In This Article
His Story
On the evening of April 18, 1775, Nathan Munroe was a twenty-seven-year-old resident of Lexington, Massachusetts, a husband, the father of two young children, and a member of Captain John Parker’s militia company. As the Lexington Alarm spread through the Massachusetts countryside, Munroe helped warn neighboring communities of British military movements. By the following morning, he would stand with his neighbors on Lexington Common and fire his weapon at British regulars. Later that same day, he would join other Lexington men in the fighting that followed the British withdrawal from Concord.
Munroe’s place in Revolutionary War history is distinguished by the unusually detailed testimony he left behind. On December 22, 1824, almost fifty years after the opening battles of the Revolution, he appeared before Justice of the Peace Amos Muzzy and provided a sworn account of his experiences on April 18 and 19, 1775.
His recollection began with his part in the Lexington Alarm, a warning mission undertaken alongside Benjamin Tidd. Acting at Captain Parker’s request, the two men traveled through Bedford toward Concord, alerting inhabitants to British movements. When they returned to Lexington, the alarm bell was sounding and Parker’s company was assembling.
Munroe remembered Parker ordering the militia to load their weapons but not to fire unless the British fired first. When the regulars approached, Munroe testified that they opened fire upon the company. He escaped over a wall into Buckman’s land, turned, and fired toward the British troops.
The confrontation on Lexington Common was only the beginning of his day. Munroe subsequently accompanied a regrouped portion of Parker’s company toward Concord. The Lexington men encountered the withdrawing British column in Lincoln and participated in the fighting traditionally associated with Parker’s Revenge.
The Revolution reached deeply into Munroe’s own family. Captain John Parker was his maternal uncle, while his wife’s brother, Jonathan Harrington Jr., was among the men killed on Lexington Common. Several members of the extended Munroe family also participated in the fighting, including two who were killed.
Munroe’s military service continued beyond April 1775. Later records identify additional duty at Cambridge, service guarding the captured troops of General John Burgoyne’s army in 1778, and a militia assignment in 1780. He survived the war and remained associated with Lexington until his death on May 26, 1829.
His deposition survives as an important firsthand account of the events that opened the American Revolution. Although recorded nearly half a century afterward, it preserves a participant’s description of the Lexington Alarm, the confrontation on Lexington Common, and the subsequent fighting along the British retreat.
Early Life
Born into a Lexington Family
Nathan Munroe was born in Lexington, Massachusetts, on August 9, 1747. His father, Marrett Munroe, had been born in 1713, and his mother, Deliverance Parker, in 1721. The couple married on April 17, 1737, and Nathan was identified in the family genealogy as the fifth of their twelve children.
The Munroe family was already well established in Lexington. Marrett Munroe served as a town selectman during several years in the 1760s, demonstrating the family’s participation in local civic affairs. Deliverance Parker was the sister of John Parker, who would command the Lexington militia during the opening encounter of the Revolutionary War.
Lexington was an agricultural community whose inhabitants relied upon farming, local trades, and regional commerce. Town meetings, churches, and militia companies helped organize community life. Residents were also increasingly drawn into the imperial dispute between Great Britain and its North American colonies.
The available records do not establish Nathan’s formal education or his precise occupation before the Revolution. His father’s civic service and his family’s local connections provide important background, but they do not independently establish Nathan’s own political views during his childhood.
The Munroe Family’s Earlier Generations
Nathan’s paternal grandfather was John Munroe, born in 1666, who married Hannah Marrett. Their youngest child was Marrett Munroe, Nathan’s father.
The family’s earlier genealogy traces its Massachusetts ancestry to William Munroe, traditionally described as a Scottish immigrant who arrived in New England during the seventeenth century.
Later family histories associate William Munroe with Scottish prisoners transported after the Battle of Worcester in 1651. That account remains a genealogical tradition rather than a conclusively demonstrated identification. The surviving documentation reviewed for this biography does not securely establish William Munroe among those transported prisoners.
