12-05-2025
The seminal battle of the Revolutionary War, as seen through a Globe photographer's lens
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TODAY'S STARTING POINT
Early on the morning of April 19, dawn's light revealed that all sides had come armed and ready.
British redcoats, marching in formation to the beat of a drum, wielded muskets tipped with bayonets, powder horns and cartridge boxes slung at their waists. The stern-faced militiamen blocking their advance, who had begun massing on the grassy common of the small town of Lexington earlier that morning, held guns of their own.
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And about 20 feet away, perched on a riser, a Boston Globe photographer armed with a Canon 1D X Mark ll raised his camera and started shooting.
History remembers the 1775 battle of Lexington, sparked by a single shot of unknown origin, as the first military engagement of the American Revolution. For decades, reenactors on both sides have acted out the skirmish, an effort to stop the British Army from reaching a military supplies stockpile in the nearby town of Concord that left eight colonists dead.
Last month, the battle's 250th anniversary saw reenactors dressed as British regulars facing off against a motley crew of colonists before tens of thousands of spectators. Many of the reenactors there that day — like Michael Graves of Chelmsford, a University of Massachusetts Lowell biology professor
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Luckily, John had a veteran of his own to consult: Joanne Rathe Strohmeyer, a now-retired colleague who photographed the Lexington reenactment for years. 'She told me it was going to go from darkness to dawn really quickly, which it did, and to just keep shooting when the troops raise their guns,' says John. 'The gun blast was loud and brilliant and she was so right.'
John took the above photo,
(For the photographers reading this: The ISO was 4000 and the shutter speed was 1/1000 at f-stop 2.8 using a 70-200 mm zoom lens at a focal length set of 70mm. John shot on automatic exposure using a 1-stop underexposure.)
That image isn't the only one from the Lexington reenactment in the Globe's April Photos of the Month. Another of John's shots —
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Reenactments also weren't the only annual rites that Bostonians observed last month. In one of the Globe's other best photos, David Ryan captured a German runner named Marc Tortell starting off the 129th Boston Marathon in Hopkinton in high spirits, arms akimbo and orange hair spiked into a peppy crown. And there was Opening Day at Fenway Park, during which Stan Grossfeld photographed Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski and Carlton Fisk, members of the 1975 team, saluting fans.
Here are those celebratory photos from last month. I recommend checking out the rest of
Caption
Minutemen reenactors fired back at advancing British troops on Lexington Battle Green during the 250th anniversary of the historic first battle of the American Revolution.
(John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)
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