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The “Memorial to the Lexington Minute Men of April 19, 1775” was created by Russian-born sculptor Bashka “Bessie” Paeff (1894-1979). This bronze Memorial was cast in 1948 and is mounted on a granite base across from the Battle Green on Buckman Tavern grounds, left of the Prince Estabrook Memorial Plaque.

Paeff emigrated from Minsk, Russia, to America in 1894 with her family. The future sculptor studied drawing, painting, and art education at the Boston Normal School, now the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She graduated in 1911 and went on to study at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

She studied sculpting under Arlington resident Cyrus Edwin Dallin, a celebrated sculptor known primarily for his Native American works and equestrian statue of Paul Revere in Boston. In order to underwrite her education and work as an artisan, the enterprising Paeff worked as a toll collector at Boston’s Park Street T Station. As a result of her “subterranean day job,” she became known as the “subway sculptor.” (Freedomsway.org)

Additionally, Paeff was known for her realistic animal sculptures, fountains, and portraits. Other notable works by Paeff include the Boy and Bird statue in the Boston Public Garden and a statue of President Harding’s pet terrier, Laddie Boy; cast from pennies collected by newsboys. Laddie Boy is now part of the Smithsonian collection. (Smithsonian Archives of American Art)

Paeff’s admiration for the Minute Men and their fight for freedom is immortalized in her Memorial creation. The front of Paeff’s Memorial bears the inscription: “These Men Gave Everything Dear in Life. Yea and Life Itself in Support of the Common Cause.”

Further, as if serving as a cemetery headstone, the Memorial includes a granite plaque, which identifies the Minute Men who served on the Green during the early morning April 19, 1775 engagement. The plaque also states: No official list was ever issued by the Company or by the Town.

These names are those listed by historian Frank Warren Coburn in 1912-’22. If other names can be proven they may be added.” A highly regarded Lexington author-historian, Coburn (1852-1923) is considered a vital primary American Revolutionary War source and credited with meticulously documenting the Minute Men who fought in the Battle of Lexington.

During the April 19, 1949 Patriot’s Day Celebration, under the guidance of Paeff, the unveiling of her Memorial was performed by thirteen-year-old Nancy Harrington (1935-2024), daughter of Dr. and Mrs. W.W. Harrington. (Lexington Minuteman).

Nancy, who lived on Mass Ave directly across the Battle Green her entire life, was a direct descendant of Dr. Joseph Fiske, Surgeon of the Lexington Minute Men at the Battle of Lexington. Over many decades, Nancy would ultimately create a lasting memorial of her own, educating hundreds of children at Lexington’s Hancock School and Hancock Church. She also had the honor of being related to one of the Minute Men memorial models.

Nancy’s son, David Forg, recollects family folklore about his uncle (Nancy’s brother) Dr. Winthrop “Winty” Wendell Harrington, Jr. (1930-2012), serving as a Minute Man model for Paeff and that his uncle would have been approximately 17 years old at the time he posed. When asked to identify his uncle in the Memorial, Forg said, “The Minute Man depicted on the far left bears a strong resemblance to the Harrington line of the family and the age of the Minute Man portrayed appears about my uncle’s age at the time the bas-relief was cast.” According to the Cary Library Reference Team, Paeff used as models, volunteer members from the Lexington Minute Men.

Now standing on Buckman Tavern ground for more for more than 75 years, the “Subway Sculptor’s” exquisite detail (far outlasting the Cold War) remains as brilliant and solid as the common cause for which these men gave everything dear in life.

*The Hometown Historians would like to thank the Cary Library Reference Team, especially Amy Newmark, for their assistance and research.

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The Hometown Historians are local historians dedicated to preserving unique historical events, monuments, and sites before they slip from the pages of history.

Andrew McAleer served as a U.S. Army Historian and is the author of the best-selling A Casebook of Crime featuring the Henry von Stray historical mysteries. Volume Two set for release this March. Visit him at: Henryvonstraymysteries.com

William Kyle Auterio volunteers for the Lexington Historical Society as a greeter.