Concord Hymn

In October 1834, Emerson went to live with his step-grandfather Ezra Ripley in Concord, at what was later named The Old Manse[3]— less than a hundred paces from the spot where the battle took place.

At Concord's Independence Day celebration on July 4, 1837, it was first read, then sung as a hymn by a local choir using the then-familiar tune "Old Hundredth".

[2] Emerson's line "the shot heard round the world" is a fixture in the lore of the American Revolution, and the opening stanza is inscribed beneath the Daniel Chester French The Minute Man statue dedicated (along with a replica of the Old North Bridge) at the 1875 commemoration of the original battle.

The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps; And Time the ruined bridge has swept; Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare, To die, and leave their children free, Bid Time and Nature gently spare The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Emerson's "Concord Hymn" was written for the dedication of the memorial of the Battle of Concord .
The first stanza of "Concord Hymn" is inscribed at the base of The Minute Man , an 1874 statue by Daniel Chester French .
The poem's first stanza was also featured on a 1925 U.S. 5-cent stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the battle.