SUDBURY — If residents of Sudbury awaken tomorrow, April 19, to the sound of gunfire, there’s no need to fear. There’s not a war raging, it’s just the Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute, honoring the heroes of the American Revolution as they have done for almost half a century.
The group will begin their activities in Wayland at 3:45 a.m., assembling at the First Parish Church on Cochituate Road. Their march will take them to the Grout-Heard House, the First Town Cemetery and the East Companies Training Field. At these areas, the reenactors will fire salutes.
At 5:20 a.m., they will travel to Sudbury Town Hall and begin the majority of their activities. From 5:45 a.m. to 7 a.m., they will march through Sudbury, visiting and firing salutes at the Old Town Cemetery, the New North Cemetery and the Sudbury/Concord town line. After reaching these areas, the group will march through Concord, visiting the farm of Lt. James Barrett. Barrett’s rumored cache of gunpowder and weaponry was the objective of the British troops when they encountered American soldiers in Lexington and Concord.
The final site that the group will visit and fire a salute at before returning to the Wayside Inn in Sudbury is the North Bridge in Concord. At noontime, the group will end their festivities by taking down a British flag at Wayside Inn and raising the first national flag, called the Grand Union.
The Sudbury Militia was resurrected in the early ‘60s by a group of men who spent a lot of time at Longfellow’s Wayside Inn in Sudbury and thought it would be a good idea to pay respect to the veterans of America’s first war with a march. Since then, the group has marched year after year through both Sudbury and Wayland, firing volleys and visiting local cemeteries where patriots are buried.
Col.Carl Hutchinson of the Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute has been involved with the group for ten years. Hutchinson started out reenacting historical events, specifically Civil War infantry and artillery. It was through this hobby that he met members of the Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute, and later joined the Companies. Hutchinson has found that his interests primarily lie with the American Revolution, because “some important events actually took place here in Massachusetts whereas there was no direct Civil War involvement [in Massachusetts].”
Though Patriots’ Day is typically celebrated on the third Monday in April, the Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute celebrate on the actual date of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, which marked the first shots of the war. Hutchinson feels that celebrating on the actual anniversary shows more respect for it.
“The American Revolution [was] pretty inconvenient for the participants and if [the holiday] is a little inconvenient to celebrate, it makes us pay a little more respect to it and less likely to turn it into a party... Surveys show that there are many people who think that Patriots Day has something to do with football and long distance running.” By dressing in official uniform and firing salutes throughout the day, one goal of the group is to raise awareness of April 19’s historical significance.
When asked why he has stuck with the organization for as long as he has, Hutchinson said, “I feel it is important to call attention to and honor the people who founded our country.” As colonel, Hutchinson’s duties include leading and constructing all meetings of the group, which typically include some period-related entertainment, organizing the balls that the Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute are involved in, and leading parades such as the one on Memorial Day.
Next year, Hutchinson looks forward to being a private again, and remaining an active member of the Sudbury Companies of Militia and Minute.
