Postcards from the Revolution

The Commander in Chief, 1775

Michael Nystrom — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:12:00 +0000

This is (finally) and update to the January 26 post, “Who’s the Commander?” The Commander is none other than George Washington, Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. Below is a diorama in the lobby of the Commander Hotel in titled “Washington Takes Command – July 3, 1775, Cambridge Massachusetts.” The diorama depicts Across the street in the Cambridge Common is this memorial: It reads: UNDER THIS TREE WASHINGTON FIRST TOOK COMMAND OF THE AMERICAN ARMY JULY 3, 1775. In the Background behind the marker, you can see the Commander hotel. Just a few feet away, are the cannon left behind in Boston, after Washington chased the British out of town! This one reads: THESE CANNON WERE ABANDONED AT FORT INDEPENDENCE (CASTLE WILLIAM) BY THE BRITISH FORCES WHEN THEY EVACUATED THE CITY OF BOSTON MARCH 17, 1776 There is so much more to see! Hopefully you can make it to Boston someday and see it all in person. Here. Where it all began. I am so fortunate that I see these markers as I go about my business every day in Boston and the surrounding area. These are my postcards to you, so that you may share a little of my world and deepen your knowledge of history and appreciation of how our country came into being.

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Who’s the Commander?

Michael Nystrom — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:21:14 +0000

Towering high over the Cambridge Common, just a stone’s throw from Harvard Yard and the Square, stands the sign: SHERATON COMMANDER. What a strange name for a hotel, I always thought. I thought that for years. Until I went for a visit, and then I understood. That is when I learned the identity of the Commander. So. Who’s the Commander?

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Four Citizens Shot and Killed in Cambridge, MA

Michael Nystrom — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:56:52 +0000

As you know, I am documenting some of the landmarks of the American Revolution that are common but often ignored sites around Boston. This one is new to me – I saw it for the first time this week when I stopped to get a haircut in North Cambridge. It is a timely reminder that governments can and do kill their own citizens. This is the reason the right of citizens to to keep and bear arms is enshrined in our Constitution. The inscription reads: AT THIS PLACE APRIL 19, 1775 FOUR CITIZENS WERE KILLED BY BRITISH SOLDIERS RETREATING FROM LEXINGTON - – - ERECTED BY THE CITY 1830 NAMES OF THOSE KILLED ISAAC GARDINER, WILLIAM MARCY JOHN HICKS, MOSES RICHARDSON Here is the monument in its current context. It sits on the curb of at 2154 Massachusetts Avenue, the old Battle Road which runs from downtown Boston all the way to Lexington and Concord. Thousands of cars pass this monument daily, but it remains mostly unseen, mostly ignored, its profound meaning lost on the citizens of the People’s Republic of Cambridge. Here is the view northwest on the Battle Road, towards Lexington and Concord… And the view to the southeast, back towards Boston Town: If anyone ever tells you you don’t need guns to protect themselves, give them a friendly reminder of how this nation was formed.

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The American Revolution: Battle at Lexington and Concord

Michael Nystrom — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:24:41 +0000

On the night of April 18, 1775, 700 British soldiers marched through the night and into the morning of the 19th, on their way to confiscate and destroy American guns and military supplies in Concord, Massachusetts. The Patriots were prepared. The Colonists had known of the planned confiscation for weeks in advance, and were alerted by Paul Revere that the hour was nigh. Having waited through the night at the Buckman Tavern, just across from the Lexington Green, the soldiers were prepared when the British arrived at the break of dawn. The Tavern of colonial times was a central meeting point and information exchange post for the town. The Buckman Tavern served as a central meeting point for the plotting of the resistance. I highly recommend the tour, which at $5 is an incredible bargain. At dawn came the confrontation and the first shots of the American Revolution on the Lexington Green. The Minute Men were vastly outnumbered. Many were shot, and seven were ultimately killed at this first battle. The British Soldiers proceeded onward to Concord, continuing with their mission to confiscate the colonists weapons. The battle at the Old North Bridge in Concord is where the tide turned in favor of the Colonists. The British were met by over 500 scrappy colonists, who fought and devastated the Redcoats, who in confusion and fear, quickly fell back in retreat to Boston. As they retreated, more American militia poured in from the countryside, inflicting heavy damage and casualties as they chased the British back to Boston down the Battle Road – today known as Massachusetts Avenue. It was a complete and utter rout. The British retreated to Charlestown, as the American militias blockaded the access points, starting the Siege of Boston. - – - – - Back at the Battle [...]

