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BOOKS BY ABRAM ENGLISH BROWN
FOOTPRINTS OF THE PATRIOTS
Beneath Old Roof Trees Fully illustrated, $1.50
Beside Old Hearthstones (In press)
History of Bedford Family Edition 10.00
" " Popular Edition 5.00
Bedford Old Families (Woodcuts) 1.50
" " (Steel engravings) . 2.50
Glimpses of Old New England Life 50
Flag of Minute Men With colored plate
Cloth JO
Paper 25
' Tkll it Again, CiKAXUPA I " FroJitispie.
Beneath Old Roof Trees
BY
ABRAM ENGLISH BROWN
AUTHOR OF "history OF BEDFORD BEDFORD OLD FAMILIES''
" GLIMPSES OF OLD NEW ENGLAND LIFE " AND
*' FLAG OF THE MINUTE-MEM "
BOSTON
LEE AND SHEPARD PUBLISHERS
10 MILK STREET
1896
^.'^H-^z'i
Copyright, 1896, by Lee and Shepard
Ail riffhts reserved
Beneath Old Roof Trees
TYPOGRAPHY BY C. J, PETERS & SON, BOSTON.
PRESSWORK by ROCKWELL & CHURCHILL.
TO
THE SOCIETIES ORGANIZED TO PERPETUATE THE
HONOR OF THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN,
THROUGH WHOSE SACRIFICES
THE AMERICAN COLONIES OBTAINED THEIR FREEDOM,
SEfjis Halnmt
is gratefully inscribed
The Author
PREFATORY NOTES
" WHAT DID THEY HAVE TO DO WITH IT ? "
While speaking on the battlefield at Lexing-
ton with tourists from the city of Philadelphia,
allusion was incidentally made to other towns
than those usually mentioned in this connection ;
whereupon I was at once politely met with the
honest inquiry, " What did they have to do with
it ? "
My object in this volume is to answer that
question, showing in a story-like manner the part
taken by many towns in the opening events of the
Revolution.
In offering this work to the public, I desire to
acknowledge gratefully the sources from which
aid has been obtained ; but they have been so
numerous that I refrain from mentioning any
published works, lest I may inadvertently omit
some.
Manuscript records of towns and churches have
been freely consulted through the courtesy of
their custodians to whom I am indebted. The
many interviews with venerable men and women
herein recorded have been to me occasions of
great pleasure, and I trust will result in lasting
benefit to all who peruse these pages.
viii PREFATORY NOTES
This volume being one of a prospective series,
" Footprints of the Patriots," treats of only a small
portion of the towns identified with the opening
Revolution.
It is my purpose to consider the other towns as
they appear in the widening circle from which
came the ready response to the memorable alarm.
If the reader shall be aroused to a keener ap-
preciation of the cost of our national heritage,
and to a higher standard of citizenship beneath
its star-spangled emblem, the work will not have
been in vain.
With that hope for an impelling motive in the
future as it has been in the past, I remain the
friend of the reader.
ABRAM ENGLISH BROWN.
" 'Tis like a dream when one awakes,
This vision of the scenes of old ;
'Tis like the moon when morning breaks;
'Tis like a tale round watchfires told."
" Surely that people is happy to whom the noblest story
in history has come down through father and mother, and by
the unbroken traditions of their own firesides." — Senator
George F. Hoar, Oration at Plymouth, December, 1895.
CONTENTS
Chapter I. — page
Some of the General Facts of the Opening Revolution . i
Chapter II. —
A Glance at the Enemy's Route . . 8
Some Leading Steps . . . . lo
Marshfield Tories. . . ... . .12
Salem might have been the Concord of History . 12
A Billerica Teamster 14
Activity of Friend and Foe . . . ... 16
Chapter III. —
Important Messages ..... 19
Parsonage Guests . . ... . ... 21
Midnight Messengers ... . . 21
Echoes of the Lexington Belfry ... 23
Chapter IV. —
Belfry Echoes, continued .... . . .28
John Parker's Story . 28
Joshua Siraonds's Story . 32
Chapter V. —
More Belfry Echoes . . . . • ■ • 37
Boston Poor . 42
Chapter VI. —
Theodore Parker 45
A Belfry Listener -45
Chapter VII. —
The Parson and Parsonage . .52
Burlington or Precinct Parsonage . . . • 5^
Guests of April 19, 1775 56
Amos Wyman Home .... -59
Reed Home ■ . 61
X CONTENTS
Chapter VIII. — page
Diary of Rev. John Marrett . 62
Description of Camp by Rev. William Emerson . 73
Origin of Continental Army 74
Journal of Jabez Fitch 75
Chapter IX. —
Old Manse of Concord and its Ministerial Occupjlnts . 79
Cupid in the Revolution ... 90
Chapter X. —
Told and Retold ... .102
Incidents of Concord Fight 102
Chapter XI. —
Concord Homes of History in 1775 ... . 113
Chapter XII. —
A Concord Patriot's Secret ... , ... 122
Chapter XIII. —
Footprints of Acton Patriots .... . . 139
Faulkner Residence ... ... . . 140
Chapter XIV.—
Speech of Rev, James T. Woodbury .... . 149
Eagle in Concord Fight 167
Chapter XV. —
Footprints of the Patriots at Bedford 171
Through the Old Burial-Ground of Bedford vifith a
Nonagenarian . . . 181
Chapter XVI. —
The Old Colonial Banner, and Flag of the Minute-Men
of Bedford 195
Chapter XVII.—
Cupid's Heirloom 204
Chapter XVIII. —
Story of Lincoln Patriots 214
Capture of Paul Revere . . 215
The Most Deadly Fight. . .... 220
Brave Women .... . . . . 225
CONTENTS xi
Chapter XXVIII. — Continued. page
Burial of the King's Soldiers 226
New England Ancestors of President James Abr;im
Garfield 227
Chapter XIX.—
Billerica Patriots 2-56
Hill Homestead . . . ... .... 2^8
Provision for the Army ... . 240
Mrs. Abbott's Story 244
Chapter XX. —
The Story of Menotomy 247
The Russell Family Store , . 2 Co
Story of Whittemore Family . . ... 262
Cambridge 264
Chapter XXI. —
General Artemas Ward .... .... .27?
The Old Homestead ... . . .... 290
Chapter XXII.—
Groton Patriots 293
The First Ride of Paul Revere, and its Consequences . 293
James Sullivan .... ... . . . 297
Groton Inn ... . 298
Rev. Samuel Dana ... . . . . 299
Charlestowfn's Distress .... . . . . 300
Story of the Rev. Joseph Wheeler . ... 309
Chapter XXIII.—
Woburn's Part . . . 312
The Thompson Family . . . . • ■ 313
Colonel Loammi Baldwin
The Winn Home ....
A Romance of War
General Gage's Excursion Reported in 1775.
List of Killed and Wounded April ig, 1775 .
319
324
325
337
340
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
"Tell it Again, Grandpa" Frontispiece
Territory covered in the Volume {^Map^ . . . to face page i
Somerville Powder-House lo
Salem Bridge 18
Lexington Parsonage. Home of Rev. Jonas Clarke . . 20
Eli Simonds 24
Lexington Belfry 25
Buckman Tavern, Lexington 29
Jonathan Harrington House, Lexington 31
Lexington Battle Monument 37
Certificate carried by Boston's Poor into the Country . . 43
Munroe House, Lexington .... 46
Birthplace of Theodore Parker, Lexington ... 47
Precinct Parsonage. Sewall Home, Burlington ... 56
Site of Home of Amos Wyman, Billerica 57
Parsonage Table, Burlington ... 58
Forest Path taken by Hancock and Adams, April 19, 1775, 59
Parsonage Clock, Burlington .... .... 60
Old Manse, Concord ... 79
Window of Old Manse, Concord .... ... 89
Merriam's Corner, Concord 98
Old Parish Meeting-House and Wright Tavern, Concord . 104
Hunt Home, Concord 108
British Officer's Sword, Concord .... .... 112
Graves of British Soldiers, Concord 112
Elisha Jones Plouse, Concord ... 112
Barrett Home, Concord 115
Buttrick Home, Concord ... .... 119
Ebenezer Hubbard, Concord 123
Hubbard Home, Concord . ... 129
Statue of Minute Man, Concord 136
xii
LIST OF /LLUSTRAT/OAS
XIU
Battle Monument, Concord . . ... to face page 138
Faulkner Residence, Acton . 140
Luke Smith, Acton 144
Acton Powder Horn 146
Acton Monument . . .... 165
Eagle of Concord Fight ... 168
The Old Oak in Bedford ... 171
Page Home, Bedford 172
Cyrus Page, Bedford . . -173
Fitch Tavern, Bedford . .174
Eleazer Davis Home, Bedford . 178
Home of John Reed, Bedford 180
Tombstone of Calley Fasset, Bedford .184
Tombstone of Captain Jonathan Willson, Bedford
Flag of Minute Men, Bedford
Continental Money
Farrar Homestead, Lincoln
Whitman House, Lincoln
Samuel Farrar, Lincoln .
Burial of British Soldiers, Lincoln
Monument Over British Dead, Lincoln
Abraham Garfield Tombstone, Lincoln
Garfield Homestead, Lincoln
Garfield Footstone, Lincoln .
Hill Homestead, Billerica
Susan (Jaquith) Abbott . .
Russell House, Menotomy .
Russell Store, Menotomy
Attack by the Exempts, Menotomy .
Mrs. Sophronia Russell, Arlington
Mrs. Parmelia Fiske, Arlington . .
Ward Homestead, Shrewsbury . . .
General Ward's Sword . . .
Rocky Hill Meeting-House, Salisbury
Groton Inn
Benjamin Thompson House, Woburn
Colonel Baldwin's Mansion, Woburn
194
196
209
216
220
223
226
227
228
233
234
238
245
248
249
253
259
260
276
279
312
319
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BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY. — -SOME OF THE GENERAL
FACTS OF THE OPENING REVOLUTION
The revival of interest in Napoleon Bonaparte
inclines many to long to visit the scene of his
fatal conflict. But Waterloo, described and
painted by pen and pencil over and over again,
when viewed in connection with its results to
the world, is not comparable to the battlefield of
Middlesex.
Good citizenship is patriotism in action. It is
not necessary that one should face the bullets of
the enemy on the field of battle in order to evince
true patriotism. He who loves his home, his
native town, and his country, and is ready to
make sacrifice for their honor and welfare, is the
good citizen. In him the germ of patriotism is
well developed.-
This is seen in the great company of intelligent
people who make pilgrimages every year to Lex-
2 BENEATH OLD- ROOF TREES
ington, Concord, Bunker Hill, and other places of
historic interest. Each recurring anniversary
emphasizes the fact. No true citizen can cross
the green sward of Lexington Common, gaze
upon the bronze " Minute-man " at Concord, or
press the turf of Bunker's height, without feeling
the blood course more rapidly in his veins as he
makes new resolutions of better citizenship.
We find nothing of a sanguinary character of
the scenes that were enacted on the memorable
19th of April, 1775 ; for the war-drums throb no
longer, and the battle-flags are furled. The bay-
onets of the red-coated soldiers glisten no more
ominously in the gray dawn of the breaking day,
and the musket of the yeoman hangs useless
among the reminders of the past. But within
easy access of New England's metropolis are
many existing reminders of that most significant
uprising, and the person for whom a recital of the
"oft-told tale" of the battlefield ^ would prove
tedious will find enough of interest in the story
of things and places that existed when the wild
crash of musketry broke the stillness of that
April dawn.
While the scene of carnage was at Lexington
and Concord, and on the entire line of retreat, it
was from all Middlesex that the yeoman soldiery
came ; and the entire Province was in arms before
SOME OF THE GENkRAL FACTS 3
nightfall, and all New Englknd was astir before
another sunset. I would not abate one "jot or
tittle" from the accumulatfed honor justly due
Lexington or Concord, but I would remind all
young people that the only limit to the response
was the primitive means of spreading the alarm.
A preconcerted signal was so general that it re-
quired but "a hurry of hoofs in a village street,"
or the crack of a musket from a chamber-loft, to
carry on the alarm from town to town. When
the immortal scroll of that day was made up, there
appeared upon it forty-nine names. These were
from seventeen different towns, ten of which were
in Middlesex, four in Essex, and three in Norfolk
Counties. But more than twice this number of
towns responded to the alarm before the enemy
were back within protection of their ships of
war.
It is natural that the tourist should find his
interest centre at Lexington and Concord ; but
if he would trace the footprints of the patriots, he
must follow them in the dew of that early morn-
ing from their remote homes to the scene of con-
flict, and in the evening by the blood of the
martyrs, who, early slain, were borne lifeless to
their homes.
The general uprising of the colonies on the
19th of April, 1775, was the natural outcome of
the treatment to which they had been subjected.
They had always claimed the liberties of English-
4 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
men, acting upon the principle that the people
are the fountain of political power, and that there
-can be no just taxation without representation.
Every act of the British ministry tending to
undermine these principles served but to whet
the blade of righteous indignation. The acts of
Parliament " for the better regulating the govern-
ment of the Province of Massachusetts Bay,"
and "for the more impartial administration of
justice," were regarded as blows aimed at the
liberties of the people, and, when undertaken to
be carried into effect by the local authorities at
Boston, created a commotion throughout the
colonies. The positive dealing with the small
tax on tea was but the outcome of a failure to
maintain their rights by strong reasoning, firm
resolves, and eloquent appeal for a series of years.
It was the boldest stroke of the people up to that
time, and, although struck in Boston, received
a hearty approval from the remotest hamlet,
through the ringing of bells and other signs of
joy. The punishment intended for Boston by
the Port Bill, which took effect June i, 1774, was
a blow felt and resented at the remotest border.
Its execution devolving upon Thomas Gage
brought general contempt upon one who had so
recently been proclaimed the governor with great
applause, and Fanueil Hall had been the scene
of animating festivity in his honor. From 1767,
when the first addition was made to the troops
SOME OF THE GENERAL FACTS 5
which commonly formed the garrison of Castle
William, there had been a growing unrest among
the Provincials, strengthened by each new arrival
quartered within the town, and becoming unbear-
able at the massacre in King Street, on March 5,
1770. Each anniversary of this event served as
another occasion for declaring the charter rights
of the Province, and, although calling forth the
expression of different sentiments, was continued
until the Declaration of Independence cleared the
way for a new anniversary, and the 4th of July,
instead of the 5th of March, became the day of
America's patriotic expression.
One needs but refer to the manuscript records
of the small towns of the colonies to be duly
impressed with the approval of each act of the
leaders in Boston. The record of sympathy ex-
pressed for Boston and Charlestown when the
Port Bill went into effect, the memoranda of
provisions forwarded for the relief of the dis-
tressed, together with the solemn league and
covenant against the use of British goods into
which they entered and boldly spread upon their
records, attest the intensity of feeling which ce-
mented the people more closely together as the
months of trial succeeded one another, all of
which found civil expression in the acts of the
Committee of Correspondence, and also in the
convention of Aug. 30, 1774, at Concord, when
one hundred and fifty delegates from the towns
6 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
of Middlesex County placed upon record, "No
danger shall affright, no difficulty shall intimidate
us ; and if, in support of our rights, we are called
to encounter even death, we are yet undaunted,
sensible that he can never die too soon who lays
down his life in support of the laws and liberties
of his country."
Following close upon the memorable conven-
tion of Middlesex came the Prdvincial Congress,
which assembled in the meetirlg-house of Con-
cord, the hostile preparations, the clash of arms,
and the general uprising of the people.
One hundred and twenty years have passed
since the embattled farmers struck the first blow
for liberty, but many reminders of that day are yet
to be seen. Hills over which Revere galloped on
his midnight ride have been carried into the val-
leys through which he made rapid pace ; but many
a hearthstone that glowed with the embers of
patriotism is still the pride of a thrifty owner, who
rejoices that the same roof which protects him
sheltered his grandfather, who at the same door
gave a parting blessing to wife and children as he
hastened to the scene of conflict. Such homes,
possessed and cared for By those who have there
received the story of personal experience from
honored sires, are monuments to which all would
gladly revert. These, and the many other re-
SOME OF THE GENERAL FACTS /
minders of the footprints of the patriots, have
their lessons of good citizenship for all.
I have spent much time, during a score of
years devoted to historical writing, in visiting
such homes throughout New England, and in
conversation with the widows of those who had
personal experience in the army, also with the
children who have had the story of sacrifice from
fathers who suffered in the field, camp, or hos-
pital, and from mothers whose sufferings were be-
neath their own roofs. The widows and children
of soldiers of the Revolution had become very
scarce when I began my research ; but grand-
children have been often met who received indel-
ible impressions of the struggle of the colonists,
while fondled in the arms of those who were
actors in the Revolution.
The result of my research has from time to
time been given to the public in story through
the daily press. Realizing that such a medium,
in the main, is as fleeting as the day, I have been
prompted to gather my stories into a more endur-
ing form for the benefit of the many whom I now
ask to visit the scenes. Familiarity entitles me
to invite the company of all who have entered
into the labors of the patriots of '75.
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER II
A GLANCE AT THE ENEMY's ROUTE. SOME LEAD-
ING STEPS. MARSHFIELD TORIES. SALEM
MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE CONCORD OF HIS-
TORY. A BILLERICA TEAMSTER. ACTIVITY
OF FRIEND AND FOE
Boston is our starting-point. We make but a
short journey into Middlesex County, having the
restless army of Gage in view as they start on
their "holiday excursion," before we are in the
midst of the scenes that witnessed the flight of
the redcoats, and their steady pursuit by the
rough-clad yeomen. The very ground has tongues
to tell the story of that heroic day. The memo-
rials that patriotic hands have set to mark the
deeds that were done recount anew the romantic
valor, the courage that could not tire, and the
resolution that knew no compromise.
As we go over that ground we will listen again
to the words of the great patriot Samuel Adams,
spoken as the sun was rising over the hills of
Lexington : " What a glorious morning for Amer-
ica is this ! " It matters not whether this morn-
ing's exclamation was the evidence of prophetic
A GLANCE AT THE ENEMY'S ROUTE 9
wisdom; certain is it that Samuel Adams 1 was
the great seer of his time, and, having the sight,
he spared nothing to hasten the dawn of a better
era for America. Tardy, indeed, is the gratitude
of a great nation shown by the failure to appro-
priately mark his resting-place in Granary Burial
Ground in Boston, where in like obscurity rests
his honored associate, John Hancock.^ In pass-
ing we will not fail to commend the people of
Lexington, who have provided the horizontal slab,
in the form of a shield, which tells us where Han-
cock and Adams were when the attack was made
upon the Lexington company. Every child is
familiar with the story of Lexington and Concord.
He knows — ■
" How the British regulars fired and fled ;
How the farmers gave them ball for ball
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load."
It. is not ray purpose to recount the events of
the opening Revolution familiar to the most care-
less student of history ; but I deem it advisable to
give a brief outline of facts, in order to show their
1 One wrote of Samuel Adams in 1773, "All good men should
erect a statue to him in their hearts."
2 Since writing the above, the foundation has been laid for
a State monument over the tomb of Hancock.
SOME LEADING STEPS I I
William Brattle of Cambridge, and lodged at
Castle William.
Believing that the guns which they had manned
for the king were liable to be turned on them, they
did not hesitate to appropriate them to their pro-
tection. The old battery at Charlestown, where
the Navy Yard now is, was dismantled in sight
of the ships of war which lay opposite; and the
guns were removed by the patriots, and carried
into the country, despite the vigilance of the Brit-
ish officers. But the object of the patriots was
not to overturn, but to preserve. They claimed
their ancient rights and liberties, regarding ease,
luxury, and competency as nothing, so long as the
rights enjoyed by their ancestors were denied to
them.
Each town had its militia, an organization of
long standing, and its minute-men, organized by
order of the Provincial Congress on Oct. 26,
1774, which was an outcome of the General Court
ardered to convene at Salem by Governor Gage.
They cheerfully paid their taxes over to one of
their own number, who had been made Province
treasurer, — Henry Gardner of Stow. Each town
voted money freely to arm, equip, and discipline
"Alarm Lists Companies." The leading citizens
were made the officers of the companies; and mili-
tary drill on the towns' common or training-field
was frequently supplemented by adjournment to
the meeting-house, where religious services were
12 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
held. They were exhorted by their ministers to
prepare to fight bravely for God and their country.
The patriots were aware of the injury to their
cause by the Loyalists, but they saw them make
no successful attempt at organization until Gen-
eral Timothy Ruggles of Marshfield headed one.
He was a great leader of the Loyalists, or Tories
as they were derisively called. Their requirements
were that all who joined it should at the risk of
their lives oppose all acts of constitutional assem-
blies, such as committees and congresses. This
Marshfield association had the protection of the
king's troops under Captain Balfour.
An exultant Tory letter of the time says of
them: "The king's troops are very comfortably
accommodated, and preserve the most exact disci-
pline ; and now every faithful subject to his king
dares freely utter his thoughts, drink his tea, and
kill his sheep as profusely as he pleases."
It was during these midwinter days of anxiety
and expectancy throughout the towns that Salem
just escaped the beginning of hostilities, and the
honor of being the Lexington of the Revolution.
Some brass cannon and gun-carriages were de-
posited there, and Colonel Leslie made a Sabbath-
day excursion to seize them. Knowing the habits
of the New England people for church atten-
dance, he landed at Marblehead, and in the
afternoon of Feb. 26, while the people were at
meeting, started for Salem. His object was sus-
THE CONCORD OF HISTORY 1 3
pected, and a messenger despatched to the neigh-
boring town. The desired materials were on the
north side of Old North Bridge. This was built
with a draw for the passing of vessels ; and before
Colonel Leslie reached there, the people had it
raised. His order to lower it was refused, and
their action sustained by the statement, " It is a
private way,_and you have no authority to demand
a passage this way." The officer then made prep-
arations to cross the river in two large gondolas
that lay near. But their owners made good their
objections by scuttling them. A few of the sol-
diers tried to prevent this ; and in the scuffie which
attended it bayonets were used, and it is recorded
that blood was spilt. At this juncture a clergy-
man of Salem, Rev. Mr. Barnard, interfered; and
a compromise was effected, whereby the troops
retired without having accomplished their pur-
pose. In fact, they had injured their general
cause ; for the movement had aroused the people
to the point of action not before reached. The
alarm got to Danvers in time for the minute-men
of that town to rally and march to Salem, arriv-
ing just as the British were leaving town.
The rhymester of the day noticed this expedi-
tion. After the description of the arrival at Mar-
blehead is the following : — ■
"Through Salem straight, without delay,
The bold battalion took its way;
Marched o'er a bridge, in open sight
Of several Yankees armed for fight;
14 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Then, without loss of time or men,
Veered round for Boston back again,
And found so well their projects thrive,
That every soul got home alive."
The people of the country were in sympathy
with those in the larger towns. Boston was their
guide. They watched the movements of the pa-
triots there with great interest. The sentiments
of the Massacre anniversary orators were freely
indorsed in all the towns where patriotism pre-
vailed. When one of their own number suffered
violence they were ready to demand redress.
Early in March of 1774, Thomas Ditson, Jr., a
citizen of Billerica, of thirty-four years of age,
being in Boston, was seized by the British troops
on the pretence that he was urging- a soldier to
desert ; without any examination kept a prisoner
until the following day, when he was stripped,
tarred and feathered, and dragged through the
principal streets on a truck, attended by soldiers
of the Forty-seventh Regiment, under command
of Colonel Nesbit, to the music of " Yankee
Doodle," the original words of which, it is said,
were then first used. This outrage produced
great indignation ; and the selectmen of Boston
communicated by letter the case to the selectmen
of Billerica, who presented a remonstrance to
General Gage, and submitted the case to a town
meeting. The town thanked the Boston authori-
ties "for the wise and prudent measures " they
A BILLERICA TEAMSTER 15
had taken, expressed its dissatisfaction with the
reply of General Gage, and instructed them to
carry the case to the Provincial Congress. The
man lived, and by his presence in Billerica and
neighboring towns did more to the injury of the
cause of the king than he could have done by
inducing a whole company to desert. The indig-
nation of the voters of Billerica is doubtless im-
plied in an order "to look up the old Bayonets,"
which was passed at a town meeting held soon
after Mr. Ditson's abuse.
To prevent the troops in Boston from being
supplied with materials for hostile operations, the
town also voted not to permit any team "to Load
in, or after loaded, to pass through, the Town, with
Timber, Boards, Spars, Pickets, Tent-poles, Can-
vas, Brick, Iron, Waggons, Carts, Carriages, In-
trenching Tools, Oats," etc., without satisfactory
certificate from the Committee of Correspondence.
General Gage knew that despite all his vigi-
lance the patriots were gathering military stores,
and their repositories were the objects of his
jealous eye. A rumor was abroad that he had
determined to destroy them ; this led the Commit-
tee of Safety to establish a guard, and to arrange
for teams to remove the stores to places of greater
safety, in case of alarm. To make the arrange-
ments more perfect and effective, couriers were
engaged in Charlestown, Cambridge, and Roxbury
to alarm the people. What better plans could
1 6 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
have been made for each town to have some part
in the decisive action, let it come in the full
light of day, or under cover of the darkest shadow
of night ?
Officers of the king's army were sent out to
Concord and elsewhere to spy out the situation,
make plans of the roads, etc. They were well
disguised, but detected and watched, and the
people made doubly vigilant.^ On the 30th of
March, eleven hundred men were sent out
through Jamaica Plain with an eye to intimidate
the citizens ; but they saw an uprising people
well armed, and returned without important inci-
dent, only such acts of damage as any company
long pent up in a town would naturally commit
when passing through an enemy's territory.
The month of April opened with intelligence
that- re-enforcements for the king's army were
on the way to Boston. Together with this news
came that of the declaration of Parliament to the
king, that the opposition to legislative authority
in Massachusetts constituted rebellion, and also
the answer of his Majesty to Parliament, that
"the most speedy and effective means" should
be taken to put the rebellion down.
Not only did the king's messenger require
haste, but ihat of the Provincial Congress as well.
1 The account of the detection of the British spy, John Howe,
together with his journal, will be found in the second volume of
this series.
ACTIVITY OF FRIEND AND FOE 1/
On the 5th the Congress adopted rules and
regulations for the establishment of an army ; on
the 7th it sent a circular to the Committee of
Correspondence, "most earnestly recommending"
to see to it that "the militia and minute-men"
be found in the best condition for defence when-
ever any exigency might require their aid, but,
at whatever expense of patience and forbearance,
to act only on the defensive ; on the 8th it took
effectual measures to raise an army, and to send
delegates to Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and
Connecticut to request their co-operation ; on the
13th it voted to raise six companies of artillery,
pay them, and keep them constantly in exercise ;
on the 14th it advised the removal of the
citizens of Boston into the country ; on the
15th it appointed a day of fasting and prayer.
Having done all in their power, they seemed
anxious to again commit their cause to the
Almighty.
The days which intervened between the ad-
journment of Congress and the beginning of hos-
tilities were spent in busy preparations for the
inevitable. The Committees of Safety and Sup-
plies usually met together, and were in session
at Concord on the 17th, when they adjourned
to meet at Menotomy.
While the Provincials were thus active. General
Gage was making exertion to secure supplies for
camp service; but the patriots made every pos-
1 8 BENEATH OLD ROOE TREES
sible exertion to prevent it, both in Massacliusetts
and New York.
Worried by the importunities of the Tories,
and distressed by the energetic measures of the
Whigs, who " unknown to the Constitution were
wresting from him the pubhc monies, and collect-
ing war-like stores," it is not strange that he
decided upon the action of the night of April
1 8.
IMPORTANT MESSAGES
19
CHAPTER III
IMPORTANT MESSAGES. PARSONAGE GUESTS.
MIDNIGHT MESSENGERS. ECHOES OF THE
LEXINGTON BELFRY
A MOVEMENT of Gagc's on the 15th looked
suspicious to Dr. Warren, who sent out a messen-
ger to Hancock and Adams, then at Lexington.
It was this intelligence that prompted the Com-
mittee of Safety, of which John Hancock was
chairman, to take additional measures for the se-
curity of the stores at Concord, and to order, on
the 17th, cannon to be secreted, and a part of
the stores to be removed to Sudbury and Groton.
On the 1 8th (Tuesday) Gage's officers were sta-
tioned on the roads leading out of Boston, to
prevent intelligence of his intended expedition
that night. These officers dined at Cambridge.
The patriot committees also met that day in
Menotomy — West Cambridge (Arlington). Some
of the Committee remained to pass the night at
Wetherby's Tavern. Devens and Weston started
in a chaise towards Charlestown, but soon meet-
ing a number of British officers on horseback,
returned to warn their friends at the tavern.
20 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
They waited there till the officers passed, and
then rode to Charlestown.^
Mr. Gerry of the Committee of Supplies, anx-
ious as were they all for the safety of Hancock
and Adams, sent an express to them that " eight
or nine officers were out, suspected of some evil
design." This caused the precautionary measures
so wisely adopted by the minute-men of Lexing-
ton, and prepared them for other messages that
followed during the night.
Mr. Gerry's letter was delivered by a messen-
ger who took a by-path to the Lexington parson-
age. The reply is worthy of notice.
"Lexington, April i8, 1775.
Dear Sir, — I am obliged for your notice. It is said
the officers are gone to Concord, and I will send word
thither. I am full with you that we ought to be serious,
and I hope your decision will be effectual. I intend doing
myself the pleasure of being with you to-morrow. My re-
spects to the Committee. I am your real friend,
John Hancock."
The politeness, culture, and despatch of the
opulent young merchant and patriot are apparent
in this hastily penned reply. One need not draw
much upon his imagination to see the beautiful
Dorothy Quincy sitting by in the quiet solicitude
of her high-bred dignity. '■
1 Jeremiah Lee, Elbridge Gerry, and Azor Orne, members of
the Committee of Safety and Supplies, were Marblehead men.
Their footprints will be more thoroughly traced in the story of
that shore town. For Paul Revere's first ride, see Chapter XX.