Marriage Before the Revolution
On October 3, 1769, Nathan Munroe married Elizabeth Harrington, who had been born on April 11, 1750.
Their first child, Dilly, was born November 18, 1769, followed by Arethusa on March 10, 1773. The couple eventually had ten children.
By April 1775, Nathan was a married father of two young children. His wife’s brother, Jonathan Harrington Jr., belonged to the Lexington community that would suffer casualties during the opening confrontation with British troops. Thus, the fighting of April 19 affected both Nathan’s immediate household and his extended family.
Revolutionary War Service
Captain John Parker’s Lexington Company
In the spring of 1775, Nathan Munroe belonged to the Lexington militia company commanded by Captain John Parker. Massachusetts militia organizations drew upon local communities, and their members could be summoned when military danger threatened their towns.
Tensions between Massachusetts colonists and British authorities had intensified following the Boston Tea Party and Parliament’s subsequent coercive measures. British troops stationed in Boston were under General Thomas Gage, who also served as royal governor of Massachusetts.
Colonial military preparations, including the collection of arms and supplies, had become a major concern for British authorities. On April 18, 1775, British regulars prepared an expedition toward Concord, where military stores were believed to be located.
The Lexington Alarm: Nathan Munroe and Benjamin Tidd
As British military movements became known on the evening of April 18, 1775, warnings began circulating through the Massachusetts countryside. The Lexington Alarm was part of the broader mobilization that brought militia companies into action before and during the fighting of April 19. Although Paul Revere’s ride became the best-known episode, the warning network depended upon numerous riders, messengers, and local residents.
Munroe’s own deposition places him among the men who helped carry the Lexington Alarm beyond the town. He stated that he and Benjamin Tidd acted at Captain Parker’s request after learning that British officers had traveled toward Concord during the evening of April 18.
The two men traveled through Bedford, warning inhabitants along their route, and continued toward the main road at Merriam’s Corner in Concord. They then returned to Lexington.
Their journey belonged to a wider network of riders and local messengers who spread the alarm across the Massachusetts countryside. Paul Revere, William Dawes, Samuel Prescott, and numerous lesser-known individuals participated in this communications effort. Rather than following one continuous route, the warning spread through overlapping journeys and local networks.
Munroe’s testimony is particularly valuable because it documents a lesser-known part of the Lexington Alarm during the night of April 18–19. His account demonstrates that the alarm was not the accomplishment of a single rider, but a coordinated response carried through multiple communities as residents prepared for the possibility of armed confrontation.
Returning to Lexington
When Munroe and Tidd returned, the Lexington alarm bell was ringing and the militia company was assembling. Munroe obtained his weapon and joined the men on Lexington Common.
He later recalled that Captain Parker ordered the company to load its weapons but not to fire unless fired upon. Munroe remembered the British regulars appearing near the meetinghouse at approximately five o’clock in the morning.
The precise circumstances surrounding the first shots at Lexington have remained disputed since 1775. Munroe’s deposition gives the American participant’s version: he asserted that British regulars opened fire upon the assembled militia.
His account is important evidence, but because it was recorded decades afterward, it must be considered alongside other surviving testimony and contemporary records.
Additional Military Service in 1775
Munroe’s military activity continued after April 19. The military-service summary reproduced in Bill Poole’s biography identifies five days of service under Captain Parker at Cambridge, May 6–10, 1775.
It also identifies two days under Parker at Cambridge, June 17–18, 1775. Both assignments list Munroe as a private.
Cambridge was an important center for the Massachusetts forces gathering around British-occupied Boston. The militia and newly organized provincial troops were attempting to contain the British army while developing a more sustained military organization.
The June service dates overlap the Battle of Bunker Hill, fought June 17, 1775. However, service at Cambridge on those dates does not independently establish that Munroe fought at Bunker Hill. No specific battlefield role has been demonstrated by the sources reviewed.
