The Jason Russell House

On April 19, 1775, 49 Americans were killed in the fighting that began on the Lexington Green early that morning and continued at North Bridge in Concord.  For the rest of the day Americans from neighboring towns attacked the British as they retreated towards Boston.  Of the 49 deaths, twenty five occurred in Menotomy (now known as Arlington), the town southeast of Lexington and, of those, twelve were killed inside or on the property of the Jason Russell House which still exists.  The owner, Jason Russell, age 59, was killed, along with a number of men from Danvers who had rushed 16 to 18 miles that day to reach Arlington.

I recently came across the videos of Katie Turner Getty who has put together a series on the Revolutionary War in the Boston area.  They are very informative plus she has an authentic Boston accent!  This is her video on the events at the Jason Russell House and there is a lot more to watch on her YouTube channel and on her website.  She knows her stuff.

For more than a decade I worked less than two miles from the Jason Russell House and often passed it, but never went inside.  Wish I had. 

I wrote about April 19, 1775 in The Road Back, as well as Tough Guy, about another stalwart fighter in Menotomy that day, 78-year old Samuel Whittemore, who, after killing three British soldiers, was shot in the face, bayoneted somewhere between 6 and 13 times, clubbed in the head with a musket, and left for dead.  He lived another 18 years.