On April 14, 1775, Captain John Parker and a group of militias encountered British soldiers in Lexington, Massachusetts. The Redcoats were on their way to neighboring Concord to confiscate rumored weapons. Parker’s partial quote to his men was, “Don’t fire unless fired upon.” The brief Battle of Lexington – the first Revolutionary War skirmish – resulted in the death of eight militia. Parker died a few months later. This statue by Henry Hudson is called, “The Lexington Minuteman.” The bronze is a tribute to Parker and the colonists who armed themselves against the British and the Pequot Indians.