Guarding Burgoyne’s Captured Army in 1778
A later assignment placed Munroe in Captain John Moore’s Company of Colonel Jonathan Reed’s Regiment. According to Massachusetts military records cited by Poole, he served from April 1 to July 8, 1778, in connection with guard duty at Cambridge.
The troops under guard belonged to the British and German forces commanded by Lieutenant General John Burgoyne, whose army surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777. These prisoners became known as the Convention Army because of the agreement governing their surrender.
Guarding the prisoners required military supervision, maintenance of security, and the continued employment of Massachusetts troops away from their ordinary civilian responsibilities.
Munroe’s documented association with the Convention Army does not mean that he fought at Saratoga. His recorded guard assignment began the following year, after Burgoyne’s surrender.
Service in 1780
Munroe’s final identified wartime assignment occurred in 1780. He served in Captain Abraham Andrews’ Company of Colonel Cyprian Howe’s Regiment, a detachment from Middlesex County militia intended to reinforce the Continental Army for approximately three months.
The service dates are given as July 27 through October 30, 1780. The cited summary reports three months and seven days of service and does not specify a rank for this assignment.
The available evidence establishes an additional period of military duty but does not identify a particular battle in which Munroe personally participated during this detachment.
Battles and Campaigns
Battle of Lexington
April 19, 1775 — Lexington, Massachusetts
The confrontation on Lexington Common was among the first armed encounters of the American Revolutionary War. British regulars advancing from Boston toward Concord encountered a comparatively small body of Lexington militia under Captain John Parker.
The British expedition was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, while Major John Pitcairn led the advance element that confronted the militia at Lexington. The regulars were attempting to reach Concord and secure or destroy military supplies assembled by the colonists.
Parker’s men stood on the Common in the early morning as the British approached. The militia was heavily outnumbered. A confrontation developed, shots were fired, and the regulars delivered additional fire against the Americans. Eight Lexington militiamen were killed and others wounded.
The identity of the person who fired the first shot remains disputed. Surviving testimony includes accounts produced under different circumstances and from different positions on the field.
Nathan Munroe’s Participation
Having returned from his warning mission during the Lexington Alarm, Munroe joined Captain Parker’s assembled company. He later testified that Parker instructed his men not to fire unless the British fired first. He stated that the regulars began shooting and that he escaped over a wall into land belonging to Buckman.
According to his account, Munroe was approximately six rods from the British when he turned and fired at them. This is one of the most distinctive details preserved in his testimony.
Poole’s biography identifies Munroe as one of eight Lexington militiamen credited with returning fire. That numerical identification is a later historical interpretation; Munroe’s own deposition directly supports the narrower conclusion that he personally claimed to have fired upon the regulars.
Participation classification: Personally reported in sworn testimony dated December 22, 1824. His presence and actions are described in a retrospective first-person account published in 1825.
The Fighting at Parker’s Revenge
April 19, 1775 — Lincoln, Massachusetts
After the confrontation at Lexington, the British column continued toward Concord. There, colonial militia gathered from surrounding communities, and fighting broke out at the North Bridge.
As the British expedition began withdrawing toward Boston, militia companies moved into positions along the roads and surrounding countryside. The return march developed into a prolonged running battle.
Colonial forces used stone walls, wooded ground, and roadside positions to engage the retreating troops. British officers attempted to maintain the column’s movement while protecting its flanks and wounded men.
Among the American companies participating in the fighting was a regrouped body of Lexington militia under Captain John Parker. The location traditionally associated with their attack became known as Parker’s Revenge.
Nathan Munroe’s Participation
Munroe’s deposition states that Parker gathered part of his company later in the morning and marched toward Concord. Munroe identified himself as one of the men accompanying him.
The company encountered retreating British troops within the bounds of Lincoln around noon. Munroe recalled that the Americans fired upon the regulars and continued engaging them until the British reached reinforcements in Lexington.
