History Alive: Visiting Scholar Visit Historic Sites

This past weekend Lu Jianhong, who is currently a Visiting Scholar at Putney Central School, traveled to Concord and Lexington with her host family, Mary Anne, to visit historic American sites. In her letter to ASOP, Jianhong shares the fascination of seeing a historic American site that she had read about as a student in China. Read more about her impressions in her letter below:  

Today Mary Anne drove me to Concord and Lexington to visit these two historic places. When I was a high school student, I learned about the First Shot in Lexington in my history book. Now I have the chance to visit the place, so I feel very excited.

After more than an hour’s drive, we reached Concord which is an ancient town with the former residence of Nathaniel Hawthorn (author of The Scarlet Letter) and Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women). After watching a 25-minute film in the Visitors’ Center about the historic battle between the British Regulars and the American militia in April 1775, we walked three miles along the Battle Road. The road has a series of signs along the original route, now partly covered by modern roads, and of reconstructed unpaved roads through the forest between Lexington and Concord. We listened to the ranger’s introduction of the arms in the battle and his demonstration of the firing. We also visited the North Bridge and the Minuteman Satue. Here the volunteer ranger described the battle vividly. Then we visited Lexington Green.

I am grateful to Mary Anne who offered me the opportunity to know more about American culture.