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.
On April 19, 1775, as the British Regulars retreated from Lexington back toward Boston, they passed through the village of Menotomy, facing fierce resistance from the Provincial forces of surrounding towns. Of the approximately 73 British Regulars and 49 Provincials killed on April 19, 1775, 40 Regulars and 25 Provincials lost their lives along the 1.5-mile stretch between the Foot of the Rocks and Cooper’s Tavern, which is now Arlington’s city center. This village witnessed the largest engagements of the day, with many families caught in the turmoil of battle right in their own homes.
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.
