The Battle Road Trail

Meriam's corner is where colonial militia first attacked the British column during their return march to Boston on April 19, 1775. It was the beginning of the 16 mile running fight known as the Battle Road.

This gravestone marks the burial of British soldiers killed at Meriam's corner on April 19, 1775. These British soldiers were the first to fall during an eight hour running battle from Concord to Boston that afternoon.

The Nathan Meriam House, built in 1705, is located at the junction of the Lexington and Bedford Roads. It was here that the British column was first attacked by colonial militiamen on the return march to Boston. This spot marks the beginning of the running fight known as the Battle Road.

The Job Brooks House sits on the Bay Road. On April 19, 1775 the British regulars marched past here on their way to Concord, then back again during their fighting retreat to Boston. An intense skirmish took place just yards from this house at Elm Brook Hill.

Samuel Brooks (1739-1811) was living with his widowed mother on land first settled in 1692 by his grandfather Daniel, on the Bay Road in Concord. His house was located on the border of the town of Lincoln in an area that had been owned by members of his family since the mid-17th century. Samuel Brooks was a veteran of the battle on April 19, 1775. On that day the British Army passed by here on their way to Concord and later back again during their fighting retreat to Boston.

Following the fighting at Meriam’s Corner, the now embattled British column continued their march east towards Boston and safety. Elm Brook Hill (formerly know as the "Bloody Angle") is where militiamen from Woburn, Reading and other towns set up a violent attack against the British column. It was here where the British suffered the heaviest concentration of casualties between Concord and Arlington (Menotomy).

At this sharp curve in the Bay Road there is a stone grave marker for British soldiers killed on April 19, 1775. In the years following the famed battle, local historians dubbed this segment of road, "The Bloody Angle." Today, this grave marker at the northern curve memorializes those British soldiers buried along the roadside after the fight.

Hartwell Tavern was a well-known stop for travelers on the Bay Road in Lincoln. On April 19, 1775 the British column passed by here on their way to Concord and again during their fighting retreat to Boston in the afternoon. Three of the Hartwell sons, including John and Isaac who lived here, fought as minute men.

This was the home of Samuel Hartwell, his wife Mary, and their three small children. Samuel Hartwell served as a sergeant in the Lincoln Minute Men and was thus part of the fighting in Concord and along the Bay Road on April 19, 1775.

The Captain William Smith House sits on the Bay Road in Lincoln. It was home to William, wife Catherine, three young children and an enslaved man named Cato. On April 19, 1775 the British column passed by here on their way to Concord and again during their fighting retreat to Boston in the afternoon. A wounded British soldier was left behind and treated at the house. He died and is buried near by.