Francis Barker Memorial Stone

The Francis Barker Memorial Stone, located in Acton’s Woodlawn Cemetery, recognizes this militia drummer for his role in the unit of Acton Minutemen commanded by Captain Isaac Davis during the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Barker’s service extended into subsequent battles, including the Battle of Bunker Hill, which occurred just weeks later on June 17, 1775.

The inscription on the memorial reads:

MEMORIAL
FRANCIS BARKER
SOLDIER OF REVOLUTION
1756 – 1805
HISTORICAL
FRANCIS BARKER AS DRUMMER LUTHER BLANCHARD
AS FIFER, PLAYED THE WHITE COCKADE IN CAPT.
ISAAC DAVIS CO. OF MINUTE-MEN FROM ACTON THAT
LED FIRST ORGANIZED COLUMN THAT RETURNED
FIRE ON TROOPS OF KING GEORGE III AT
NORTH BRIDGE CONCORD, MASS.
APRIL 19, 1775.

Without any kind of headstone or grave marker to acknowledge Barker’s final resting place, a group comprised of members of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Acton Cadet Band commissioned the monument in 1903—nearly a century after the drummer’s death.