On the morning of April 19, 1775, 71-year-old Martha Moulton witnessed a terrifying scene: hundreds of red-coated British Regulars marching into the town of Concord. These men were on orders from British General Thomas Gage to seize and destroy contraband military supplies stockpiled by the Provincial Congress. The ensuing conflict between the Regulars and Provincials sparked the American Revolution.
If historical Concord had to be summed up in one sensational newspaper headline it might read something like, “TINY TOWN THAT TROUNCED BRITISH BATALLION ALSO BELOVED BY BOOKWORMS”.
Fortunately, most pilgrims to Concord don’t rely on alliterative excerpts of history when they visit, and yet, there’s so much more to our story than armies and authors. In particular, there is a great deal just waiting to be learned about Concord’s African American history, a complex and very human story that far predates our nation.
A short drive down Monument Street and across from the venerable Old North Bridge, sits a restored early-19th century vernacular farmhouse, such as can be found all over
New England. What sets this farmhouse apart is that it belonged to the family of Revolutionary War veteran Caesar Robbins, who was enslaved at birth around 1745.