PARSONAGE GUESTS 21
The master of the house and entertainer of
these noted guests, Rev. Jonas Clark, alludes to
three different messages received at Lexington
that evening ; viz., a verbal one, a written one
from the Committee of Safety in the evening, and
between twelve and one an express from Dr.
Warren.
It is the last message that the poet has made
familiar to all. One of the messages we must
believe was brought by William Dawes, who went
out from Boston, through Roxbury, at about the
same time that Revere left by the way of Charles-
town.
The intelligence thus brought to the guests at
the Lexington parsonage was not only for them,
but for the whole country, and no delay was made
in spreading the alarm.
The presence of British officers scouting about
the country that spring was a very common thing;
but the large number on the i8th, and the late-
ness of the hour, led to the conclusion that their
purpose was to return, under cover of the night,
and capture Hancock and Adams, whose offences,
it was said by Gage in his proclamation of June 12,
"are of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other
consideration than that of condign punishment."
"As for their king, that John Hancock
And Adams, if they're taken,
Their heads for signs shall hang up high,
Upon the hill called Beacon."
22 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
This apprehension of the Lexington people had
brought together a company of men well armed,
who made up the guard around Rev. Mr. Clark's
house, in command of Sergeant Munroe. Three
of their number, Sanderson, Brown, and Loring,
went on towards Concord to ascertain and give
information of the British officers; but while -in
the town of Lincoln, between Lexington and Con-
cord, they were captured. Revere and Dawes,
after refreshment, started on towards Concord,
not knowing the fate pf those who had preceded
them. They were soon joined by Dr. Prescott of
Concord, who was returning to his home after
spending the evening with Miss MuUikin, at her
home in Lexington. He was an earnest patriot,
and entered heartily into the plans of his chance
friends. Before coming to Concord line they
were met by the same British officers, armed
and equipped, who demanded their surrender.
Prescott, being familiar with the roads, leaped
a stone wall, escaped, and carried on the alarm
to his townsmen. The prisoners were taken
back towards Lexington, threatened and ques-
tioned, but given their freedom when the alarm
bells of the country towns so frightened the
British officers that they made haste for their
escape.
With these general facts plainly in mind, the
reader must be prepared to consider the approach
of_the invading army, their reception at Lexing-
ECHOES OF THE LEXINGTOIsT BELFRY 23
ton and Concord, and see what the other towns
had to do about it.
The soil of Lexington drank up the first blood
shed in the cause of freedom on that April morn-
ing ; and Concord was the point on which the
forces of the colonists and of the king were
focussed — the former bent on protection, and
the latter on destruction. It was there that the
first forcible resistance to British aggression was
made.
By reason of the events of that morning these
towns became famous throughout the world, and
pilgrims have journeyed thither for more than a
century.
Historians have vied with one another in telling
the story of Lexington and Concord, but I prefer
to give it to my readers as I received it from the
Old Belfry.
Facts of civil history and domestic life, having
been introduced incidentally, will not detract from
the interest of the story.
"Come up into the old belfry," said my friend
of fourscore years, as we strolled across the beau-
tiful green in the centre of Lexington.
Uncle Eli Simonds is well fitted to act as guide
in this part of historic Middlesex. He is among
the last of the native born of Lexington who have
heard the narratives of the early days from the
lips of those who .participated. He has been to
the place of sacrifice, hand in hand with those who
24
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
were actors in the opening scene of the Revolu-
tion. Eli Simonds has not only the advantage
of a birthright in the town of Lexington, but he
'.'.
^ .kB
%. \
&
k
V''
Eli SiMoxDS
came of a long line of ancestry who made a set-
tlement there when the territory was known as
Cambridge Farms.
The house to which he directed his steps, and
to which every tourist to that town makes his
The (.)li> Urlfkv, Li'Xixr.TON. Fat^e 25
ECHOES OF THE LEXINGTON BELFRY 25
way, was the one from which Uncle Eli took his
earliest observations, — the Lexington belfry.
To those accustomed to the lofty belfry of the
present time, the rude structure at Lexington,
somewhat back from the village street, seems
diminutive, and of itself presenting but little at-
traction. While climbing to its present situation
Uncle Eli said, "This was erected on this' hill in
1761, removed to the common in 1767, and was
known to our ancestors as the ' bell free.' In it
was hung the bell provided through the generosity
of Mr. Isaac Stone.
" It sounded the alarm over the hills and through
the vales on the memorable morning of April 19,
177s ; and it served the people in joy and sorrow
in that position until 1794, when the new meeting-
house put forth a steeple of its own, and the bell
was raised to its loft. Then the belfry was sold.
It was so soon after the battle waged about its
Avails that no one had aroused sentiment enough
to suggest its preservation. In fact, the time had
not yet come for the erection of a memorial upon
the spot where fell ' the first victims to the sword
of British Tyranny and Oppression.'
" The martyrs were sleeping in the rude graves
where they were placed by the stricken town, be-
fore it was known ' whether their blood would fer-
tilize the land of freedom or of bondage.' But
the fates had decreed that the old belfry should
be preserved, which was accomplished through the
26 SENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
purchase of the tottering house by John Parker,
son of the gallant captain of the Lexington min-
ute-men.
" It was removed to the Parker farm, some two
and a half miles away, and there used as a me-
chanics' workshop. It was there that I became
familiar with its stout frame, cut doubtless from
the primeval forest, and made from trees that may
have had the blazes of the pioneer's axe. Neither
the house nor barn on the Parker estate afforded
such general attractions as the old belfry offered
to young and old."
It was the workshop of a mechanic, John
Parker, whose age exactly corresponded with that
of the shop in which he plied his craft. In it the
old soldiers and townsmen gathered to while away
the hours of their infirmity ; and in some retired
nook, perhaps perched upon the huge timber in
the loft where once hung the bell, were the boys
of the farm, Parkers and Simondses, and their
youthful associates, who there gave heed to the
stories related in their hearing.
Not the least thoughtful of the bystanders in
the belfry workshop was Eli Simonds, who has
long been "Uncle Eli" of the neighborhood, an
honored official of the town. To this mechanic,
John Parker, who was well on in his teens when
his father was called to arms, the rhieille of that
April morning never got out of those rafters. He
heard the clanging of the bell, saw his father grab
ECHOES OF THE LEXINGTON- BELFRY 27
his musket, and hastily leave the home and family
in answer to the midnight alarm. The whole town
afforded no more appropriate place for the soldiers
to test their memories.
Captain John Parker died, Sept. 17, 1775. He
was in feeble health when at the head of the Lex-
ington minute-men. He faced the British regu-
lars, eight hundred strong, commanded by the
impetuous Pitcairn. He also marched with a por-
tion of his company to Cambridge on the 6th of
May, and with a still larger detachment of them
on the 17th of June.
After the death of the captain, the relations of
the two families, Parker and Simonds, were more
intimate ; for Eli's grandfather became a joint
owner, and the two families of children mingled
by a common right at the farm.
28 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER IV
BELFRY ECHOES CONTINUED. JOHN PARKER's
STORY, JOSHUA SIMONDS's STORY
Not only were the old belfry's rude walls
scarred by the bullets of the enemy, but its owner
of later years was active on that eventful morn-
ing, and there rehearsed what he experienced,
and what his brave father suffered, in all the try-
ing scenes of the "bloody butchery."
Here Eli learned his own grandfather's story of
the capture of the first prisoner of war, and of the
first trophy of that day's victory.
To him and to others of the belfry's listeners,
it mattered not how much great men contended
for the honor of April 19, 1775, they were con-
tented with the narratives told, without thought
of preservation, and from lips that paled before
the carnage about the very house in which they
loved to linger, and which the sentiments of their
later descendants have prompted them to return
to its proper place.
JOHN Parker's story.
At two o'clock, my father (Captain John Par-
ker) ordered the roll of his company to be called,
JOBN PARKER'S STORY 2$
and gave orders for each man to load his gun
with powder and ball. After being some time on
parade, one of the messengers, who had been sent
towards Boston, returned, reporting no evidence
of the approach of the regulars. This led to the
conclusion that the whole movement was another
scheme of Gage's to alarm the people; and, the
evening being cool, the company was dismissed,
with orders to report again at the beat of the
drum. Some went to their homes near by, but
more gathered in Buckman's Tavern. Messengers
were frequently sent in order to prevent a sur-
prise. It was Thaddeus Bowman, the last one
sent out, who returned with the certain intelli-
gence of the approach of the king's troops;
others, who preceded him as detectives, had been
captured, and he had a narrow escape. It was
about half-past four o'clock when my father or-
dered the alarm-gun to be fired, and the drum to
beat to arms.^
Sergeant William Munroe formed the company
in two ranks, a few rods north of the meeting-
house. Father ordered the men not to fire unless
fired upon. The minute-men's drum was the first
heard that morning by the British soldiers ; for
they had made a silent march, in hopes to catch
1 The drum is said to have been a gift from John Hancock. A
portion of the head is now seen in the Lexington historical collec-
tion ; on it is to be seen a representation of a portion of the Han-
cock arms.
30 £E^/£AT/I OLD HOOF TREES
the people napping. It was evidently taken by
the British officers as a challenge. They halted,
primed, and loaded, and then moved forward in
double-quick time upon our men as they were
forming. Some began to falter, when father com-
manded every man to stand his ground till he
should order him to leave it, saying he would
have the first man shot down who should attempt
to leave his place. Then came the rush, and the
shout of Major Pitcairn, " Disperse, ye rebels ; lay
down your arms and disperse!" Our men did
not obey; and Gage repeated his order with an
oath, rushed forward, discharged his pistol, and
gave orders to his men to fire. A few guns were
discharged; but no injury being done, our men
supposed the enemy were firing only powder, and
they did not return the fire. The next volley
fired by the British took effect, and our men re-
turned it. When father saw his men fall, and the
rush of the enemy from both sides of the meeting-
house, as if to capture them alli he gave the order
to disperse. The British continued firing, and
our men returned the fire after leaving the field.
Ebenezer Munroe first discovered that balls had
been fired by the enemy, for he received a wound in
his arm. In return for this he discharged his gun,
and received two balls from the British, one grazed
his cheek, and the other just marked his clothing.
John Munroe did well, but loading with two
balls, lost a part of the muzzle of his gun.
JOHN PARKER'S STORY 3 1
William Tidd, first lieutenant in our company,
did well. When pursued by an officer, thought to
have been Pitcairn himself, who cried out to him,
" Stop, or you are a dead man," he sprang over
a pair of bars, made a stand and fired, and thus
escaped. John Tidd fared hard. He stayed too
long on the Common, and was struck down with
a cutlass by a British officer on horseback. He
was robbed of all his belongings and left for dead ;
but John lived a good many years after that day.
Poor Jonas Parker ! how my father mourned over
him ! He had always said he'd never run from an
enemy. He kept his word. Having loaded his
musket, he put his hat, in which was his ammuni-
tion, on the ground between his feet, ready to load
again. He was wounded at the enemy's second
fire, and sank upon his knees ; he then discharged
his gun, and while loading again was run through
by a bayonet thrust which finished him. My
father could hardly keep back the tears when tell-
ing of Isaac Muzzy, Robert Munroe, and Jonathan
Harrington, who were killed on the Common when
the company was paraded. 'Twas strange that
Ensign Robert should have served in the French
war, been standard-bearer at the capture of Louis-
burg, and then been of the first to fall by the
bullets of the king's army. Poor Harrington fell
in front of his own house. His wife at the win-
dow saw him fall, and then start up, the blood
gushing from his wounds. He stretched out his
32 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
arms, as for aid, and after another effort fell dead
at his own threshold. Samuel Hadley and John
Brown were killed after leaving the Common.
Asahel Porter was a Woburn man; but falling
here, we felt as though he was one of our own
men. He was not armed, having been captured
in the morning by the British on their approach
to Lexington, and in trying to make his escape
was shot down near the Common. Jedediah Mun-
roe received a double share. He was not only
wounded in the morning, but was killed in the
afternoon. Others who were wounded were John
Robbins, Solomon Pierce, Thomas Winship, Na-
thaniel Farmer, and Francis Brown.
" That's well done, John," cried a chorus of
attentive listeners ; "you had your eyes and ears
open as well in your boyhood."
"You've missed those men who were in the
meeting-house after powder," said Mr. Simonds.
" Sure enough," replied the mechanic, giving
his workbench a thump with his huge mallet.
" It's your turn now, Simonds ; 'twas your father
that dealt out the powder, and you may finish the
story."
JOSHUA SIMONDS'S STORY.
The First Prisoner, and First Trophy of the War.
I was in charge of the town's stock of ammuni-
tion on the eventful morning. The magazine was
JOSHUA SIMONDS'S STORY 33
the upper gallery of the meeting-house, and in
the discharge of my duties I was there filling the
powder-horns of my comrades when the regulars
came into the town.
As fast as the horns were filled, their owners
made haste down the stairs, and out to the line
of the company for action. Of the last two who
left the house, one, Caleb Harrington, was de-
tected and killed, while the other, Joseph Comee,
running in the midst of a shower of bullets, was
struck in the arm, but reached a dwelling-house,
and passing through it made a safe retreat.
I was left in the meeting-house with one asso-
ciate, when, as it appeared, the truth flashed upon
the British commander, and he determined to see
what was in the house.
We heard the order, " Clear that house ! " My
associate glancing out saw the situation, and said,
" We are all surrounded ! " He then hid in the
opposite gallery.
We heard the order, " Right about face ! " I
then determined to blow up the house and go
with it rather than fall into the hands of the
enemy. I cocked my gun already loaded, placed
the muzzle upon the open cask of powder, and
waited for their course to determine their fate
and mine as well. With my heart throbbing to
bursting, I heard the tramp, tramp, tramp, as the
soldiers came up the steps, and the words of the
commander, as his head rose above the casement,
34 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
" Are there any more rebels in this house ? "
Tramp, tramp — they came nearer and nearer,
then the word, " Halt," brought all to a stand.
After an instant's pause, when the regulars, the
meeting-house, myself, and comrade, were within
a hair's breadth of destruction, the order was
given, "Right about, march!" and they left the
house.
I looked from the window, and saw the enemy
form in line, and start on towards Concord ; while
there lay on the Common my dead neighbors, but
no sign of a living comrade outside.
As soon as practicable we left the house, and
in consternation went out upon the field. I soon
espied a straggler from the regular army, who
seemed to be somewhat indifferent to the whole
situation.
He made no attempt to escape, and I took him
into my custody. He was an Irishman, fully six
feet in height, and manifested but little inter-
est in the morning excursion. To my inquiry as
to his delay, I found he had been overcome with
liquor, lingered behind, and lost his companions.
I took him to a place of safe keeping, away from
the possible line of march of the army when they
should return. He was thus the first prisoner
captured on that day.
His musket, a good specimen of the king's
arms, I also took, appropriated to my own use,
and at the close of that day turned it over to
JOSHUA SIMONDS'S STORY 35
Captain Parker as public property. I was not
able to ascertain the remainder of the man's ex-
perience, but the gun is of interest to all.
The first trophy of the war was held by Cap-
tain Parker until his death in the autumn of that
year, when it became the property of his son
John, the mechanic ; and it occupied a position
over the door of the dwelling-house of the Parker
homestead.
The gun now became in a peculiar manner a
piece of common property with the Parker and
Simonds families.
At the settlement of the estate of Captain Par-
ker I bought a portion of the homestead, and my
family occupied a part of the house. Large fami-
lies of children had some things in common, one
being the old musket. ^
The story of Joshua Simonds's experience told
by his son William met with the approval of the
belfry listeners, inasmuch as it accounted for the
men omitted by John Parker, and made clear
some things about which there was a little disa-
greement.
In resuming, Mr. Eli Simonds said, "When
1 Mr. Sylvanus Wood of Woburn claimed the honor of captur-
ing the first prisoner. The discrepancy may be accounted for by
the two incidents occurring at different places. Some twenty years
after the death of Mr. Simonds, a claim was made for a pension
by Mr. Wood, and obtained by aid of Hon. Edward Everett, then
representative in Congress for the district of Middlesex.
36
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
bent on a squirrel-hunt I went to the belfry shop
and asked permission of John Parker to take the
old musket. Realizing that it was my grandfather
who captured it, and his grandfather who held
it, he would playfully say when handing it down
to me, ' You may take our gun.'
" Among my associates and playfellows was
Theodore Parker, son of the mechanic of the bel-
fry. To his possession in later years the musket
came ; and through a provision of his last will,
that musket of history found its way to the Sen-
ate Chamber of the State of Massachusetts."
INSCRIPTION ON LEXINGTON MONUMENT
Sachgd to Liberty and the rights of Mankind! ! !
The tREiiuoM and Independence of America,
Sealed and defended with the Blood of her Sons.
This Monument is erected
By the inhabitants of Lexington,
Under the patronage and at the expense of
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
To THE memory of THEIR FeLLOW CiTIZENS,
Ensign Robert Munroe, and Messrs. Jonas Parker,
Samuel Hadley, Jonathan Harrington, Jr.,
Isaac Muzzy, Caleb Harrington and John Brown,
of Lexington and Asahel Porter, of Wqburn,
Who fell on this Field, the First Victims to the
Sword of British Tyranny and Oppression
On the morning of the ever memorable
Nineteenth of April, An. Dom. 1775,
The Die was cast!!!
The Blood of these Martyrs
In the cause of God and their Country
Was the Cement of the Union cf these States, then
Colonies, and gave the spring to the Spirit, Firmness,
And Resolution of their Fellow Citizens.
They rose as one Man to revenge their Brethren's
Blood, and at the Point of the Sword, to assert and
Defend their native Rights.
They nobly dar'd to be free!1
The contest was long, bloody and affecting.
Righteous Heaven ap,provrd the solemn appeal.
Victory crowned their arms; and
The Peace, Liberty, and Independence of the United
States of America was their Glorious Reward,
MORE BELFRY ECHOES 37
CHAPTER V
MORE BELFRY ECHOES. BOSTON POOR
" It was some days after the rehearsal of my
grandfather's experience by my father," said
Uncle Eli, " before the weather favored another
gathering of the same company. Farmers were
obliged to spend all the time in fair weather on
their land, and, in fact, there were duties enough
for foul weather ; but there was an advantage in
the interchange of ideas for the older people, and
the boys, such as Sydney Lawrence, Theodore
Parker, and myself, improved those opportunities.
The Parker and Simonds stories had revived
an old theme ; and the older belfry speakers, when
at their homes, refreshed their memories by the
aid of wives and parents.
John Parker himself was not averse to taking
a part in the ordinary belfry gossip ; and when con-
versation turned, as it often did, upon the subject
of the Revolution, especially when others of his
age were in the company, he was sure to drop his
auger or mallet, push up his spectacles, and join.
Peing in his fifteenth year when Major Pitcairn,
backed by eight hundred regulars, ordered his
father with his company to disperse, John Parker
38 BENEATH OLD HOOF TREES
was admitted to be good authority, and even Jon-
athan Harrington (the last survivor) would give a
listening ear.
" It was a catching day in haying season, dog-
days are usually uncertain," said Uncle Eli, "when
the belfry was filled with young and old, and con-
versation was at its height, a discussion of the
two stories was in order, and Mr. Parker inter-
rupted the speculation by saying, ' We had be-
come so alarmed by the reports from the army in
Boston that we hourly expected to see them rush
in upon us, and rob and butcher young and old ;
of course, much of this was the result of exag-
gerated stories, yet it took but the slightest alarm
to set all in motion. Why, I stood there by that
wall ' (pointing to the fence near by) ' on the igth,
and listened to the old bell as it clanged and
clanged in this old belfry up there on the Com-
mon, and I longed to be there with father and the
rest ; but mother needed me, and I well remember
her anxious face as she came running out of the
house, with her silver spoons and other valua-
bles, which she intrusted to my care. Now, if you
will just come with me, I will show you where
I secreted them.' To this call and lead of the
speaker, we all responded, regardless of the falling
rain, and followed down to where a decayed stump
of an apple-tree was yet visible," said Uncle Eli.
"'Here is where I put it,' said Mr. Parker;
' there was much more of the tree here at that
MORE BELFRY ECHOES 39
time, but it was hollow ; and thinking of the suc-
cessful hiding of the charter of the Connecticut
Colony from Sir Edmund Andros, by William
Wadsworth, I determined in my haste to intrust
the household valuables to a hollow tree. I dug:
into the decayed heart, and pushed down my
treasures, with as stealthy motion as though the
whole army of the king was near at hand. So
anxious were we about father's safety (for he was
ill when he left the house) that I was kept a good
part of the time stationed down near the highway
so as to catch the slightest intimation of tidings
from any one passing.' Upon returning to our
belfry shelter, a hitherto earnest listener was seen
to take a fresh pinch of snuff, strike a positive
attitude, and take his turn in the conversation.
" Said the new speaker, 'That didn't begin with
the Cutlers over to the west side. Thomas, you
know, was a minute-man, and was off to answer
the call, and all of the men of the family were
gone. The womenfolks were so frightened that
they all fled to the woods, and left the babe in
the cradle.' — -'Do tell!' cried out a half-score
of voices, 'What became of it.'' — 'Oh, it lived
to tell its own story,' resumed the speaker. ' I
guess it was much more comfortable than were
those who forgot it, sleeping away as though the
redcoats were cracking jokes down in Boston
camp.
"'But some of the folks at the Centre hid their
40 BENEATH OLD KOOF TREES
silver under a heap of stones, thinking it would
never be discovered there ; but in the afternoon,
when the regulars came back from Concord, the
owner looked out from her hiding-place, and saw
an officer standing directly on top of the stones.
But he had little thought of what was under
him, being too much absorbed in that which was
about him.'
"'I declare,' said Uncle Caleb, 'that reminds
me of the folks down to the east side, when
the regulars went into the house and ransacked
everything. No one dared resist, although some
were where they saw all that was done, until one
red-coated fellow began to tear the leaves out of
the olH Bible ; then a boy pushed his head out
from under the table, and exclaimed, " My dad
'ill give it to you, if you spoil our best Bible!"
They did not meddle with the boy, thought it not
worth the while, I suppose.'
" ' No more than our folks did the little fifer,'
said Lieutenant Munroe. ' He was a bright little
fellow, and had piped away for Pitcairn as well as
he could, in coming down from Concord, until
an old fellow had let fly at him from his musket
loaded with shot for wild geese, and had broken
one of his wings ; at least, there he sat, with his
fife stuck into the breast of his jacket, begging
for help.' — 'We gave it to him too,' cried
a voice from the perch above ; 'although they
abused our folks, young and old.' — ' If they hadn't
MORE BELFRY ECHOES 4 1
thought any of us worth killing,' said Mr. Blod-
gett, ' more than they did Black Prince, why they
would have gone right on, and we should have
been as free to go to dinner as we are to-day.'
With this closing remark the company decided to
disperse at the ringing of the noon bell, cheered
by the promise of haying weather for the rest of
the day."
Weeks passed before the same company assem-
bled again under the roof of the old belfry. But
they had casually met in twos or threes in their
daily walks, and some plans for the presentation
of incidents in the military history had been the
result.
Jonathan Harrington was the leading speaker
at the next meeting. He was about one year
older than John Parker, and was a fifer in "that
phalanx of freemen" on the 19th of April, 1775.
He said, "■! was aroused early that morning by,
a cry from my mother, ' Jonathan, get up, the
regulars are coming, and something must be
done.'" Mr. Harrington said, "But fighting was
not the whole of it ; our people had burdens to
bear that are not suggested by the experiences in
the field. The loss of ten of our citizens carried
mourning into many families, and sorrow rested
upon the hearts of a broad circle at the close of
that eventful day. But that was not all. There
had been a wanton destruction of property on the
route of the enemy's march, and the pecuniary
42 BENEATH OLD ROOF TKEES
sacrifice had scarcely begun. Each town was
called upon to share in it. With the operation
of the Port Bill came grim want. Business was
suspended in Boston, and sources of supply were
cut off. The Whigs refused to furnish their
produce to the Tories and British officers ; Tories
were severely dealt with when attempting to se-
crete supplies into Boston. Many who had been
in comfortable circumstances were brought to the
level of others who had been previously depend-
ent. Many of the poor of Boston made an early
removal into the country to the homes of friends,
but there were others who' were forced to remain
and suffer. So great was their want that relief
was sent from other colonies. Colonel Israel
Putnam came with a drove of sheep from Connec-
ticut to succor the inhabitants of the besieged
town. Sickness naturally followed the scarcity of
provision, and the condition was distressing to
the extreme. The towns did all in their power
for the relief of the sufferers, taking them into
their own homes, and sharing their reduced in-
come with those more needy. The extremity
was so great that on May i, 1775, the Provincial
Congress ordered that they should be supported
by the country towns, and the expense of removal
of thousands unable to be met by themselves
should also be borne by the towns. Lexington,
with the others, had its share sent out. They
were sent to the selectmen, and by them distrib-
B0S7VA' rooj^' 43
uted around ann^nig the families. Each family
was provided with a certificate from the com-
mittee of donations. This, which I have in my
hand, was brougdit to my neigdiborhoocl with a
famil}' who found a good home there." The
speaker paused to give each of the belfry com-
pany opportunity to examine the original from
which the cut was made : —
f:
.
B S T.O N, Af<vi^;^, I77J.
THE laarer Mr.*'rf^»z^j;;i5&>.,^z^j/i^and "iiCfi-^
Family- removing out of the Town of Bofton
^1 «»<^ recoijimended to the Charity and ^ffift^nce
I of our Bc4e>'>jlent Sympathizing Brethren in the
a i. fo'cral 'Jii^nsin this Province. • —J.- . .
if By Ordpr of the Committee of Donations,
1 ^ To I he Sile^Y^Jra tmj Camfuiluts of Cvr^^&tilaut in tht Jrjkf^Tvantr
ir. Ibc Trivmcz i[ M^JfabtJilll-a^'
<^
Certificate
He continued by saying, "After the camp was
established at Cambridge, there came the demand
for supplies of food and clothing, and above all
there was a continual demand for necessaries for
the hospitals. As each colony was at first man-
aging its own army, it also made provision for
them. But up to the time of the coming of Gen-
eral Washington, and the organization of the
44 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Continental army, a good deal was supplied gra-
tuitously and voluntarily. Brave young men, un-
used to hardship, who were in service on April
19, and went immediately to Cambridge, were
soon stricken down with disease, and either went
home to die, or perished there in the illy fitted
hospitals." So great was the want of the British
army at one time in 1775, it is said that the town
bull, aged twenty years, was slaughtered in order
that the officers might have a change of diet from
the salt meat to which they were reduced. The
price per pound was eighteen pence sterling. We
can imagine that a steak from this patriarch had
staying qualities, at least.
Each town within the distance of twenty miles
was called upon to furnish its quota of wood,
hay, and beef for the army at Cambridge. Dur-
ing the entire war there were continual calls
upon the towns for shirts, shoes, stockings, and
blankets, and other necessaries. While the men
were striving to meet the oft-repeated calls of
the tax-collector, the women were busy at the
spinning-wheel and loom, and there was no one
•exempt from duty."
THEODORE PARKER 45
CHAPTER VI
THEODORE PARKER. A BELFRY LISTENER
"The rehearsal of these trying experiences
through which our ancestors passed was of great
interest, and subdued us all to a condition of seri-
ousness," said Uncle Eli. " But John Parker
broke the spell when he said, 'The British got the
worst of it. They came out here to capture Han-
cock and Adams, as well as to destroy the stores
at Concord ; but they missed their aim here, and
fared hard indeed in their entire enterprise. Pit-
cairn probably thought he had so used our com-
pany that we would not rally again ; but he got
some shots from us as he came down through
Lincoln, and not a few farewells were hurled at
him as he left town.' "
Among the attentive listeners of the belfry
workshop none attained greater eminence than
Theodore Parker. Endowed with an enviable in-
heritance on both sides of his family, he went
forth, overcoming all obstacles, as an example of
Christian heroism ; standing out against oppos-
ing forces as distinctly and grandly as did his
honored grandsire on the field of Lexington,
April 19, 1775.
46 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
It is fitting to make a digression at this point
from the main line of my subject, and consider a
brief sketch of the life of Theodore Parker, as
given by his old belfry companion, Eli Simonds.
Theodore was the youngest of eleven children
of John Parker and Hannah Stearns. He was
born in 1810. Eli Simonds was the tenth of a
full dozen of children of William Simonds and
Susan Pierce. He was born in 1817. Although
seven years the junior of Theodore, the two boys
had much in common. While Eli was too young
to be profitably employed about the farm, he
found a nook in the belfry workshop, where Theo-
dore was trying to aid his father in the struggle
for the maintenance of the family.
The humdrum of the workshop was irksome
indeed to the boy Theodore, whose tastes for lit-
erary pursuits began to develop very early ; but
constrained by a sense of duty, he was faithful at
his post, whatever it might be.
The manufacture of wood pumps was carried
on by John Parker, much of the work being done
in the belfry shop. The logs, cut thereabouts,
were trimmed and bored by hand ; the great auger
used in making the circular hole in the green
pine log was turned by hand. This work required
a good deal of force ; and Theodore detested it,
and assumed very early the duties of the farm in
place of that of the workshop.
Although located on a farm which might have
THEODORE PARKER
47
given good returns for faithful culti\'ation, Jolm
Parl<er liad but little taste or inclination in that
direction, preferring the work of a mechanic
Hence, both father and son pursued the line of
choice, as far as circumstance admitted. "When
the school was kept at the little brown school-
house at ' Kite End,' " said Uncle Eli, " we were
Birthplace of Theodore Parker
always in attendance. The schoolhouse was rude
and the room unattractive; although the old fire-
place had been superseded by a large square stove,
around which we gathered to warm our bare feet
in the late autumn days, and to thaw our fingers
and lunch in the winter, Theodore took but
48 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
little interest in our games, but spent his odd
moments over some book ; but they were scarce
indeed, yet such as could be obtained never es-
caped his faithful attention.
" We went together to the village to attend ser-
vice at the meeting-house on Sundays. It was
there that he had access to an old association
library, from which he drew books to use at
home. I have seen him open a book, when start-
ing homeward after service, and become oblivi-
ous to all else. He would become so absorbed
as to lose his bearings, and occasionally come in
contact with a tree or stone wall ; but tacking
about, he would start on again, still engrossed
with some deep study, that offered no attraction
to me or other boys who were in our company.
