Buckman Tavern - Lexington

Buckman Tavern is located on Bedford Street in Lexington, Massachusetts.  It was a gathering place for local militiamen in the days leading up to the Revolutionary War.  The circa 1710 building was built and run by Benjamin Muzzey, then his son John, and then John's granddaughter and her husband, John Buckman.  The Buckman's ran the public house during the Revolution and it was here, on April 19, 1775, across from the tavern, on Lexington Green,  that the first shots of the war were fired.  Having gathered here during the night, the militiamen waited in the tavern for the arrival of the British troops, on their way to Concord.  Just before dawn the British arrived under Major John Pitcairn and confronted Captain John Parker and his 80 or so men on the Lexington Green.  They were ordered to disperse, but in the confusion a shot rang out.  What followed was more a skirmish than a battle, with eight local men killed and ten wounded, and only one British soldier being killed.  The British made for Concord where they encountered more resistance at the Old North Bridge and Meriam's Corner, before retreating back to Boston.  However minor the fight seemed at the time, the colonists were now embroiled in a war.  Buckman Tavern, the headquarters of the Lexington militia, was declared a National Landmark in 1961 and added to teh National Register of Historic Places in 1966.  It now serves as a museum. 

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