His testimony establishes that he later claimed direct participation in this second phase of the day’s combat. The precise location of every shot fired by Munroe cannot be reconstructed from his statement.
Participation classification: Personally reported in sworn testimony. Participation in the Lincoln fighting is directly supported by Munroe’s account; identification with the modern Parker’s Revenge site is a historical interpretation.
The Siege of Boston and Cambridge Service
May–June 1775 — Cambridge, Massachusetts
Following Lexington and Concord, colonial forces gathered around Boston and established positions intended to contain the British army within the town.
Cambridge became one of the principal centers for organizing Massachusetts militia and provincial forces into a more sustained military establishment.
On June 17, 1775, British forces attacked American positions on the Charlestown peninsula during the Battle of Bunker Hill. Although the British ultimately occupied the American works, they suffered substantial losses.
Nathan Munroe’s Participation
The military summary identifies Munroe as a private serving at Cambridge on May 6–10 and June 17–18, 1775.
These dates place his recorded military duty within the wider Siege of Boston. They do not establish his presence on Breed’s Hill or Bunker Hill during the June 17 battle.
Participation classification: Reported military service at Cambridge; Siege of Boston context. Individual participation in the Battle of Bunker Hill is unverified.
Guard Duty with the Convention Army
April–July 1778 — Cambridge, Massachusetts
The American victory in the Saratoga campaign of 1777 resulted in the surrender of Lieutenant General John Burgoyne’s army. The captured soldiers became known as the Convention Army because of the agreement governing their surrender.
The prisoners were initially held in Massachusetts, where their presence required military guards and continuing administrative supervision.
Nathan Munroe’s Participation
Munroe’s service in Captain John Moore’s Company, Colonel Jonathan Reed’s Regiment, is associated with guarding the Convention Army at Cambridge from April 1 to July 8, 1778.
This assignment demonstrates that his Revolutionary War service extended beyond the opening year of the conflict. It also shows how Massachusetts militia continued supporting the larger American war effort through security duties.
Participation classification: Military assignment reported from Massachusetts service records. No personal participation in the Saratoga battles is established.
Reinforcement Service in 1780
July–October 1780 — Massachusetts Militia Detachment
By 1780, the American Revolution had become a prolonged conflict requiring repeated mobilization of troops and supplies. State militia detachments helped reinforce the Continental Army during periods of particular military need.
Nathan Munroe’s Participation
Munroe is identified in Captain Abraham Andrews’ Company of Colonel Cyprian Howe’s Regiment from July 27 through October 30, 1780.
The unit was detached from Middlesex County militia to reinforce the Continental Army for approximately three months.
The available summary does not specify his rank or identify a particular engagement during this service.
Participation classification: Reported military service; specific battlefield participation unverified.
Military Honors and Recognition
Nathan Munroe’s principal historical recognition rests upon his participation in the opening fighting of the American Revolutionary War and the preservation of his sworn testimony.
His deposition connects him to the Lexington militia, his role in spreading the Lexington Alarm alongside Benjamin Tidd, the confrontation on Lexington Common, and the later fighting in Lincoln.
No individual military decoration or formal battlefield honor has been established from the records reviewed for this biography. His inclusion in historical studies of Lexington should be understood as historical recognition rather than evidence of a formal military award.
Munroe’s testimony was published in 1825, while he was still living, and became part of the documentary record used to reconstruct the opening events of the Revolution.
Original Military Records
Sworn Deposition of Nathan Munroe
Date: December 22, 1824
Location: Lexington, Massachusetts
Official: Amos Muzzy, Justice of the Peace
Published: Elias Phinney, History of the Battle of Lexington (1825)
Munroe’s deposition describes his enrollment in Captain John Parker’s company, his participation in the Lexington Alarm with Benjamin Tidd, his return to Lexington, Parker’s orders to the militia, his actions during the British firing, and the company’s later engagement in Lincoln.
The statement is a retrospective firsthand account. The original signed manuscript has not been independently examined for this biography.