"I well remember when, in about the year 1820,
the subject of a Sunday-school was advanced.
Parents as well as children were full of wonder-
ment as to what would be studied. We had
studied the Westminster Catechism at the little
brown schoolhouse. The younger of us having
the ' New England Primer,' a sort of juvenile cate-
chism, in which we had learned, —
' In Adam's fall, we sinned all,'
' An idle fool is whip't at school,'
' My book and heart shall never part.'
"We also had learned the story of John Rogers,
'Agur's Prayer,' and the 'Dialogue between Youth,
THEODORE PARKER 49
Christ, and the Devil.' • But what could be studied
at a Sunday-school was the subject for general
speculation until the time set for the opening of
a school. We were all thefe, excepting those
whose parents were jealous of the school being
a desecration of the Lord's day. In the great
square pews we were classified, and Deacon Mulli-
kin was our teacher. Theodore hailed the Sun-
day-school with delight, because it suggested
study, and of course books were provided. He
improved every opportunity for study, and did
succeed in getting away a few weeks during the
winter to a school where there were better appli-
ances for school work. We had not ceased re-
garding him as ' one of the boys,' when it was
whispered among the families that Theodore Par-
ker was going to ' keep school.'
" I had begun to look upon him as a superior
being, even when we were the most intimately
associated, particularly when going in his com-
pany to Boston to market the peaches and other
produce of the Parker-Simonds farm. We rode
to market in the night, and Theodore would talk
about the stars, and upon things of which I had
failed to get any information. But when he be-
gan the life of a schoolmaster, I felt that I was
left entirely in the rear.
"After the close of his Waltham school, it was
rumored that he was not very successful ; and
when inquiry was made, we learned that Parson
Missing Page
Missing Page
52 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER VII
THE PARSON AND PARSONAGE. BURLINGTON OR
PRECINCT PARSONAGE. GUESTS OF APRIL 1 9,
1775. REED HOME
The word parson from its derivation — French
persone, Latin persona — suggests the attitude of
that official in New England. He was the person
of the town. He furnished, not merely spiritual
food, but much of the intellectual and social stim-
ulus, for the entire people.
The voice of the preacher was regarded as the
voice of God. The words spoken from the pulpit
passed from lip to lip as the sacred oracles of the
olden times.
In many of the colonies the clergy were the
only learned class, and in some instances even
schooled in the medical profession, serving their
people as healers of both body and soul.
The parsonage was the centre of influence, and
to it resorted many people. When journeying
they did not hesitate to halt at the hospitable
door, and were never refused the best the house
afforded. The stated salary of the minister was
meagre indeed, but it represented only a part of
the amount annually bestowed upon him and his
family. There were many in the parish who felt
THE PARSON AND PARSONAGE 53
it incumbent upon them to leave at the parsonage
a tithing of all their produce, thereby making it
possible for the good wife to respond to oft-re-
peated calls upon her bounty.
The clergy as a class were conservative, and in-
clined to favor existing institutions; but when the
difficulties with the mother country assumed form,
when it was necessary for action to be taken, the
pastors of the so-called Puritan Congregational
Churches favored the Colonial cause In some
instances they joined the ranks of the minute-men
and shouldered a musket, and many more served
as chaplains in camp and hospital.
The parson in many country towns was an
ardent Whig, notably so in Lexington and Con-
cord. Rev. Jonas Clark of the former, and Rev.
William Emerson of the latter, were so outspoken
as to be known as "Patriot Priests," or "High
Sons of Liberty." Much of the spirit of resist-
ance to British oppression in those towns was
attributable to their utterances.
A Tory writer says in a letter dated Sept. 2,
1774 : " Some of the ministers are continually stir-
ring up the people to resistance. It was urged
that salvation depended upon signing certain in-
flammatory papers, when the people flew to their
pens with an eagerness that sufficiently attested
their belief in their pastors."
The person who could make the most lawless
village ruffian cower and slink away by a look.
54 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
who presided over a community of church-goers,
and who had a paternal care for everything and
every one in it, has passed away. So has the
New England parsonage in its realistic sense been
relegated to the bygones. But the house, the
parsonage, in many instances yet remains, occu-
pied in some cases by descendants in the third or
fourth generation from the fjatriot priest of 1775.
To these homes in their present well-kept condi-
tion I now invite my readers, while we there con-
sider the footsteps of the patriots.
The Lexington parsonage has passed out of the
family possession; but to its well-kept grounds
all may go, and there in a well directed fancy
may see the guard of minute-men in command
of Sergeant Munroe as they keep their all-night
vigil. Within, the rooms are reanimated by the
voices of the noted patriots, Hancock and Adams ;
the graceful figure of Dorothy Quincy and the
matronly form of Madam Hancock add dignity to
the hour and occasion.
It was perfectly natural that those notable pa-
triots should have turned their footsteps to the
Lexington parsonage. They were just from a
meeting of the Committee of Correspondence and
Safety, and were fully aware of the precarious
situation of the avowed friends of the Colonial
cause in Boston, and that for them the British
halter was already threatened.
It was not merely the sympathy for one cause
THE PARSON AND PARSONAGE 55
that attracted them to that home, but kinship had
allured them as well. Mrs. Clark, wife of the
patriot priest, was cousin to the opulent young
merchant, John Hancock. The proud step and
richly embroidered costume of this guest were
not strange to that home. It had been the abode
of his paternal ancestry for many years. There
he had spent much of his boyhood with his grand-
father. Rev. John Hancock, the pastor of Lexing-
ton. Where he was, his elder friend and adviser,
Samuel Adams, well might be.
Tender relations and fondest hopes account for
the presence of the others in the group that
night. The subject of conversation that evening
can easily be imagined. " John Hancock, being
in England, was present at the funeral of George
n., and also at the coronation of George HI., pa-
geants congenial to his taste." He stood almost
at the head of the merchants of Boston, had been
an object of flattery, and strongly urged to join
the royal party ; but thanks to Samuel Adams,
the young merchant was so decided in his course
that he could say, while thinking of that princely
residence and all else : " Burn Boston, and make
John Hancock a beggar, if the public good
requires it !" Had there been a word of doubt or
any hesitancy expressed as to the righteousness
of the cause in which the noted guests were
champions, it would have been dissipated by the
firm convictions of Rev. Jonas Clark.
56 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
The messengers from Boston were not only to
warn —
" The country folk to be up and to arm,"
but to look out for the safety of Hancock and
Adams. Those proud spirits could not easily be
persuaded to flee from any power. But the ap-
peal in behalf of the future welfare of the Colo-
nies inclined them to consent ; and having heard
the first shots, and uttered memorable words,
these noted men were conducted from one parson-
age to another.
Over in Woburn Precinct, Burlington, was an-
other parsonage. It was but a few miles away.
The minister, Rev. Thomas Jones, had recently
died ; but his widow, well known to Rev. Jonas
Clark, was an ardent Whig. There was a young
minister. Rev. John Marrett, at this home, who
was destined to be the successor of the deceased
pastor in both pastoral and family relations. The
Lexington pastor and his guests had confidence
in all the occupants of the Precinct parsonage, and
made haste in that direction. They made a halt
at the home of James Reed, a well-known patriot,
but soon pushed on ; and as the gilded coach
rolled up to the door of the parsonage, open
arms and hearts were in anxious waiting. The
patriots, with Miss Quincy, were soon comfortably
ensconced in Madam Jones's best room.
It may be of interest to the reader to know
BUJiLINGTON OR PRECINT PARSONAGE 57
something of the history of the Precinct parson-
age before following this morning's guests any
farther. Leaving them seated before the crack-
ling fire, the freshly scoured brass of the hand-
irons reflecting their brilliant costumes in most
pleasing pictures, we take the hand of the present
owner, 1895, Samuel Sewall, of the fourth genera-
tion, and hear from him the story of the —
PRECINCT PARSONAGE.
It was purchased by Rev. Thomas Jones, my
great-grandfather, in 1751. He was the second
minister of the town, filling that position in the
broadest sense of the term until his death in 1774.
He lived to see the beginning of the Revolution-
ary troubles, and to make an , impression as an
avowed patriot, but, like Moses of old, died with-
out entering the promised land of freedom. He
was succeeded by Rev. John Marrett, who married
his daughter, and hence the pastoral association
continued with this house. This young minister,
my grandfather, proved to be a inost worthy asso-
ciate of the ministers of Lexington and Concord.
Besides his regular duties, he gave much attention
to the poor of Boston, who were sent out to the
town, sheltering some in this house. He also
made frequent visits to the camp at Cambridge,
and there administered to the wants of the needy.
He kept a daily record of the vicissitudes of the
times, and this record is one of the precious relics
58
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
of our family. Strangely enough Rev. Mr. Mar-
rett's successor, Rev. Samuel Sewall, married the
daughter of his predecessor, and the charm still
remained. I was the only son of Rev. Samuel
Sewall and Mary Marrett ; with two sisters I
occupy the ancestral home. Here my children
and grandchildren have been born, and are enjoy-
ing the same privilege. Hence, six generations
have already occupied the parsonage, and many
reminders of the first are constantly before the
sixth generation." This well-kept home presents
much of the same appearance that cheered the
eyes of the noted guests of April 19, 1775, when
Hancock's gilded coach rolled up to the door.
Old-fashioned hospitality found expression in
an early spread
of the best the
house afforded.
Madam Jones
made haste to
prepare a meal
worthy of her
guests; she was
aided by Cuff,
the faithful ne-
gro slave of the
parsonage. A
spring salmon
had been passed in to the door of the Lexington
parsonage in honor of the guests. This was sent
Parsonagk J'able
GUESTS OF APRIL 19, 1775 59
on by a messenger to the Precinct, and was pre-
pared by Madanj Jones. All being ready, the
guests were seated about the best table, with Rev.
John Marrett as the host. Grace had been duly
said, and they were just to begin the welcome meal,
when a hurried messenger entered the house an-
nouncing that the British were coming in hot pur-
suit, and entreating them to flee for their lives.
Some made haste to secrete the telltale coach
under cover of Path Woods, while Rev. Mr.
Marrett conducted the patriots by a devious
way through the woods to the obscure home of
Amos Wyman, in a distant corner of the town,
where it borders on the towns of Billerica and
Bedford.
As soon as the immediate fright was over,
Messrs. Hancock and Adams, with appetites
whetted to a keen edge by the morning ride and
the savory smell of the feast left so suddenly,
were glad to eat cold boiled salt pork and pota-
toes, with rye bread from a wooden tray taken
down by Mrs. Wyman from a shelf above the
fireplace. Strange diet indeed for these people
accustomed to the best the market afforded. It
was all the variety Mrs. Wyman had, and was
given cheerfully to guests whose like she had
never entertained before. Her act was not for-
gotten. Like the widow of Zarephath, who fed
the prophet Elijah, she had her reward. It is
said that John Hancock presented her with a cow.
6o
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
when the affairs of the colony were so far adjusted
as to admit of outside attention.
The alarm that drove the patriots
from the Precinct parsonage proved
to be false, and no unwelcome guest
came to that door that day.
It was one of the youthful pleas-
ures of Mr. Sewall of the pres-
ent day, to accompany his honored
father. Rev. Samuel Sewall, in
his old age, to the Hancock man-
sion an Beacon Hill, Boston, and
there listen to the conversation
with Madam Scott, the "Doro-
thy Q." of 1775. An allusion to
the experience related always
brought a smile to her aged
face, and recalled her aunt whose
name she bore, and of whom
Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote :
Parsonage Clock
"Grandmother's mother! Her age, I guess,
Thirteen summers, or something less;
Girlish bust, but womanly air;
Smooth, square forehead, with uproUed hair;
Lips that lover has never kissed;
Taper fingers, and slender waist,
Haftging sleeves of stiff brocade —
So they painted the little maid.
What if a hundred years ago
Those close-shut lips had answered no,
REED HOME 6 1
When forth the tremulous question came
That cost the maiden her Norman name;
And under the folds that look so still
The bodice swelled with the bosom's thrill?
Should I be I, or would it be
One-tenth another to nine-tenths me?"
There is another house in Burlington where the
scenes of April 19, 1775, have left a lasting interest.
It is the —
REED HOME.
Here Hancock's coach halted when on that
memorable trip from Lexington, but soon has-
tened on with its company, making way for the
British prisoners to be lodged here. At this
home is met Mr. Edward Reed, the present owner
and occupant. He was preceded in the possession
by his father and grandfather, both named James
Reed. " In this room," said Mr. Reed to the
writer, " the prisoners captured at Lexington were
held in custody. My grandfather said, ' I was
making ready to go over to Lexington when I
saw some of the minute-men coming with a squad
of the redcoats. They brought them here to my
house, and gave them up to me, informing me of
the affairs at Lexington. I could not then go on
in the pursuit, as I was given the custody of those
prisoners. I did my duty faithfully, treated them
well, as they would say to-day if they could come
around ; but I guess they would not want to run
the gantlet of the Yankees again.' "
62 SENEATU OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER VIII
DIARY OF REV. JOHN MARRETT. ■ — DESCRIPTION OF
CAMP BY REV. WILLIAM EMERSON. ORIGIN OF
CONTINENTAL ARMY. — JOURNAL OF JABEZ FITCH
Through the courtesy of Samuel Sewall, Esq.,
the present owner of the Precinct parsonage, the
following extracts are made from the interleaved
almanacs of his grandfather. Rev. John Marrett.
Some notes are quoted that do not tend to show
the movements of the patriots altogether, but give
light on the customs of the time.
Jauuaty 12,, 177$- Moved to Woburn. Board at Madam
Jones' for 40 s. per week, and keep my horse myself.
February 8. Rode to Lexington. Lodged at my brother's
last night, attended lecture at Lexington ; a lecture on the
times. 1 began with prayer. Mr. Gushing preached from
Psalm 22 : " He is the Governor among the Nations.'' Mr.
Clark concluded with prayer.
March 6. Prayed at March meeting. Rode to Lexing-
ton.
March 7. Lodged last night at Brother's. Spent day
at Lexington. Attended training there. At night rode
home,
March 21. Training. Viewed arms.
March 27. Bottled cider; n dozen and one bottle.
April 4. (Tuesday.) Rode to Wilmington and Reading.
P.M. Heard Mr. Stone (of Reading) preach a sermon to
DIARY OF REV. JOHN MARRETT 6^
the minute-men. Returned to Wilmington ; lodged at Mr.
Morrill's, (the minister).
April 8. People moving out of Boston on account of
the troops.
April 9. (Sunday.) Mr. Marston came up from Boston
to get a place here for his wife and children.
April 19. Fair, windy & cold. A Distressiilg day.
About 800 Regulars marched from Boston to Concord.
As they went up, they killed 8 men at Lexington meeting-
house ; they huzza'd and then fired, as our men had turned
their backs (who in number were about one hundred) ; and
then they proceeded to Concord. The adjacent country was
alarmed the latter part of the night preceding.
The action at Lexington was just before sunrise [show-
ing that the paster kept an eye on all military preparations] .
Our men pursued them to and from Concord on their retreat
back ; and several killed on both sides, but much the least
on our side, as we pickt them oiTon their retreat. The regu-
lars were reinforced at Lexington to aid their retreat by
800 with two field pieces. They burnt 3 houses in Lex-
ington, and one barn, and did other mischief to buildings.
They were pursued to Charlestown, where they entrenched
on a hill just over the Neck. Thus commences an important
period.
April 20. Rode to Lexington and saw the mischief the
Regulars did, and returned home.
April 21. Rode to Concord. The country coming in
fast to our help.
April 22. All quiet here. Our forces gathered at Cam-
bridge and towns about Boston. The Regulars removed
from Charlestown to Boston day before yesterday.
A-prili},. (Sunday.) Preached at home. Soldiers travel-
ing down and returning ; brought their arms with them to
meeting, with warlike accoutrements. A dark day. In the
afternoon service, just as service was ended. Doctor Blodget
came in for the people to go with their teams to bring
64 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
provisions from Marblehead out of the way of the Men of
war. Considerable number at meeting.
Apj-il 24. Packing up my most valuable effects to be
ready to move on any sudden occasion.
April 2^. Rode to Cambridge. Our forces very numer-
ous- there. Lodged at Richard Clark's, Watertown.
April 26. Returned home via Lexington. Many houses
on the road pillaged by the Regulars between Lexington and
Charlestown.
April 27. Josiah Quincy arrived this week from England
and died at Cape Ann.
May II. Fast day. Preached at Reading in exchange
for Mr. Haven. Rode to Medford.
May 12. Lodged last night at Captain Brooks, Medford.
Rode through Cambridge to Dorchester. Surveyed the
situation of our forces.
May 17. Saw about 9 o'clock P.M. a great fire towards
Boston. Went up a hill and saw the blaze. Just before the
fire heard a great noise,
May 18. The fire last night was in Boston. Burnt a
number of stores. It began in one of the barracks.
May 23. Last Sabbath our people destroyed a quantity
of hay at Weymouth which the Regulars attempted to get
to Boston. Some firing on both sides, but have not heard
that any were killed.
May 27. (Sunday.) All day and in the night heard the
cannon at Boston. A skirmish, I sujjpose, between the
troops under General Gage and our forces. Heard the can-
non in time of service a.m., and hear our forces have burnt
a tender to a man of war, this morning, at the mouth of the
Mistick River, and that they from yesterday, p.m. to to-day,
were firing at each other.
May 31. Rode to Watertown. Dr. Langdon preached
to the Congress from Is. i : 28, (and the destruction of the
transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they
that forsake the Lord shall be consumed).
DIARY OF REV. JOHN MARRETT 65
June I. Rode to Watertown. Heard Mr. Stevens
preach Convention sermon. Rode to Cambridge and iiome.
June 10. Mr. Marston and wife and children moved
from Boston here.
June 1 6. Mr. Marston, of Boston, arrived here. He
escaped in a fishing boat.
June 17. Fair and very warm and Dry'g at home.
June 18. S [Sunday] fair and very warm at noon a little
Sprinlil'g of rain and P.M. Sun clouded, preached at home
very thin meet'g ye men gone down to ye army on ye alarm
yesterday, last night 3000 of our army went to Charlestown
and entrenched on a Hill. But before yy had prepared yir
cann ye Shipp'g and ye regulars by land attacked yur and
after much fighfg we were obliged to quite ye Entrenchment
and ye town, many killed and wounded, on both sides, ye
Shipp'g annoied us much ; the town laid in Ashes ; ye ad-
jacent Country gone down. Abt 1000 of ye regulars killed
and wounded not more yan 200 killed of ours, abt 50 of our
men killed and 29 taken prisoners and 70 or 80 wounded,
a 1000 of our Enemies killed and wounded among wch are
many officers 84.
June 20. Rode to Watertown and Cambridge and viewed
the intrenchments of our army between Cambridge and
Charlestown and returned home.
June 24. P.M. Just heard that our army had entrenched
last night nearer the enemy on Bunker's Hill, and that the
enemy this morning appeared with their horse in battle array
and in readiness at the bottom of the hill by Charlestown
Neck to drive our forces away ; but after a while they with-
drew. The heavy cannon are now playing, the firing is
smart and very plainly heard.
July I. Heard the firing of some cannon which were
at Roxbury neck.
July 2. (Sunday.) A great deal of firing below. It be-
gan about daybreak and continued till 7 o'clock. Heard it
was at Roxbury neck.
66 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Jjily 13. Last night lodged at Watertown, and rode to
Roxbury, Cambridge, and to Prospect and Winter Hills,
viewed the forts and entrenchments, well executed and
strong. Prayed in evening with Colonel Gerrish's regiment
and returned home.
July 20. A general fast appointed through British
America by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia.
July 22. At Cambridge. At evening prayed in the
army. Attended the funeral of Jesse Wyman aged 21, living
in the old parish, mortally wounded in the battle of Charles-
town.
July 23. Sunday. Last night lodged at Mr. Tappan's.
A.M. Preached in the array, p.m. Some rain which prevented
preaching.
July 26. Attended the funeral of George Reed, jun., who
died of a fever, which was occasioned by a surfeit of heat he
got in Charlestown fight the 17th inst.
August 4. Rode to Bedford and returned. On return
called and prayed with Bacon's family, very sick, and also
visited and prayed with Capt. Walker's son.
August 28. Master Hutchinson of Boston lodged here.
To-day I rode to Lexington, dined at brother's and returned.
September 12. Rode to Cambridge, and viewed the
camps and forts, and returned at night. Boston is hedged
in on every side but the water.
September 24. (Sunday.) Put on coarse, linen shirt.
October 2. Visited the sick and catechised the children
present, 24.
October 18. Messrs. Wigglesworth and Gannett dined
here.
October 22. Attended the funeral of Capt. Marstons's
child.i
^ Belonged to a Boston family, probably related to Mrs. Jones.
They had sought refuge in Burlington during the siege. A little
gravestone in old burial-ground says, "While British forces held
his native town."
DIARY OF REV. JOHN MARRETT 6/
October 24. Rode from Watertown to Cambridge, viewed
the camps and returned home.
November i. Rode to Concord. Attended the Dudleian
Lecture. Dr. Langdon (President of Harvard College)
preached from Micah 4 : 5. Subject natural religion. 1
November 9. Cannon fired much from 12 to 3 o'clock;
about 400 or 500 Slegulars landed on Lechmere's Point and
carried off i cow. They were soon drove oiT by a party of
our soldiers. We lost i man killed, and i mortally wounded.
What they lost, cannot tell.
November 21. President Langdon came here.
November 30. Attended three funerals in my Parish, viz..
Widow Speer ; a child of Abraham Alexander's ; and a child
of Mr. Peters 's of Wilmington, which died here; and mar-
ried a couple.
December 5. Rode to Cambridge and back. Hear Que-
bec is taken by the Provincials.
December i"]. (Sunday). Heard several cannon fired.
Our people a raising a covert way from Prospect to Cobble
Hill, and the enemy endeavoring to prevent them.
December 18. The firing yesterday was at Lechmere's
Point, our people entrenching there. A ship that had lain
up the River all summer moved off this morning.
December 20. Fair, and the coldest day this season. At
home. Heard several cannon fired.
December ij,, p.m. Attended the funeral of iVIr. Gardner,
leather dresser, formerly of Charlestown ; he died in the
other parish.
December 27. Attended the funeral of IVladam Temple,
late of Charlestown, who died at Captain Johnson's ; and
' The American army occupied for barracks the buildings of
Harvard College at Cambridge, and the institution removed to
Concord, remaining there nearly a year. It held its exercises in
the Court-House, its students and professors living in various fami-
lies of the town. The Commencement exercises of 1776 were held
in the old meetingjbouse of Concord.
68 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
married Josiah Locke to Elizabeth Richardson, both of
Woburn Old Parish. i
December 29. Rode to Cambridge and returned, and
lodged at Jonathan Carter's. Last night our forces arranged
to attack Bunker Hill over the ice on the mill pond, but the
ice was not strong enough, and therefore they desisted.
Deceviber 30. Many cannon fired. Returned home A.M.
January 10, 1776. Called about break of day to visit
Capt. Wood's wife, being sick.
January 18. Cannon fired much. Heard our army is
defeated at Quebec.
Jaiiuary 22. Evening. Singing meeting here.
January 23. Rode to Cambridge, and viewed the lines,
and returned home. Deacon Johnson and wife went with
me.
January ■^i. Eight men enlisted out of this parish for
two months.
February 2. Heird several cannon.
February 12. Heard many cannon. Supposed to be
below Boston at sea.
February 14. Last night the enemy burned some houses
and barns on Dorchester neck.
February 28. Mr. Stone, of Reading, and Mr. Jacob
Gould, of Weymouth, dined with me. Sent my watch by
Mr. Gould to Braintree, to Mr. Cranch's to be mended.
March 3. (Sunday p.m.) Master Coggin preached from
2 Cor. 5 : 10. People in great anxiety about some important
transactions speedily to take place between our army and the
enemy's forces.
March 4. Last night, from eight in the evening till the
morning, the cannon and mortars between our army and the
enemy fired more or less ; and to-day were firing more or
less, till between 12 o'clock and one, a general battle or a
^ These deaths of Charlestown people suggest how they were
scattered about, after the burning of the town by the British,
DIARY OF REV. JOHN MARRETT 69
very smart skirmish, ensued, as I judge, from the report of
small arms and cannon. The Regulars had a mock fight
in Boston. Visited Lieut. Tidd's sick children. My people
collecting rags, etc., for the use of the army.
March 5. Last night the mortars and cannon played
very fast most all night from both sides, and our army
entrenched on Dorchester Hill without any molestation.
Rode to Cambridge.
March 6. Lodged at Cambridge. Returned home.
March 10. (Sunday.) Last night our forces intrenched
on another hill on Dorchester Point, nearer to Boston ; a
smart firing ensued on both sides. We lost about 12 men.
At first we were drove off, but by a reinforcement carried on
and completed the work. \_Not true.']
March 11. Visited Mr. Spear, being sick, and prayed at
parish meeting. Hear the sraall-pox is at Welch's.
March 18. Yesterday morning, about break of day, the
British troops evacuated Bunker Hill and Boston, and all
shipping moved oif and lay windbound below the Castle,
whither bound, know not, — but it is conjectured to Halifax
to wait on orders from Great Britain. Our forces have
taken possession of all the places they have left. The Lord
be praised ! Last night we intrenched on Dorchester Point.
March 19. Dined at Timothy Winn's, p.m. Rode to
Old Parish and attended Mr. Pool's funeral. Mr. Morrill and
1 prayed with the sick woman, Mrs. Pool. Hear that below
the Castle the ships are arrived to the fleet of the enemy
which lies below.
March 20. Rode to Charlestown Ferry, and viewed Bun-
ker Hill, the works of the enemy, and the ruins of the town.
The fleet lays below the Castle. Returned home via Cam-
bridge.
March 2.1. A great fire last evening at the Castle, the
enemy demolishing it. Rode to Old Parish to see Mrs. Pool,
sick.
April 2. Attended funeral of Nathaniel Wyman.
yo BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
April 5. Attended funeral of Daniel Simonds and his
wife, two aged persons in Lexington.
April 19. Rode to Lexington ; dined at Brother's, p.m.
Attended a lecture in commemoration of Lexington Battle.
Mr. Clark performed the whole exercise ; preached from Joel,
3d chapter, the last verses ; a very, crowded audience ; the
militia companies in Lexington mustered. Returned home.
April 23. Rode to Boston and returned home. First
time I have been to Boston since the enemy evacuated it.
May 3. Mr. Thurston, a preacher in the other Parish,
visited me.
May 5. (Sunday.) Rode to Concord and preached on
an exchange with Mr. Emerson.
May 6. Lodged last night at Doctor Minot's.
May 16. Attended the funeral of George Reed's negro
woman.
May 17. A Continental Fast; preached at home, a full
meeting.
May 20. Hear a large brig loaded with warlike stores
was taken by us from the enemy, as she was coming into
Boston Harbor.
June I. Hear our forces at Quebec have been driven
from their intrenchments, and renewed the attack afterwards,
being reinforced, and recovered their lost ground.
June 3. Went to the Castle with Woburn militia to
intrench.
June 4. Lodged last night at Roxbury. This morning
sailed from Boston to the Castle ; intrenched all day. p.m.
Returned home with the militia.
Jjine 15. Night before last, 5,000 of our people went
down and intrenched on an island and another place in Bos-
ton Harbor, and yesterday morning drove all the enemy's
ships down below the lighthouse. A 50-gun ship was
obliged to cut her cable, and be towed down by boats, etc.
June 17. Visited Amos Wyman, being sick. (The hus-
band of her who entertained Hancock and Adams.)
DIARY OF REV. JOHN MARRETT 7 I
Jtine 1 8. Attended training.i
June 25. Exceeding hot ; the hottest — very dry and
melancholy time.
June 29. Exceeding hot and scorching, and burning sun.
The land mourning by reason of the dearth.
July 2, 1776. Independency.
July 3. Lecture on account of the drought and war;
Mr. Penniraan (of Bedford) preached from Psalm 39 : 9.
July 4. Attend Lecture at Bedford; Mr. Emerson (of
Concord) prayed and preached. I made last prayer.
July 6. Small-pox in Boston, inoculating there. Ten
men, of the fifteen, enlisted out of this parish for the expedi-
tion to Canada; 5,000 to be raised from this province for
New York and Canada.
July 1^. (Sunday.) Preached at Bedford. Mr. Sprague
preached for me, and Mr. Penniman for him, at Carlisle.
Five o'clock p.m. Preached at lecture, at home, to a party
of soldiers going on the Canada expedition.
Jjily 15. Visited Amos Wyman, sick in deep consump-
tion.
July 18. P.M. Rode to Lexington and back ; my brother
and two of his sons and eighteen others inoculated last week
in his own house for the small-pox.
July 24. Hear the enemy's ships are destroyed by a
tempest at South Carolina ; two 40-gun ships, one 50-gun
ship, and a tender and a transport lost ; and all the men
perished.
July 25. Woburn company of soldiers for the Canada
expedition marched for Crown Point. Prayed with them at
Deacon Blanchard's.
1 The acquaintance of the president of Harvard College with
the Precinct clergyman doubtless accounts for the removal of
college property to his parish, as an old paper bears evidence.
Deacon Joseph Johnson was intrusted with two hogsheads of
books, one large box containing glass, two boxes containing a
pair of globes, one large pack of carpets.
72 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
July 29. Visited young Mr. Nevers and Mr. Amos
Wyman, being .sick.
August \. Provincial Fast. Exchanged with Mr. Morrill.
August 23. The enemy landed on Long Island, New
York.
August 24 and 25. Fight at New York, Long Island.
September 7. Hear our forces are beat off from Long
Island, at New York, and that four boats full of men in com-
ing away were taken prisoners.
September 15. (Sunday). Read the Declaration for In-
dependency.
September 25. Attended Dudleian Lecture at Cambridge.
