We first visited the town of Lexington, where colonial militia
and British Regulars clashed on April 19, 1775. The Colonel and
I strolled around the Lexington Green and viewed several
Revolutionary War monuments and markers. I felt incredibly moved
to be standing on the very ground where the fight for
independence began. As we walked behind the Buckman Tavern, I
spotted a memorial "dedicated to the memory of those who served
aboard a ship named Lexington." Erected in 1988 by the Lexington
Lions Club and the USS Lexington CV-16 Association, the monument
contains five markers, each one dedicated to a vessel that
carried the name "Lexington." As to be expected, the marker for
the Civil War-era Lexington caught my eye. This timberclad
gunboat participated in major battles and campaigns in the
Western Theatre, including Ft. Henry, Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, and
Vicksburg. |Marker dedicated to the timberclad gunboat
Lexington.| We next drove from Lexington to the Minute Man
National Historical Park. Here we viewed a fil