A decorated officer from the French and Indian War, Samuel Whittemore was an 80-year-old farmer living in Menotomy (present day Arlington) when the British retreated from Concord. On April 19, 1775 as the British troops arrived, he fired upon them first with his musket and then his pistols, killing two soldiers and mortally wounding another. Whittemore then pulled out his sword, slashing at other British soldiers, continuing even after being shot at point-blank range and receiving multiple bayonet wounds. Surviving the attack, Whittemore lived for another eighteen years to the age of 98.

The Samuel Whittemore Marker has been relocated several times since it was erected in the late 1800s. It commemorates an event that took place in this general vicinity, rather than mark the precise point where Whittemore was wounded.

The marker’s inscription reads:

Near this spot
Samuel Whittemore,
then 80 years old,
killed three British soldiers
April 19, 1775.
He was shot, bayoneted,
beaten and left for dead,
but recovered and lived
to be 98 years of age.

Image courtesy of Bill Coughlin / hmdb.org