Jonathan Harrington

Several men named Jonathan Harrington lived in or near Lexington, Massachusetts, in the 18^th Century. This biography focuses on Jonathan Harrington who served as a fifer in Captain Parker’s militia on April 19, 1775, and who lived to be—reportedly—the oldest surviving veteran of the American men gathered on Lexington Green at the beginning of the Revolutionary War.

Jonathan Harrington was born on July 8, 1758, a son of Jonathan and Abigail Harrington. As a young teen, Harrington joined Captain Parker’s militia company and joined other local men for march, drill and target practice. He learned to play the fife and performed military music that helped the company as they marched and drilled. Fife and drum were an important part of communication by military calls, keeping time for marching and encouraging troops’ morale. Eleven members of Parker’s Company were Harringtons, including three named Jonathan!

According to a family history book, Harrington remembered the morning of April 19, 1775, for the rest of his life and told his story in this way:

“He said he was aroused early that morning by a cry from his mother, who said: ‘Jonathan, get up, the regulars are coming, and something must be done.’ Jonathan was a fifer. He arose, went to the place where the patriots were gathering, and was with the company on the approach of the British. He continued to participate in the events of the Revolutionary War, and was ever afterwards treated with much respect and attention by the whole community where he resided.” 

(The Harrington Family in America, p. 72).

His cousin—also named Jonathan Harrington—was mortally wounded in the firing that occurred on Lexington Green that morning between British soldiers and Parker’s militia. Still carrying his fife, he scattered with the rest of Parker’s men. Later in the day, Harrington played military tunes on his fife while the militiamen fought back, ambushing retreating British soldiers on the road toward Boston. Some accounts suggest that Harrington’s fifing convinced the British that numerous reinforcements were arriving and hurried their retreat. Whether Harrington enlisted and fought in other units later in the American Revolution is not clearly known, but he was present at the first shots of the war.

In 1782, Harrington married Sally Banks. They stayed in Lexington, and he worked as a chair-maker and furniture repairman. He and his wife raised at least seven children. Jonathan Harrington was the only known witness to the first shots at Lexington Green to be photographed. He lived until March 26, 1854, and was buried in the Old Burying Ground in Lexington after a large and respectful funeral. Jonathan Harrington—fifer—was the last surviving member of Captain Parker’s militia company who rallied at Lexington Green.