Located at the Lexington Battle Green, the Revolutionary War Monument is the oldest war memorial in the country.

It was here on the Battle Green, on the morning of April 19, 1775, that the Revolutionary War began. Seventy-seven Minute Men went up against British Regulars in the battle. Eight Minute Men were killed and 10 were wounded.

Completed on July 4, 1799, the monument sits on the original location of Lexington’s first schoolhouse. The remains of the colonists who perished in the battle were moved from a common grave in Old Burying Ground and relocated under this monument.

It reads, in part: “Sacred to the Liberty & the rights of mankind!!! The Freedom & Independence of America, Sealed and defended with the blood of her sons. … They nobly dar’d to be free!! The contest was long, bloody & affecting. Righteous Heaven approved the solemn appeal; Victory crowned their arms; and Peace, Liberty & Independence of the United States of America was their glorious Reward.”