Old Burying Ground
Arlington, MA
On the morning of April 19, 1775, approximately 1,700 British soldiers marched on Lexington and Concord. Before long, colonial minute and militia companies had forced the opposing side to retreat to Boston. Along the way, the bloodiest skirmish of the day took place in Menotomy (present day Arlington).
Of the 273 casualties suffered by the royal troops on the first day of the war (73 killed, 174 wounded, 26 missing), it is believed that approximately 40 fell in Menotomy. Their bodies were buried in an unmarked mass grave in the Old Burying Ground.
A recent ground penetrating radar study confirmed the location of these soldiers' final resting place. On September 7, 2024, the Arlington Historical Society, with support from Freedom's Way National Heritage Area, Arlington 250, and the British and Commonwealth Remembrance Project, dedicated a granite monument in memory of the fallen crown soldiers.
The inscription on the burial marker side of the monument reads:
FORTY BRITISH REGULARS DIED IN
MENOTOMY ON APRIL 19, 1775
AS THEY RETREATED FROM
LEXINGTON AND CONCORD...
THEY ARE BURIED HERE
IN A MASS GRAVE.
THEY ANSWERED THE CALL OF KING AND COUNTRY
THEY ARE REMEMBERED AND
RESPECTFULLY ACKNOWLEDGED
DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 2024
The cenotaph side reads:
WHETHER BURIED HERE OR
ELSEWHERE, WITH NAMES
KNOWN OR LOST TO
HISTORY, THE HUMANITY
OF THESE BRAVE MEN IS
RESPECTFULLY ACKNOWLEDGED.
I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THE
BODY OF MY DEAR BOY LIES
BUT HIS SOUL IS HERE.
Learn more about this project on the Arlington Historical Society's website.