In one of those coincidences of timing that make history such a fascinating topic, volunteer soldiers from Middlesex County who just days before were farmers and mill workers were the first to be killed by enemy fire in the American Revolution (on Lexington Green on April 19, 1775) and in the American Civil War (on Pratt Street in Baltimore on April 19, 1861).

The plaque that accompanies the mural of the Sixth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry fighting in Baltimore (shown below) that hangs in the Massachusetts State House, emphasizes this connection:

Marching through Baltimore in 1861 on the Historic 19th of April, true to the tradition of their own Lexington and Concord, defending the Constitution and the Union and carrying freedom to all who live beneath the stars and stripes.