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Battle of Lexington dress rehearsal - Apr 3, 2010

Started by Sprocket, April 01, 2010, 11:04:36 AM

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Sprocket

Battle of Lexington dress rehearsal

Saturday at 2 p.m., Lexington Center, Massachusetts Avenue and Bedford Street (Routes 4 and 225) in Lexington; all ages, FREE

The annual Patriots [team stats] Day Battle of Lexington re-enactment is no doubt awesome. But there are factors working against it: the crowds, the 5:30 a.m. start time and, well, the fact that it falls on Patriots Day, one of the busiest "days off" on the Bay State calendar. Between the Red Sox [team stats] 11 a.m. game, the Boston Marathon and all the drinking, it'll be hard to get out to Lexington at the crack of dawn on April 19. But this weekend's dress rehearsal provides the perfect opportunity to witness the historic American Revolution throwdown. . Not only is the 2 p.m. start time manageable, it promises to be lesser attended, which means you'll actually get close to the action.

Info: lexingtonminutemen.com

I'll be going down to check it out as I will be out of town on the 19th - gonna make a day of it and go to the bridge and battle road.

Sprocket

Below is a link to the pics I took - they are raw and from a little snappy - Only personal use downloads are allowed

http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4313560013/a=100241177_100241177/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Pics are of 2 different rehearsals - the first set is from the set up and boring prep stuff (up to about 6510), the second from in front of the militia, the third is from behind the line - If you heard the Huzzah's you would not repeat the word in cheer

Fischer never mentioned Paul & Dawes waiting for a bus...

Interesting notes:
There is no narrator describing the action - you either know or don't

At the tavern there is a runner warning Parker and those inside, many militiamen run out of the tavern to the green - the last one out closes the door, I found this funny in a Yankee way.

At the skirmish line there is much yelling shouting and tension builds - we understand the events that happened but the ladies and gents (yes, several Regulars are female) do a great job

As the battle unfolds, the Regulars reload and aim - aim! - I found this something of a flaw based on the fact that Regulars often shot overhead, etc. I could be wrong as usual.

The attention to detail on uniforms and clothing was awesome. Grenadiers wore bear hats, leather caps were made as such, the various uniform stuff was - well - tight to use a musical term.

Hearing the drummers and the various calls during the prep & reenactment was pretty impressive and gives a genuine sense of how it once was

Mr Harrison made it to his doorstep both times I watched

It's a family show - Gramps & Grams, Fathers & Wives, sons, daughters, etc. All come together to make this show happen - It's very cool to see so many generations do this thing that many never get to see. Some ham it up and play the part, others are learning the ritual and nuance of practice, all do it because they understand the bigger meaning of the event. Each play a specific person from the day - it's part theater and part history - thankfully it's not a musical production by rodgers and hammerstien or whatever.

Where's Waldo:
Prince Estabrook?
Preachers?
Regular officers?
referees
kickers
water boys
Can you spot the Militiaman that gets 2 IIT's to work on his NPOA?

Enjoy