Mr. Morrill, of Wilmington, preached. Subject, Revealed
religion, from i Peter 3:15. (Harvard College back in its
old quarters.)
October 6. (Sunday.) Uncle Dunster and his wife kept
Sabbath here.
October 13. (Sunday.) Preached at Old Parish on ex-
change with Mr. Jones. Mr. Emerson, of Concord, died
at Otter Creek.
October 26. Rode to Stow.
October I"]. (Sunday.) Preached at Stow on an exchange.
October 1%. Rode to Lancaster and returned to Stow;
lodged at Deacon Gates'.
October 29. Returned home. Heard (that) Mr. Emerson,
of Concord, died at Otter Creek (the) 13th inst.
November 16. Fort Washington taken.
November 11. Lodged last night at College. Rode to
Boston and returned home.
December 9. Hear a fleet of the enemy's ships are seen
off Rhode Island.
December 12. Thanksgiving. First snow, 2 inches.
December i^,. Dined at Samuel Reed's Jr.'s ; General
Lee taken prisoner by treachery.
December 18. General Howe marching towards Philadel-
phia. General Washington before, and General Lee behind.
DESCRIPTION OF CAMP 73
The condition of the patriots' camp at Cam-
bridge, visited by Rev. John Marrett, is best de-
scribed by the Concord minister, Rev, William
Emerson, in a letter written byhim when serving
as a chaplain. It was a few days after the arrival
of Washington as commander-in-chief.
" New lords, new laws. The generals, Washington and
Lee, are upon the lines every day. New orders from his
excellency are read to the respective regiments every morn-
ing after prayers. The strictest government is taking place,
and great distinction is made between officers and soldiers.
Every one is made to know his place, and keep in it, or to
be tied up and receive thirty or forty lashes, according to his
crime. Thousands are at work every day from four till eleven
o'clock in the morning. It is surprising how much work has
been done. The lines are extended almost from Cambridge
to the Mystic River ; so that very soon it will be morally
impossible for the enemy to get between the works except
in one place, which is supposed to be left purposely unforti-
fied, to entice the enemy out of their fortress. Who would
have thought, twelve months past, that all Cambridge and
Charlestown would be covered over with American camps,
and cut up into forts and intrenchments ; and all the lands,
fields, and orchards laid common ; horses and cattle feeding
in the choicest mowing land ; whole fields of corn eaten
down to the ground ; and large parks of well-regulated
locusts cut down for firewood and other public uses? This,
I must say, looks a little melancholy. My quarters are at
the foot of the famous Prospect Hill, where such prepara-
tions are made for the reception of the enemy. It is very
diverting to walk among the camps, they are as different in
their forms as the owners are in their dress, and every tent
is a portraiture, of the temper and taste of the persons who
encamp in it. Some are made of boards, and some of sail-
74 BENkATIt OLD ROOf TREES
cloth; some partly of one and partly of the other; again,
others are made of stone or turf, brick or brush. Some are
thrown up in a hurry ; others are curiously wrought with
doors and windows, done with wreaths ^nd withes, in the
manner of a basket. Some are your proper tents and mar-
quees, looking like the regular camp of the enemy. In these
are the Rhode Islanders, who are fuj-nished with tent
equipage and everything in the most exact English style.
However, I think this great variety rather a beauty than a
blemish in the army."
Fearing that some of my readers may be doubt-
ful in regard to the correct distinction between
the Provincial troops and the Continental army,
and in regard to the time when the former were
merged into the latter, I insert the following gen-
eral order issued on the 4th of July, 1775, the
day-after Washington took command of the army.
" The Continental Congress having now taken all the
troops of the "several colonies, which have been raised, or
which may be helvgafter raised for the support and defence of
the liberties of Am^erica, into their pay and service, they
are now the troops of the United Provinces of North Amer-
ica; and it is hoped thai- all distinction of colonies will be
laid aside, so that one and the same spirit may animate the
whole, and the only contest-be, who shall render, on this
great and trying occasion, the niost essential service to the
great and common cause in whicfe, we are all engaged. It is
required and expected that exact discipline be observed, and
due subordination prevail througlr-. the whole army, as a
failure in these most essential points must necessarily pro-
duce extreme hazard, disorder, and confusion, and end in
shameful disappointment and disgl"ace.
" The general most earnestly requires and expects a due
JOURNAL OP JABEZ PITCH 75
observance of those articles of war, established for the gov-
ernment of the army, which forbid profane cursing, swear-
ing, and drunkenness ; and in like manner, he requires and
expects of all officers and soldiers, not engaged on actual
duty, a punctual attendance on divine service, to implore the
blessings of Heaven upon the means used for our safety and
defence.''
A vivid picture of the movements of the pa-
triots, while encamped at Cambridge and Rox-
bury, is seen in a journal from Aug. 5 to Dec.
I3> 1775-
It was kept by Jabez Fitch, Jun., of Norwich, of
the Eighth Company (Captain Joseph Jewett's),
in the Eighth Connecticut Regiment (Colonel
Jedidiah Huntington's), at the siege of Boston.
He first describes the journey to join the Pro-
vincial army.
^/
Saturday, Aug'. ;, 1775. Came from (l3i6me) a little
after sunrise. Joined the company at TvJ^er's in Preston,
from whence we marched ; about 8 o'clor^'^ made a little halt
at Deac" Belcher's where we were haridsomely treated, and
after resting a little we march'd, 2f'^^ at the same time Mr.
Edwards and my boys went back
7th. After breakfast we ma«{.(,j^i(j jnto town (Providence)
where we made a small halt, /^t shav'd, and did some other
errands, and march'd forw^^d to Attleborough, where we
now are at Daggefs, the y^yern (they say he's a Tory), but,
however, we have got a /jnng,. a-cooking, and intend to eat
it. I was afterwards disappointed, there not being enough
for the whole. . . . '-^^rson's reg't overtook us, and after
drinking some punch we ^^arch'd on, and at about sunset
arriv'd at Man's in Wrentti.,rn, where we met with much
^6 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
difficulty to procure a supper, after which I went to bed with
my son, and slept very well.
August 8th, 1775. In the morning we ate breakfast at
Man's, after which we march'd forward to Head's in Wal-
pole, where we drank some punch and marched forward to
Cheney's in Walpole, where our men are now cooking a
dinner. . . . After dinner we marched forward to Gay's
where we made a little stop and Capt. Wheat overtook
us from Norwich ; then we marched on so far as Ames' in
Dedham, where we lodged in a very good bed and paid well
for it.
9th. In the morning I walked down to the burying place
below the meeting-house. I also see about 300 riflemen pass
by Ames' — we also went by them at Whiting's, and marched
into Roxbury before them. We arrived at the sign of the
sun about 1 1 o'clock, where the company staid till next day.
This night was the first of Cordilla and I lodging like sol-
diers, we having hitherto on our march lodg'd in good beds,
tho' H^cost us dear, but now we are come where money will
not readily command all the conveniences of life. Yet
through the clemency of a Divine Providence every one in
health may be in some measure comfortable.
The loth. Sc3*i}etime before noon we marched on to the
ground assigned us"for incampment. Capt. Riley's Com-
pany was the only oneincamped before us. The rest of this
day taken up in pitching^ur tents, etc. The night follow-
ing was very stormy ; it thundered, lightened and rained all
night, and was very tedious iW the first of the campaign.
The nth. In the morning\f,t. Jona. Brewster and Jo.
Williams came to our tent. I w^ with 'em over to Parsons'
reg't, where we lit of Capt. Whea\and went up to the meet-
ing-house and see the guard relieve^ then went with them,
Sergt. Haskel and Corpl. Brewster, tbwn to Dorchester, and
after obtaining liberty of Col. Felbws went over on to the
Neck and down on to the Lo.ver Point near Castle Wm.
While on Dorchester Neck jve had a very fine prospect of
JOURNAL OF JABEZ FITCH "jy
the town of Boston and also of the ships in the harbor,
which make an appearance like a dry cedar swamp.
The I2th. In the morning I went down to see the guards
relieved, and then went out on the left hand of the neck down
on to the marsh where I had a fine prospect of the Common
in Boston, where the regulars are incamped. About one
o'clock Asa Chapman came here for some things I bro't
him from his grandfather. Cordilla and I went with him up
to Brookline Fort and on our way lit of one Lt. Sprague of
the Rhode Islanders with whom we crossed the ferry and
went up to Prospect Hill. . . . Cordilla and I then came
back to Cambridge, went into one of the colleges up to the
3d loft, and after viewing that a little came down street a
little where we see the greatest curiosity of the whole day
(viz.) an old gent with a very gray beard 14 inches long
handsomely comb'd down under his chin. . . . After cross-
ing the ferry came home to our camp where we arrived
about daylight in. The old Tory dog had got away the
door I stole to lodge on.
14. At prayer time in the morning the regulars in Bos-
ton and also the ships in the harbor began a mighty firing
which lasted most of the forenoon.
i6th. After breakfast I took a walk up to Brookline
cedar swamp, where I found me a very pretty cedar staff. I
came back through an orchard back of Genl. Ward's quar-
ters, where the inhabitants were gathering pears, and while
I was talking with the people the regulars fired two shot on
our new intrenchment, on which I hurried a little toward
home, but the fire not continuing I made a little stop at an
intrenchment just above a grist mill. I then went up toward
the Grand Parade, where I lit of Rant Rose, and went with
him to see the Indians shoot arrows at coppers.
The i8th. In the morning early I went up to Governor
Bernard's house with Corp. Spears and Cordilla to get some
timber for repairing our tent, and it was with some difficulty
that I obtained it.
78 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Sunday, Augt. 20, 1775. ... I went up to the old
meeting-house, where I wrote several of the foregoing pages,
and am now writing on the breast of the front gallery, which
is a very convenient place for writing. It is a very large
house with a high steeple. It stands on an eminence in fair
view of the regulars' lines, and has had many balls thrown at
it. The bell is taken down, the windows all taken out and
boarded up except the pulpit window, the pews all torn
down, and great destruction made inside of the house.
OLD MANSE OF CONCORD 79
CHAPTER IX
OLD MANSE OF CONCORD AND ITS MINISTERIAL
OCCUPANTS. CUPID IN THE REVOLUTION
The foregoing extracts from the parsonage
diary, yet extant, afford the reader, not only a
glimpse into the busy life of the minister, but also
present a realistic view of the burdens and anxie-
ties of the patriots during the time that the seat
of war was confined to Massachusetts. He has
seen the intimacy between neighboring ministers,
and noted the hospitality of the parsonage. He
has become particularly interested in the minister
of Concord, Rev. William Emerson, and is pre-
pared to turn to another parsonage, and there con-
sider the footsteps of the patriots as they centre
about the —
OLD MANSE.
Here, as at the Burlington parsonage, a digres-
sion is made to consider the history of the place.
Probably no other homestead of New England
supplies the warp and woof of such a brilliant
fabric of history as the old manse of Concord.
The green lawn that extends in front and on
either side of the manse was once the site of
80 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
an Indian village, evidence of which, in the line
of arrows and spear-heads, the searching plough-
share has often brought to light.
The village was abandoned, and the scattered
remnant of the tribe had built their wigwams
elsewhere, before the sale of the " six miles
square " by Squaw Sachem and others to the
" English undertakers."
The site of the old Indian village was included
within the twelve lots of six hundred and sixty
acres recorded as belonging to James Blood, Sen.
and Jun., in 1665.
The Bloods are said to have come to Concord
in 1639. James Sen. died in 1683, and his wife
Ellen nine years earlier. James Blood, Jun., mar-
ried Hannah, daughter of Oliver Purchiss of
Lynn, in 1657. They lived in a primitive dwell-
ing on these acres, and had four children, only
one of whom, Sarah, survived her parents.
James Blood, Jun., was the fourth deacon in the
Concord church; he died Nov. 26, 1692, having
outlived his wife fifteen years.
Sarah Blood, who was born March 5, 1659, mar-
ried William Willson of Concord in 1686, and at
the death of her father succeeded to the owner-
ship of the estate. He was town clerk from 1710
to 1718 ; was chosen one of the selectmen in
1700, and held the office eighteen years; was
representative to the General Court in 1702, and
in seven subsequent years. His wife Sarah died
OLD MANSE OF CONCORD 8 1
in 1 71 7, and he in 1745, leaving a second wife,
Hannah Price.__
The property remained in the family until
about the time of the death of Rev. Daniel Bliss,
the associate of Whitefield and other ardent
preachers, which occurred in May, 1764. It was
then purchased by the Bliss family.
The solemn pomp and funereal splendor at-
tendant upon the burial of Rev. Daniel Bliss was
still a theme for conversation, and the people
were enjoying a sort of mournful satisfaction
because they had maintained their dignity among
the towns and churches by furnishing rings and
gloves at the funeral of their deceased minister,
and the town had assumed the burial charges
of £66 13J. /i,d.\ when steps were taken to secure
a pastor to fill the vacancy.
Rev. William Emerson was called to the posi-
tion. He married Phebe Bliss, the daughter of
his predecessor in the ministry of the town, in
August, 1766, and established a home in the
house so well known as the Old Manse. It was
erected for Rev. Mr. Emerson and his bride, and
here they lived in the full enjoyment of a Colo-
nial parsonage during his ministry of ten years.
Theirs was the peace and comfort of the beautiful
home, which stood in the midst of the town, — his
parish, — being cheered and encouraged by the love
and esteem of his people.
Oliver Wendell Holmes says of him, " The
82 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Rev. William Emerson, grandfather of Ralph
Waldo, was an excellent and popular preacher,
and an ardent and devoted patriot. He preached
resistance to tyrants from the pulpit ; he en-
couraged his townsmen and their allies to make
a stand against the soldiers who had marched
upon their peaceful village ; and would have taken
a part in the fight at the bridge, which he saw
from his own house, had not the friends around
him prevented his quitting his doorstep."
He took this stand in the face of the opposition
of his brother-in-law, Daniel Bliss, who was an
avowed Tory, and still living in the village.
On Aug. 1 6, 1776, Rev. Mr. Emerson left his
family, this beautiful home, his church and people,
by their consent, to join the army at Ticonderoga
as chaplain. He was discharged by General Gates
after about two months of service, because of de-
clining health, and died at Rutland, Vt., en route
for his home, at the age of thirty-three years,
where he was buried with military honors. His
people described his virtues at length on a memo-
rial stone set upon Burial Hill in 1826. It con-
cludes thus :
ENTHUSIASTIC, ELOQUENT, AFFECTIONATE,
AND PIOUS ;
HE LOVED ms FAMILY, HIS PEOPLE, HIS GOD,
AND HIS COUNTRY.
AND TO THIS LAST HE YIELDED
THE CHEERFUL SACRIFICE OF HIS LIFE.
OLD MANSE OF CONCORD 83
There were left at the Manse, besides the
widow of the patriot, their four children. Wil-
liam, their only son, born in 1769, and Mary
Moody Emerson, a daughter, and namesake of
her grandmother, became well known in the
world, the latter through the portrayal made by
her nephew, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
William, the son and namesake of the "patriot
priest" and "high son of liberty" of Concord,
was graduated at Harvard College in 1789, settled
as minister in Harvard in 1792, and in 1799 as
minister of the First Church in Boston. In 1796
he married Ruth Haskins of Boston. He died in
181 1, leaving five sons, of whom Ralph Waldo
was the second.
In November, 1778, Rev. Ezra Ripley was or-
dained as minister at Concord; and two years later
he married the widow of his predecessor, Phebe
Bliss Emerson, and took up his abode at the
Manse, where he continued to live during his
ministry of more than sixty years.
Hence appears the proof of the accuracy of
Hawthorne's statement in " Mosses from an Old
Manse:" "A priest had built it; a priest had
succeeded to it ; other priestly men from time to
time dwelt in it ; and children born in its cham-
bers had grown up to assume the priestly char-
acter."
While pursuing his studies at Harvard College,
Ezra Ripley was styled, " Holy Ripley," because
84 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
of his superior moral and religious character.
These traits, most commendable, especially for
one of his profession, dominated his entire life.
He received the honorary degree of doctor of
divinity from Harvard College some years before
his death. The excellent judgment of Dr. Rip-
ley, with other rare qualities, led many pastors and
churches to call him to sit in councils. He was
called upon in the latter part of his life to take
part in a council called at Bedford ; it was when
the conflict between the liberal and old faith
broke out in that town as it did throughout New
England. The session was delayed till late into
the night, and then adjourned to the following
day. Not expecting to be delayed so long, the
reverend doctor, who wore a wig by day, was
without a necessary reclining garment, — a night-
cap, — hence he awaited the dawn while sitting in
his chair. Dr. Ripley died about 1840; and the
estate, although having come by his wife, de-
scended to the Ripley heirs. Dr. Ripley gave
the battle-ground to the town some years before
his death, and before patriotic sentiment had
aroused the interest of later years. But his pro-
phetic wisdom foresaw the day that has already
dawned.
During an interim of the occupancy of the Ripley
family was that brief, interesting, and well-known
experience of Nathaniel Hawthorne, which alone
would have given the estate unending notoriety.
OLD MANSE OF CONCORD 85
In July, 1842, Nathaniel Hawthorne and So-
phia Peabody were married at the home of Dr.
Peabody in Boston, and sought the seclusion of
the vacant parsonage at Concord as a desirable
place for the full enjoyment of each other. They
occupied the Manse four years, during which time
their daughter Una was born. They then left it
for Salem, Mass., where Mr. Hawthorne entered
upon a position at the Custom House. The
owners now took possession of the Old Manse.
Rev. Samuel Ripley, son of the Concord minister,
resigned a long pastorate" at Waltham, and set-
tled here with his family.
Mr. Hawthorne describes the preparations for
the retiring minister thus : " Carpenters next
appeared, making a tremendous racket among the
out-buildings, strewing the green grass with pine
shavings and chips of chestnut joist, and vexing
the whole antiquity of the place with their discord-
ant renovations. Soon, moreover, they divested
our abode of the veil of woodbine which had crept
over a large portion of its southern face.
"All the original mosses were cleared unspar-
ingly away ; and there were horrible whispers
about brushing up the external walls with a coat
of paint, — a purpose as little to my taste as
might be that of rouging the venerable cheeks
of one's grandmother." With the exception of
that "vexing of antiquity," a bay-window on the
east end of the house (which the writer watched
86 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
in formation), the present external appearance of
the Old Manse and its surroundings is not unlike
that so vividly described by the " first lay occu-
pant." "Between two tall gate-posts of rough-
hewn stone we beheld the old parsonage, termi-
nating the vista of an avenue of black ash-trees."
Some of the ash-trees have been replaced by
other varieties, but the lines bordering the avenue
are well kept.
A scattering remnant of the orchard, planted
by Dr. Ripley in his old age, still remains. Al-
though discouraged by his neighbors in the plant-
ing of the orchard. Dr. Ripley lived to enjoy its
fruits; and Hawthorne reluctantly feasted upon
its luscious apples and pears, sharing the bounty
with EUery Channing, Henry Thoreau, and others
of kindred tastes.
In the rear of the Manse is seen the place
where, according to tradition, a boy was chop-
ping wood for the clergyman on the morning of
April 19, 1775, and after the battle went with his
axe in hand to the field of carnage, and finding a
wounded British soldier, used his blade in finish-
ing his misery.
Near this place the river winds along as slug-
gishly as when Hawthorne and his odd visitors
pushed out in their boat upon its smooth surface.
The interior of the Manse presents very much of
the appearance of the old parsonage.
The study of the Rev. Ezra Ripley is a small.
OLD MANSE OF CONCORD 8/
square room, with elaborate wainscoting, and beams
of oak crossing the ceiling.
The huge fireplace is still there, before which
more than three thousand sermons were probably
penned by Dr. Ripley ; but the chair in which the
minister sat and wrote has found a place in the
collection of the Concord Antiquarian Society.
It was in this room that the ghost used to
appear, according to Hawthorne ; but as no per-
turbed spirit has been reported as lifting the latch
since his stay at the Manse, it is reasonable to
explain that apparition as the vivid imagination
of the author.
Opposite the study is a large room containing
many modern adornments, and used by the
present occupant (1891), a representative of the
third generation of Ripleys, as a parlor.
A door from the parlor leads to the ancient
dining-room, where old-time feasts were spread
according to the most approved plan of the par-
sonage, Very many of the old-time ministers
of New England have feasted and chatted in this
room, as may be inferred from the diary of Rev.
Mr. Marrett already quoted.
The big kitchen, where the oaken beams show
no sign of attempted disguise, and the modern
cooking-range stands as an apology for the once
spacious fireplace, had a peculiar charm for me
when in boyhood I made my regular entrance to
the Old Manse by the kitchen-door, but in later
88 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
life received a cordial welcome from the same
lady at the front entrance.
The Old Manse, with its gambrel roof, is
thought to have been the first house in the vil-
lage built with two stories, making the old Colo-
nial parsonage suggestive of the standing of its
honored occupant.
In the apartment over the dining-room, Ralph
Waldo Emerson, grandson of the first minister in
possession, wrote " Nature " and many of his best
poems, during a sojourn at the ancestral dwell-
ing with his grandmother's family. In the same
room Hawthorne wrote " Mosses from an Old
Manse," in the first chapter of which he gives a
vivid description of it.
" The study had three windows, set with little
old-fashioned panes of glass, each with a crack
across it. The two on the western side looked,
or rather peeped, between the willow branches
down into the orchard, with glimpses of the river
through the trees. The third, facing northward,
commanded a broader view of the river, at a spot
where its hitherto obscure waters gleam forth
with the light of history. It was at this window
that the clergyman who then dwelt in the Manse
stood watching the outbreak of a long and deadly
struggle between two nations. He saw the irregu-
lar array of his parishioners on the farther side of
the river ; he awaited in an agony of suspense
the rattle of the musketry. It came, and it needed
OLD MANSE OF CONCORD
89
Window of Old Manse
but a gentle wind to sweep the battle smoke
around his quiet house."
The first Sunday-school of Concord had its be
ginning in
the
Old
Manse, and in the
very room
made fa-
mous by so
many great mi
While in the prepa-
ration of " The Rise
and Progress of the Sunday-school in America,"
I was cordially received at the Manse by a grand-
daughter of Rev. Ezra Ripley, who communicated
thq facts.
Miss Sarah Ripley, daughter of the minister,
conducted a school in this house. She had day
pupils from various families of the village, and
others from different towns, who boarded in the
family. Rev. Mr. Ripley conducted the instruc-
tion in the Latin language and higher branches.
Miss Ripley was an energetic, persevering
woman, and besides caring for an invalid mother,
conducted the day-school, giving added instruc-
tion in moral and religious truth. She thus laid
the foundation for the Sunday-school of the town.
" The room," said Miss Ripley, " in which the
school had its sessions, and which Ralph Waldo
90 BENEATH OLD ROOF TlfEES
Emerson later occupied, has ever since been
known in the family as the schoolroom."
It is more than two centuries since the name
of Emerson was first connected -^vith the history
of Concord. Rev. Joseph Emerson, son-in-law of
Concord's 'early minister, fled from Mendon to
this town when that village was destroyed by the
Indians during Philip's war.
It is one hundred and thirty years since Rev.
William Emerson, great-grandson of Rev. Joseph,
took up his abode in this house, and became the
pastor of the twelfth church formed in the colony.
The name has received added lustre with each
succeeding generation, and the voice of Rev.
William's grandson has been heard as far as the
shot fired —
"By the rude bridge that arched the flood."
CUPID IN THE REVOLUTION.
In the Tenth Regiment of the royal army that
constituted a part of the participants in the April
raid of 1775 was a sturdy young native of Lon-
don. Having attained the age of thirty years, he
was too thoughtful to regard the acts of General
Gage as did many of his associates ; but he was
in the service of the king, and must do his duty.
He met with Provincials, both Tories and patriots,
during his stay in Boston, and enjoyed their so-
ciety. In fact, the dull routine of camp-life would
have been much more monotonous had it not been
CUPID IN THE REVOLUTION 9 1
for the New England people whom he frequently
met. He noticed the struggles of many families
to exist during the severe weather of the winter
of 1775, and frequently expressed sympathy for
them in their deprivations. The tears of a faith-
ful mother mourning over her situation did not
call from this thoughtful young man, as from
many, the harsh words, " Give up your rebellious
ideas, and swear allegiance to our king ; " but the
careworn expression of this woman reminded the
soldier of his mother across the Atlantic, as she
bade her son farewell when he set out for America,
and he could but give expression to his sympathy
for the sufferer. The bright eyes of a young lady
of the family riveted hip attention ; he detected
the youthful bloom of her cheeks growing pale
through the weeks of anxiety, and did not fail
to cheer her by his smile. He accompanied this
young lady to the Old South Meeting-house on
the last anniversary of the Massacre before the
beginning of hostilities. They both noticed
the thoughtfulness of Samuel Adams in giving
the best seats to the officials known to be his
enemies. They listened to every word uttered
by the fearless Warren ; and when the speaker
dropped his silk handkerchief over the uplifted
hand, in which were the bullets intended to
frighten him, the eyes of these young people
met in an expression of sympathetic admiration
for the. graceful act of the orator.
■92 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Had these young people given expression to
their sentiments when leaving the meeting-house
that night, they would have found that they were
not at variance. Despite all his efforts to con-
ceal his feelings, the young soldier's comrades
detected them, and were soon aware of the real
situation. They took pleasure in hurling at him
their sharpest taunts, and placarded his barrack
as " The lodgings of the besieged heart," "Caught
in Provincial meshes," and annoyed the young
man in many ways, while he vainly tried to pre-
sent a cheerful appearance. After being de-
tained some days by extra duties in the camp, the
anxious soldier stole out from his quarters, and
made haste to the street and door where he had
last seen the object of his growing affections.
To his surprise all evidence of life had departed,
the shutters were closed, the doors barred, and
no light flickered from any window. His shrill
whistle only brought an answering echo from the
shed in the rear. He turned sorrowfully away,
revolving in his mind the thought, could it be
that this family had been driven to such a state
of desperation as to leave their home and go into
a country town, as so many had done .'' He then
wished he had made bold to tell her his inmost
feelings, but believed that his silence had led her
to the conclusion that he was in full sympathy
with the movements of the officials, and was only
waiting for an opportunity to kill her people. He
CUPID IN- THE HE VOLUTION 93
would not go back to camp without using every
possible means for ascertaining where the family
had gone. He inquired of every one whom he
met in the neighborhood, first for the name of
the young lady who had lived there ; even this he
had failed to learn, she was so reticent and dis-
trustful of the soldier. " Mary ? " was the prompt
reply of one, given in an interrogative manner.
" Yes, Mary. Where is she .'' " said the young
soldier, not knowing that he had then received a
correct answer, for evasive means were so often
resorted to in order to prevent gratifying the
enemy in the town. " Gone to Concord," was
the honest reply of one who knew all about the
hardships of that family ; but the readiness of the
answer led the inquirer to doubt the truthfulness
of it, and he went back to his quarters with a
sorrowful heart. Those bright eyes were before
him wherever he went. When on the duty of a
guard at night, he fancied their tearful presence ;
and when trying to while away an hour in his
berth, he fancied the same company. When sit-
ting on his couch, with his face buried in his
hands, this soldier was found by a comrade who
had no sympathy for him, but thrust darts into
his troubled soul by crying out, "Here he is.
Sam has surrendered, captured by a Boston
maiden." With a show of bravado the soldier
rushed out, and tried to shake off the spell that
was upon him. The absence of one whom he
94 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
longed to have love him served to recall one in
his distant home whose love he knew was sure.
It was his sister, and Mary was her name. She
had pressed a parting kiss upon his lips when he
left the old home. It was the remembrance of
her, and of his faithful mother, that first prompted
him to turn an interested glance towards the
home of sorrow in Boston, into the secrets of
which he now so much wished he had penetrated.
As the spring days brought out the buds of the
trees on the Common, and recalled the birds from
their winter quarters, this soldier longed to return
to his home, where he knew there were anxious
hearts waiting for him ; he regretfully thought of
his indifference toward those who had so often
manifested affection at the old hearthstone, and
made many silent resolves to be more dutiful in
the future, should he ever return to his native
shore. He recalled the sternness of his father,
who in the midst of his tears at parting had bid-
den him not return to his door until he had either
subdued or killed the rebels in America.
Various were the emotions that filled the hearts
of the British soldiers wh.en the order was given
for a march into the country under cover of the
night. The confinement and dull routine of camp-
life had become irksome in the extreme, and all
were glad to have a change. Many, in fact, longed
to have a skirmish with the Yankees, wanted to
show them how to fight, believing that it would
CUPID IM I'HE REVOLUTION 95
require but the slightest effort to subdue the
whole. At first they were as antic and frisky as
a farmer's cattle when let loose in spring after the
winter's confinement in and about the barns ; but
they soon began to feel the burden of the march,
and derived their impetus from anticipated success
at the end of the route. They had not gone far
before it was generally understood that they were
bound for a town called Concord. "We'll show
them it's Conqiiered they are before we leave
them," and kindred sentiments, were whispered
from man to man as they passed silently along.
Marching without music was no pleasure to the
British regulars ; but the novelty of it, and the
anticipation of surprise, cheered them on, until
they began to hear from every side the sound
of bells and an occasional discharge of a musket.
These caused the officers to shake their heads
with an expression of unpleasant apprehensions,
and set peculiar emotions astir in the minds of all.
Coming into the village of Menotomy, they saw
occasional lights flitting about in houses ; and at
one they made bold to knock in a most imperative
manner. Their inquiry as to why they were
up so early was quickly met by a woman, who
said, " Making herb drink for my sick husband."
They passed on without pausing to learn that it
was bullets that she was making, and possibly
herb drinks as well. Foreign tea was not in
order in the homes of the patriots.
96 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
One there was in the ranks whose greatest am-
bition was to reach Concord. He was ready to
respond to an order for a " double-quick," think-
ing not of military stores, but of another and to
him more precious object.
As they approached Lexington village, they
heard the beat of a drum in the distance, the
first indication of martial music of that mornins:.
