Local artist and Westford firefighter David P. Christiana created this memorial monument, a bronze revolutionary war battle drum, to recognize the 280 men who represented Westford, Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War. Included on the memorial is Colonel John Robinson, who assisted with the command of the troops at the North Bridge, on April 19, 1775, and served under George Washington, during the siege of Boston.

The inscription on the monument reads:

“This Memorial Battle Drum is dedicated to those Minutemen and Militia of Middlesex County who opposed the British Regulars on the historic site at the North Bridge in Concord Massachusetts April 19, 1775

Maj John Buttrick of Concord, Lt. Col. John Robinson of Westford & Capt. Isaac Davis of Acton led their men to the Bridge that the British Regulars has taken and guarded. The Regulars fired on the Americans killing Capt. Davis and Pvt. Hosmer.

The Americans battled back taking the bridge forcing a British retreat. More Middlesex men battled British Regulars in a running battle back to Boston.”

The monument was dedicated at the Westford Museum, July 7, 2021 and funded by Westford Remembers.

Image courtesy of the Westford Historical Society & Museum

This story was submitted by the Westford Historical Society & Museum and iis featured in How We Remember: Monuments, Memorials & Markers in the Freedom’s Way National Heritage Area, part of our semiquincentennial initiative, Freedom’s Way 250, made possible with support from the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati and the National Park Service.