The American Revolution, often viewed through the lens of soldiers and statesmen, holds a lesser-known narrative: the experiences of its civilian children. These young witnesses provide a unique, albeit often overlooked, perspective on the war’s impact. However, authentic contemporary accounts written by children are scarce. Most of these stories emerged decades later, passed down through generations, and were documented in the 19th century or beyond. Here are four such narratives, starting with those from the Battles of Lexington and Concord and concluding with the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

Last fall, the Town of Concord and Concord250 were proud to be among the 37 selected recipients of a Massachusetts250 Grant provided by the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. The grant funded the project “A Fight for Freedom: Honoring Patriots of Color.” 

For many months, scholars, interpreters, and artists collaborated to create this signature event. The program launched in March at The Umbrella Center for the Arts with a two-hour live event dedicated to uncovering and honoring the often-overlooked contributions of Black and Indigenous Patriots during the American Revolution and the ongoing struggle for freedom and equality over the past 250 years.

On April 19, 1775, an estimated twenty to forty colonists of African or Native American descent fought in the first battle of the American Revolution. On that historic day, those men, often termed “Patriots of Color,” joined approximately 4,000 other men fighting British Regular soldiers along the “Battle Road” from Concord to Boston. Over the last 250 years, racism and historical bias have effectively ignored or trivialized the contributions of those men and many other people of color in the historic struggle that produced the United States. To understand who the Patriots of Color were, how they contributed to the American Revolution, and why they chose to do so, we must examine their social context.