While searching for information about my ancestor, John Burrill, I got side-tracked, once again, and dragged myself into a long, two-week project. It started when I found reference to a man named John Burrill, among the names of militia and minutemen who fought at the battles of Lexington and Concord and Menotomy (now Arlington). It was a book called "The battle of April 19, 1775", by Frank Coburn. It contains many names of the men who rose to the call of duty and defended the colony at a pivotal moment in American history.
April 19, 1775, essentially the first day of the American Revolution, is considered a holiday, "Patriot's Day", but only in six States - Massachusetts, Maine, Florida, Wisconsin, Connecticut, and North Dakota. Battle reenactments are performed and the Boston Marathon is held each year in remembrance of Patriot's Day. (Source: Wikipedia)
"Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it". - Winston Churchill
Reflecting back on learning about the American Revolution in school, I remember not being very interested, frankly. Just like most things, freedom is easy to take fore-granted when you have it and I had never really stopped to think what our ancestors endured to obtain the freedom we enjoy so freely. This is a critical error among our children and population, in general, today. Most Americans can't conceive the idea of losing freedoms, and therefore don't fear losing it, but it is very possible, even more so today with technological advances. Every American should be prepared to guard and defend it at all costs, just as our ancestors did.
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” - Benjamin Franklin
In my school days, history lessons seemed to be "someone else's history", because I didn't know anything about my family beyond my great-grandparents. If I had even realized that there were a lot more names in my family tree besides my parents' last names, I probably would have felt more of a personal connection and interest in the lessons. I believe if students knew there was a good chance their grandfathers were involved, they might be more interested in history.
Let's understand that each of us had at least 256 great-grandfathers living in the late 1700s. Depending on when you were born, you could literally have had hundreds of grandfathers who fought in the American Revolution.
Men who were living in the mid-late 1700s were my 6th or 7th and 8th great-grandfathers, so I could have had anywhere between 128 and 512 great-grandfathers who participated. Anyone with colonial roots in this country probably had dozens of grandfathers who were members of militias and/or fought in the Revolution, because nearly all able-bodied men in New England did.
Before I became interested in family history, I didn't know that any of my grandfathers fought in America's wars, but over the years of research, one by one, I've discovered that at least 14 of my grandfathers fought in the Revolutionary War, whereas I had known of none. (See my family's Wall of Honor here). I share this not to brag, but to encourage others to do the same and to honor their service and memory. I am glad to have been able to track down and restore so much of the family's history for future generations. I believe it is important to remember the past and recognize all the effort that has gone into getting us all to the places we are now.
"People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors." - Edmund Burke
As I learn about the Battles of April 19, 1775, I am in awe of the patriots - men who were so brave and bold as to hold secret conventions, raise militias, and physically fight to the death for America's independence. Their gumption and courage on that day inspired thousands of others to join the cause, resulting in a major victory the following year. These men were heroes and are worthy of recognition, especially as we approach the 250th anniversary (United States Semicinquentennial) of the independence they won for us.
If you had ancestors who lived in Middlesex County, Essex County, Norfolk County, or Sussex County, Massachusetts during the late 1700s, there's a very good chance your family was involved in the conflict and battles of Patriot's Day. Over 4,000 men from Beverly, Danvers, Lynn, Acton, Arlington, Bedford, Billerica, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Concord, Dracut, Framingham, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Newton, Reading, Stow, Sudbury, Watertown, Westford, Woburn, Brookline, Dedham, Medford, Needham, and Roxbury (Boston), responded to the alarm alerting colonists to the impending attack by the British.
For my Leonard cousins and Reese cousins, we had ancestors in Framingham, Concord, Reading, Cambridge, and Newton. You can see them at the bottom of the Middlesex County, Massachusetts, page. There were also relatives in Norfolk, Sussex, and Essex Counties.
Try a free search of my new Massachusetts Militia database to see if your family names are included! Don't miss this opportunity to encourage your children and grandchildren to love learning about American history, because it's not "somebody else's history". It is the history of US! Our grandfather's literally fought for the freedom we have enjoyed for the past 250 years. Some individuals were left with lifelong disabilities or lost their lives in combat. Their wives and mothers were left to handle households and children on their own. Widows and mothers who lost their sons emerged from these hardships. These resilient individuals were our ancestors, and their DNA is ingrained within us. Let us not forget them.
We honor these heroes today and always! Get your commemorative certificate to display!
For more information, see my Massachusetts Genealogy Resources. From there you can find county and town resources as well. For military records, try my Military Resources page.
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