Minutemen, patriotic civilians of Massachusetts and several other New England colonies, who in the period before the American Revolution volunteered to fight the British at a minute's notice. In 1774 the Massachusetts Provincial Congress enrolled the minutemen as an organized militia. The minutemen figured prominently in many revolutionary engagements, most notably in the opening battles of Lexington and Concord fought on April 19, 1775 (see Concord, Battle of). The Concord site is preserved in the Minute Man National Historical Park.