Massachusetts Revolutionary War Service Records
Military assignments attributed to Munroe appear in the Massachusetts service compilations cited by Bill Poole.
The cited references include volume 10, pages 881–882, and volume 11, page 212, of Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War.
These published compilations are cited for service under Captain John Parker, Captain John Moore, and Captain Abraham Andrews.
The underlying manuscript rolls have not been independently examined for this article.
Why the Deposition Matters
Munroe’s testimony is unusually useful because it describes successive actions within a single day: participating in the Lexington Alarm, warning neighboring inhabitants, returning to Lexington, joining Parker’s company, returning fire during the morning confrontation, and fighting the British again during their retreat.
It is also important to consider when the deposition was made. Munroe spoke in 1824, approximately forty-nine years after the events. His account is firsthand testimony, but it is not a contemporary diary written in April 1775.
The depositions collected during this period were also connected to public arguments over the historical importance of Lexington and Concord. Their evidentiary value is substantial, but historians should evaluate them in that setting rather than treating any single recollection as beyond question.
Revolutionary War Pension
No federal Revolutionary War pension application or pension award has been securely identified for Nathan Munroe in the materials reviewed for this biography.
His December 22, 1824, deposition was a historical statement concerning the events of Lexington and Concord. It should not be identified as a pension declaration.
The absence of an identified pension file from the present research does not prove that Munroe never applied for or received a pension. Further examination of federal pension indexes and Massachusetts records would be necessary before reaching a definitive conclusion.
From His Account
Nearly half a century after the battles of Lexington and Concord, Nathan Munroe provided a sworn statement describing his actions on April 18 and 19, 1775.
His testimony was taken at Lexington on December 22, 1824, before Amos Muzzy, Justice of the Peace. It appeared in Elias Phinney’s History of the Battle of Lexington, published in 1825.
The following short excerpts are taken from the published testimony. The accompanying explanations are paraphrases, not additional statements attributed to Munroe.
On His Military Company
“I was enrolled as a soldier in the company commanded by Capt. John Parker of said Lexington, in the year 1775”
Munroe began by identifying himself as a member of Parker’s company. This directly connects his testimony to the Lexington militia.
On the Lexington Alarm
Munroe explained that he and Benjamin Tidd traveled toward Bedford and Merriam’s Corner at Parker’s request to warn residents about British movements.
Their journey was part of the Lexington Alarm, through which news of the British expedition spread among neighboring communities. Munroe’s account preserves evidence of the broader network of messengers whose efforts helped mobilize the Massachusetts militia.
On the First Shots
“Capt. Parker gave orders to us to load our guns, but not to fire, unless we were fired upon first.”
Munroe attributed a defensive order to his commanding officer. His statement became part of the body of American testimony concerning responsibility for the first shots.
On Returning Fire
“I got over the wall into Buckman’s land, about six rods from the British, and then turned and fired at them.”
This is Munroe’s explicit description of his own conduct during the fighting on Lexington Common.
On the Fighting in Lincoln
Munroe further stated that Parker regrouped part of the company and marched toward Concord. He accompanied the men and described firing upon the British as they retreated through Lincoln.
This passage is central to the historical identification of Lexington militia participation in the fighting known as Parker’s Revenge.
Military Service Record
The following chronology combines Munroe’s sworn account with military service information summarized in Bill Poole’s biography from Massachusetts records and Charles Hudson’s history of Lexington.
