Join the Bedford Minuteman Company and Minuteman Companies from the area as they converge on Willson Park in Bedford to commemorate the spirit and courage of the patriots who sparked the American Revolution. Pole Capping Day is considered the start of the Patriots Day celebration in the region.
The Liberty Pole Capping and Raising is a reenactment of a practice in Colonial America signifying dissatisfaction with varied rulings and conduct of the English government of that date. It is meant to be commemorative of the spirit of liberty exemplified by Bedfordians and other colonials in the early phases of the War for Independence.
This ceremony features a march, displays of musketry, and music of the period performed by the men and women of the many Minuteman Companies that come to participate. But the main event – which draws not only spectators, but also the soldiers of His Majesty’s 10th Regiment of Foot, intent on stopping the defiant rabble-rousing – is the raising of a tall wooden pole, which is climbed by a Bedford Minuteman and affixed with a red knitted cap.
Along with the event, there is a traditional Pancake breakfast and other activities to help kick off a Patriots Day celebration to remember.