The careless words, " We'll soon silence that,"
passing down the ranks, met with no approval from
one of the number ; his only hope was that he
might peacefully gratify his own personal ambi-
tion. There was no joy in the heart of the young
soldier when the order came to fire upon the Pro-
vincials at Lexington. His musket was discharged
into the air, if at all, where it could do no damage
to any one, lest it might carry sorrow to a heart
which he believed throbbed in sympathy with his.
" Fall in and march on " were welcome orders
to the soldier whom we have kept in mind.
Over the hills they go as if nothing had happened.
"What's a little Yankee blood.'' enough rebels
left," were thoughts that found expression with
many a thoughtless servant of the king. Tramp,
tramp, on they go, meeting with no resistance ;
the only semblance of mockery came from the
gobble of the turkey-cocks, roused to spread their
wings in strutting indignation by the bright coats
of the soldiers. With the sun upon their backs
already removing the chill of the midnight fog,
CUPID IN THE REVOLUTION 97
they march into the village of Concord, but no
longer to make their undisturbed progress. There
was confusion on every side, while the sound of
the fife and drum in the distance bespoke the
hastening march of the yeomen.
While breaking open the barrels of flour, and
committing other depredations, the privates were
acting out the feelings expressed by an officer
when stirring his brandy at the town bar. But
they little realized that they were thus adding
fuel to the flame that was heating the Yankees'
blood to that degree that would tell upon the
army of the king.
" There's no life in you, Sam," said more than
one comrade to the young man, who had no appar-
ent interest in the work of destruction enjoyed by
some to the fullest extent. He had no death-deal-
ing shot for the yeomen, either at the bridge or in
the return to the village ; but ere he had passed
the meeting-house, a yeoman's bullet struck him
down. Weary, discouraged, and thinking of home,
possibly of the frowning face of his father and
the careworn countenances of mother and sister,
he made no effort to rise and reassert himself.
" Too far gone to take back with us " was the
decision of the hastily impanelled jury.
With no show of vindictiveness, the wounded
and abandoned soldier was taken up by those who
had already suffered at the hands of the enemy,
and carried into the dwelling of the village sur-
98 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
geon, Dr. Minot. He was not alone in his mis-
ery; others were there, who in turn were being
served by the good doctor and his assistants. One
high in rank had just been taken away with a horse
and chaise which the enemy had appropriated to
their use. These had been left by a farmer, who
had galloped into town, and dismounted for more
effective service upon his feet. In their haste
the soldiers had only time to say " Poor Sam," as
they left the doctor's house, and started towards
Boston. While the doctor had been devoting him-
self to the more hopeful cases, the one supposed
to be mortally wounded was revived by the faith-
ful care of the young lady in the home ; and when
the skilful hands of Dr. Minot were at liberty to
serve the last patient, he was in a more hopeful
condition than when he was brought into the
house. When giving directions to his assistant,
the doctor addressed her as Mary ; this brought
open the eyes of the wounded soldier, and he
fixed them upon her who was so quietly standing
at his side.
It was not many days before the faithful doc-
tor, in dressing the wounds of his patient, confi-
dently said, " You'll live ; you are in a fair way to
recover." To this the encouraged soldier replied,'
" But not to go back to the army to fight against
such friends." It was some weeks before Dr.
Minot discovered the remedy that was working
so effectually. No patient of his had ever made
lOO BENEATH OLD KOOF TREES
And other records show that to this couple,
made wretched arid also happy by the war, there
were born other children. Before the infuriated
father across the Atlantic was willing to forgive
his son for turning his back on the king, there
was made a record in Concord thus : —
" Mr. Samuel Lee died August 6, 1790, aged 45."
The mother and sister in that distant home of
luxury were not permitted to welcome back the
object of their affection, neither was the son per-
mitted to feel the touch of their devoted hands ;
but the few years of his life in Concord were
made happy by her who silently loved him when
sitting by his side in Old South Meeting-house in
March, 1775, and whose affection went out to
him when a bleeding soldier of the king he was
brought into the home of Concord's good physi-
cian and surgeon, Dr. Minot.
Neither the widow nor children of Samuel Lee
were benefited by the great estate across the
ocean, but they made a prosperous record in Con-
cord and elsewhere. On May 25, 1794, Mary Lee
became the wife of Joseph Hoar, married by Rev.
Ezra Ripley. The children of Samuel Lee and
Mary Piper may be traced to honorable positions
in the country. Rufus, born in 1788, married Mary
Hallowell of Southborough, who was two years
younger. Of their children, Charles, who was born
in Watertown in 1826, and his sister Mrs. Anna
CUPID IN THE REVOLUTION 1 01
L. Goodnow are both now living in Waltham.
From these grandchildren of the couple who
were brought together by sorrow, I have gathered
the more substantial facts of this story, supplying
some missing links from the general history of
the times in which they lived together in America.
Says Mrs. Goodnow, " It is one of the ungrati-
fied longings of my life to penetrate the hidden
secrets of the Lee family in the ancestral home
in England, where wealth and luxury abounded.
We have but few reminders of our grandfather ;
his silver knee-buckles worn into battle were
treasured by us for many years, but have now
disappeared. His sword, which he laid down in
peace at Concord, is treasured there with many
other reminders of those soldiers who went out of
Boston to Concord with no desire to kill, but were
in the obedience of the government.
Other children of Samuel Lee made homes else-
where. Samuel, the namesake of the soldier and
father, was lost with his only son on the St.
Lawrence River during the 1812 war.
For more than a century the unwilling subject
of King George III. has slept in an unmarked
grave in old Concord, perchance by the side of
the very yeoman whose well-directed shot laid
him low, and became the circumstance of his life
which brought him the greatest joy.
I02 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER X
TOLD AND RETOLD. INCIDENTS OF CONCORD
FIGHT
Some familiar facts are repeated because of their
bearing upon the movements of the patriots in
other towns.
Leaving Lexington, the British troops pro-
ceeded along the six or seven miles of road
towards Concord unmolested, disturbed only by
the ominous sound of church-bells and signal-
guns that fell upon their ears from the surround-
ing towns.
The gallant Prescott, with the imprint of his
sweetheart's lips still fresh upon his ruddy cheek,
had given the alarm ; Amos Melvin, the guard on
duty at the Court House, had discharged his gun
and rung out the town bell " with the earnestness
of speech." It was between one and two o'clock
in the morning. The committee of vigilance, the
guard, the militia, the minute-men, and citizens
generally, rushed from their beds, and were early
seen in the village.
One of the first to appear was the Rev. William
Emerson, armed with his gun. He had preached
resistance, and stood ready to practise it. This
INCIDENTS OF CONCORD FIGHT IO3
act of the faithful pastor, together with his death
while in the service of his country the following
year, led the faithful sentinel of that April morn-
ing to name his two sons born after that event,
Emerson and William Melvin.
Major John Buttrick, across the river, nearly a
mile away, had been aroused by the signals, and
called his son John, a lad of sixteen years, and a
fifer in the company of minute-men. " Load your
pistols ; take your fife, and we'll start for the vil-
lage," were the prompt orders from patriot father
to patriot son.
It was a bright moonlight night, which enabled
every one to hasten in his movements.
Messengers were off in all directions, among
them one towards Watertown, and another towards
Lexington, to get any tidings of the movements of
the enemy. Reuben Brown reached Lexington
in time to catch a glimpse of the army, and left
just before the outrage. Major Buttrick's first
inquiry of the excited messenger, " Did they
fire bullets .'' " revealed his anxiety in regard to
the nature of the charge for the muskets of his
men.
Colonel James Barrett, a member of the Provin-
cial Congress and Superintendent of the Public
Stores, was directing the removal of ammunition,
etc., to places of safety, a portion of which had
been taken to other towns the previous day.
Minute-men were stationed as guards at the
I04 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
North and South Bridges, on the Lincoln road,
and in the centre of the town.
In case of alarm they were to meet at the
tavern kept by Amos Wright, where later in the
day Major Pitcairn, stirring his brandy, said, " I
mean to stir the d Yankee blood as I stir
this, before night." This he did, to his and Old
England's sorrow.
Captain Brown, with his minute-men, paraded
on the Common. Ammunition was dealt out to
them and other companies from the Court House
magazine. Then they marched out from the vil-
lage a short distance, towards Boston, were joined
by the minute-men from Lincoln commanded by
William Smith, captain, Samuel Farrar and Sam-
uel Hoar, lieutenants. The Bedford men, two
companies, seventy-seven men, were early on the
ground ; and other towns were as prompt in their
response, notably so Acton, with its brave men.
It was just before seven o'clock when the Brit-
ish were seen marching towards Concord village.
A band of Concord, Acton, and Lincoln men
under Captain George Minot took a stand on the
hill near the liberty-pole; but being met by the
company that went to spy out the enemy, who
reported that the British were in sight, they
joined them and fell back, taking another stand.
There the men "formed into two battalions."
When scarcely located in their new position
they saw " the British troops at the distance of
INCIDENTS OF CONCORD FIGHT IO5
a quarter of a mile advancing with the greatest
celerity."
This was the time for the most judicious action.
The beloved pastor, Rev. William Emerson, said,
" Let us stand our ground. If we die, let us die
here." It was Colonel Eleazer Brooks of Lincoln
who said in reply, " No ! It will not do for us to
begin the war."
There was yet no organization of any sort
with the Americans. There were scarcely men
enough to organize ; but Major Buttrick saw the
necessity of this as the numbers increased, and he
went to Lieutenant Joseph Hosmer, then in com-
mand of one of the companies, and requested him
to act as adjutant. " My company will be left
alone if I do," he said. " It must be so, then,"
replied Buttrick; "you must go." Hosmer be-
came adjutant, and an organization was com-
menced.
Colortel Barrett, returning from the removal of
the stores, and hearing various conflicting reports
of the doings at Lexington, addressed a few firm
and impressive words to the men. He charged
them not to fire a shot unless the British fired
first. Seeing that the British had entered the
village a few rods away. Colonel Barrett ordered
the Americans to take a new stand, and await
re-enforcements. They were coming from various
directions. Minute-men and militia from Chelms-
ford, Carlisle, Littleton, Westford, Billerica, Stow,
I06 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
and other towns, were early in the ranks. While
on Punkatasset Hill, about a mile, north of the
meeting-house, they saw the smoke rising from
the centre of the town. Major Buttrick said to
them, " Men, if you will follow me, we will go
now and see what they are about." But they did
not move until their numbers were very much
increased; and then they went down to the high
land in front of Major Buttrick's house, where
they could see the British guards at North Bridge
and in the village. They were met at the cross-
roads by the Acton minute-men in command of
Captain Isaac Davis, who said in leaving his
home, " I have a right to go to Concord on the
king's highway, and I intend to go if I have to
meet all the British troops in Boston." Upon
arriving with his forty men, he proceeded at once
to Adjutant Hosmer, and " with the fire of battle
in his eye, and big drops of perspiration rolling
down his manly face from his hurried march, re-
ported his company ready for duty." He was
given a position to the right of the other minute-
men, and to the left of the Concord companies.
The British were in the town. Six companies
entered on the ridge of the hill to drive away the
minute-men. The grenadiers and marines came
by the main road, and halted on the Common.
They made their post of observation on Old
Burial Hill. From this place they saw the rap-
idly increasing army, and their need of haste if
INCIDENTS OF CONCORD FIGHT I07
they expected to accomplish the object of their
morning march.
The North and South Bridges must be seized if
possible, to prevent other companies of the Pro-
vincials from entering the town. This they en-
deavored to do. Colonel Smith remained in the
centre of the village. Captain Lawrence Parsons
was sent with six companies of light infantry,
comprising about three hundred men, to take pos-
session of North Bridge, and thence to the place
where military stores were secreted. Ensign
D'Bernicre, the spy, was given him as a guide.
Three of these companies, under command of Cap-
tain Lawrie, were placed on guard, one at the
Bridge, and the other two on the hill in front of
the Old Manse. While here they called at houses
for food and drink, which were not refused them
by the families of the patriots.
The other three companies, under the command
of Captain Parsons, proceeded to Colonel Barrett's
house to destroy the- stores. While there two
companies arrived from Sudbury, under command
of Captains Aaron Haynes and John Nixon.
The latter was subsequently a general in the Con-
tinental army. Lieutenant-colonel Ezekiel Howe
was with the Sudbury men. They were directed
to the North Bridge, to reach which they must
pass Colonel Barrett's house. Upon noticing the
British about there, Colonel Howe exclaimed, " If
any blood has been shed, not one of the rascals
I08 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
shall escape." The Sudbury men followed in the
pursuit of the British to Charlestown.
While Captain Parsons was out on his expedi-
tion, another detachment of one hundred men,
under Captain Munday Pole, was ordered to take
possession of the South Bridge, and destroy such
property as he could find secreted in that locality.
He stationed a guard at the bridge, and another
at Lee's Hill, while the others visited the homes,
meeting with women whose management will be
described in another volume. Captain Pole's de-
tachment was startled by the guns at the North
Bridge, and they hastened back to the centre of
the town.
While the British forces were thus divided and
engaged, the Americans held a council of war on
the highest point of land where they were as-
sembled. There were in the number consulting.
Colonels Barrett, Robinson, Pierce and Brooks ;
Major Buttrick ; Captains Davis, Brown, Miles,
Barrett, and Smith, with prominent citizens. While
their deliberations were going on, they could see
the smoke and flames of destruction rising at the
centre, and they thought the whole village was on
fire. It was with that sight in view, the energetic
Hosmer exclaimed, "They have set the village on
fire ! Will you let them burn it down .?"'
They resolved to march to the middle of the
town to defend their homes, or die in the attempt.
To do this they must cross the bridge. There was
INCIDENTS OF CONCORD FIGHT IO9
a guard of about two hundred men under Captain
Lawrie, about a mile away was Captain Pole with
one hundred more, and Captain Parsons liable to
return at any moment with three companies from
Colonel Barrett's. The British could concentrate
over eight hundred thoroughly drilled men in a
very short time ; while the Americans numbered
about five hundred, who in a military estimate
could not be called much other than an " armed
mob."
In the excitement of the hour, Captain Smith
of Lincoln volunteered to dislodge the enemy at
the bridge with his singlci company. Captain
Davis of Acton at the same time uttered the
memorable words, " I haven't a man that's afraid
to go."
The minute-men having bayonets were given
the advance position ; and the Acton men, under
Captain Davis, were given the right in the march
to the bridge. Colonel Barrett gave the order to
march to " the bridge, and pass the same, but not
to fire on the king's troops unless they were fired
upon." They wheeled from the right, Luther Blan-
chard and John Buttrick, the young fifers, playing
the "White Cockade,'' advanced to the scene of
action, and placed themselves in an exposed posi-
tion on the rough, narrow highway. The Acton
minute-men, true to their captain's word, passed
in front, and marched toward the bridge. In files
of two abreast the Concord minute-men, under
no BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Captain Brown, pushed forward, coming next into
position. These companies were followed by
those of Captain Miles and Barrett ; the former
marched to the battlefield with the same serious-
ness and acknowledgment of God which he always
felt on going to church. Then came the Acton
militia under Lieutenant Simon Hunt. Those
from Lincoln and Bedford fell in under the direc-
tion of Colonel Barrett, who continued on horse-
back, giving orders to volunteers as they came in
from other towns.
The road being narrow and somewhat obstructed
by large stones, etc., it was impossible to form
many men in battle array, even if they had been
drilled soldiers.
Major Buttrick took command of the Ameri-
cans in the forward movement. He was accom-
panied by Lieutenant-colonel Robinson : thus they
marched to the scene of conflict.
The British, scattered about in groups on the
west bank of the river, formed and recrossed, and
were joined by the men who were on the hill near
by. The attempt of the British to destroy the
bridge called from Major Buttrick the order to
march in a quick step. This caused the enemy
to cease the destruction which might be the means
of injury to Captain Parsons's detachment when
returning to the centre.
The British fired two or three guns, probably
a signal for the distant detachments to return.
INCIDENTS OF CONCORD FIGHT III
When the Americans were within a few rods of
the bridge, one of the regulars, a sharpshooter,
stepped from the ranks and fired, evidently at
Major Buttrick or Colonel Robinson. The ball
slightly wounded Luther Blanchard, the fifer of
the Acton company, and Jonas Brown, a Concord
minute-man.
Then followed a volley, by which Captain Isaac
Davis and Private Abner Hosmer of Acton were
killed, a ball piercing the heart of the former, and
another the head of the latter. Ezekiel Davis,
brother of Isaac, was slightly wounded. Joshua
Brooks of Lincoln was struck by a ball that cut
through his hat and drew blood on his forehead.
The appearance was like that of a cut from a
knife, and "I concluded," said Private Baker,
"that the British were firing jackknives."
It was at this juncture that Major Buttrick,
jumping from the ground, exclaimed, " Fire, fel-
low-soldiers ! For God's sake, fire ! " discharging
his own gun at the same moment.
" Fire ! fire ! " was heard down the line, the
caution against being the beginners of the war
was now without force. The privilege to finish
it was for the Americans.
The order was readily obeyed. In a few mo-
ments the British broke and fled in great confu-
sion. Two British soldiers were killed, and a full
dozen were wounded.
The black-handled and brass-hilted sword of
112
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
one of the British officers was captured among
other things. It bears this inscrip-
tion: "X° RG'. C^ VI. No. lo."
The two British soldiers killed at
the bridge were buried where they
fell, by the Americans. The spot
was for a long time marked by two
rude stones only, but later received
a more fitting recognition.
One hundred and twenty years
have served to efface almost all traces
of the struggle. A bullet-hole made
in Elisha Jones's house, now the
residence of Hon. John S. Keyes,
is still visible, and attracts the eye
of the tourist.
Other incidents will be noticed
under other subjects, or in connec-
tion with the story of other homes
where important events occurred.
X5 ««w^x'>
CONCORD HOMES OF HISTORY IN 1775 II3
CHAPTER XI
CONCORD HOMES OF HISTORY IN 1 7/5
The names of Barrett and Buttrick are confus-
ing to the student of history not familiar with the
town of Concord. Both homesteads are now in
possession of the descendants of the heroes of the
Revolution, and are here described.
The Barrett homestead is about two miles from
Old North Bridge, and having a mill in connec-
tion with it, and being the home of Colonel James
Barrett, was one of the objective points of the
British visitation.
The name of Barrett has been prominent in the
history of Concord for two hundred and fifty-five
years.
Humphrey Barrett came to Concord from Eng-
land about 1640, and was the head of the large
and influential family. He died in 1662, and his
wife died one year later.
In the record of divisions, a sort of proving of
claims, etc., made in 1663, there are eleven lots,
containing 316 acres, credited to Humphrey Bar-
rett. This owner was doubtless Humphrey 2d,
who had succeeded to the grant, which passed
to his son Joseph (captain), and then to his son
Humphrey, and to Humphrey of the fifth genera-
114 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
tion, and then to Abel B. Haywood. A legacy of
five hundred dollars to the ministerial fund of the
town of Concord keeps the name of Humphrey of
the fifth generation before the people of the pres-
ent time.
Positive proof of the exact date of the first
appearance of the family at the Barrett estate of
Revolutionary fame is not at hand. The above-
named registry gives it as property of Richard
Temple in 1663 (5 lots, or 291 acres). It is ap-
parent that Benjamin, son of Humphrey 2d, born
in 1681, located here, with his wife Lydia Minot,
to whom he was married in January, 1704, and
that their eight children were born here. Benja-
min died in 1728 ; and the farm was later divided
into three, each of which was occupied by Barretts.
Colonel James, the third son of Benjamin, born
in 1710, inherited the homestead, and built the
house of Revolutionary interest. He married
Rebecca Hubbard in 1732, and their nine children
were born at this house.
At the opening of the Revolution, their son
James was established, with a large family, in one
of the three homes ; and his older brother, Deacon
Thomas, born 1707, was occupying the other home
with his large family.
These, with the mill, made up a Barrett settle-
ment, of much importance at that time, and re-
mained in the family many years ; but at present
only the original homestead remains in the name.
CONCORD HOMES OF HISTORY IN 1773 IIS
Colonel James Barrett was a leading figure dur-
ing the opening year of the struggle for liberty.
In 1768 he was chosen a representative from Con-
cord, and honored by a re-election on each suc-
ceeding year until 1777. He was a prominent
member of many of the conventions, and also of
the Provincial Congress. He was placed in charge
of the military stores deposited at Concord, and
was active in gathering and manufacturing army
supplies. He was made colonel of the regiment
of militia organized in March, 1775, and was in
command on April 19.
When the alarm of the march of the British
reached Colonel Barrett's home, the family made
haste to secure the stores that were on the estate.
Cannon were dismounted, placed in the field near
the house, and covered by turning furrows over
them ; while the new gun-carriages were taken to
a place of safety in the rear of the home, known
to this day as Spruce Gutter.
Colonel Barrett's duties were twofold on that
eventful morning. He not only had to look after
the stores, which he well knew to be the main
object of the morning excursion, but he had to
see to the gathering of his regiment. It was
while he was engaged with the latter that the
regulars, under Captain Parsons, marched to the
Barrett farm, directed, doubtless, by Daniel Bliss,
the Tory of the town. They committed many
depredations, and were foiled in many attempts
Il6 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
by the shrewdness of a woman. They pulled
Deacon Thomas Barrett, brother of Colonel
James, from his house by the hair of his head,
but gave him up upon his own plea of old age
and inability to do harm.
These brothers died within three months of
each other in 1779, without fully realizing the im-
portance of their proceedings on April 19, 1775.
The old house still stands, and serves the de-
scendants of the hero of that day ; and the mill
grinds for other purposes than the preparation of
food for the army.
The Barrett house of to-day is very much the
same as in 1775. The end door through which
the soldiers of the king passed still swings on
the time-honored hinges, and the doorstone is the
same as when pressed by the feet of the enemy.
In the flooring of one room may be seen a place
where a board has been inserted to fill a hole said
to have been made by the fall of a cannon-ball
during the haste of that morning. It was in this
room that Colonel James Barrett mustered in the
soldiers after his appointment to ofifice.
One of the British soldiers, named Thorpe, who
aided in searching the house on that memorable
morning, deserted from the king's army, visited
the Barrett home, and was later employed on the
farm, where he fully appreciated that food which
he so hastily sampled in the absence of the mas-
ter of the house.
CONCORD HOMES OF HISTORY IN 177S WJ
After the death of Colonel James Barrett, this
farm went to his son Peter, who was twenty years
of age at the time of the invasion. He married
Mary Prescott of Danvers, and had seven chil-
dren. During the years of Peter's possession,
the farm was mortgaged ; and had it not been
for another famous patriot the estate would have
been lost to the Barrett family. Roger Sher-
man, the patriot of- Connecticut, whose name
appears upon the Declaration of Independence,
having married a sister of Peter's wife, came to
the rescue, and saved the historic estate.
After the death of Peter, in 1808, his son Pres-
cott came into possession. He was born in 1788,
married twice, and had ten children, of whom
George is the present owner. He represents the
seventh generation of the family. The spinning-
wheel and flax-wheel which were kept humming
in busy preparations for the soldiers are still in
the family possession ; the pewter tableware from
which the soldiers lunched is scattered throughout
the families ; while Peter's clock, exchanged for
neighbor Joseph Clark's cow, is now owned in
that family by Mr. Tower.
BUTTRICK HOMESTEAD.
This IS of interest from the fact that the But-
trick family dates back to the beginning of civil-
ized life in Concord.
Il8 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
William, the head of the family, was born in
England about 1617. He was a co-worker with
Rev. Peter Bulkeley, Hon. Thomas Flint, and
others of that little company who pushed out
from tide-water, and began that settlement at
Musketaquid (Concord) in 1635.
In the record of 1635, twelve lots of 215 acres
are credited to William Buttrick. The homestead
of the present comprises a portion of that terri-
tory, and is one of the very few estates that have
never been sold out of the family name in the his-
toric town.
William Buttrick had a share of the "Com-
mons " in the first allotment, where he established
his home on the southerly slope of the hill, be-
yond the river, to which his meadows extended.
Here his descendants of the seventh generation
enjoy a prosperous home, and cherish the acres of
their illustrious ancestors.
In the course of family descent and settlement
of estates, divisions of the original territory have
necessarily been made ; but a good portion re-
mains, and every visitor to the Old Battleground
treads upon a portion of the Buttrick farm, which
was given by Stedman Buttrick, and on which
the Minute-Man stands.
It was Deacon Jonathan Buttrick, of the third
generation, whose memory is perpetuated by the
epitaph upon his gravestone. He died March
23, 1767, aged "]•], and "was followed to the
CONCORD HOMES OF HISTORY IX 1775 IK)
grave by his widow and tlairteen well-instructed
children." Four of these sons and several grand-
sons were in arms on the morning of April 19,
1775, for the Colonial cause.
BuTTRicK Homestead
The sixth son of Deacon Jonathan Buttrick
was John, who was in command at the battle of
Concord, and was the " hero of the fight." He
led the gallant band to meet the invading enemy
at North Bridge.
His words of command, uttered within sight of
his own hearthstone and in the presence of his
anxious family, are too familiar to need repeti-
I20 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
tion here. Major John's son and namesake, then
nineteen years of age, was a fifer in the battle
of Concord ; and Jonas, too young to enter the
ranks, viewed the memorable scene from behind
a buttonwood-tree that stood near the present
dwelling.
Major John Buttrick divided his estate between
his sons John and Jonas. The latter occupied
the site of the present dwelling, where his son
Stedman maintained the family integrity, and
transmitted estate and good name to the present
owners, who occupy the old homestead, and con-
tinue the enviable reputation of the fathers.
In the last will of Major John Buttrick is a
good example of the manner in which the head of
the family, one hundred years ago, provided for
his wife in her years of widowhood. Besides giv-
ing her the use of his dwelling, he provided that
his sons should " bring into my wife and their
mother, loo pounds of beef, well fatted ; six
bushels of Indian corn ; six bushels of rye, ground
into meal if she desires it ; one bushel of malt ;
one bushel of salt ; one barrel of cider ; one bar-
rel of good winter apples ; two pounds of tea; 14
pounds of sugar ; six pounds of candles ; together
with two silver dollars yearly, and a sufficiency of
sauce of every kind at all seasons of the year ;
and firewood cut fit for the fire sufficient for one
good fire, and carried into the house.
" In case of sickness or indisposition of body.
CONCORD HOMES OF HISTORY IN 1775 121
to provide for her necessaries in such case, also
keep one cow summer and winter for my wife,
and drive and fetch said cow from pasture in the
summer; and she shall have a horse with suitable
tackling to ride when and where she pleases."
No costly monument marks the resting-place of
him who led the Provincials at Old North Bridge,
but thousands of patriotic tourists annually seek
out the humble grave, and read : —
IN MEMORY OF
COLONEL JOHN BUTTRICK,
WHO COMMANDED THE MILITIA COMPANIES WHICH MADE
THE FIRST ATTACK UPON THE BRITISH TROOPS, AT CONCORD
NORTH BRIDGE, ON THE I9TH OF APRIL, 1775-
Having wi£k patriotic firmness shared in the dangers which led to
American Independence, he lived to enjoy the blessings of it, and
died May 16, 17^1, aged bo years. Having laid -doivn the sword
with honor, he resumed the plough with industry ; by the latter to
maintain "what the former had won. The virtues of the parent,
citizen, and Christian adorned his life, and his worth was acknowl-
edged by the grief and respect of all ranks at his death.
122 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER XII
A CONCORD patriot's SECRET
It was in the autumn of 1858 that I made my
first visit to Old Concord ; and having intrusted
my all (four dollars), the result of a season's
labor, to the safe keeping of the savings-bank, I
descended the steps of that, to me, pretentious
building, went out on to the "milldam," and
looked around. To a boy of less than ten years,
and those spent in close application upon a rocky
farm, even a glimpse into Concord of those days
was a revelation hardly dreamed of.
"There are 'queer people' over there in that
town," said my grandmother when putting a bit
of lunch into my pocket "lest I be faint." I was
thus prepared to take some observations in that
line. I was anxious to see some of those people,
peculiar to Old Concord, whom the unapprecia-
tive of the world designated as "queer people."
To have heard my own voice in asking a ques-
tion would have so frightened me as to have cast
a shadow forever over the memory of that first
visit.
People, not unlike those familiar to me, came
A COXCORD PATRIOT'S SECRET
123
and went, as I stood at an unobserved corner;
and I began to conclude that the " queer people "
must all be hermits, and had retired for the day
from the gaze of the world, when my attention
was attracted to
a group of boys
apparently listen-
ing to an old man
addressing his
conversation to
them. Having a
liking for old peo-
ple, and believ-
ing that the cen-
tral figure of the
group must be
one of those
strange charac-
ters, preaching a
strange doctrine,
that I had been
faithfully warned
against, I quietly made my way towards him.
"Sure enough," thought I, "here is one of
them." Queer enough to look at ! He was a
little old man, with a wrinkled, russet face, bor-
dered by a few stray bristles that had escaped the
razor's search. His hat was a sort of half apology
for an ancient bell top. His outside garment was
a loose frock of a mixed bluish color, that covered
EiulNezer IIl'bb.\rd
124 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
his bowed figure from his ears to his feet that
were encased in a pair of stout cowhide brogans.
Queer as he looked, it was nothing in comparison
to what he was saying, according to my youthful
estimation.
He was unmindful of the new member of his
audience, who compared well with the trim little
youngsters giving heed to the message being de-
livered with vehemence of temper. " I tell ye,
boys, that monument ■ stands where the enemy
was. Queer piece of business to put up a monu-
ment where Gage's rascals stood when they killed
our men." This was the burden of the old man's
message, repeated with variations, and with as"
much earnestness as though he was giving ex-
pression to a new idea.
One bystander, who might have been regarded
as a young man, caused a little departure from
the main line of the old man's thought by saying,
"Tell me, Uncle Ebby, where did the British find
the flour.'" — "Out there where that meeting-
house stands ; 'twas there in my grandfather's
malt-house, and out beyond in Wheeler's building
too ; over there was the mill, you know," was the
old man's reply, together with a sweeping gesture
with his cane towards the bank from which I had
just come.
