and the place where Reverend William Emerson (grandfather of poet Ralph Waldo Emerson) “deepened the trust, and quickened the patriotism, of the men and women of Concord by his own flaming zeal and loyalty.” The meeting ended with a stirring recital of the hymn “America” (My Country, ‘Tis of Thee) that “rocked” the crowded building.

Rev. Reynolds April 18th speech
*Concord Fight* by Rev. Reynolds

““We are on the eve of the first great centennial. To-morrow, with roar of cannon, with song of bells, with blare of martial music, with the presence of the great and honored of the land, with even files of disciplined soldiery, with long civic train, we shall seek to emphasize a great event. It is well; for no pageant can be grand enough to symbolize the blessings and greatness which have proceeded out from the brave fidelity of the humble men, who first, on the banks of yonder quiet stream, offered effectual resistance to the onset of British oppression… But best of all we shall keep the day, if we remember that under the least and the greatest of the conflicts by which our nation came into existence were moral principles; that our fathers fought to achieve freedom under the law, freedom through the law, and freedom chastened and restrained by the law.””

— Rev. Gindall Reynolds

In the afternoon of the 18th, the President took a carriage ride around the town passing the large oration and dining tents near the North Bridge to be used the following day for the ceremonies.

Centennial image of Concord Square with the Civil War monument visible.

On the cold and windy morning of the 19th at precisely 5:18AM the first canon fired and more people began flooding into Concord by train and carriage all morning. Just before 10:00AM the President left Hoar’s house to join the procession to the green. He rode in an open carriage with Vice President Henry Wilson (who died in office later that year), Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, and presidential secretary Orville Babcock in front of a massive crowd estimated at over 50,000. The procession passed by the Civil War soldiers’ monument dedicated exactly 8 years earlier with the base resting on a stone taken from the Old North Bridge where the patriots fought the British in 1775.

Centennial Map of Concord showing the proposed parade route (Walden, Heywood & Lexington Street section was omitted), location of the Hoar residence (left) and the Civil War monument (center).

The procession estimated at over 6000 individuals and two-miles in length included federal representatives, governors (including the governor of South Carolina), mayors, civic organizations, law enforcement, bands and numerous military and veterans units. Civil War generals in attendance included Ambrose Burnside, Joshua L. Chamberlain, Nelson Miles, Francis C. Barlow and George L. Beal. The ranks included aged veterans of the war of 1812 and Mexican American wars as well as descendants of those that fought at Concord. Patriotic banners were carried through streets elaborately decorated for the occasion with flags, buntings, and streamers. Some 4000 spectators were disappointed when the line of march was shortened for time considerations and did not pass them.

Illustration of the Centennial parade in Concord from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated 5/8/1875

Part of the extensive activities was an unveiling of the famous Minute Man statue by young sculptor Daniel Chester French. The 7-foot-tall bronze statue of a militia man rushing to defend Concord from the British was inscribed with the first stanza of the poem “The Concord Hymn” by Concord-resident Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“BY THE RUDE BRIDGE THAT
ARCHED THE FLOOD,
THEIR FLAG TO APRIL’S
BREEZE UNFURLED,
HERE ONCE THE EMBATTLED
FARMERS STOOD,
AND FIRED THE SHOT HEARD
ROUND THE WORLD.”

— from The Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Concord Centennial procession crossing the North Bridge to the large tents from *Frank Leslie’s Illustrated*.

The oration tent just across the North Bridge was filled to over its capacity of 6000 persons. The esteemed poet Ralph Waldo Emerson was the first speaker and he recounted the historical importance of the events 100 years in the past. He emphasized that while a small engagement, it was a powerful symbolic moment.

““The thunderbolt falls on an inch of ground; but the light of it fills the horizon... the news of this triumph of the farmers over the Kings troops flew through the country... with speed unknown before, and ripened the colonies to inevitable decision.””

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Next to speak was Massachusetts native and romantic poet James Russell Lowell. His poem “Ode” focused on the desire for freedom and inspiration to be found in the remembrance of those who earned it.

Centennial arch on the road to the North Bridge in Concord.

“Radiant, calm-fronted, as when
She hallowed that April day.
Stay with us! Yes, thou shalt stay,
Softener and strengthener of men,
Freedom, not won by the vain,
Not to be courted in play,
Not to be kept without pain.
Stay with us! Yes, thou wilt stay.
Handmaid and mistress of all,
Kindler of deed and of thought,
Thou that to hut and to hall
Equal deliverance brought!
Souls of her martyrs, draw near,
Touch our dull lips with your fire,
That we may praise without fear
Her our delight, our desire,
Our faith’s inextinguishable star,
Our hope, our remembrance, our trust,
Our present, our past, our to be,
Who will mingle her life with our dust,
And makes us deserve to be free !”

— James Russell Lowell

The main speaker of the day was George W. Curtis, a progressive political activist who President Grant had appointed to a commission on the reform of the civil service commission in 1871. In the opening of his lengthy speech he evoked the words of his of President Lincoln:

The Concord Centennial logo.

““Citizens of a great, free, and prosperous country, we come hither to honor the men, our fathers, who, on this spot and upon this day, a hundred years ago, struck the first blow in the contest which made that country independent. Here beneath the hills they trod, by the peaceful river on whose shores they dwelt, amidst the fields that they sowed and reaped, proudly recalling their virtue and their valor, we come to tell their story, to try our selves by their lofty standard to know if we are their worthy children, and, standing reverently where they stood and fought and died, to swear before God and each other, in the words of him upon whom in our day the spirit of the Revolutionary fathers visibly descended, that government of the People, by the People, for the People, shall not perish from the earth.””

