Above: Drawing of the Jonas Munroe House which formerly stood at 546 Westford Street. The home was built in 1734 and was demolished in 1873.

Jonas Munroe was a Private in Captain Solomon Pollard’s Billerica militia company in Colonel Green’s regiment which marched on the alarm of April 19th 1775. Just 19 years old, Jonas was one of the youngest minutemen from Carlisle to participate in the Concord Fight. He was accompanied in the battle by his uncle Nathan Munroe, his cousin Aaron Munroe, and according to tradition, his grandfather Joseph Munroe.  

Jonas was the company's drummer and legend has it that British shots on the bridge caused him to falter. When one commander called for assistance, old Joe Munroe stepped forward and exclaimed “I am so old it will not matter if I am killed” and he struck up a lively tune. Although this story is of questionable merit, Carlisle vital records confirm that Joseph Munroe died at age 100 years old. The Munroe family claimed that this local tale influenced artist Archibald Willard when he created the now iconic painting “The Spirit of 76” and suggested that Munroe is the man depicted carrying the drum. 
 
The old Munroe farmhouse once stood near the present-day Munroe Hill Road which is named in honor of the family. 

Like his grandfather, Jonas also lived to a very old age. He died at 83 and is buried in Carlisle's Green Cemetery. 

Carlisle’s Munroe family long claimed that Corporal Joe Munroe was the elderly drummer depicted in Archibald Willard’s famous painting The Spirit of ’76.

Above: Jonas Munroe's grave in Green Cemetery.