With this the old man moved on a piece, took
new bearings from a high board fence, and con-
tinued, "British.? Yes, them British redcoats,"
A CONCORD PATRIOT'S SECRET 125
Striking the ground with his hickory cane in the
way of emphasis.
" They came out here, destroyed all they could
get, tried to burn the town, robbed the folks, and
killed what they could, till we drove them off ;
and then these folks went and put up a monument
where the rascals stood."
With this utterance the old man moved on,
scuffing his feet with rage, and turned into his
yard, closing the gate after him.
" Did you help drive the British off .'' " cried
out a little fellow in the earnestness of honest
inquiry, as the old man withdrew from his audi-
ence. The question, which brought no reply,
was not unreasonable ; in general appearance the
speaker might well have passed. for one who with-
stood the enemy at Old North Bridge.
My neighbor's familiar team came in sight ;
and I retired from the group with as little cere-
mony as I joined it, and was soon on the way to
my home, five miles away. I returned to my peo-
ple, holding my bank-book tightly clasped in my
hand as evidence of my being a person of prop-
erty. I was also enjoying the satisfaction of
having seen one of the "queer people," and the
consciousness of having listened to some of their
strange sayings. But this being in violation of
the oft-repeated injunction of my grandmother to
shun all such heretics, I did not dare to ask such
questions as my curiosity prompted.
126 BErfEATtt OLD ROOF TREES
Barber's " History of Massachusetts " was one
of the few books possessed by my grandparents,
to which I was often directed ; and I made haste
to verify the words of the strange man by refer-
ring to this reliable volume as soon as opportunity
permitted. Turning to the article on Concord, in
the description of the monument I read, " Here,
on the 19th of April, 1775, was made the first for-
cible resistance to British aggression. On the
opposite bank stood the American militia. Here
stood the invading army ; and on this spot the
first of the enemy fell in the war of the Revolu-
tion, which gave independence to these United
States. In gratitude to God, and in the love of
Freedom, this monument was erected, a.d. 1836."
With this unquestionable evidence, I made
haste to declare my belief in the man whom I had
met, and my faith in others who I was told were
different in manner, and had strange ideas about
the future life.
My first lesson in patriotism had been taken.
The " queer man " had made a convert. Boy-
like, I lost no opportunity for ascertaining the
name of the stranger who had so impressed me,
and learned that he was Ebenezer Hubbard, or as
many, in a half-familiar, half-derisive manner,
called him, "Uncle Ebby."
Some years passed before I had occasion to
again visit the old town, and then it was in the
line of business and at regular intervals. In the
A CONCORD PATRIOT'S SECRET 12/
meantime I had become better prepared to appre-
ciate tiiat which was making the town of Concord
famous the world over.
My footsteps soon turned to an ancient burial-
place of the town, frequented by many who were
prompted by a commendable sentiment. While
there engaged in the effort to decipher the epitaph
on a mossgrown slab, I was startled by approach-
ing footsteps. An aged man was coming down a
winding path which entered the more trodden way
near where I was laboring in attitude most hum-
ble. I perceived him to be the same old man
whose words still rang in my ears. His mo-
rose countenance deterred me from making any
advances towards him which my inclination
prompted. I longed to assure him that 'he had
one sympathizer, but, like many older than myself
let an opportunity slip by, when by word or ex-
tended hand I might have lightened a burden.
Being curious to ascertain the object of the old
man's visit to a place familiar to every old resident
of the town, I turned aside into the byway, and
traced his footsteps, expecting to find them lead
to the grave of some hero who in his life had en-
tertained sentiments like those so freely expressed
by the visitor, — some grave that served as an
altar to .him, where he rekindled the fire of patri-
otism, and from which he returned to the village
with new resolutions to redress the wrong that
burdened his mind.
128 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
My most careful searching among the moss-
grown slabs revealed no such sepulchre ; but I
fancied that the last visitor to the locality of the
Gun House must have paused at an unpreten-
tious slab, which told of a young life that closed
with the last century. Could there be any senti-
ment of a nature indicated by the circumstances
wrapped up in the old man ? was the thought
with which I returned to the village and to duty.
It was not long before I met Ebenezer Hub-
bard at his own threshold. My taste had often
led me to scan closely the ancient estate in the
very heart of Concord. The old dwelling with its
" lean-to," the time-worn well-sweep, the little
shop near by, all surrounded by broad fields en-
closed in part by a forbidding fence, appealed
to my sentiment and curiosity.
The aged owner apparently was not entirely
averse to me, and as opportunity permitted I ob-
tained from him the key which unlocked the
outer door of his hidden self.
The homestead was originally the estate of
Robert Merriam, one of the three brothers who
came with the very early settlers to that town,
and having spent his years as a trader, and served
his fellow-men as town clerk, commissioner, repre-
sentative, and deacon, died in 1681, soon followed
by his wife, Mary Sheafe.
They left the estate to a cousin, Jonathan Hub-
bard, who married Hannah Rice of Sudbury.
.1 CONCORD PATRIOT'S SECRET
129
Thus began a family possession of almost two
hundred years, when the death of the last resi-
dent, Ebenezer, brought it to an end. The old
house was doubtless erected by Robert Merriam,
and had seen more than two centuries of service
when it was destroyed.
Hubbard House
It was in its original grandeur when the town
took a hand in the seizure and expulsion of
Andros, and the change from Colonial to Provin-
cial government took place. It was old when
the Revolutionary period began, and in and about
the house occurred incidents that tended to de-
velop-and foster a spirit of patriotism. It was in
a storehouse on this farm that Gage's men de-
130 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
stroyed flour that had been secreted for army use.
From here went members of the Hubbard fam-
ily into the war, after being in service on the
19th of April. David, son of Jonathan, went with
General Arnold in his expedition to Quebec,
and afterwards served under General Gates with
other Concord men. He was discharged from
the army of General Gates in November, 1776, on
account of ill health. At one time he was a
corporal in Captain Miles's company of Colonel
Reed's regiment. He married Mary, daughter of
Deacon Thomas Barrett, and thus became con-
nected with a noted family of the Revolution.
David Hubbard and young wife started out
into the wilderness to establish a home in south-
ern New Hampshire, and became active in the
interests of the town of Hancock soon after its in-
corporation. Here Ebenezer was born, in 1782.
The town being named for John Hancock, one
of the original proprietors, the boy Ebenezer
Hubbard became early interested in him as an
influential man of the Revolution ; and he did not
lose his admiration for the patriot, although 'his
townsmen were disappointed in not receiving
substantial aid from the wealthy merchant whom
they had complimented.
Ebenezer saw the rude meeting-house erected,
and though young had a share in the welcome
extended to Rev. Reed Paige, who became the
first minister.
A CONCORD PATRIOT'S SECRET 13I
The entire environments of Ebenezer Hubbard
during the most impressionable period of his life
were hard and severe. Self-denial was necessarily
practised at every turn. He saw the meeting-
house paid for, and the minister's salary provided,
by means of barter. He had most naturally ac-
quired habits of frugality before leaving his native
town, which he did at the age of about ten years.
Born of parents who were ardent patriots, and
in a town that had recognized the valuable ser-
vices of one of the early patriots of Massachu-
setts, the boy Ebenezer was well established in
the principles of the colonists before he took up
his abode at Concord with his grandfather, whose
name he bore.
Here the fireside tales of ''j6 assumed a double
reality, and the old home around which the en-
emy had trodden became sacred to him. He
boasted that John Hancock, when presiding in
his oiificial capacity over the Provincial Congress,
had been entertained in the room which he oc-
cupied.
In the practice of the habits early acquired,
together with the additional advantages of the
schools of Concord, the boy developed into man-
hood, gradually adding to the estate which he
inherited.
His mother, as Mrs. Nutting, made the home a
place of delight to him for a while, until shadows
fell across his pathway, and all light seemed to
132 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
be darkness about him. He had a mechanical
taste, and spent much time in the seclusion of
his little workshop, near to the back door of his
dwelling.
The question of the erection of a monument to
commemorate the events of April 19, 1775, met
with his hearty approval, and the patriotism of
his youth reasserted itself. It seemed as though
the void of his life was to be partially met when
the granite shaft was decided upon ; but when it
was located, in 1836, there was no bound to his
indignation. From that time till his death, he
continued to reiterate his disapproval of the act
in the language that he was using when I first
met him.
When the Trinitarian church was formed, in
1826, Mr. Hubbard gave the land for the erection
of the meeting-house. It occupies the site of the
building where the flour was stored which Gage's
men scattered over the fields until there was the
appearance of a light fall of snow.
Far be it from any one to impugn the motives
of the donor in this gift of a portion of his ances-
tral homestead for so good a purpose ; but the act
being so contrary to his ordinary habit, and so
regretful to him in after years, it seemed to have
been actuated by an acrimonious spirit in some
direction. In later years no obstacle seemed to
be too hideous for him to place within range of
the meeting-house. As time advanced, and age
A CONCORD PATRIOT'S SECRET 1 33
crept on, his natural characteristics strengthened,
the thoughtless acts of the careless irritated him,
and there were but few in whom he placed any
confidence. An aversion for the gentler sex, in-
dividually and as a class, seemed to dominate his
life. At times he had the service of a family in
his dwelling; but in the last of his days he lived
alone, placing but little confidence in any one.
The writer was one of the few who had a tem-
porary place in his esteem. In the little shop,
and also in the rude kitchen, Mr. Hubbard, when
past fourscore years of age, repeated to his new
friend the one known burden of his heart. 'Twas
the same that I had already heard from his lips.
It did not seem like the act of an old man in his
dotage, inflicted upon young and old in season
and out of season, but rather the bubbling of a
pent-up stream from a deep-seated fountain of
patriotism.
"Justice will never be done in my day," were
the words of conclusion, as he regretfully shook
his aged form and turned to other subjects.
On Oct. 3, 1 87 1, a bright autumn morning, I
entered the gate, walked up the pathway strewn
with the most richly tinted foliage that had fallen
during the night, and into the door unannounced
as was my custom. In the little dingy kitchen of
the '' lean-to," in an old straight-back chair, sat
the form of Ebenezer Hubbard, his staff still
erect, but the hand of the owner had loosened
134 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
its grasp upon this support and upon all of this
world's possessions.
The proper authorities came, and in the name
of the law performed those services which affec-
tion failed to do. The old saddle-bags gave up
their long-hidden load of gold and silver coin, the
family Bible its well-worn scrip ; and the hoarded
wealth being gathered from all its hiding-places,
the aged form was borne to the Town Hall, where
the rite of sepulchre was performed, and then
consigned to a grave in Sleepy Hollow. None
could have been more beautiful for situation, but
very different from his desire, which might have
been granted had he been able to so control a
certain characteristic of his nature as to intrust
to another the key to the inner secret of his
blighted life. A clause in the last will of Mr.
Hubbard reads thus : " I hereby order my execu-
tor aforesaid to procure, if possible, a burial-lot in
the middle burying-ground in said Concord, on
the northerly side of the road leading from the
centre of said Concord to Bedford, and opposite
the Gun House, or if my said executor cannot
procure such burial-lot there, then in any other
burying-ground in said Concord to procure a suit-
able lot, and on such burial-lot to erect a suitable
monument, with an inscription thereon, and to
fence said burial-lot, the expense not to exceed
two thousand dollars ; and it is my express wish,
if circumstances will permit, that the remains of
A CONCORD PATRIOT'S SECRET 1 35
my beloved mother, buried at Groton . . . and of
my brother Silas B. Hubbard, buried in the State
of Illinois, should be removed ... to my said
burial-lot, and there buried beside my body."
The possible requests were carried out. An
imposing granite monument tells the simple story
of mortality.
The winding pathway through the ancient bur-
ial-ground terminates not at a little mossgrown
slab near the Gun House, but is lost in the con-
tinual passing of the curious of the world.
A few weeks after the close of the life at the
old homestead, a clergyman of Concord returned
to his people and pulpit to regretfully learn that a
service which Mr. Hubbard had requested of
him, an almost entire stranger, had of necessity
been performed by another. This request was in
keeping with much of the life that had closed.
The minister was a lone star, and of a nature
which seemed to meet the wants of one about to
sink beyond the western horizon. In the fulfil-
ment of his promise. Rev. Mr. Rogers opened the
closed door, and let the world look for a moment
at a heart pierced in early youth by Cupid's dart.
The one well-known desire of Ebenezer Hub-
bard was not gratified in his lifetime, but that
which was denied him was brought about in part
through a provision of his will.
" I order my executor to pay the sum of one
thousand dollars towards building a monument in
136
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Statue of Minute Man, Concorh
said town of
Concord on the
spot where the
Americans fell,
on the opposite
side of the river
from the pres-
ent monument,
in the battle
of the 19th of
April, 1775."
He also in-
trusted a friend
with the sum of
six hundred dol-
lars towards the
erection of a
bridge across
the river, at the
place where the
famous Old
North Bridge
"arched the
flood."
Thelandwhich
he so much cov-
eted for a pub-
lic purpose was
deeded to the
town by Mr.
A CONCORD PATRIOT'S SECRET 1 37
Stedman Buttrick, who thus dedicated to the cause
of Uberty the ground on which his grandfather
stood when in command of the Americans he
uttered the memorable words, " Fire, fellow-
soldiers! for God's sake, fire!"
Other gifts were made ; and on April 19, 1875,
the completed work was unveiled to the world ;
and thus was Ebenezer Hubbard's longing grati-
fied, but too late for him to enjoy.
The patriotism of Mr. Hubbard was also mani-
fested in gifts of one thousand dollars each to the
poor and to the public library of Concord, and also
of his native town, Hancock, N.H.
To the value of the early impressions received
during his life with the struggling settlers of
Hancock, Mr. Hubbard testified through the gift
of one thousand dollars to the Bible Society of
Massachusetts, incorporated in the year 18 10.
The death of Ebenezer Hubbard marks the
beginning of a new epoch in the development of
Old Concord. With the close of his life there
terminated two centuries of Hubbard posses-
sion. This farm was a most desirable location
for building purposes. The broad acres, coveted
by many, were purchased by a syndicate of pro-
gressive citizens. The ancient dwelling was
taken down, the unsightly obstacles removed, and
a broad avenue cut through the farm, on which
have been erected some of the best residences of
the town.
1^.8
BENEATH OLD KOOE TREES
The old elms which mark the site of the old
house, and the new street through the farm, are
all that remind the people of to-day of the little
old man, Ebenezer Hubbard.
liATTLii Monument at Cci.nlurd.
FOOTPRINTS OF ACTON PATRIOTS 1 39
CHAPTER XIII
FOOTPRINTS OF ACTON PATRIOTS
Acton was one of the first towns to respond
to the midnight alarm. It affords no more fitting
place to-day from which to tell its story than the
old Faulkner residence, where glowed the watch-
fires of patriotism long before the Revolution.
The recurring attacks by the Indians necessi-
tated the erection of houses for safety, to which
the scattered settlers might flee.
The ancient home of the Faulkner family at
South Acton is one of those garrisons, or strong
houses, of the territory originally included in Old
Concord.
The first of the Faulkner name in this country
was Edmond, who came to Salem, and thence to
Andover, which latter place he bought of an In-
dian chief for twenty gallons of rum and a red
coat.
The records of Andover show him to have been
the leader in founding the church there in 1645.
He was then a selectman, and was town clerk in
1 674-5.
During King Philip's war, in 1676, his house
was burned, and his cattle were killed. The mar-
140
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
riage of Edmond Faulkner with Miss Dorothy
Robinson, Feb. 4, 1647, was the first recorded
in Andover, the ceremony being performed by
John Winthrop. The first born of this mar-
riage, F"rancis, married Abigail, daughter of Rev.
Francis Dane of that town. She was one of the
unfortunates of two centuries ago who were ac-
Faulkner Residence
cased of witchcraft. She was tried, and con-
demned to death, but escaped the gallows.
Ammiruhammah, son of Francis and Abigail,
and grandson of Edmond and Doroth^', was the
first settler in the present town of Acton. He
built the house, which has seen nearly two centu-
ries of existence. It has the impress of age upon
FOOTPRINTS OF ACTON PATRIOTS 14I
it, and it deepens as one turns for a careful look.
The huge chimney confronts you at once ; it is
nine feet square, and is the centre of strength of
the structure. The solid oak timbers, fully eigh-
teen inches square, are apparent at every corner ;
the gashes made by the woodman's axe are as
plainly visible as when they were hewn in the
forest.
The room on the left of the front door is of
peculiar interest : its casements of brick were
built to keep out the bullets of the enemy. One
hundred people may be accommodated in this
room.
The house was for many years the seat of jus-
tice. Colonel Francis Faulkner was the magis-
trate, and in this large room the courts were held.
In the top of the door leading to the "living-
room " may be seen two small round openings,
through which anxious friends viewed the tribunal
when Colonel Faulkner was on the bench.
The garret of this ancient dwelling is a curios-
ity-shop. No "vendue" has ever been held, hence
the accumulation of foot-stoves, warming-pans,
handirons, tin ovens and bakers, settles, spinning-
wheels, loom-reels, etc.
The window-glass, of diminutive size, is the
very same through which five generations of the
Faulkners have reviewed the scenes without, none
of which caused more anxiety than those of April
I9> 1775-
142 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
During the Revolution, Colonel Faulkner was
the leader of the town in military affairs as well
as in legal and civic. The highway ended at his
house ; and to reach the dwelling one must cross
the stream, Great Brook as it was called by the
early settlers. The noise of one crossing the
bridge had long been the signal of a caller.
Francis Faulkner, Jun., was lying awake early
on the morning of April ig, 1775, and listening to
the clatter of a horse's feet. Suddenly he leaped
from his bed, ran to his father's room, and cried
out, " Father, there's a horse coming on the full
run, and he's bringing news ! "
The horseman turned across the bridge and
up to the house, and shouted, " Rouse your min-
ute-men, Mr. Faulkner, the British are marching
on Concord ! " And away he went to spread far-
ther the news.
Without stopping to dress, the colonel fired
three times, as fast as he could load and fire the
old musket.
The alarm sent out from Concord through the
timely notice of Dr. Prescott was early circulated
throughout Acton.
A horseman galloped to the home of Captain
Joseph Robbins, and without dismounting banged
on the corner of the house, and cried out, " Cap-
tain Robbins ! Up ! Up ! The regulars have
come to Concord!" John, a son, was out of his
garret bed in an instant, and soon on the back of
FOOTPRINTS OF ACTON PATRIOTS 1 43
his father's old mare headed for the house of Cap-
tain Davis, who commanded the minute-men, and
thence on to Deacon Simon Hunt's, who was first
lieutenant in the West company of militia, and
commanding officer in place of Captain Faulkner,
who had just been promoted colonel of the Mid-
dlesex regiment.
The Acton companies were not long in gath-
ering, and were soon on the road to Old North
Bridge.
Although they had a most inadequate idea of
what was before them, there were sad partings at
many homes.
The Acton minute-men proved the truth of
the words of their captain, " I haven't a man
that's afraid to go."
The events of that day seem comparatively re-
cent when we gather the accounts from one who
had them from the lips of a participant. The
living son of a man who served at Concord
and Bunker Hill is Luke Smith of Acton. He
was the youngest of thirteen children, and, like
Joseph of old, the child of his father's old age.
Solomon Smith, like Jacob the Jewish patriarch,
had a favorite. It was Luke, his last-born, who is
the last to tell his father's story. " Sitting upon
my father's knee," he said, " in the full enjoyment
of the blessings of liberty, I received from him
this account of the eventful day of history : " —
"The 19th of April, never to be forgotten, was
144
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
a bright, crisp morning. The sun had been up a
full hour and a half. We were drawn up in line
when I heard the
word of command
for which we were
anxiously waiting,
' March ! ' How
those words still
ring in my ears !
I.uke Blanchard
was our fifer, and
Francis Barker
was the drummer.
To the tune of the
• White Cockade '
we left the town.
We were too much
in haste for many
parting words. A
few did run back to say a word to wife or parent.
"We followed the road for a while, and then left
it and struck through the woods, a short cut to
Concord. We passed Barrett's mill before coming
to Old North Bridge. How indignant we were
when we first caught sight of Captain Parsons's
detachment, with axes, breaking up the gun-car-
riages, and bringing out hay and wood, and set-
ting fire to them in the yard.
" We had a good mind to fire upon tlie red-coated
soldiers of King George there and then ; but we
Luke Smith
FOOTPRINTS OF ACTON PATRIOTS I45
trusted our captain, and waited for his orders.
When I heard him say to Colonel Barrett, " I
have not a man who is afraid to go," my heart
beat faster than the drum of our company ; but
how my feelings changed when I saw Isaac Davis
fall, and Abner Hosmer by his side ! I then
thought of the widow at home, whom a few hours
before I had seen Isaac so tenderly leave."
Captain Isaac Davis and Private Abner Hosmer
fell, killed by the first volley from the enemy.
At Fisks Hill, in Lexington, James Hayward of
Acton was mortally wounded. A tablet there, and
a monument at Acton, tell to all people the story
of the part taken by the patriots of that town,
whose footprints will never be effaced.
AT THIS WELL, APRIL I9, 1/75,
JAMES HAYWARD, OF ACTON,
MET A BRITISH SOLDIER, WHO, RAISING HIS GUN,
SAID, "YOU ARE A DEAD MAN."
" AND SO ARE YOU," REPLIED HAYWARD.
BOTH FIRED : THE SOLDIER WAS INSTANTLY
KILLED, AND HAYWARD MORTALLY
WOUNDED.
He died on the following day.
While his life was ebbing away, he said to his
father, "Hand me my powder-horn and bullet-
pouch. I started with one pound of powder and
forty balls. You see what I have left ; I never
did such a forenoon's work before."
146 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
The powder-horn, with the hole made by the
bullet that caused his death, is safely kept in that
town to-day ; and the shoe-buckles on which are the
stains of the blood of Captain Isaac Davis, and also
his musket, are still held as precious memorials.
' In October, 1851, a granite monument was
erected to the memory of Acton's soldiers, and
Powder-horn
under it repose the remains of the three brave
men.
On the monument is the following: : —
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
AND
THE TOWN OF ACTON,
CO-OPERATING TO PERPETUATE THE FAME OF THEIR
GLORIOUS DEEDS OF PATRIOTISM,
HAVE ERECTED THIS MONUMENT IN HONOR OF
CAPT. ISAAC DAVIS
AND PRIVATES ABNER HOSMER AND JAMES HAYWARD,
CITIZEN-SOLDIERS OF ACTON AND PROVINCIAL MINUTE-MEN,
WHO FELL IN CONCORD FIGHT
ON THE I9TH DAY OF APRIL, A.D. 1775.
FOOTPRINTS OF ACTON PATRIOTS I47
Oti the morning of that eventful day the Provincial officers had
a council of war near the Old North Bridge in Concord ; and as
they separated^ Davis exclaimed, " I haven^t a man that is afraid
to go I " and immediately marched his company from the left to the
right of the line, and led in the first organized attack upon the
troops of George III. in that memorable war, which, by the help of
God, made the thirteen colonies independeitt of Great Britain, and
gave political being to the United States of America,
Acton, April ig, iSji."
The sum of two thousand dollars towards the
erection of the monument was granted by the
State legislature, and expended under the direc-
tion of Governor George S. Boutwell.
The act was passed through the efforts of Rev.
James T. Woodbury of Acton. His speech is
worthy the study of every patriotic son of our
republic.
Hon. George S. Boutwell gives the following
interesting information regarding the action of
Acton before the United States republic was
declared : —
"While I was engaged in the preparation of the address
which I delivered at the dedication of the Acton monument,
Oct. 29, 1851, I called the attention of Mr. Webster to the
resolution of the town of Acton of June 14, 1776, in the
words following, and which I incorporated in my address : —
"The resolution contained these words: 'The many
injuries and unheard of barbarities which the Colonies have
received from Great Britain confirm us in the opinion that
the present age will be deficient in their duty to God, their
posterity, and themselves, if they do not establish an Ameri-
can republic. This is the only form of government we wish
to see established.'
148 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
" In my letter to Mr. Webster I enclosed a copy of the
foregoing resolution ; and in reply, under the date of Oct. 16,
1851, he said, ' The resolutions of the town of Acton of the
14th of June, 1776, are very remarkable. The general idea
of some union among the several Colonies, each acting
under its separate government, is known, of course, to have
prevailed. The meeting at Albany is proof of this, and
other evidences also to the like effect are spread through our
history. But the inhabitants of Acton, with a far-seeing
sagacity, by the resolution referred to, carried that opinion
much farther, and to a much more important result. They
appear to have contemplated, not a confederacy or league
between the States, but one government, that is to say, an
American republic for them all. I am not aware of any vote
or declaration by any body of citizens to the same or a simi-
lar effect of an earlier period.'
" It may be true that in the later days of active and care-
ful investigation earlier evidence of a like declaration may
have been found, but such evidence has not come under my
notice."
SPEECH OF REV. JAMES T. WOODBURY 1 49
CHAPTER XIV
SPEECH OF REV. JAMES T. WOODBURY. EAGLE
IN CONCORD FIGHT
REV. JAMES T. WOODBURY'S SPEECH
Who was Captain Isaac Davis 1 Wlio was Ab-
ner Hosmer.'' Who was James Hayward .■■ And
what was Concord fight 1 What did they fight
for, and what did they win } These were Massa-
chusetts Province militiamen, not in these good,
quiet, piping times of peace, but in 1775, at the
very dark, gloomy outbreak of the American
Revolution.
Let us turn back to the bloody annals of that
eventful day. Let us see, as well as we can at
this distance of three-quarters of a century, just
how matters and things stood.
General Gage had full possession of this city.
The flag that waved over it was not that of " the
old pine-tree ; " nor that one, with that beautiful
insignia over your head, sir, with the uplifted
right hand lettered over with this most warlike,
and, to my taste, most appropriate motto in a
wrongful world like this, " Ense fietit placidam, sub
libertate quietem." No, no ! It was the flag of
that hereditary despot, George the Third.
150 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
And if there had been no Isaac Davis or other
men of his stamp on the ground on that day, the
flag of the crouching lion, the flag of Queen Vic-
toria, due successor to that same hated George
the Third, first the oppressor, and then the un-
scrupulous murderer of our fathers, — yes, I know
what I say, the unscrupulous murderer of our
fathers, — would still wave over this beautiful
city, and would now be streaming in the wind
over every American ship in this harbor.. Where,
in that case, would have been this legislature ?
Why, sir, it would never have been ; and my con-
scientious friend from West Brookfield, instead of
sitting here a good " Free-Soil " man as he is,
would have been called to no such high vocation
as making laws for a free people, for the good old
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, voting for Rob-
ert Rantoul, Jun., or Charles Sumner, or Hon.
Mr. Winthrop, to represent us in a body known
as the United States Senate, pronounced the most
august, dignified legislative assembly in the civil-
ized world. Oh, no! Far otherwise! If per-
mitted to legislate at all, it would be done under
the dictation of Queen Victoria ; and if he made
laws, it would be with a ring in his nose to pull
him this way and that, or with his head in the
British lion's mouth, — that same lion's mouth
which roared in 1775, showing his teeth and lash-
ing his sides at our fathers.
This city was in full possession of the enemy,
SPSSCff OP HE'V. JAMES T. WOODBURY \i,\
and had been for several months. General Gage
had converted the house of prayer, the Old South
Church, — where we met a few days since, to sit,
delighted auditors, to that unsurpassed Election
Sermon, — into a riding-school, a drilling-place for
his cavalry. The pulpit, and all the pews of the
lower floor, were, with vandal violence, torn out,
and tan brought in ; and here the dragoons of
King George practised, on their prancing war-
horses, the sword exercise, with Tory ladies and
gentlemen for spectators in the galleries.
At the 19th of April, 1775, it was not " Ense
petit placidam, sub libertate quietem." " Stib liber-
tate ! " It would have been rather " sub vili ser-
vitio ! " ■ — szeb anything rather than liberty under
the British Crown.
Information had been received from most re-
liable sources that valuable powder, ball, and other
munitions of war, were deposited in Concord.
General Gage determined to have them. Concord
was a great place in '75. The Provincial Con-
gress had just suspended its session there of near
two months, adjourning over to the loth of May,
with Warren for their president, and such men as
old Samuel Adams, John Hancock, John Adams,
and James Otis as their advisers. Yes, Concord
was the centre of the brave old Middlesex, con-
taining within it all the early battlegrounds of
liberty, — Old North Bridge, Lexington Common,
and Bunker Hill, — and was for a time the capital
152 BENEATH OLD kOOF TREES
of the Province, the seat of the government of
the Colony of Massachusetts Bay.
And Concord had within it as true-hearted
Whig patriots as ever breathed. Rev. Mr. Emer-
son was called a " high son of liberty." To con-
tend with tyrants, and stand up against them,
resisting unto blood, fighting for the inalienable
rights of the people, was a part of his holy reli-
gion. And he was one of the most godly men
and eloquent ministers in the colony. He actu-
ally felt it to be his duty to God to quit that most
delightful town and village, and the most affec-
tionate church and people, and enter the Con-
tinental army, and serve them as a chaplain of a
regiment.
What a patient, noble-hearted, truthful, loyal,
confiding, affectionate generation of men they
were ! And remember, these were the men, ex-
asperated beyond all further endurance by the
course of a deluded Parliament and besotted min-
istry, who flew to arms on the 19th of April, 1775.
These were the men who then hunted up their
powder-horns and bullet-pouches, took down their
guns from the hooks, and ground up their bay-
onets, on that most memorable of all days in the
annals of the Old Thirteen Colonies, — nay, in the
annals of the world, — - which record the struggles
that noble men have made in all ages to be free !
Yes, to my mind, Mr. Speaker, it is a more
glorious day, a day more full of thrilling incidents
SPEECH OF REV. JAMES T. WOODBURY 1 53
and great steps taken by the people to be free,
than even the Fourth of July itself, 1776.