— George W. Curtis

Despite the bitter cold weather, the proceedings went fairly well except the tent proceedings were interrupted a couple of times due to structural failures of the speaking platform from too much weight. At the conclusion of Curtis’ speech, Judge Hoar addressed the crowd stating: “Ladies and gentleman Concord always keeps faith with Lexington. We promised to deliver them the President at one o’clock; and he is therefor obliged to leave. Give him three parting cheers.” After bowing to the crowd the President and his party looked to board the train for Lexington, but found that it was blocked. They instead traveled by carriage and many of the crowd followed them to Lexington.

Lexington 1875 Centennial commemorative medal with inscription “What a Glorious Morning for America.”

The Minutemen on parade in Lexington from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated.

Lexington had similarly observed the Centennial starting with an early morning canon salute. A massive tent was erected on Lexington Common and marble statues of Samuel Adams and John Hancock were unveiled. A large procession formed to escort President Grant on his arrival from Concord which included 100 individuals dressed as Minutemen. Grant’s carriage was surrounded by the Boston Lancers, a ceremonial cavalry squadron who also filled the role of crowd control by creating a path through the throngs of people.

The Centennial exercises at Lexington from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated.

Image showing the Lexington Common Centennial tent and an arch with the inscription “Welcome to the Birthplace of American Liberty.”

President Grant sat down at the banquet table in the tent at about 3:00PM. As a good-natured gesture from Concord, President Grant delivered a letter signed by Judge Hoar, which was read. The President, known to be a reticent public speaker, did not make a speech, but stood and bowed. Other speakers included Nathaniel P. Banks, a general under Grant during the Civil War that Grant had a low regard for, and Joshua L. Chamberlain, then President of Bowdoin College in Maine, who highlighted the educational intellect of the patriots and the necessity of education in maintaining the liberties gained through the Revolution.

Satirical cartoon of President Grant bowing for his Lexington Centennial speech from *Frank Leslie’s Illustrated*.

““I know not where or when in the world’s history there has been a more able exposition, or a more throtough understanding, of the great equation of liberty and law, than among the men who a hundred years ago, on these fields, enshrined the undying story in the emblazonry of their blood.””

— Joshua L. Chamberlain

President Grant seated at the Centennial dinner at Lexington from *Frank Leslie’s Illustrated*.

“Grand Centennial Dinner” ticket and patriotic dinner menu for the Lexington Centennial.

By the time the dinner and speeches concluded at 6:00PM, the crowd had dwindled due to the coldness of the day. In addition to the parades and speeches, both towns had opened up multiple buildings associated with the Revolution and displayed artifacts including a British musket claimed to be the first captured in the war. The highways and rails were clogged with tens of thousands looking to return home. Estimates were that 100,000 people had been transported to and from the Centennial events by rail alone. Those waiting but looking to escape the weather were invited into private dwellings and food where food was provided to them.

President Grant was present at the festooned and gaslit tent later in the evening to hold a public reception with his cabinet. They stood under a palmetto tree sent as a token of good-will by William A. Courtenay, a Confederate veteran and future mayor of Charlestown, South Carolina. As many took their opportunity to shake the president’s hand, the Minutemen in period dress added a surrealness and authenticity to the scene.

At about 10:00PM the president and his party left the tent and quietly planted a memorial elm tree on the Common. The president remarked that this peaceful commemorative moment of reflection under the full moon was his favorite feature of the days activities. President Grant and party warmed themselves by a fire in a nearby home before entering carriages bound for Boston.

A short time later on April 27th, President Grant, on his birthday, took the time to write a letter of gratitude to Massachusetts Centennial representatives for making his “stay in the State most pleasant.” President Grant was unable to attend the subsequent Bunk Hill Centennial exercises, but he attended the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia the following year. In his final days ten years later a dying Grant gazed from Mt. McGregor on the upper Hudson River Valley of New York, the scenes of the Saratoga Campaign of 1777, knowing full well the significance of the events that followed the shot heard round the world.

2025 marks the 250th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the beginning of the American Revolution. The shot heard round the world will be heard once again by thousands who gather to pay tribute to the same patriots that President Grant paid tribute to 150 years ago. Can the shared observance help a divided nation in modern times? It is of note that President Abraham Lincoln evoked the nation’s revolutionary past to appeal for unity on the brink of the Civil War in 1861:

““We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.””

— President Lincoln - 1st Inaugural Address 1861

Children at the Lexington Battle Monument - Erected on July 4, 1799 it is the oldest war memorial in the United States.

““Fashions change and pass; crises come and go; empires rise and fall; history moves by revolutions: but the law written on the heart, the cravings implanted in the soul, the ideals that make life noble and nations glorious, these are the same today as yesterday, and shall be forever.””

— Joshua L. Chamberlain - Lexington April, 19, 1875

Endnote:

The 250th anniversary offers everyone a chance to learn, reflect, and appreciate the actions that brought about American independence. There are many resources throughout the United States to determine how your community may be recognizing this transformative period. The Battlegrounds of Lexington & Concord are interpreted by the National Park Service and municipal museums. Here are some links to explore:

Minute Man National Historical Park

America 250 Connecticut

Sources:

National Republican (Wash. DC), 4/20/1875

New York Daily Herald, 4/15/1875