| April 18–19, 1775 | Captain John Parker’s Lexington Company. Participated in the Lexington Alarm with Benjamin Tidd, helped warn inhabitants along the route toward Concord, fought at Lexington, and participated in fighting during the British retreat through Lincoln. Supported by Munroe’s sworn deposition. |
|---|---|
| May 6–10, 1775 | Five days at Cambridge under Captain John Parker. Rank: private. Military records summarized by Poole. |
| June 17–18, 1775 | Two days at Cambridge under Captain John Parker. Rank: private. Participation at Bunker Hill is not established. |
| September 1776 | A Nathaniel Munroe appears in a reference to the White Plains campaign. Identity is unverified and the service is not attributed to Nathan Munroe of Lexington. |
| April 1–July 8, 1778 | Captain John Moore’s Company, Colonel Jonathan Reed’s Regiment. Guard duty involving the Convention Army at Cambridge. |
| July 27–October 30, 1780 | Captain Abraham Andrews’ Company, Colonel Cyprian Howe’s Regiment. Middlesex County militia detachment reinforcing the Continental Army. Rank unspecified in the cited summary. |
A Note on the White Plains Reference
Charles Hudson’s history includes a reference to a Nathaniel Munroe associated with the White Plains campaign in September 1776.
The available evidence does not establish that this man was Nathan Munroe (1747–1829) of Captain Parker’s Lexington Company. The White Plains reference is therefore excluded from his confirmed service history pending further identification.
Later Life and Burial
Life After the Revolution
Nathan Munroe survived the Revolutionary War and remained associated with Lexington during his later years.
His wife, Elizabeth Harrington Munroe, died on December 24, 1812.
The surviving genealogical account documents a large family, but the sources reviewed here provide relatively little detail about Nathan’s occupation, property, or financial circumstances after military service.
His appearance in the documentary record in December 1824 shows that he was still living in Lexington and was willing to provide sworn testimony about events he had experienced nearly half a century earlier.
Death in 1829
Nathan Munroe died on May 26, 1829, at the age of eighty-one. His death came fifty-four years after the fighting at Lexington and Concord.
His surviving testimony remains one of the clearest documentary links between the Lexington militia’s early-morning confrontation and its subsequent participation in the fighting along the British retreat.
Burial Location
The burial locations of Nathan Munroe and his wife Elizabeth have not been established by the sources reviewed for this biography. Bill Poole explicitly identifies both gravesites as unknown.
The presence of earlier Munroe family gravestones in Lexington does not demonstrate where Nathan was buried. No cemetery or individual grave is assigned to him here without supporting documentation.
Family History
The Yost Post · Family DirectoryNathan Munroe belonged to an established Lexington family with deep connections to the town’s civic affairs and militia. His maternal uncle commanded the Lexington company on April 19, 1775, while members of the extended Munroe family participated in the fighting. Nathan and his wife Elizabeth Harrington raised a family of ten children.
Family Name & Heritage Munroe Explore surname origins and family history
Meaning and Etymology
Munroe is a Scottish surname also recorded in forms such as Munro and Monroe. Its exact linguistic derivation is not established by the sources used for this biography.
The Munroe Family in Massachusetts
Nathan’s paternal grandfather was John Munroe, born in 1666, who married Hannah Marrett. Their youngest child was Marrett Munroe, Nathan’s father.
Family tradition traces the earlier Massachusetts lineage to William Munroe, a Scottish immigrant associated in later accounts with prisoners transported following the Battle of Worcester in 1651.
The identification of William Munroe among transported Scottish prisoners has not been conclusively demonstrated in the documentation reviewed for this biography.
His Parents
Marrett Munroe was a Lexington resident who served as a town selectman during several years in the 1760s. He was the son of John Munroe and Hannah Marrett.
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Marriage
Married Deliverance Parker on April 17, 1737.
Family
The couple had twelve children, with Nathan identified as their fifth child.
Community Service
Served as a Lexington town selectman during several years in the 1760s.
Deliverance Parker was born May 28, 1721. She was the sister of Captain John Parker, commander of Lexington’s militia company on April 19, 1775.
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Marriage
Married Marrett Munroe on April 17, 1737.
Family Connection
Her brother John Parker commanded the Lexington militia during the opening confrontation of the Revolutionary War.
Death
Died August 9, 1799.
His Wife
Elizabeth Harrington was born April 11, 1750, and married Nathan Munroe on October 3, 1769. She was the sister of Jonathan Harrington Jr., who was killed on Lexington Common.
