The Munroe Tavern, in Lexington, Mass., served as the headquarters for Brigadier General Earl Percy on April 19, 1997. Aug. 19, 2017

The Lexington Minute Man in Lexington, Mass., is a life-size bronze figure of a colonial farmer with musket by Boston sculptor Henry H. Kitson. It stands at the southeast corner of the Lexington Battle Green, facing the route of the British advance. Although called the “Minuteman,” it is meant to represent a member of the Lexington militia, local colonists who volunteered to be first responders to military and other threats. The actual Minute Men were an elite subset of this group, young and fit and able to respond quickly. Aug. 19, 2017

Buckman Tavern (c. 1709), the gathering place where the Lexington Militia gathered the night before the Battle in Lexington, Mass. A bullet from the first shots fired on the Green lodged in the main front door. In the early morning of April 19, 1775 Captain John Parker ordered his militia to move onto the Green from Buckman Tavern. The “training band” of 77 men was greatly outnumbered by 700 British forces. Ordered to lay down their arms and disperse, Captain Parker ordered the militia to “Stand your ground. “Don’t fire unless fired upon…” Finally Captain Parker ordered the men to fall back. Then, a shot rang out. It ignited the beginning of the American Revolution. Eight militia were dead and nine were wounded. Only one British regular was wounded. The British were not deterred. They continued their march toward Concord and North Bridge. Aug. 19, 2017

This plaque honoring Prince Estabrook, a slave who was one of the Lexington Minute Men, can be seen in front of the Buckman Tavern in Lexington, Mass. Aug. 19, 2017

Lexington Battle Green, in Lexington, Mass., site where the Lexington militia confronted 800 British Regulars as the sun rose on April 19, 1775. It’s where “the first blood was split in the dispute with Great Britain” as George Washington wrote in his diary. Aug. 19, 2017

The Ye Olde Burying Ground, established in 1804, is where revolutionary families are buried as well as the British soldier wounded on the retreat from Concord, Mass. Aug. 19, 2017

The Hancock-Clarke House where Paul Revere stopped to warn the townspeople that the Regulars (the British) were coming. John Hancock and Samuel Adams, prominent leaders in the colonial cause, were guests of the Reverend Jones Clarke. Paul Revere and William Dawes’ destination on the night of April 18, 1775 was to warn Adams and Hancock of the coming of the British troops. Aug. 19, 2017

Historical re-enactors of colonial life at the Hartwell Tavern in the Minute Man National Historical Park in Lincoln, Mass. Aug. 19, 2017

The 18th century restored Hartwell Tavern, located in the Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Mass., sits along the actual “Battle Road.” Three of Ephraim and Elizabeth Hartwell’s sons were in the Lincoln Minute Man Company (Capt. William Smith’s Co.) that fought at the North Bridge and on the battleroad on April 19: Samuel and John were both sergeants, and Isaac was a private. All three went on to later military service in the Revolutionary War. Aug. 19, 2017

The 18th century restored Hartwell Tavern, located in the Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Mass., sits along the actual “Battle Road.” Three of Ephraim and Elizabeth Hartwell’s sons were in the Lincoln Minute Man Company (Capt. William Smith’s Co.) that fought at the North Bridge and on the battleroad on April 19: Samuel and John were both sergeants, and Isaac was a private. All three went on to later military service in the Revolutionary War. Aug. 19, 2017

Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcot and her family, and the setting for her beloved book “Little Women.” The Alcots were dedicated antislavery activists. It’s possible that they hid fugitive slaves at the Orchard house, where they lived from 1858-77. They held antislavery meetings here, hosted a large reception for John Brown and the ‘regular antislavery set,” and gave two of John Brown’s daughters a home after he was hanged for his raid on Harper;s Ferry. Anna and Louisa Alcott (1832-1888) staged plays to raise money for the Concord Antislavery Society. Aug. 19, 2017

“The thunderbolt falls an inch of ground; but the light of it fills the horizon,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1875 Centennial of April 19, 1775 Battle. Aug. 19, 2017

The Minute Man Statue, grave of British Soldiers, the North Bridge and obelisk monument showing where “the shot herd round the world,” occurred in Concord, Mass. The engraving on the pillared statue reads: “Here on the 19 of April 1775 was made the first forcible resistance to British aggression. On the opposite bank stood the American Militia. Here stood the invading Army and on this spot the first of the enemy fell in the war of the Revolution which gave Independence to these United States.” Aug. 19, 2017

A British re-enactor standing by the grave of British solders by the North Bridge in Cord, Mass. The engraving says: “They came three thousand miles and died to keep the past upon its throne. Unheard beyond the ocean tide. Their English Mother made her moan.” Aug. 19, 2017

A view of the North Bridge in Concord, Mass., where the “shot herd round the world” was fired and consider what liberty means to you. Aug. 19, 2017