Why, sir, the 19th of April, '75, that resistance,
open, unorganized, armed, marshalled resistance
at the Old North Bridge, that marching down in
battle array at that soul-stirring air which every
soldier in this house must remember to this day,
for the tune is in fashion yet, — I mean " The
White Cockade," — ^was itself a prior declaration of
independence, written out not with ink upon paper
or parchment, but a declaration of independence
made by drawn swords, uplifted right arms, fixed
bayonets ground sharp, cracking musketry, — a
declaration written out in the best blood of this
land, at Lexington first, and finally all the way
for eighteen miles from Old North Bridge to
Charlestown Neck, where those panting fugitives
found shelter under the guns of British ships of
war, riding at anchor in Mystic River ready to
receive them ; a declaration that put more at
hazard, and cost the men who, made it more, after
all, of blood and treasure, than that of 1776.
It cost Davis, Hosmer, and Hayward, and hun-
dreds of others equally brave and worthy, their
hearts' blood. It cost many an aged father and
mother their darling son, many a wife her hus-
band, many a Middlesex maid her lover.
Oh, what a glorious, but oh, what a bloody day
it was ! That was the day which split in twain
the British empire, never again to be reunited.
154 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
What was the battle of Waterloo ? What ques-
tion did it settle ? Why, simply who, of several
kings, should wear the crown.
Well, I always thought ever since I read it
when a boy, that if I had fought on either side it
would have been with Napoleon against the allied
forces. But what is the question to me, or what
is the question to you, or to any of us, or our
children after us, if we are to be ruled over by
crowned heads and hereditary monarchs .■' What
matters it who they are, or which one it shall be }
In ancient times three hundred Greeks, under
Leonidas, stood in the pass of Thermopylae, and
for three successive days beat back and kept at
bay five million Persians, led on by Xerxes the
Great. It was a gallant act ; but did it preserve
the blood-bought liberties of Greece .' No. In
time they were cloven down, and the land of
Demosthenes and Solon marked for ages by the
footsteps of the slaves.
We weep over it, but we cannot alter it. But
not so, thank God, with "Concord Fight;" and by
" Concord Fight," I say here, for fear of being
misunderstood, I mean by " Concord " all the
transactions of that day.
I regard them as one great drama, scene first
of which was at Lexington early in the morning,
when old Mrs. Harrington called up her son Jona-
than, who alone, while I speak, survives of all
that host on either side in arms that day. He
SPEECH OF REV. JAMES T. WOODBURY 1 55
lives, blessed be God, he still lives ! I know him
well, a trembling, but still breathing memento of
the renowned past, yet lingering by mercy of God
on these " mortal shores," if for nothing else, to
wake up your sleeping sympathies, and induce
you, if anything could, to aid in the noble work
of building over the bones of his slaughtered
companions-in-arms, Davis, Hosmer, and Hay-
ward, such a monument as they deserve. Oh, I
wish he was here, I wish he only stood on yonder
platform, noble man !
" Concord Fight " broke the ice. " Concord
Fight," the rush from the heights at North
Bridge, was the first open, marshalled resistance
to the king. Our fathers, cautious men, took
there a step that they could not take back if
they would, and would not if they could. Till
they made that attack, probably no British blood
had been shed.
If rebels at all, it was only on paper. They
had not levied war. They had not vi et armis
attacked their lawful king. But by that act they
passed the Rubicon. Till then they might retreat
with honor, but after that it was too late. The
sword was drawn, and had been made red in the
blood of princes, in the person of their armed
defenders.
Attacking Captain Laurie and his detachment
at North Bridge was, in law, attacking King
George himself. Now they must fight or be eter-
I $6 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
nally disgraced. And now they did fight in good
earnest. They drew the sword, and threw away,
as well as they might, the scabbard. Yester-
day they humbly petitioned. They petitioned no
longer. Oh, what change from the 19th to the
20th of April !
They had been, up to that day, a grave, God-
fearing, loyal set of men, honoring the king.
Now they strike for national independence ; and
after seven years of war, by the help of God, they
won it. They obtained nationality. It that day
breathed into life ; the Colony gave way to the
St^te ; that morning Davis and all of them were
British colonists. They became by that day's re-
sistance, either rebels doomed to die by the halter,
or free, independent citizens. If the old pine-tree
flag still waved over them unchanged, they them-
selves were changed entirely and forever.
Old Middlesex was allowed the privilege of
opening the war, of first baptizing the land with
her blood. God did well to select old Middlesex,
and the loved and revered centre of old Middle-
sex, namely. Concord, as the spot, not where this
achievement was to be completed, but where it
was to be begun, and well begun ; where the
troops of crowned kings were to meet, not the
troops of the people, but the people themselves,
and be routed and beaten from the field, and what
is more, stay beaten, we hope, we doubt not, to
the end of time.
SPEECH OF REV. JAMES T. tVOODSURY 1 57
And let us remember that our fathers, from the
first to the last in that eventful struggle, made
most devout appeals to Almighty God. It was
so with the whole Revolutionary War. It was all
begun, continued, and ended in God. Every man
and every boy that went from the little mountain
town of Acton, with its five hundred souls, went
that morning from a house of prayer. A more
prayerful, pious. God-fearing, man-loving people,
I have never read or heard of. If you have,
sir, I should like to know who they are, and where
they live. They were Puritans, Plymouth Rock
Puritans, men who would petition and petition
and petition, most respectfully and most courte-
ously, and when their petition and petitioners, old
Ben Franklin and the rest, were proudly spurned
away from the foot of the throne, petition again ;
and do it again for more than ten long, tedious
years. But after all they would fight, and fight
as never man fought ; and they did fight.
When such men take up arms, let kings and
queens take care of themselves. When you have
waked up such men to resistance unto blood, you
have waked up a lion in his den. You may kill
them, — they are vulnerable besides on the heel,
— but my word for it, you never can conquer
them.
At Old North Bridge, about nine o'clock in the
forenoon, on the memorable 19th of April, 1775,
King George's troops met these men, and, after
15S BRNJEATti OLD ROOF TRUSS
receiving their first fire, fled. And the flight still
continues, — the flight of kings before the people.
Davis's minute-nien were ready first, and 'were
on the ground first. They were an dite corps,
young men, volunteers ; and give me young men
for war. They were to be ready at a moment's
warning. They were soon at Davis's house and
gun-shop, and they waited here till about fifty had
arrived. While there some of them were pow-
dering their hair, just as the Greeks were accus-
tomed to put garlands of flowers on their heads
as they went forth to battle; and they expected
a battle. They were fixing their gun-locks, and
making a few cartridges ; but cartridges and car-
tridge-boxes were rare in those days. The accou-
trements t)f the heroes of the Revolution were
the powder-horn and the bullet-pouch, at least of
the militia.
And Concord Fight, with all its unequalled and
uneclipsed glory, was won, by the help of God,
by Massachusetts militiamen. Some were laugh-
ing and joking to think that they were going to
have what they had for months longed for, ■ — ■
a "hit at old Gage." But Davis was a thought-
ful, sedate, serious man, a genuine Puritan, like
Samuel Adams ; and he rebuked them. He told
them that in his opinion it was " a most eventful
crisis for the colonies ; blood would be spilt, that
was certain. The crimsoned fountain would be
opened ; none could tell when it would close, nor
SPEECH OF REV. JAMES T. WOODBURY 159
with whose blood it would flow. Let every man
gird himself for battle, and not be afraid, for God
is on our side. He had great hope that the coun-
try would be free, though he might not live to see
it." The truth was, and it should come out,
Davis expected to die that day if he went into
battle. He never expected to come back alive
to that house.
And no wonder that after the company started,
and had marched out of his lane some twenty
rods to the highway, he halted them, and went
back. He was an affectionate man. He loved
that youthful wife of his, and those four sick chil-
dren, and he thought to see them never again ;
and he never did. There was such a presenti-
ment in his mind. His widow has often told me
all about it ; and she thought the same herself.
And no wonder he went back, and took one more
last, lingering look of them, saying — he seemed
to want to say something; but as he stood on that
threshold where I have often stood, and where,
in my mind's eye, I have often seen his manly
form, he could only say, " Take good care of the
children ; " the feelings of the father struggling
in him and for a moment almost overcoming the
soldier. The ground of this presentiment was
this. A few days before the fight, Mr. Davis and
wife had been away from home of an afternoon.
On returning they noticed, as they entered, a
large owl sitting on Davis's gun as, it hung on the
l6o BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
hooks, — his favorite gun, the very gun he carried
to the fight, a beautiful piece for those days, his
own workmanship, the same he grasped in both
hands when he was shot at the bridge, being just
about to fire himself, and which, when stone
dead, he grasped still, his friends having, to get it
away, to unclinch his stiff fingers.
Sir, however you may view this occurrence, or
however I may, it matters not. I am telling how
that brave man viewed it, and his wife, and the
men of those times. It was an ill omen, a bad
sign. The sober conclusion was, that the first
time Davis went into battle he would lose his life.
This was the conclusion, and so it turned out.
The family could give no account of the creature,
and they knew not how it came in. The , hideous
bird was not allowed to be disturbed or frightened
away ; and there he stayed two or three days, sit-
ing upon the gun. ,
But mark, with this distinct impression on his
mind, did the heart of that Puritan patriarch
quail } No ; not at all, not at all. He believed
in the Puritan's God, — the Infinite Spirit sitting
on the throne of the universe. Proprietor of all.
Creator and Upholder of all, superintending and
disposing of all, that the hairs of his head were
all numbered, and not even a sparrow could fall
to the ground without his God's express notice,
knowledge, and consent. He took that gun from
those hooks with no trembling hand or wavering
SPEECH OF REV. JAMES T. WOODBURY l6l
heart ; and with his trusty sword hanging by his
side, he started for North Bridge with the firm
tread of a giant. Death ! Davis did not fear to
die. And he had the magic power, which some
men certainly have, — God bestows it upon them,
— to inspire everyone around them with the same
feeling. His soldiers to a man would have gone
anywhere after such a leader. After about two
miles of hurried march, they came out of the
woods only a few rods from Colonel James Bar-
rett's, in Concord, and halted in the highway,
whether discovered or not (this road came into
the road by Barrett's, some twenty rods from Bar-
rett's house), looking with burning indignation to
see Captain Parsons and his detachment of British
troops with axes break up the gun-carriages, and
bring out hay and wood, and burn them in the
yard.
They had great thoughts of firing in upon them
then and there to venture. But Davis was a mil-
itary man ; and his orders were to rendezvous at
North Bridge, and he knew very well that taking
possession of North Bridge would cut off all re-
treat for this detachment of horse, and they must
be taken prisoners.
In a few minutes more he wheeled his company
into line on the high lands of North Bridge, tak-
ing the extreme left of the line, — that line being
formed facing the river, which was his place, as
the youngest commissioned officer present in the
1 62 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
regiment, — a place occupied a few days before
by him at a regimental muster of the minute-men.
A council of war was immediately summoned by
Colonel James Barrett, and attended on the spot,
made up of commissioned officers and Commit-
tees of Safety. The question was, What shall
now be done .-' The Provincials had been talking
for months — nay, for years — of the wrongs- they
had borne at the hands of a cruel motherland.
They had passed good paper resolutions by the
dozens. They had fired off their paper bullets ;
but what shall now be done? Enough had been
said. What shall now be done } What a mo-
ment ! What a crisis for the destinies of this
land and of all lands, of the rights and liberties
of the human race ! Never was a council of war
or council of peace called to meet a more im-
portant question, one on the decision of which
more was at stake. Their council was divided.
Some thought it best at once to rush down and
take possession of the bridge, and cut off the re-
treat of Captain Parsons ; others thought not.
Here were probably found in battle array over
six hundred troops, standing there under arms.
Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn were in plain
sight, with their red coats on, their cocked-up hats
and their spyglasses, inspecting from the old
graveyard hills the gathering foe ; for they came
in from all directions, suddenly, unaccountably,
like the gathering of a summer thunder-cloud.
SPEECH OF REV. JAMES T. WOODBURY 1 63
Of course it was admitted on all hands that they
could take possession of the bridge, but it was
to be expected that this skirmish must bring on a
general engagement with the main body in the
town. The Provincials would be in greater force
by twelve o'clock m. than at nine. And if the
whole British army of eight hundred men should
take the field against them in their present num-
ber, most undoubtedly the men would run, — they
never would " stand fire." Their officers thought
so ; their officers said so on the spot. They gave
it as their opinion, and it is probable that no
attack at that hour would have been made had
it not happened that, at that moment, the smoke
began to rise from the centre of the town, —
all in plain sight from these heights, — the smoke
of burning houses. And they said, Shall we
stand here like cowards, and see Old Concord
burn .''
Colonel Barrett gave consent to make the at-
tack. Davis came back to his company, drew
his sword, and commanded them to advance six
paces. He then faced them to the right, and at
his favorite tune of "The White Cockade" led
the column of attack towards the bridge. By the
side of Davis marched Major Buttrick of Concord,
as brave a man as lived, and old Colonel Robin-
son of Westford. The British on this began to
take up the bridge ; the Americans on this quick-
ened their pace. Immediately the firing on both
164 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
sides began. Davis is at once shot dead, through
the heart. The ball passed quite through his
body, making a very large wound, perhaps driving
in a button of his coat.
His blood gushed out in one great stream, fly-
ing, it is said, more than ten feet, besprinkling
and besmearing his own clothes, these shoe-
buckles, and the clothes of Orderly Sergeant
David Forbush, and a file leader, Thomas Thorp.
Davis when hit, as is usual with men when shot
thus through the heart, leaped up his full length
and fell over the causeway on the wet ground, firmly
grasping all the while, with both hands, that beau-
tiful gun ; and when his weeping comrades came
to take care of his youthful but bloody remains,
they with difficulty unclutched those hands now
cold and stiff in death. He was just elevating to
his sure eye this gun. No man was a surer shot.
What a baptism of blood did those soldiers then
receive ! The question is now. Do these men
deserve this monument, — one that shall speak .?
Davis's case is without a parallel, and was so
considered by the Legislature and by Congress
when they granted aid to his widow. There
never can be another.
There never can be but one man who headed
the first column of, attack on the king's troops in
the Revolutionary War. And Isaac Davis was
that man. Others fell, but not exactly as he fell.
Give them the marble. Vote them the monu-
SPEECH OF REV. JAMES T. WOODBURY 165
ment, one that shall speak to all future genera-
tions, and speak to the terror of kings and to the
encouragement of all who will be free, and who,
when the bloody crisis comes to strike for it,
"are not afraid to go."
Acton Monument
At the base of the Acton monument may be
seen the rude gravestones that stood in the an-
cient burial-ground seventy-five years before their
removal to their present location.
Their quaint epitaphs, chiselled before the
1 66 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
result of the sacrifice was realized, are of inter-
est, in that they tell the story before time had
afforded an opportunity to arouse the sentiment
of later days.
1 SAY UNTO ALL
WACH.
IN MEMORY OF CAPT. ISAAC DAVIS
WHO WAS SLAIN IN BATTLE AT
CONCORD APRIL YE I9TH I775 '^
THE DEFENCE OF YE JUST RIGHTS
AND LIBERTRIES OF HIS COUNTRY
CIVIL & RELIGIOUS. HE WAS A LOVNG
HUSBAND A TENDER FATHER & A
KIND NEIGHBOUR AN INGENEOUS
CRAFTSMAN & SERVICEABLE TO
MANKIND DIED IN YE PRIME OF
LIFE AGED 30 YEARS I M., & 25 DAYS.
Is there not an appointed time to man upon ye earth ? are not
his days also like the days of an hireling? As the cloud is con-
sumed and vajiisheth away, so he thatgoeth down to the grave shall
come up no more.- He shall return no more to his house, neither
shall his place inirw him any more. — Job vii. i, 9, 10.
"MEMENTO MORI."
HERE LIES THE BODY OF MR. ABNER HOSMER,
SON OF DEA. JONA. HOSMER, AND MRS. MARTHA HIS WIFE,
WHO WAS KILLED IN CONCORD FIGHT
APRIL igTH, 1775,
IN YE DEFENCE OF YE JUST RIGHTS OF HIS COUNTRY,
BEING IN THE 2 1 ST YEAR OF HIS AGE.
EAGLE OF CONCORD FIGHT l6j
IN MEMORY OF MR. JAMES HAYWARD,
SON OF CAPT. SAMUEL AND MRS. MARY HAYWARD,
WHO WAS KILLED IN CONCORD FIGHT,
APRIL I9TH, 1775,
AGED 2-5 YEARS AND FOUR DAYS.
This monument may unborn ages tell
How brave Young Hayward, like a hero fell.
When fighting for his countrie's liberty
Was slain, and here his body now doth lye,
He and his foe were by each other slain.
His victim'* s blood with his ye earth did stain ;
Upon ye field he was with victory crowned.
And yet must yield his breath upon that ground.
He express^ t his hope in God before his death.
After his foe had yielded up his breath,
O may his death a lasting witness lye.
Against Oppressors'* bloody cruelty.
EAGLE OF CONCORD FIGHT.
A most interesting relic of the Civil War is
the eagle " Old Abe," that is now in the State
House at Madison, Wis. But the eagle of Con-
cord Fight is equally valuable as a relic ; and the
circumstances attending its presence at Old North
Bridge, and preservation for one hundred and
twenty years, are more fascinating than any told
by the Greeks of the phoenix, the bird of fable
that rose from its own ashes.
The eagle went to Concord on the morning of
April 19, 1775, with the Acton men, and was in
the form of a bosom-pin represented above.
J 68 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
It may seem almost fabulous that the soldiers
of that day went forth to battle decked in jewels.
But we must remember that it was the citizens
who responded to the alarm, going forth to battle
as citizens.
We have unmistakable evidence that not only
the Provincials, but also the regulars, wore such
Eagle of Concord Fight
ornaments into the battle of one hundred and
twenty years ago.
Living in the enjoyment of luxury, as many
of the British army were at that time in Boston,
and at first regarding the movements out of town
on the night of April i8 as a holiday excursion, it
was not strange that they wore gold watches and
bosom-pins, and had an abundance of coin in their
pockets.
EAGLE OF CONCORD FIGHT 1 69
A ring is still treasured by the descendants of
the Provincial who gave relief to a British soldier
when on his retreat from Concord. It was given
by the wounded enemy to the one who assisted
him, not because of Tory senti'ments, but from a
feeling of humanity.
The cues of the British officers who fell in
Lincoln, and were there buried in a common grave,
were tied up with broad ribbons. Rev. Mr. Wood-
bury has already told us that some of Captain
Isaac Davis's men spent the time, while waiting
for others to assemble, in powdering their hair,
and fixing themselves for a fine appearance.
How that may have been we cannot prove now.
But certain is it that Abner Hosmer wore in
battle a silver pin representing the eagle. This
was not taken from his body, but was buried with
him. The reason of this may probably be as-
signed to some superstition that was entertained
by the sorrowing family.
After seventy-five years, the remains of Davis,
Hosmer, and Hayward were disinterred, and
placed beneath the monument on Acton Com-
mon. When the grave of Hosmer was opened,
this bosom-pin was discovered, and taken by one
of his family connections, and when scoured re-
vealed the familiar initials.
It seems a most remarkable fact that after
three-quarters of a century there should come
evidence from the grave that the bird selected
170 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
as our national emblem was then present at the
opening scene of that war which gave us a nation.
From this it is natural to conclude that the
eagle was not adopted for our national emblem
in 1785 so much because of its nativity here, as
because of its having been used from the very-
early times on heraldic devices. It was accounted
one of the most noble bearings in heraldry.
How long this silver eagle had been in the
Hosmer family cannot be determined ; but it is
supposed that it was given by the father, Jona-
than Hosmer, to his much-loved son on his
twenty-first birthday.
Abner was one of three sons of his family who
were in the war. The second gave up his life ' at
Bennington.
The father, a deacon in the Acton church, was
a third member of the family to die for his coun-
try. Too aged and feeble to go to Concord, when
the news of the battle reached Acton, this man
went out a short distance to learn the particu-
lars. There he heard that his son Abner was
one who had fallen at the bridge. He returned,
and entering his house uttered groans of lamenta-
tion in substance like those of David of old. O
my son Abner, my son ! my son Abner ! would God
I had died for thee, O Abner, my son, my son !
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POOTPRINTS Ofi PATRIOTS AT BEDFORD I/I
CHAPTER XV
FOOTPRINTS OF THE PATRIOTS AT BEDFORD. —
THROUGH THE OLD BURIAL-GROUND AT BED-
FORD WITH A NONAGENARIAN
On the opposite side of Concord is the town of
Bedford, in an interesting manner bearing the
same relations to it as does the town of Acton.
They were originally parts of Concord, and there
were many ties that bound them together at the
time of the Revolution. Their families were con-
nected by n\arriage, and they were very jealous
of the honor of the mother town. It required
but the slightest warning to arouse them.
The alarm at Bedford was received probably be-
fore it reached Concord. Two messengers were
despatched at once from Lexington to notify the
Bedford people.
The town contains several homesteads that are
identified with the early events of the Revolu-
tion. Homes through which sounded the alarm-
ing cry, " To arms ! the redcoats are coming ! "
still echo the voices of the same families. Sit-
ting by the same fireside, the occupants cherish
the firearms, and tell the story as they have heard
it from their grandsires who faced the enemy.
1/2 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Prominent among these historic dwellings is
that of the Page family. Seven generations of
patriots of this name have possessed and occupied
this estate.
The spirit of patriotism was cradled in this
home as in but few others.
While sitting as a guest about the family
hearthstone, I received from Captain Cyrus Page
of the sixth generation much of the information
which follows. For two hundred and eight years
the family have been in possession. About ten
years after the landing of Governor John Win-
throp, a large tract of unexplored territory was
granted to Cambridge to encourage those settlers,
and prevent their removal, following Mr. Hooker
and his company to Connecticut. The church
stood first in importance ; and the benefit of this
grant was to go to the church, and college so inti-
mately associated with it, at Cambridge. In 1652
the grant was allotted to the settlers. Mr. Ed-
ward Oakes received three hundred acres. This
he sold to George Farley and others. Farley
sold to Timothy Brooks.
It was during Brooks's possession and occu-
pancy as a residence that the first military tinge
is given to the homestead. At the opening of
King Philip's war, the owner was directed to secure
his family at Garrison " No. 10," that was near by.
Brooks sold to George Grimes, of whom the estate
was purchased in 1687 by Nathaniel Page.
FOOTFKIXTS OF PATRIOTS AT BEDFORD I 73
It did not require the presence of a garrison
house to arouse the military spirit of this first
Page settler in the territory about Shawsheen,
which later fell to Bedford in the incorporation of
1729. He had already been active in the "Three
County Troop," ' and he had been commissioned
by Governor Dudley as sheriff of Suffolk County.
The military spirit
was fostered in this
home, and trans-
mitted from father
to son, becoming
manifest in a read-
iness to take up
arms for the pro-
tection of home
and country dur-
ing the wars that
succeeded King
Philip's, before the
Revolution. Na-
thaniel Page 1st
died in 1692, when the town was suffering from the
desolating assaults of King William's war. Sons
and grandsons there were to perpetuate the family
name and patriotism. One of them was a colonel
in the French and Indian war, and several were
in the ranks.
The midnight alarm of April i8th was first
1 See flat; of minute-men in this volume.
Cyrus Page
174
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
received at this house. It met with a ready re-
sponse from Christopher, the sergeant of the
minute-men, and Nathaniel, the cornet, or flag-
bearer. Two others also responded. They be-
longed to the company of militia, and all were at
Concord Fight.
Says Captain Cyrus Page, " Our people were
not surprised when the messenger reached this
Fitch Tavern
house. They had seen Gage's men several times
riding about the town, and were kept familiar
with the movements in Boston. The frequent
drillings of the minute-men were good opportu-
nities for exchanging ideas, and there was no
home that was not in a state of expectancy. My
grandfather's account was : ' We had agreed at
the last drilling to meet, in case of alarm, at
the tavern in the centre of the town, kept by
FOOTPRINTS OF PATRIOTS AT BEDFORD 1 75
Jeremiah Fitch, sergeant of the militia company.
The horseman banged on the house and cried
out, " Up, Mr. Page, the regulars are out." We
were not long in our preparations, and were soon
at the tavern, where some had already gath-
ered, and others soon appeared. Our captain
lived fully two miles away from the village, but
he was on hand.
" ' Captain Willson had received a report from
Boston on the previous afternoon ; it was brought
by his brother-in-law,Thompson Maxwell, a native
of Bedford, but then a resident of Amherst, N.H.
He made trips between Amherst and Boston for
the conveyance of merchandise, and stopped at
Willson's when on the journey. Maxwell had
served in the French and Indian war, and was
well known by leading men of Boston as a trust-
worthy patriot. One of his trips was made in
the month of December, 1773. After unloading
his freight, he went to John Hancock's warehouse
to load for his return trip. While there, Han-
cock asked him to drive the team to his stable,
where it would receive care, and then call at his
counting-room. He did so, and was there let into
the secret of destroying the tea, and was invited
to join the enterprise. He did so, assisted in the
midnight business, and the next day drove home
as " any honest man would."
'"He was on another trip in April, 1775, and
on his way home had stopped at Willson's. They
176 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
sat up unusually late, discussing the condition of
things. Maxwell had detected some unusual
movements that day which led them to be more
anxious about the future. They retired at a late
hour, and were scarcely asleep when the alarm
reached the Captain's home.
" ' Maxwell accepted an invitation from his
brother-in-law, and they both made haste to the
village. Our company of minute-men, numbering
twenty-six, were all assembled. Many had left
their homes without any food, and refreshment
was served at the tavern in a most informal man-
ner. This done. Captain Willson gave his order:
" Come on, my brave boys ; this is a cold break-
fast, but we'll give the redcoats a hot dinner.
We'll have every dog of them before night." On
we went, little realizing what was before us. The
town's company of militiamen, fifty strong, was
also on the way. They had met at the home of
their captain, John Moore, a half mile out from
the village on the Concord road.
" ' Circumstances favored an early response
from the Bedford men ; and we should have been
remiss in our military obligations, and unmindful
of our filial relations, if we had not reached Con-
cord among the first companies, which we did.
We assisted in secreting the stores, and were
anxiously awaiting reports, when we saw the army
approaching. That was a sight never to be for-
gotten, those brilliantly attired soldiers, moving
FOOTPRINTS OF PA7 RIOTS AT BEDFORD lyj
in perfect martial order, in solid phalanx, with
their bayonets glistening in the morning sun.
We went on over to the other side of the river,
and there fell in, according to the orders of Col-
onel Barrett, and marched down to the bridge.
We had a share in the engagement which imme-
diately followed, but fortunately received no injury.
Whether we did any, or not, is a question that we
could not positively answer. In our pursuit of
the retreating enemy we were not so fortunate.
When near Brooks's tavern, just across the line in
Lincoln, there was a severe engagement, and our
brave Captain was killed, shot through his body.
A comrade, Job Lane, was severely wounded.
Some of us returned home bearing the dead and
wounded, while the majority continued in the pur-
suit, going into camp at Cambridge. The place of
the dead Captain was filled by Lieutenant Edward
Stearns. Those who went home soon started with
the loads of provisions which had been prepared
during the day, and reached their tired and almost
famished companies where they had lain down for
rest.
" ' Being so near home, we were continually in
receipt of provisions, and fared better than many
who were in camp during the command of Gen-
eral Artemas Ward ; but two of our young men,
Solomon Stearns and Reuben Bacon, died, as a
result of the fatigue of the 19th, and the expo-
sure that followed. Theirs was the fate of a good
178 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
many whose homes were farther away from the
seat of war. Timothy Page remained in contin-
uous service until the battle of White Plains,
where he was killed. A comrade, Moses Fitch,
was wounded at the same time."
This story of Nathaniel Page, repeated by his
grandson at the old home, is only one of many
from the same source, all of which are substanti-
ated by indisputable evidence.
Says Captain Page, " There is another home on
the Concord side of this town where the foot-
prints of the patriots are as plainly to be traced
as they are at my ancestral dwelling." This is
the Davis estate. It has been in the family
almost two centuries. It was purchased by Sam-
uel Davis in 1696. The conveyance being " In
the eighth year of the Raine of our Souvereign
Lord William the third, by the Grace of God,
over England, Scotland, France, and Ireland,
King and defender of the faith." The homestead
has passed through six generations, in each of
which has been found the name of Eleazer. The
military spirit was early kindled at that hearth-
stone. Three of the family went from this home-
stead with Lovewell, in his famous expedition of
1724-5 in pursuit of the Indians, to the wilderness
of Maine ; one, Josiah, lost his life, and Eleazer
was maimed for the remainder of his days. Two
were in the French and' Indian war, where Paul
lost his life in 1763.
FOOTPRINTS OF PATRIOTS AT BEDFORD 1 79
At the opening of the Revolution, Eleazer was
second lieutenant of the minute-men, and soon
promoted to iirst lieutenant. His commission,
still kept, is evidence of his honorable career on
April 19. He was in service with the company,
and his sword has been faithfully kept in the
house to which it was brought after that day's
experience. His musket, used in the Continental
army, is also treasured. Both being most tangi-
ble evidence of the patriotism which moved the
hearts of the occupant of this home at the open-
ing of the Revolution, and where rare specimens
of good citizenship have been found in each suc-
ceeding generation.
When at Lexington we were tracing the foot-
prints of the illustrious patriots, guests at the
parsonage, we made the acquaintance of Madam
Clark, wife of the minister. In our circuitous
course we have now come to the Bedford par-
sonage, of an earlier date, from which the min-
ister's daughter went to become a minister's
wife, and as such the entertainer of Hancock
and Adams.
Although no longer a parsonage, this, the most
notable house of the town of that time, was a
centre of patriotic influence.