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Marriage
October 3, 1769.
Children
Elizabeth and Nathan had ten children.
Family Connection to Lexington
Her brother Jonathan Harrington Jr. was among the Lexington men killed on April 19, 1775.
Death
December 24, 1812.
His Children
The genealogical material cited by Bill Poole identifies ten children of Nathan and Elizabeth Munroe. Some birth dates and later relationships require additional verification against original vital records.
Dilly was the first identified child of Nathan and Elizabeth Munroe.
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Marriage
Married Elijah Pierce on January 29, 1789.
Arethusa was born two years before the opening battles of the Revolution.
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Marriage
Married William Fox of Woburn on June 20, 1793.
Research Note
The compiled genealogy contains additional Fox family information, but some dates are ambiguous.
Betsy was born during the first year following the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.
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Birth
The compiled source gives either April 5 or April 15, 1776. The precise date remains unresolved.
Marriage
Married Munson Johnson on March 20, 1798.
John was born during the period in which his father performed additional militia service.
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Marriage
Married Lydia Macy at Nantucket on August 16, 1803.
Named for his father, Nathan was born during the later years of the Revolution.
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Research Status
Additional biographical details have not been established from the sources reviewed.
Jonathan was born in the year the Treaty of Paris formally recognized American independence.
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Research Status
Additional biographical details have not been established from the sources reviewed.
Mary married Thomas Hunnewell of Charlestown.
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Marriage
Married Thomas Hunnewell on June 13, 1811.
Children
The compiled genealogy reports that the couple had seven children.
Dorcas was the eighth identified child of Nathan and Elizabeth.
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Marriage
Married Leonard Brown.
Thaddeus was born several years after the conclusion of the Revolutionary War.
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Research Status
Additional biographical details have not been established from the sources reviewed.
Harris was born May 29, 1793, and was the youngest of the ten identified children.
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Death
The compiled genealogy reports that Harris died in Dedham in 1829.
The Munroe Family at Lexington
The family diagram in Bill Poole’s biography identifies eight members of the extended Munroe family associated with Lexington Common on April 19, 1775:
- Jedediah Munroe
- Ensign Robert Munroe
- Ebenezer Munroe Jr.
- Stephen Munroe
- Nathan Munroe
- Corporal John Munroe
- Edmund Munroe
- Sergeant William Munroe
The family diagram identifies Jedediah and Ensign Robert Munroe as men killed on April 19. These relatives should not be confused with Nathan and Elizabeth’s ten children.
The number of Munroe relatives involved illustrates how deeply the fighting affected Lexington’s established families. For Nathan, the Revolution began in his own community, among relatives and neighbors whose lives were directly affected by the violence.
Family Research Update
The relationships and dates presented here are drawn primarily from the genealogical material cited by Bill Poole, including Charles Hudson’s history of Lexington. Several dates and later family relationships would benefit from verification against original vital records. No additional children or descendants have been added without supporting evidence.
Original Sources
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Elias Phinney, History of the Battle of Lexington, on the Morning of the 19th April, 1775 (1825).
Contains the published sworn deposition of Nathan Munroe, dated December 22, 1824, and certified by Amos Muzzy, Justice of the Peace. This is the principal early published source for Munroe’s account of the Lexington Alarm, Lexington Common, and fighting in Lincoln.
The original signed manuscript has not been independently examined.
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Bill Poole, Nathan Munroe: A Brief Biography.
Five-page historical biography containing Munroe family genealogy, a diagram of the eight Munroe relatives on Lexington Common, a transcription of Nathan’s deposition, military service information, a list of his ten children, and historical photographs.
Relevant pages: 1–3 for biography, deposition, military service, and family; 4–5 for photographs and source notes.
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Charles Hudson, History of the Town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to 1868, revised and continued to 1912 (Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1913).
