Welcome to Munroe Tavern, the sign says, ‘Museum of the British Redcoats and Munroe Family Home.” Hold on one cotton-pickin’ minute there hoss!
Are we talking about THE Munroe Tavern, here?
A little backstory, please.
On April 19th, 1775, Munroe Tavern was owned and operated by Will Munroe. Sgt Will served as second in command on Lexington Green that morning. Will was the great-grandson of another William Munroe, who was brought to the New World in chains as a Scottish prisoner of war. Once he worked off his slave sentence, he moved to what became Lexington and did quite well for himself and his progeny. Even so, knowing the Scots as I do, there was sure to be leftover animus against the “English.”
And, in 1775, there was additional reason for this Scots family to dislike – dare I say – hate all things Redcoat. As the Redcoat Army swept back through Lexington, they were burning and looting as they went. When they finally met up with Percy and their reinforcements, they commandeered the tavern as a temporary field hospital.
Will Munroe had left his crippled handyman, John Raymond, in charge of the Tavern as he went off to fight. When the tavern was taken over, Will’s wife and three young children – ages seven, four and two – fled to the woods. John was forced to serve the Redcoats under penalty of harm. When things began getting out of hand, with shots fired in the tavern and things broken by out-of-sorts Redcoats, John tried to make his escape. He was shot in the back as Anna and the children watched from the woods.
Before leaving the tavern, the Redcoats set fire to the place. Luckily, someone was there quick enough to put the fire out and save the tavern from the same fate as the neighbors’ properties.
In the next post, I’ll tell you the rest of the unbelievable story. Will Munroe might be spinning in his grave.