EAST LONGMEADOW — The story is well known. Battles between members of colonial militias and British soldiers broke out in the towns of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. It was, as Ralph Waldo Emerson described it, the “shot heard ‘round the world.” The American Revolution had begun.
What many people do not realize is how many people from their own towns fought and, often, died in the war. With the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution this year, East Longmeadow is remembering its people who answered the call to arms with a ceremony on Saturday, April 19, in front of Town Hall.
The day after the “skirmish[es]” at Lexington and Concord, people fired guns and rung bells to announce that armed rebellion had begun, Behan explained. The signals alerted the one-in-10 men from every town and village who had volunteered to be ready with a minute’s notice to drop what they were doing and go to war. With roughly 300 people living in what was then Longmeadow’s East Village, about 45 people left their homes to report for duty.
Reflecting on those people that history has dubbed, “minutemen,” Behan, whose ancestor was a minuteman from Spencer, said, “They weren’t soldiers. They were just farming families that answered the call.” He added, “East Longmeadow was on the front lines, I guess.” Officially declared in 1776, the American Revolution was fought for seven years. Once the war ended, many of the people who had gone to fight came back to their lives in Massachusetts.
The anniversary ceremony will begin at 10 a.m., and feature veterans marching down Maple Street to the Town Hall and a reading of the people who served in either the militia or the army between 1775 and 1783, 18 of whom are buried in town. Historical Commission member Kenneth Hancock researched their biographies and service records, while fellow member George Kingston prepared a talk based on that research. The Historical Commission is also hoping to have a Revolutionary War reenactor present for the event.
The ceremony is one of scores taking place in towns around the state. Massachusetts 250 is a statewide campaign to organize ceremonies and celebrations marking the Revolution’s anniversary. To find more events celebrating the Revolution’s anniversary, visit massachusetts250.org.