Volume II, Genealogies, particularly pages 449–450, 453–454, and 461, as cited in Poole’s biography. These references support Munroe family relationships, marriage, and children.
The genealogical entries have been used through Poole’s citations rather than independently checked against the complete printed volume.
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Massachusetts Office of the Secretary of State, Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War: A Compilation from the Archives (Boston: Wright and Potter Printing Company, 1896).
Volume 10, pages 881–882; volume 11, page 212, as identified in Poole’s source notes.
These published military compilations are cited for Munroe’s assignments under Captain John Parker, Captain John Moore, and Captain Abraham Andrews. The underlying manuscript rolls have not been independently examined.
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Anne O’Connor, “Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of — Tidd and Munroe? Prescott?”, The Concord Bridge, January 7, 2024.
Modern historical discussion of the alarm network surrounding April 18–19, 1775, and the later competition between Lexington and Concord over historical memory. Identifies Munroe’s deposition as one of the statements published in Phinney’s 1825 history.
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Vincent J. R. Kehoe, We Were There April 19, 1775: The American Rebels (1975).
Page 247, cited by Poole as a reproduction of Nathan Munroe’s deposition. This is a later transcription source, not the original sworn manuscript.
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Francis H. Brown, Lexington Epitaphs: A Copy of Epitaphs in the Old Burying Grounds of Lexington, Massachusetts (Boston, 1905).
Pages 85 and 88–89, as cited by Poole for earlier Munroe family gravestones. These references do not establish Nathan Munroe’s burial location.
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WikiTree, Nathan Munroe (1747–1829), genealogical profile.
Supplementary genealogical research identifying Nathan’s parents, marriage, birth, and death dates and citing Lexington vital records. As a collaborative genealogy, it is treated as a research aid rather than independent primary proof.
Historical Research Note
Evidence and Historical Interpretation
Nathan Munroe’s identification as a member of Captain John Parker’s Lexington militia company is directly supported by his sworn deposition of December 22, 1824, published the following year.
The deposition also supports his reported participation in the Lexington Alarm with Benjamin Tidd, presence on Lexington Common, return of fire against British troops, and participation in the later fighting in Lincoln.
These events are described through Munroe’s own recollections, recorded almost fifty years afterward. The statement is firsthand testimony, but not a contemporary battlefield record.
Military Service Limitations
Additional assignments in 1775, 1778, and 1780 are based on military records cited and summarized in the secondary biography by Bill Poole.
The service summaries support a broader military history but do not establish that Munroe participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill, the Saratoga battles, or another named engagement during his 1780 service.
A reference to Nathaniel Munroe in connection with the White Plains campaign has not been securely matched to Nathan Munroe of Lexington.
Genealogical Limitations
The family history is drawn primarily from the genealogical material cited by Poole, including Charles Hudson’s history of Lexington.
Betsy Munroe’s precise birth date remains uncertain within the compiled source. Additional vital-record verification would be useful for several children and descendants.
The traditional account of immigrant ancestor William Munroe’s arrival as a Scottish prisoner remains insufficiently documented to present as established fact.
Burial and Pension Research
No verified grave location for Nathan Munroe has been established. No pension application or pension award has been securely identified for this individual in the materials reviewed.
The absence of a pension record from the present research does not prove that he never applied for or received a pension.
Documentary Significance
Nathan Munroe’s historical importance lies in the combination of his documented association with the Lexington militia and his surviving account of April 19, 1775.
His testimony preserves details of the Lexington Alarm, Captain Parker’s orders, the fighting on Lexington Common, and the militia’s participation in the British retreat.
These details give historians a valuable perspective on the opening day of the American Revolution while demonstrating the importance of distinguishing firsthand recollection, later interpretation, and independently verified military documentation.
Portrait disclosure: The image of Nathan Munroe accompanying this biography is an AI-generated historical interpretation. It is not an authenticated contemporary likeness, and its appearance should not be treated as evidence of Munroe’s actual physical features.