10/07/2026
“𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐎𝐋𝐓 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇 𝐎𝐅 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃; 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐙𝐎𝐍.” – 𝐑𝐚𝐥𝐩𝐡 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐨 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧, 𝟏𝟖𝟕𝟓 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟏𝟗, 𝟏𝟕𝟕𝟓 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝
October 5 was a perfect day to visit the historic site at North Bridge in Concord. Here, on April 19, 1775, the British soldiers and the American militia- and minutemen faced one another on opposite banks of the Concord River as it flooded its way through the pastoral landscape. We have visited before in early spring and summer. The mellow tones of autumn softened the harshness caused by the brilliant sunshine. Busloads of tourists came and went. Some stopped to read the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson reproduced above as they stepped over it while leaving and entering the parking lot. The words were partially obscured by fallen leaves, which flittered on and off the words in the brisk breeze.
I love this place because all bridges are structures that connect one thing, one place, or one person, with another. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒈𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑾𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒗. 𝑬𝒛𝒓𝒂 𝑹𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒚, 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒘. The current North Bridge is a replacement of the original. It still provides the feeling of connection of one bank of the river with the other. The river is narrow enough that the British and American forces could see the faces of their enemies. In those days, warfare was more personal. Drones and guided missiles were not there to depersonalize the experience of death. North Bridge in Concord allows us to wander from the east bank, near the center of town, to the west bank. On April 19, 1775, the first organized offense in the American Revolutionary War led 400 American troops to stand on that west bank and fire upon the British, who had retreated to the east bank.
The east bank of the Concord River is home to the 1836 “Battle Monument,” a 25-foot-tall granite obelisk. On the opposite side stands the Minuteman Monument, built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle.
Barre’s connection to these monuments and this bridge come through the figure of the indomitable Rev. Dr. Ezra Ripley (1751 – 1841). His family, headed by Noah Ripley Sr. and Lydia, moved to Barre in 1762, when Ezra was 11 years old. They carved a living out of an 85-acre farm off South Street near Barre Plains. Here they brought up eight sons and 11 daughters; 17 of their children lived to adulthood. Noah chose Ezra as his one son who would receive a higher education; Ezra eventually attended Harvard College and graduated in 1776, during the turmoil of the college’s removal from Cambridge to Concord due to the Revolutionary War. Ezra was ordained in Concord on Nov. 7, 1778, and roomed with Mrs. Phebe (Bliss) Emerson at “The Manse,” near the east bank of the Concord River. She was the widow of the previous minister of the Concord church, Rev. William Emerson. Rev. Emerson died while serving as a military chaplain at Ticonderoga, leaving his widow with five young children. Rev. Ezra Ripley, formerly of Barre, stepped to the plate and married the widow Emerson on Nov. 16, 1780; together the 29-year-old minister and the 39-year-old former minister’s widow raised eight children, three whom Ezra and Phebe had together to join her five from her marriage with Emerson. Phebe’s son, William Emerson Jr., was named after his father and followed in his steps to become a minister. In a sad repetition of history, Rev. William Emerson Jr. died at the age of 41, leaving his widow with five children to raise. One of them was:
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 – 1882),
who would become famous as “the Sage of Concord.” He was an essayist, philosopher, poet, and a leader of the cultural movement in Concord. His relationship with his step-grandfather, the Rev. Ezra Ripley, comes across as loving and warm. Ripley helped raise the fatherless boy. From Ralph Waldo Emerson’s writings, we can see the strong impression that Ripley made on the young Emerson. Emerson describes his step-grandfather as a minister of the old New England style, conservative, firmly in control of his church—which meant he ruled the town as well in the days before separation of church and state—slightly gullible, down-to-earth, and approachable. Ripley kept his post as leader of the Concord church for 50 years, a remarkable achievement. He preached a sermon on his 90th birthday and died a few months later, Sept. 21, 1841.
Ezra Ripley lived decades in “The Manse,” which property included the British side of the battlefield on April 19. The Emerson occupants watched the battle unfold from the upstairs windows. Although Ripley would not occupy the house until a couple of years later, his new family eagerly told him the details. The grave of the unnamed British soldiers is just below the pasture. Even today, you can stand at the edge of the Concord River and look across the field to the hulking mass of “The Manse.” Amazingly, that building stayed within the Emerson-Ripley family until 1939. It was conveyed to the Trustees of Reservations in 1939, complete with furnishings, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. It is open seasonally for tours.
