Yay, America! Where to See Serious Men Pretending to Revolt in Greater Boston This Spring
We're doing really great as a nation, so it seems like the perfect time to celebrate our history with some tricorn hats, horses, and Minute Men re-enactments.
A reenactment along Battle Road in Minute Man National Historic Park. / John Collins Photography
Whether we call it the Semiquincentennial or the Sestercentennial, we’ll be celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s independence next year, and since we live in the justly self-proclaimed “Birthplace of America,” we can count on our local historical institutions to throw a grand fete on July 4, 2026. The United States wasn’t born overnight, though, but rather over a long series of famous events. Each of them gets its moment in the 250th sun over the next 16 months thanks to a special partnership among historical societies and institutions called Revolution 250.
“We have 75 organizations that are participating in this in different ways throughout Massachusetts, and the main purpose was to bring these organizations together,” says Revolution 250 chair Robert Allison, a Suffolk University history professor who also leads the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. Everyone from the National Park Service to local history museums to small-town historical societies to fife-and-drum corps have been coordinating, rather than competing, to put on the definitive and most comprehensive celebration of such nation-building events on the sites where they took place. Here are some highlights of this spring’s lineup.
A re-enactment of Paul Revere’s ride on Patriot’s Day in 2001. / Photo by George Rizer/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, and the Battles of Lexington and Concord
April 18–19
A massive reenactment begins at the Paul Revere House in the North End, in which an actor playing Paul Revere leaves home, rows across the Charles, mounts his horse in Charlestown, and then arrives in Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that the British are coming. The next day’s famous battles, which included “The Shot Heard Round the World,” will be staged over more than 10 miles of “Battle Road,” involving parades, tactical demonstrations, and the battles themselves, which welcome reenactors from all over the country. Be sure to drop by the Concord Museum for its special free community day, which will include a Revolutionary-era encampment, family-friendly drop-in activities, and an outdoor evening concert.
The Battle of Chelsea Creek
May 24–25
A less-iconic battle in the history books, the victory at Chelsea Creek was, in fact, critical to the revolutionaries, who fought against the Royal Navy’s HMS Diana until she grounded and had to be abandoned. This battle has never been reenacted before, Allison says, and the event will also include Colonial craftsmen, artillery demonstrations, and a docked schooner.
The Battle of Bunker Hill
June 15–17, 21–22
A pyrrhic victory, the British won this melee but had the highest casualty count of any battle in the Revolution. Charlestown will host the Bunker Hill Parade (June 15), historical exhibitions, and fife-and-drum corps. After a commemoration ceremony (June 17), the Bunker Hill Monument will be lit up while the U.S. Army Band and Chorus perform across the river at the Hatch Shell. Because of space constraints, a reenactment of the battle will take place the following week in Gloucester’s Stage Fort Park (June 21 and 22).
For a full list of events, head to revolution250.org.
See also: 14 Things We Can’t Wait to Do This Spring and Early Summer
This article was first published in the print edition of the April 2025 issue with the headline: “The Revolution Returns.”
