An historical marker, erected by the Arlington Bicentennial Planning Committee in 1978 and sited in a small triangular park at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Lowell Street, commemorates the memory of Colonial minutemen and British soldiers who met in what is described as one of the bloodiest battles of the Revolutionary War at the Foot of the Rocks.

Here British soldiers retreating from Lexington and Concord were ambushed by colonial forces from four counties and thirty towns who lay in wait at what was the highest point along the road from Charlestown to Concord. It is recorded that more men fell at the Foot of the Rocks and on the plains of Menotomy than in every other locale through which the adversary forces fought on April 19, 1775.

The Battle at the Foot of the Rocks launched a series of ongoing engagements between the British army and the Colonial militia that lasted throughout the rest of the day until the Regulars reached Charlestown around dusk. After the ambush, the British soldiers began attacking the civilians they encountered and burning the buildings they passed. These tactics only escalated the violence in and around Boston.

A plaque marking the site of the Foot of the Rocks reads:

“This park is dedicated by the people of Arlington to the memory of the Colonial Minutemen and British Soldiers who met here in the first great battle of the Revolutionary War.

British Troops in retreat from bloody first skirmishes at Lexington and Concord were here opposed by colonial forces gathering from counties and thirty towns.  More men fell at the Foot of the Rocks and on the plains of Monotomy than in every other locale through which the adversary forces fought, that long day, April 19, 1775.

“The valor of all those who fell and those who fought on, consecrated the Foot of the Rocks in 1775. We dedicate this field to their memory so that their courage will live on.

Arlington Bicentennial Planning Committee

April 19, 1978