During his 66 years in Concord, Rev. Dr. Ezra Ripley became more than just a minister and town leader. He mentored members of the active cultural community, baptized another future writer, Henry David Thoreau, and became an avid historian. He wrote “History of the Fight at Concord” in 1827. His history of the Concord battle took an unusual turn. Ripley claimed that the Concord battle was 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒈𝒖𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 made by the Americans to the British soldiers, and where Americans caused the first British blood to be shed by armed Americans. Thus, concluded Rev. Ripley, the Revolutionary War commenced in Concord despite the obvious fact that the fighting in Lexington occurred earlier that day. He based his belief partly on testimony of Lexington Militiamen that was recorded in 1775. No British were killed by armed Americans at Lexington but they were at Concord. And because testimony from the Lexington Militiamen could be interpreted to mean that the Militiamen were not actually ordered to fire on the British by Captain Parker on Lexington Green, their fight was not official or organized. Was Rev. Dr. Ezra Ripley correct? He was an educated, careful man and he crafted his argument skillfully. Right or not, his belief is etched into white Italian marble on the 1826 Battle Monument at North Bridge, and it created what might be called:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅.”
Lexington was not well pleased with the words on the 1826 Battle Monument. After all, Americans were killed on Lexington Green while exercising the same patriotic enthusiasm as those who later fought at Concord Bridge. One British soldier was wounded at Lexington, and his blood was shed, even if he didn’t die. The argument carries on today, almost 200 years later.
Before 1825, Concord wanted to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the battle at the North Bridge by erecting a monument. However, by 1825, the original bridge was gone and it seemed that the only appropriate place to erect the monument was the center of Concord. Even before the inflammatory words were written on the 1836 Battle Monument, the people of Concord fought amongst themselves about the placement of the 4-foot cube of granite that became a climbing obstacle for the town’s children. A time capsule was placed beneath the cornerstone. For years it remained unfinished in the town center. Eventually, some rowdy citizens started a bonfire using huge tar barrels. The first monument burned that night, and the time capsule mysteriously disappeared. Lesson learned: placement matters.
That is when Barre’s own Rev. Ezra Ripley came to the rescue. He owned the land where once the North Bridge stood, and the vestiges of the old road that once led over the absent bridge. He donated the land to the town, and it was determined that this would be the best place for a monument.
The 1836 Battle Monument took the form of a 25-foot-tall granite obelisk—the resemblance to the Bunker Hill Monument is explained by the fact that its designer was Solomon Willard, construction supervisor of the Bunker Hill Monument. On one face would be a slab of white Italian marble which would carry a brief account of the battle. Brief, but incredibly controversial. The story was put together by a committee because no single account was acceptable to everyone. Rev. Ripley’s belief that the Battle of Concord was the “first forcible resistance” to the British made the cut. Several others contributed. The final wording is as follows:
“Here, On the 19th of April, 1775, was made the first forcible resistance to British aggression. On the opposite bank stood the American Militia, here stood the invading army, and on this spot the first of the enemy fell in the War of that Revolution, which gave Independence to these United States. In gratitude to God, and in love of freedom, this monument was erected A.D. 1836.”
The dedication was held on July 4, 1837. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s hymn (The Concord Hymn) was sung by the attendees and his step-grandfather, Rev. Ezra Ripley, gave a solemn benediction, according to a witness, “for was not his life’s work and effort accomplished in this monument erected and dedicated on the spot he had selected.” (National Park Service.) Lesson learned: words matter.
Some 40 years later, in 1875, the “Minute Man Statue” by Daniel Chester French was unveiled. The seven-foot-tall bronze statue was cast from unneeded Civil War cannons by the Ames Foundry of Chicopee, Massachusetts. On the front face is the first stanza of the hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson that was sung at the dedication of the granite obelisk in 1837, on the opposite side of the bridge.
“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.”
If you visit this historic site, I hope you will recall the role of a Barre-raised man, Rev. Dr. Ezra Ripley, in donating the land for the 1836 battle monument and in fervently ensuring that the battle was commemorated. He was no doubt sincere in his love of the site of the North Bridge and the battle that raged there. His belief that the Battle at North Bridge was the “shot heard round the world” was taken up by his step-grandson, Ralph Waldo Emerson. I can feel Ezra Ripley’s presence as I wander the field next to “The Manse,” which he farmed in his younger years as minister to help make money for his large family. He learned to do that in Barre as a boy. I can hear the eloquence of his step-grandson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, oozing from the stones of the monuments and from the inscription in the parking lot that reminds us:
“THE THUNDERBOLT FALLS ON AN INCH OF GROUND; BUT THE LIGHT OF IT FILLS THE HORIZON.”
Lucy Allen
Oct. 6, 2026