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Paul Revere & Old North Church

Michael Nystrom — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 01:01:09 +0000

Speaking of Paul Revere, there is a lovely statue in Boston’s North End depicting Revere on his famous midnight ride. In the background, you can see the Old North Church, where the lanterns were hung — ‘One if by land, two if by sea’ — to warn the colonists of the impending British invasion. Behind the statue is the Paul Revere Mall, which is a lovely and peaceful plaza that leads to the Old North Church. These pictures were taken on a blistering day in the Summer of 2012. In the Mall is a Memorial Garden to honor the soldiers and civilians who lost their lives in the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. Those are all dog tags. When the wind blows, they shimmer in the sun and make a haunting sound. At the end of the mall is the Old North Church, where on the night of April 18, 1775, Robert Newman held high the two lanterns, as a signal that the British were departing by sea to Lexington and Concord. And thus began the American Revolution. Paul Revere was off to warn the colonists. He was nearly intercepted in Somerville by the British, but escaped. He was finally captured in Concord, but not before spreading the word as far and wide as possible. There is a plaque (which I have not yet visited) that reads: “At this Point, on the old Concord road as it then was, ended the midnight ride of Paul Revere. “He had, at about two o’clock of the morning of April 19, 1775, the night being clear and the moon in its third quarter, got thus far on his way from Lexington to Concord, alarming the inhabitants as he went, when he and his companions, William Dawes, of Boston, and Dr. Samuel Prescott, of Concord, [...]

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“I am too old to run.”

Michael Nystrom — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:04:06 +0000

What happens when you’re too old to run? You stand your ground and keep shooting. The memorial pictured below at 181 Washington Street in Somerville MA, just down the hill from America’s First Flag, serves as a reminder of the great courage that built this country: It reads: ON THIS HILLSIDE JAMES MILLER, MINUTE MAN AGED 65 WAS SLAIN BY THE BRITISH APRIL 19, 1775 . . . “I AM TOO OLD TO RUN” This Brief History of Somerville recounts: …A little beyond, on the side of a hill, James Miller and another Minute Man were firing on the British from behind a stone wall when they were suddenly cut off and fired upon by a flanking party of the enemy. Miller, when urged to escape, made the heroic reply, “I am too old to run,” and continued firing at the approaching foe until he fell, pierced by thirteen bullets.” Ironically (or perhaps not), on that hillside today stands a funeral home. Here is the memorial in today’s context, January 5, 2012. Feel free to post a comment below (no need to register), or sign up to have new postcards delivered automatically to your inbox. Get Postcards from the Revolution sent directly to you via email Enter your email address here:

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Somerville Library

Michael Nystrom — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 23:46:55 +0000

The Somerville Public Library at dusk. At one time, the idea of a public library was revolutionary. Bonus Pic: America’s first flag, aka, the Grand Union Flag on a gray and blustery day, walking home from the library. January 4, 2013 Feel free to post a comment below (no need to register), or sign up to have new postcards delivered automatically to your inbox. Get Postcards from the Revolution sent directly to you via email Enter your email address here:

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Here Was The Citadel

Michael Nystrom — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 23:39:03 +0000

Another marker of the Revolution, this one sits on top of Prospect Hill in Somerville, a few steps from America’s First Flag. This one is hard to read. It says: ON THIS HILL THE UNION FLAG WITH ITS THIRTEEN STRIPES THE EMBLEM OF THE UNITED COLONIES FIRST BADE DEFIANCE TO AN ENEMY JANUARY 1, 1776 - – - – - HERE WAS THE CITADEL THE MOST FORMIDABLE WORK IN THE AMERICAN LINES DURING THE SIEGE OF BOSTON JUNE 17, 1775 TO MARCH 17, 1776 Here is the marker in a larger context. Today it sits in front of a children’s park and a basketball court atop of Prospect Hill. Feel free to post a comment below (no need to register), or sign up to have new postcards delivered automatically to your inbox. Get Postcards from the Revolution sent directly to you via email Enter your email address here:

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Paul Revere Eludes the British in Somerville

Michael Nystrom — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 23:27:11 +0000

All around Boston and its surrounding areas one can find markers of America’s first revolution. This site looks like a comprehensive community effort to document them. I found this marker in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn on Washington Street. It reads: PAUL REVERE ON HIS FAMOUS RIDE APRIL 18 1775 WAS INTERCEPTED NEAR HERE BY BRITISH OFFICERS AND ESCAPED. Painter Fred Lynch tells the story of what happened in his blog post Paul Revere’s Ride Revisited: The Gruesome Landmark Revere writes of what happened in a letter from 1798: “I set off upon a very good Horse; it was then about 11 o’Clock, and very pleasant. After I had passed Charlestown Neck, and got nearly opposite where Mark was hung in chains, I saw two men on Horse back, under a Tree. When I got near them, I discovered they were British officer. One tryed to git a head of Me, and the other to take me. I turned my Horse very quick, and Galloped towards Charlestown neck, and then pushed for the Medford Road. The one who chased me, endeavoring to Cut me off, got into a Clay pond, near where the new Tavern is now built. I got clear of him, and went thro Medford, over the Bridge, and up to Menotomy.” Truly you must read on to discover who Mark was. It is no wonder why Fred Lynch calls this The Gruesome Landmark. Today one would never guess such gruesome things happened. It is the site of a brightly painted and cheery Holiday Inn. Here is the marker in a wider context: Visited on January 2nd. It was about 9 degrees that day. I popped inside the hotel to warm up after snapping the photos. Feel free to post a comment below (no need to [...]

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Fenway Park on New Year’s Day, 2013

Michael Nystrom — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 22:43:29 +0000

Near where I parked, on New Year’s Day 2013, on the way to Les Misérables. What an incredible movie! Feel free to post a comment below (no need to register), or sign up to have new postcards delivered automatically to your inbox. Get Postcards from the Revolution sent directly to you via email Enter your email address here:

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