John Hicks House

John Hicks was a seasoned patriot and one of only two known Cantabridgians participants in the Boston Tea Party. On April 19, 1775, after the Battle of Lexington and Concord, the British soldiers marched in full retreat toward Boston. Along the road back to the city, many provincials attacked the Red Coats, unleashing years of pent-up frustration. These skirmishes often resulted in hand-to-hand combat, sometimes to the death.

On the afternoon of April 19th, John Hicks along with Moses Richardson, and Isaac Gardner, hid behind some barrels at Watson’s Corner in what is now North Cambridge. They were launching a surprise attack on the retreating British. Fire was exchanged, and it was said that Hicks was shot through the heart. Richardson and Gardner were also killed.

After Hicks had failed to return home, his wife sent their son out looking for him. It was he who discovered his father’s body along with that of Richardson and Gardner along the side of the road. Hicks was buried in the Old Burying Ground along with two other Cambridge patriots who fell that day after encountering the retreating British.

 

 

John Hick's House Today

 

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