Lexington Battle Green

The Lexington Battle Green, properly known as Lexington Common, is the site of the opening shots of the American Revolution in 1775 during the Battle of Lexington. The Common had been purchased by subscription of some of the town's leading citizens in 1711. In 1775 local militiamen emerged from Buckman Tavern adjacent to the common and formed two rows on the common to face arriving British troops. The militiamen suffered the first casualties of the American Revolution when the two sides exchanged fire. The Battle Green is located at the center of Lexington, Massachusetts, and serves as the main staging area for the annual reenactment of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. A statue representing Captain John Parker, the leader of the Lexington militia, stands at the eastern edge of the Common. It was erected in 1900 at the bequest of Francis Brown Hayes, and was sculpted by well-known Massachusetts artist Henry Hudson Kitson.