Monday was the last day of our tour. We went first to Lexington, and saw the statue of Captain Parker, the commander of the minutemen at Lexington.
Mr. Potter explained the battle of Lexington to us on Lexington Green. He formed us up into a line, and had someone stand where the British did so we could see how the battle looked.
Then we ate lunch and boarded the buses for Concord. We drove along the road which the British retreated, and then we came to the bridge of Concord. There we saw the other minuteman statue. On it was part of a poem which was written by Ralph Waldo Emerson which said this:
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
We sang this to the tune of "The Old 100th Psalm".
After going to Concord we drove to Harvard and spent the rest of the day there. Then we drove back to the hotel and got ready for the closing dinner. Mr. Potter asked history questions and if you got one right you won a prize. Stephen was "right enough" with his answer and won a guide book to Jamestown.
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