The Battle of Menotomy was a skirmish fought as the British retreated to Boston on April 19, 1775. The fight, often overshadowed by the Battles of Lexington and Concord, was brutal and bloody.
After the Battles of Lexington and Concord, British troops retreated to Boston. However, they were relentlessly harassed by thousands of militiamen who ambushed them from the surrounding woods and houses. The British soldiers, now under constant fire, were forced to slow their pace and fight their way back to safety.
In 1775, Menotomy was a village of about 400 farmers, millers, tavern keepers, and their families. Located in today’s Town of Arlington, Menotomy stretched along Massachusetts Avenue from “the foot of the rocks” near Lexington to Alewife Brook. On April 19, 1775, the Battle of Menotomy would be the largest, longest, and bloodiest engagement of the day.
