The Lexington Minute Men is the second oldest independent military organization in the Western Hemisphere.

Chartered by the Massachusetts Governor’s Council on Sept. 6, 1689, the unit was originally known as the Second Military Company in Cambridge. The first commander was LT David Fiske, an English immigrant.

Birth of American Liberty

The Lexington Minute Men were reinvigorated in 1773 and 1774 to protect their town against the tyrannies of Great Britain. This unit was the first to take up arms against the King’s Troops, and at dawn on April 19, 1775, the first shots and bloodshed of the American Revolution took place on Lexington Common. Later in the war, the unit served honorably in the campaigns at Ticonderoga, Boston, Saratoga, Rhode Island, and the Jerseys.

The company was re-chartered in 1874 ahead of an official visit by President Ulysses S. Grant, and currently operates under a charter granted May 5, 1910 by Gov. Eben S. Draper which permanently established the Minute Men as an independent, unattached military command in Massachusetts.

The Lexington Minute Men have served as presidential honor guards and marched in at least eight Presidential Inaugural Parades in Washington, D.C. including those of Presidents Wilson, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter, and Clinton.

Promoting Patriotism

Today’s Lexington Minute Men are dedicated to honoring those brave patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation’s freedom — from those who first fell on Lexington Common to the heroes of today. We promote patriotism through ceremonies, reenactments, and educational living history programs, locally, afar and as active members of The Continental Line.

The Company has lined the steps of the Massachusetts State House as an honor guard; marched in the Sail Boston Festival in 2017; posted colors during ceremonies at Fenway Park; gone aboard the USS Whidbey Island; escorted visitors aboard the USS Constitution and laid wreaths at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Lexington Minute Men Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery.