Photographs of the Bridges
North Bridge, Concord, Massachusetts
The North Bridge over the Concord River near the village of Concord, Massachusetts, was a small, relatively insignificant bridge until 1775. The current bridge is a replica, the sixth bridge constructed at the location, because tourists keep coming and expecting to see a famous bridge.
The bridge was the focal point of the Battle of Concord. The British Army placed guards on it on the morning of April 19, 1775, so that a few hundred colonial farmers carrying guns, otherwise known as the Minutemen, could not interfere with their search for arms in the village. There had already been trouble earlier that morning at Lexington, where eight colonists had been killed. With a bridge only a few feet wide and maybe 50 feet long, keeping the farmers away from Concord would not be too difficult. Unless something happened to make the farmers snap.
Back in the village, about a mile away, the British found some arms in the Inn, took them out front to the Green, and started a bonfire. The Minutemen saw the smoke and thought the British were burning the village. Outnumbering the British at the bridge by about 400 to 50, the Minutemen decided to cross the bridge to stop the arson. Shots were fired, killing three British soldiers on the spot. This was the first incident in the American Revolution where the colonists fired on the British army. It was the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.”
The absence of the original bridge is not important. It is the event itself that needs to be absorbed. And this does happen at the North Bridge, even knowing that the structure itself is a replica. This is because the magnitude of what happened here, and its effect on world history, is much larger than the little wooden bridge. Even though it is a replica, the bridge helps you to visualize and understand the event, doing its small part to make a visit to Concord complete.
There is a more detailed description of the battle, the surrounding park, and the associated monuments in my book, Bridgespotting: A Guide to Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times.
