Patriots Day events may have been cancelled in Lexington but the bell was still rung to remember history
Bell #Bell
LEXINGTON — Patriots Day traditions were cut back again this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but residents in Lexington made sure at least one ceremony went on uninterrupted.
The battle reenactment on the Lexington Green was canceled for a second straight year, a disappointment to community members and history buffs who turn out to see the annual commemoration of the battle between the Minutemen and British soldiers on April 19, 1775.
Nevertheless, Lexington historian Sam Doran was up early Monday guiding a small group through the pre-dawn darkness to the town’s Belfry, where they rang the bell just as 19-year-old Benjamin Samson did that April morning in 1775 to warn the town of incoming British troops.
“This is an important ritual,” said Doran, 27, a lifelong Lexington resident whose family traces its lineage in the town back to 1893. “Even if there are no spectators, and even if only the houses right around here hear the bell, it’s just important for us to know we did it and a year didn’t pass without us doing it.”
George Quintal, who for years played the role of Samson during the reenactment, also got to ring the bell for the first time. He spent the rest of the day guiding tour groups through Lexington’s monuments, perhaps the only other live event to mark the day.
The original Belfry was built in 1762 before it was transferred to the town green. It was eventually lost to a fire, according to the town’s website, but an exact reconstruction was built in its original spot on Belfry Hill in 1910.
Before the pandemic, ringing the bell was a popular activity for kids who would wait in a long line snaking down Belfry Hill. This year, the honor went to a few youngsters who moved to Lexington with their parents in 2019 into one of the town’s oldest historic homes, located just across the street from the Lexington Green. The home’s location makes it a prime spot for watching the reenactment, but the family that lives there, the Barretts, have yet to see one after two years living there.
The family was invited to the Belfry, and Jonathan Barrett brought his kids, 11-year-olds Finian and Graeme, and 9-year-old Jonathan, to ring the bell.
“They haven’t seen a reenactment yet, so this was a great way to involve the kids,” Doran said. “They seem to have a keen interest in the history of their new town, and it’s so important to foster that and involve the next generation in Patriots Day.”
For Doran, that involvement has always been a part of his life. His father joined the Minutemen in 1999, he said, and he followed a few years later. He said it’s been difficult to celebrate Patriots Day these last two years without the festive atmosphere he is used to.
“It’s my favorite day out of the whole year,” he said. “This is part of the fiber of my being from my early years.”
This year, the traditions shifted to virtual events with seminars on the history of the Revolutionary War and contests encouraging residents to show their Patriotic spirit. One contest had residents decorating their front doors in a Patriotic theme, while another contest challenged residents to visit the many Patriots-Day related monuments in town.
Nothing can replace the sound of musket fire on the town green, or the parade that was also canceled for a second consecutive year. But even without those key traditions, Doran said the Minutemen who answered the call that morning nearly 250 years ago should still be honored.
“The Belfry is symbolic because it’s the bell that gave the first warning to the countryside and about 90 militiamen responded to the Lexington common and faced around 850 soldiers in the world’s preeminent fighting force,” Doran said. “It’s that sound I think about — the bell tolling through the darkness. We didn’t want this moment to go unnoticed.”