Apr
16
2026
Remembering the 1776 Revolution 250 years later
Thursday, April 16, 2026
12:30 p.m.
CH 100
Free Event
This April 18th marks the 251st anniversary of Paul Revere’s famous “midnight ride” warning that the British are marching in 1775. “On the eighteenth of April, in ’75; Hardly a man is now alive, Who remembers that famous day and year,” wrote poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.” The day after the warning, Americans fought the first battles in a War for Independence at Lexington and Concord.
The events of over 250 years ago have special meaning to our speaker because at least two of his relatives fought in those famous battles. His 4th-great-grandfather, Samuel Washburn (1753-1818) “served a a Private for 10 days at Lexington.” Another ancestor, his 5th-great-grandfather, John Bacon (1721-1775) (Samuel Washburn’s son, Jedediah, was marred to Mita Frost and her grandfather was John Bacon), was shot and killed by the British during the fighting: “John Bacon was among the first to die in a skirmish following the battle of Lexington . . . on April 19, 1775. [Bacon] and eight others from Dedham, Massachusetts were flanked by retreating British soldiers and wiped out against a stone wall at Jason Russell’s farm, possibly executed after capture. A monument at Lexington lists John Bacon first.”
As part of the 250th American Independence celebration, Professor Mark Washburne will be presenting a talk on the American Revolution on April 16th at 12:30 in CH100. Professor Washburne is a Professor of History and Political Science at the County College of Morris. He is also the author of a multi-volume biography of Illinois Civil War Congressman, Secretary of State, and Minister to France, Elihu Benjamin Washburne, who was a close friend to both President Lincoln and President Grant.
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