Grave of British Soldiers in Precinct Burial Ground

An engraved stone memorial, located in the Precinct Burial Ground in the southeast corner of the Lexington Road Cemetery (also referred to as the Lincoln Cemetery), honors five British soldiers who were killed in the fight at Elm Brook Hill, formerly known as the Bloody Angle, during the retreat from Concord on April 19, 1775.

According to militia volunteer Edmund Foster's report, "eight or more" British died in the skirmish. It is believed that three were buried along the road while the remaining five were transported to the cemetery by oxcart the following day. According to local lore, the incident pulled at the heartstrings of Ephraim and Elizabeth Hartwell, proprietors of the nearby tavern. Elizabeth insisted the men be buried in her family plot and was the sole mourner at their funeral.

Phrenologist Walton Felch exhumed two skulls from the plot in the 1830s. One skull is believed to have been reburied at the Grave of British Soldiers near the North Bridge in Concord. The other remains at large.

The inscription on the memorial reads:

FIVE
BRITISH SOLDIERS
SLAIN APRIL 19, 1775
WERE BURIED HERE.
~~~~~~~~~~~
ERECTED BY THE
TOWN OF LINCOLN
1884.