On the night of April 18, 1775, riders went out from Boston warning the militia in the Massachusetts countryside that a British column was on the move. Captain John Parker mustered the Lexington militia on the village common at dawn — about seventy men, mostly farmers, several pairs of brothers among them. Their assembly point was Buckman Tavern, just off the green, where they waited in the cold for word of the British advance. When the regulars finally appeared a few hours later, Parker formed his men in two ranks across the green. Outnumbered roughly ten to one, he reportedly told them: "Stand your ground; don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here." A shot was fired — to this day no one is sure by whom — and the British opened a volley, killing eight militiamen and wounding ten more. The militia scattered, then began to regroup. By the time the British column was returning from Concord that afternoon, those same men were waiting along the road back to Boston. The Revolution had begun.

This W. Britain set captures two such brothers in the moment of mustering — both in the practical mix of civilian and militia kit that defined a colonial company on its first day of actual war: tricorne, frock coat (one tan, one blue), waistcoat, breeches, powder horn and cartridge box, musket grounded. The two-figure presentation makes the set the natural narrative centerpiece of any Lexington or early-Revolution display. They pair with the other militia figures Breagans carries — the 1775-81 American Militiaman, the 1775-83 American Militiaman, and the Don Troiani Major John Buttrick figure depicting the same April 19 events at Concord — and with the broader American Revolution & Federal Era collection.

1/30 scale (60mm), matte-painted, two-figure set boxed. Catalog number 16144. As with the rest of the W. Britain modern range, the painting is photographic-quality detail intended to read well in dioramas and display cases.