The owner of to-day proudly opens the door,
and bids a cheerful welcome to the guest, who is
shown the room in which the town's Committee
of Correspondence and Supplies held their numer-
l8o BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
ous meetings. From this house went John Reed,
the town's representative to the first two Provin-
cial Congresses, and to numerous conventions
where men of judgment, inspired by patriotism,
■were wont to meet to devise ways and means for
carrying on the struggle for liberty. Here were
discussed the questions which were later public
actions of the voters, such as, "to encourage the
produce and manufactures of this Province, and- to
lesson the use of superfluities ; " " not to use
any tea till the duty is taken off ; " " to suspend
all commercial intercourse with Great Britain till
the said act shall be repealed ; " "not to buy, pur-
chase, or consume, or suffer any person by, for, or
under us, to purchase or consume, in any manner
whatever, any goods, wares, or merchandise, which
shall arrive in America from Great Britain, and
to break off all trade, commerce, or dealing with
those who do it, and to consider them as enemies
to their country ;" "June 17, 1776, voted. That we
will solemnly engage with our lives and fortunes
to support the colonies in declaring themselves
independent of Great Britain." ^ The master
of this house not only served on the various
committees incident to the above votes, but
shouldered his musket in a campaign to Rhode
Island.
' The above votes were in substance the action of the towns in
general.
OLD BURIAL-GROUND AT BEDFORD l8l
THROUGH THE OLD BURIAL-GROUND OF BEDFORD
WITH A NONAGENARIAN.
When but a child, I found something congenial
to my taste in the habits of an old man whom the
townspeople familiarly called Uncle Leander.
It was not a benignant smile which sometimes
lights up the faces of the aged as they approach
the sunset of life, nor was it any special attention
shown by this man to the youth of the village.
In neither way was he made particularly attrac-
tive to the many. But to me alone of all the
children of the town who passed Uncle Leander's
door on the way to school, was this man compan-
ionable. This was because of his efforts to stay
the ravages of time in the Old Burial-Ground.
I had seen him on several occasions with a pail
of whitewash, and a brush in hand, passing about
among the leaning slabs, and here and there ap-
plying his liquid coating.
I was quite sure that some wise purpose actu-
ated him in his repeated visits to this sacred
enclosure. My resolve to inquire into this pecu-
liar work was often of no avail, because of my
failing courage when I neared the gate whose
slats I had so often heard flapping in the breeze.
In fact, I had an early aversion for the ancient
sepulchres, because of false stories told me of the
rude designs there seen on many stones. But
the results of the old man's work recommended
102 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
his acts to me, and I at length mustered courage
to interview him. My first question met with no
reply until Uncle Leander had stepped to an old
moss-covered stone, from behind which he took a
long tin trumpet, which he placed in his ear, turn-
ing the larger end of • the conical tube to my
mouth, and indicating that if I would fathom the
fourscore years that separated us, I must do it
through this instrument. This I did, and met
with a most cheerful reply. In fact, the old man
manifested pleasure that one so young should
have any interest in his work, and in the Old
Burial-Ground, where were resting almost all of
those with whom he began life, and had for a long
time journeyed.
" This preparation of lime," said he, " prevents
the moss from gathering, and keeps the epitaphs
in a legible condition."
Having observed that he discriminated in his
work of prevention, I ventured to again penetrate
his dull ear and learn the cause. The question
brought a smile to the aged face ; and he said,
" Come with me, and I will show you." Passing
to the centre of the yard, he paused at an erect,
well-kept slab, and said, " Read that," which I
did aloud, —
IN MEMORY OF CAPT. JONATHAN WILSON,
WHO WAS KILLED IN CONCORD-FIGHT
APRIL I9TH, A.D. 1775,
IN THE 4IST YEAR OF HIS AGE.
OLD BURIAL-GROUND AT BEDFORD 1 83
My venerable guide stood by me in the attitude
of a listener; but he knew it all, and needed not
to hear my voice. " My wife's uncle," said he;
" a Bedford patriot, who was killed on the first
day of the war." Taking up his pail and brush,
he led the way to another section ; paused, and
leaned over a modest slab with seeming affection.
This I read as before, —
HERE LIES THE BODY OF GALLEY FASSETT,
DAUGHTER OF MR. JOSEPH AND MRS. DOROTHY FASSETT,
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE AUG. 22, I77S,
AGED 17 YEARS.
" My father's first love," said Uncle Leander.
" My father, John Hosmer, was engaged to be
married to her, a most beautiful young lady.
When the Lexington alarm was sounded, he left
home, and did his duty that memorable day, and
returned safely, staying long enough to bid a
tender farewell to his betrothed, cheering her at
parting with the promise of a speedy return when
he should claim her as his bride. He occasionally
received some carefully prepared dainty from her
hand, delivered by a teamster who brought food
and other supplies to the camp. At length there
came a time when neither word nor package
reached him, and in an anxious mood he lay down
in his camp for a night's rest. But harrowing
dreams disturbed the soldier's slumber, and he
awoke by a call to duty with a vivid impression
that the object of his affection had died. So firmly
184
BENkATH OLD JiOOfi TrURS
fixed was the impression, that he obtained a leave
of absence for a few days, and made haste to
Bedford. As he approached the weather-beaten
dwelling through a bridle-path, he detected un-
usual movements, and soon learned the painful
reality of his dream. As chief mourner, the
young soldier followed the object of his blighted
affections to this
grave, and sorrowfully
returned to answer his
country's call.
" The years of war,
when death in its most
trying forms was a
common occurrence,
did not efface from
his memory the scenes
of his early years.
"Although sur-
rounded by a large
and prosperous family, my father never forgot
his first love, but conducted his children and
grandchildren to this grave, and here told them
the story which has led me to keep the stone
erect, and safe from the ravages of time."
Among other objects of the old man's care was
the stone on which I read, —
SACRED
TO THE MEMORY OF CAPT. JOHN MOORE,
WHO DIED SEPT. 27TH 1807,
AGED 78 YEARS.
I Ha?-G 1 i«s the
laqdyofGailoy I
lofMJofeiiJi&m
IDoradivaffetwltii
jdepiirtRtlOrtsIifeT
Tombstone of Galley Fasset
OLD BURIAL-GROUND AT BEDFORD 185
Glory with all her lamps shall burn^
To watch the Christian 'i sleeping clay.
Till the last trumpet cause his urn
To aid the triumph of that day.
" He was captain of the Bedford militia," said
my guide; "was over to Concord Fight, and also
in the Continental army. He was one of the
wealthy of the town, as this stone indicates, by
its size and style."
To the graves of Solomon Stearns and Reuben
Bacon, he led me, pausing only to say, " Fell sick
in camp, and died just before the battle of Bun-
ker Hill. Brave patriots they.'' Lieutenant Ed-
ward Stearns's grave was near by, and the stone
was one that Uncle Leander kept in order. " He
took Captain Willson's place at the fight," said
the faithful guide. Lieutenant Moses Abbott's
gravestone was another that had received the
attention of this man with the pail and brush.
" Moses Fitch," said he as we hastened on,
"wounded at White Plains," at the same time
drawing the brush across the smooth surface of
an unusually tall slab. " He was deacon, had a
little better stone than some ; deacons were then
people of distinction, you know."
Reaching over to an irregular row in the rear,
my guide said, " Solomon Lane," at the same
time applying his brush ; " he was at Concord,
with scores more who are now all free from the
tumult of war."
1 86 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Stumbling over mounds and depressions, alike
suggestive of the early and later time, we came
to a row of stones of a size and design indicative
of the standing of the family in the town. "They
selected this corner of the yard," said Uncle
Leander, " because it was very near the old res-
idence." The inscription was easily read be-
cause of the fresh coating of whitewash. It was
" Erected in memory of John Reed, Esq., who
died Nov. 20, 1805, in the 75th year of his age."
"A member of the first and second Provincial
Congresses, of the Committee of Inspection, and
also of the Convention that met to frame a consti-
tution." So well had my guide classified the pa-
triots of the town in their various departments
of service, that he readily pointed out the other
stones marking the graves of the Committee of
Inspection, each of which had received the careful
attention of his hand. They were Moses Abbott,
already mentioned ; Thomas Page, who died July
31, 1809, aged 76 years ; Ebenezer Page, who de-
parted this life June ye 9th, 1784, aged 47 years
and 6 days ; and Edward Stearns, whose grave we
had already visited. My guide confessed to hav-
ing become puzzled over the many stones erected
to the memory of the Pages. As they all had been
identified with the military interests of the town,
he had given each stone the same treatment, and
proceeded to make known to me the result of his
study in this direction. He read, " Cornet Na-
OLD BURIAL-GROUND AT BEDFORD 1 8/
thaniel Page, who died March 2, 1755, aged "jS
years," and remarked, " He must have been the
Nathaniel of the second generation, who was in
the Indian wars." The next to notice, and in
order of generation, was " Nathaniel Page, who
died April 6, 1779, aged "jS years." Here my
guide thoughtfully remarked in passing, " Too
soon to realize the result of his experience at
Concord, which was hard indeed for him, then 72
years of age." He next led the way to a stone
on which I read, " Cornet John Page, who died
Feb. 18, 1782, aged "jQ years," and remarked dur-
ing my reading, unheard by him, " He was a very
tall man, who made the regulars tremble. He was
at Lexington on the eventful morning, and aided
in capturing several prisoners. He was also at
Bunker Hill." As the next generation in order,
my guide selected the following inscription, " Mr.
Nathaniel Page, who died July 31, 18 19, aged "jj
years," remarking, " He carried the old flag with
the minute-men to Concord Fight." The dif-
ficulty of making any inquiry led me to accept all
the remarks of my venerable friend, which I later
proved to be well authenticated. The next of the
name was found to be, " Nathaniel Page, who
died Aug. 30, 1858, aged 83 years." To this my
guide remarked, " Born in the harvest-time fol-
lowing the fight at Concord, too late to have a
part in the Revolution ; but he was on hand in
18 1 2, and was always ready to take part in the
1 88 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
' Cornwallis^ when we celebrated the surrender of
that General to Washington." Having made out
the successive generations, Uncle Leander made
haste to call my attention to the stones marking
the graves of Sergeant Christopher Page of the
minute-men, and William Page of the militia, and
paused to say, " Here ought to be a stone to
the memory of Timothy Page, who was one of
the militia at Concord, and was killed at White
Plains."
So faithfully had this aged man studied these
modest memorials, that he led me to the graves
of other Bedford patriots, where, now that my
guide has passed away, I read, " Lieut. John Mer-
riam. Sergeant James Wright, Lieut. Eleazer Da-
vis, Fifer David Lane," all of the militia who
served in the opening of the war, also " James
Lane, Jr., 3d, Oliver Reed, Jr., Samuel Lane, Is-
rael Putnam, Jr., Samuel Bacon, Samuel Davis,
Thaddeus Davis, William Maxwell, Samuel Meads,
Samuel Merriam, David Fitch, Abijah Bacon,
Ziba Lane, Josiah Davis, John Lane, Joseph
Hartwell, Thomas Bacon, John Fitch, Samuel
Lane, Jr., Job Lane, Jr., Matthew Pollard,
Stephen Lane, Oliver Pollard, Jr., John Reed."
Of the minute-men indicated by my guide, and
later verified, I read, " Sergeant Ebenezer Fitch,
2d Lt. Timothy Jones, Joseph Meads, Jr., Reuben
Bacon (before mentioned), Oliver Bacon, drum-
mer, Jonas Gleason, David Bacon, David Reed,
OLD BURIAL-GROUND AT BEDFORD 1 89
Nathan Bacon, Elijah Bacon, Lieut. William Mer-
riam, Matthew Fitch."
By the time we had gone the rounds of the
Revolutionary list, my guide had become so
aroused with the spirit of the days when these
men left their homes at the midnight call, that
he could not refrain from seeking out a very
ancient stone, on which I read, —
IN MEMORY OF MR. JOHN ABBOTT,
WHO DIED IN YE ARMY AT LAKE GEORGE,
NOV. YE 2D, 1756,
AGED 25 YEARS.
He also directed me to a space, apparently vacant,
which he thought was reserved in memory of
Nathaniel Merriam, who died in his Majesty's
service at Lake George, in September, 1758.
This faithful old man had thus adopted a method
of marking the graves of the soldiers of the Rev-
olution many years before any organization had
sprung up to do it. The whitewashed slabs
throughout that enclosure indicated the resting-
place of a good share of the seventy-seven men
from Bedford who were seen at Concord in the
hottest of the fight.
Halting near the centre of the enclosure, my
faithful guide repeated the effort made many
times before this day, to straighten up one of the
most ancient stones, but which as often settled
back to its long accustomed position. While
I go BSMEATH OLl) ROOP TREES
thus engaged, Uncle Leander seemed to have for-
gotten his youthful companion, and meditated in
a half audible manner, " Dea. Israel Putnam, died
November ye 12th, 1760." When, having fully
satisfied himself of the difficulty of changing the
habit of anything, even a gravestone, which had
followed its own inclination for more than a
century, the old man turned about, and shouted,
" Here, boy, let me tell you about this. In a half-
charmed, half-frightened state of mind, I stepped
forward, and gave heed to the narrative, while my
eyes were seemingly riveted to the rude carvings
before me. " Brave man," said he, " Israel Put-
man was a relative of General Israel, who faced
the wolf and the British as well. He settled over
opposite here in 1721, and was one of the promi-
nent founders of this town. He gave the land
for this burial-place, and might well have this
central location himself. He was the first deacon
of the church and a leading citizen." Having
discharged his obligation to the memory of one
who took the first steps towards the incorporation
of the town of Bedford, my guide turned about,
and, placing his trembling hand upon a stone
near by, said, " This marks the grave of Jonathan
Bacon, whose daughter Sarah became the wife of
Israel Putnam. Hence you see their close re-
lation in death is suggestive of their intimacy
in life." I must confess that it was only the
main fact that was intelligible to me in my youth,
OLD BURIAL-GROUND AT BEDFORD I9I
the minor points having later become realities
to me.
Jonathan Bacon, " a principal inhabitanc," was
the leader in the formation of the church and
town, and one whose years gave him the prece-
dence in the entire enterprise. Another stone
which was the object of the old man's care made
up an interesting trio. On it I read, "Doc. John
Fassett, died January 30th, 1736, aged 66 years."
" He was the first resident physician, famous for
bleeding and blistering. If he had lived a few
years longer, there might not have been so many
of those little stones as you see over there." With
this remark, accompanied by a wise shake of his
gray locks, Uncle Leander moved on, keeping a
sure grasp upon his pail and brush, of which he
occasionally made use. Halting before a sunken
memorial, he said, "This triple stone, and that
one over yonder, suggest the ravages of a throat
distemper which brought sorrow to a good many
families in this town and throughout the coun-
try." By careful examination I found that my
guide was doubtless right ; for I there learned that
within ten days, in the year 1754, Mr. Christopher
and Mrs. Susannah Page parted with three little
children, and that many other little mounds were
made in that burial-ground during the same time.
Coming to the north-east corner of the enclosure,
my guide said, " This was the African reservation,
the place where the family slaves were buried,
192 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
and the paupers as well." This locality was con-
spicuous for the absence of memorial stones ; the
levelling hand of time had failed to obliterate the
mounds that lay in methodical rows, each mould-
ering heap as suggestive of mortality as though
dignified by the sculptor's hand and the motto,
"Memento mori."
"A good many old slaves lay there," said my
guide, flourishing his brush as though he would
like to wipe out that part of the annals of the
town, and that peculiar chapter in the history of
the New England colonies. In passing along, my
oracle did not fail to express his contempt for one
who had lived in the community, — "a miser,"
said he, " lived to be almost a hundred, but how
much better was the town for his having lived in
it .' " A flourish of his brush, and a thump upon
the stone, gave emphasis to the old man's indig-
nation. Leading on to another locality, my guide
directed my attention to a stone of which he re-
marked, " Queer old minister, that Penniman, — a
sort of a Tory he was ; thought he was doing his
duty by staying at home and praying on the 19th
of April, 1775, when all his parishioners were up
in arms." While the old man gave vent to his
feelings in regard to the minister of the town dur-
ing the Revolution, I was endeavoring to remove
the lichen which hid the inscription ; for the old
man's whitewash brush had not been applied
here, any more than it had been on the stone last
OLD BURIAL-GROUND AT BEDFORD I93
noticed. My surprise at not finding the sepulchre
of the minister brought forth the exclamation,
" Oh, no ! that parson was hurried off ; but he has
left us a record of his peculiarities in the inscrip-
tions which you read there on the stones at the
graves of his children."
HANNAH, DAUGHTER OF REV. JOSEPH PENNIMAN
AND HANNAH, HIS WIFE,
WHO DIED DEC. 22, I79O,
AGED 18 YEARS, 4 MOS., II DAYS.
Ak ! now no notice do you give
Where yoti are and how you live !
What ! are you then bound by solemn fate^
To keep the secret of your state ?
The alarming voice yozi will hear.
When Christ the yttdge shall appear.
Hannah ! from the dark lonely vatilt.
Certainly, sooji and suddenly you^ll come,
When Jesus shall claim the treasure from the tomb.
On the stone at the grave of Molly, who died in
1778, at the age of 3 years, 6 months, 3 days, is to
be read, —
Ah ! dear Polly, must your tender parents mourn.
Their heavy loss, and bathe with tears your urn.
Since now no more to us you must retttrn.
The diverted attention of my guide led him to
be unusually free with his wash ; and seeing the
pail was empty, he thoughtfully leaned over to
me, raised his trembling voice, and said, "I sha'n't
be here long to attend to these patriots' graves.
194
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
You boys must do it ; for if it iiad not been for
sucli men and women as lay here, we should be
crouching beneath the paw of the British lion
to-day."
Stone at Grave of
Captain Jonathan Willson in Bedford
(the same design is seen at top of the stone erected
to the memory of
Captain Isaac Davis at Acton)
FLAG OF THE MINUTE-MEN OF BEDFORD 1 95
CHAPTER XVI
THE OLD COLONIAL BANNER AND FLAG OF THE
MINUTE-MEN OF BEDFORD
[An address delivered by the author, April ig, 1895.]
Every event of the Revolution, though inci-
dental and comparatively trifling, should be gath-
ered up and put in enduring form, in order that
the rising generation may have a just appreciation
of the heritage to which they are born, and which
they are bound to m.aintain and protect.
Monuments and statues have been erected in
liberal numbers, especially since the centennial
year. Concord, Lexington, and Bunker Hill have
become familiar to every schoolboy, while the
entire route from Old North Church to Old North
Bridge has been indicated by enduring tablets.
But while these greater things have engrossed
our attention, the smaller, equally significant, have
been lost from view.
Not until a comparatively recent date has the
flag of the minute-men been known to be in ex-
istence. It matters not whether we are descend-
ants of the brave men who were in the opening
scenes of the Revolution, or whether we perpet-
uate those who were in the Continental army.
196
BENE ATI/ OLD ROOF TREES
we must be interested in the slightest detail of
that day when was " fired the shot heard round
the world."
Fla(; of the Middlesex Regiment of the RIilitia of the
Colony of Massachusetts Bay. Carried by Nathaniel
Page in the Company of Bedford Minute-men at Con-
cord Fight, April ig, 1775
When Emerson penned the beautiful lines, —
" By the rude bridge th:it arched t]ie flood,
llieir flag to April's breeze unfurled,"
FLAG OF THE MINUTE-MEN OF BEDFORD !()•/
he had no thought that the " embattled farmers"
had a flag. It was a poetical figure. Surprised
indeed must he have been, when delivering the
address at the unveiling of the Minute-Man in
1875, to rest his eyes upon the only banner
carried a century earlier in the heat of that strug-
gle which his pen has so beautifully portrayed.
It proved his poetic thought to have been tinged
with double reality.
CONCORD FIGHT.
" By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood.
And fired the shot heard round the world.
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.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem.
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
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."
Written by Ralph Waldo Emerson, and sung at the dedication of the gran-
ite shaft erected in 1836.
The historic bridge was demolished when the original road was abandoned.
A rustic bridge was built at the same place preparatory to tlie centennial cele-
bration, 1875. (See story of "A Concord Patriot " in this volume.) This bridge
was partly carried away by a spring flood, but has been more strongly built.
1 98 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
The minute-men of Bedford had a flag ; but I do
not presume to assert to any one, much less to
the Sons of the American Revolution, that it was
a flag planned for this service. We know too
well how the yeomen soldiers were organized for
service to think of their making any such prep-
aration. Neither Hancock with his abundant
wealth, nor Adams with his abounding patriot-
ism, had thought of any standard for the little
companies that were being drilled for a moment's
warning. They were too busily engrossed with
the weighter matters of the time.
When Adams from the heights of Lexington
saw in that gorgeous April sunrise a figure of the
future glory of America, it was with no thought
that the flag of the future republic was to be
spangled with the galaJc-y of the heavens.
But in the old town of Bedford was the stand-
ard destined to be the flag of the minute-men
of that town.
Like many another important event of history,
this was not the result of any preconcerted action.
Neither were the bloody scenes at Lexington
Common and Old North Bridge, which have been
subjects for the admiration of all patriots, of every
clime, for more than a century.
A local company of cavalry was raised in this
colony in 1659, just before the restoration of
Charles II. It comprehended Essex, Suffolk, and
Middlesex in Massachusetts. It was known as
FLAG OF THE MINUTE-MEN OF CONCORD 1 99
the "Three County Troop." This remained in ex-
istence until 1677, or possibly later. It is certain
that it was in active service during King Philip's
war. The formation of this company of cavalry
leads to the conclusion that there must have been
a standard, cornet as it was then termed, "upon
which arms were emblazoned."
With the fact of the cavalry company thor-
oughly established, and with the ancient standard
before us, we naturally conclude that our " Flag
of the Minute-men " was the cornet of the "Three
Country Troop." In the way of corroborative
evidence I would cite an entry said to be in a
herald painter's book of the time of Charles I.,
which Mr. Whitmore says is preserved in the
British Museum.
It is as follows : —
Work Done for New England —
For painting in oyel on both sides a Cornett
one rich crimson damask, with a hand
and sword, and invelloped with a scarf
about the arms of gold, black, and silver, £i os. 6d.
For a plain Cornette stafFe with belte,
boote and swible at first penny .... 100
For silk of crimson and silver fringe and for
a Cornett string . i 1 1 o
For Crimson Damask no
£^ 2s. dd.
It is certain that the herald painter's bill made
almost two hundred and twenty-five years ago
200 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
identifies our flag. No modern detective could
ask for more definite description.
The " belte, boote and swible " are gone. The
silver fringe is also missing ; but I have the word
of Madam Ruhamah Lane, late of Bedford, when
past her ninetieth year : " I took that silver
fringe from that old flag when I was a giddy girl,
and trimmed a dress for a military ball. I was
never more sorry for anything than that which
resulted in the loss of the fringe."
Hon. Jonathan A. Lane of Boston, son of the
venerable woman above quoted, told me that he
had the same story from his mother's lips when
she was in the prime of life.
The presence of the flag in Bedford is easily
accounted for.
Nathaniel Page, referred to in the chapter im-
mediately preceding this, was the first of the fam-
ily in possession of the flag. He was a military
man, connected with the " Three County Troop "
as cornet or bearer of the standard. This was
a position held by several generations of his
descendants in later military organizations, as
witness their ancient gravestones.
CORNET NATHANIEL PAGE, DIED MARCH 2, I75S, AGED 76.
CORNET NATHANIEL PAGE, DIED APRIL 6, 1779, AGED 76.
CORNET JOHN PAGE, DIED FEB. 18, I782, AGED 78.
The ancient standard was brought to Bedford
by Nathaniel Page, when he settled in Shawsheen
FLAG OF THE MINUTE-MEIV OF SEDFOKD 201
(Bedford) ; and being in the- house, it was taken
by Nathaniel Page 3d, a Bedford minute-man, and
borne to Concord, and there waved above the
smoke of that battle, " the first forcible resist-
ance to Bi'itish aggression."
The Page family, as already shown, owned the
same house which they occupied for many gene-
rations, and which is still in the family. From the
ancestor who hastily seized that flag, and hastened
to Concord with the minute-men of Bedford, has
come the story to generation after generation.
Madam Lane, already quoted, had the story of
the standard-bearer, her father, from his own lips.
Mr. Appleton, of the Massachusetts Historical So-
ciety, says, " It was originally designed, in 1660-
70, for the Three County Troop of Middlesex, and
became one of the accepted standards of the
organized militia of the State, and as such it
was used by the Bedford company. In my opin-
ion this flag far exceeds in historic value the
famed flag of Eutaw and Pulaski's banner,^ and
1 Count Pulaski, a Polish officer, was appointed a brigadier in
the Continental army on Sept. 15, 1777, just after the battle of
Brandywine, and was given the command of the cavalry. This he
resigned, and later organized a corps of cavalry.
Pulaski visited Lafayette while wounded and a recipient of the
care and hospitality of the Moravian sisters, at Bethlehem, Pa.
His presence and eventful history made deep impression upon the
minds of that community. When informed that he was organiz-
ing the corps of cavalry they prepared a banner of crimson silk
for him. It was beautifully wrought with various designs, and sent
to the Count with their blessings.
202 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
in fact is the most precious memorial of its kind
of which we have any knowledge."
" The Flag of the Minute-men," issued by the
author of this book in 1894, is thus indorsed: —
Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
Executive Department,
Boston, April i, 1895.
Dear Mr. Brown, —
Your " Souvenir " is a worlc of art, admirably planned
and executed. I congratulate you on the work.
Truly yours,
F. T. Greenhalge.
Concord, Mass., April i, 1895.
Mr. Abram English Brown, Bedford.
My dear Sir, —
I have read with great interest your Souvenir, and note
with peculiar pride " The Flag of the Minute-men," which is
now so valuable, as being the identical flag carried at " Con-
cord Fight." As the years roll on this flag will be more and
more valued by the patriotic people of our land.
Sincerely yours,
Edwin S. Barrett,
President oftlie Massachusetts Society of the Sons
of the A nterican Revolution.
Pulaski received the banner with grateful acknowledgments,
and bore it gallantly through many a martial scene, until he fell
in conflict at Savannah in the autumn of 1779.
His banner was saved by his first lieutenant, who received
fourteen wounds. It was taken to Baltimore, and kept until 1824,
when it was carried in the procession that welcomed Lafayette to
that city. It was later given to the Maryland Historical Society.
FLAG OF THE MINUTE-MEAT OF BEDFORD 203
April, 1895.
" The Flag of the Minute-men, April 19, I775-" Its origin
and history by Abram English Brown is one of those invalu-
able historical records, that, once lost, is lost for all time. It
is due to the indefatigable, painstaking care of the author
that the patriotic effort was put forth whereby the old flag is
now held in public trust, — the sacred emblem of freedom
and truth, and that equality that gives "to every man the
right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." It is a
book for every member of a patriotic society to own — this
little history of the first flag of our country.
Mrs. Daniel Lothrop,
Recent of Old Concord Chapter Daughters of the
A merican Revolution.
President of National Society of Children of the
American Revolutimt.
After the experience of April 19, 1775, tlie flag
was kept in the Page garret, seldom seen by any
one, and by none appreciated, until on the morn-
ing of April 19, 1875, a century's dust was shaken
off the damask folds, and it was carried by the
Bedford delegation in the procession at Concord,
and there unfurled again by the rude bridge.
After the service of that day it was returned to
the same hiding-place, and there remained ten
years longer, when it was brought out by Captain
Cyrus Page, who was the embodiment of the
military zeal of his ancestors, and by him pre-
sented to the town of Bedford, on Oct. 19, 1885,
the anniversary of the surrender by Cornwallis to
Washington.
204 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER XVII
cupid's heirloom
WHAT a bustle there was in the
old Fitch home of Bedford on
the morning of April- 19, 1775 !
Before the first note of the robin
was heard in the orchard in the
rear of the house, lights were seen flitting about
from room to room, and long before the sun
appeared above the horizon three stalwart young
men were bidden a hasty farewell by mother and
sisters, and made a quick step to the village.
" Be sure and get something warm at Jere-
miah's," was the loving request of the mother, an
afterthought expressed at the door when the boys
were beyond the hearing of the loving mother's
voice. Jeremiah was the eldest son of the family,
who had set up the business of a tavern-keeper in
the village ; and being sergeant of the minute-
men of the town, it had been agreed that, in case
of alarm, the company should assemble there.
John and Matthew, the twins of the family,
reached Jeremiah's a full half-hour before Moses
did. They started together; but he could not
refrain from running across the meadows to say
CUPID'S HEIRLOOM 205
a last word to Rachel, a neighbor's daughter, for
whom he had a tender interest.
Although glad to see him, she would not detain
the young man, being fully aware of the alarm
that had already called her father. Lieutenant
Edward Stearns, and his eldest son, Solomon,
from the home. Rachel was the eldest of the
three daughters of the home ; she was a rosy-
cheeked lass, already promised to be the wife of
Moses, who was three years her senior.
Despite the anxiety in both homes during that
day, there was more than ordinary activity with
those who were left. Rye pancakes were prepared
by the peck, while the great iron kettle which
hung from the crane was filled and emptied many
times in the process of cooking salt pork and vege-
tables for the absent men.
Rachel, with her two sisters, Susannah and
Alice, lost no time in the manufacture of bullets
and cartridges. Thus the day of anxiety wore
away in the homes, while the absent ones had
scarcely time to think of home.
With the dead and wounded was brought the
message that the able-bodied would not be home
that day, and the order to send the provisions
down toward Boston where it was supposed the
enemy would be held. It fell to the women and
few men remaining in the town to bury the brave
Captain Jonathan Willson, while the immediate
family of Job Lane cared for him, in whose body
206 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
was yet hidden the well-aimed bullet of the
enemy. The return of Lieutenant Stearns after
three days brought tidings from the absent, but
no relief to Rachel, who now learned that her
brother Solomon and lover Moses had decided
to remain on duty indefinitely. But the brave
of either sex spent no time in idle lamentation.
Between cooking, spinning, and knitting every
moment was occupied ; and not a day passed but
some one in the town took a load of provisions
to the Cambridge camp. Moses Fitch received
a double share ; not only did the package from his
home contain the bountiful evidence of the soli-
citude of mother and sisters, but in the Stearns
bundle was always sure to be found some re-
minder of Rachel's love.
Scarcely had a month elapsed before exposure
and fatigue began its destructive work. One after
another of the young men were brought to their
homes to languish and die ; among these was Solo-
mon Stearns. Then, as not before, did the brave
heart of Rachel grow faint. She saw but l'"tle
prospect of her lover's ever returning to redeem
his promise made months before, and renewed
with a fond embrace on the morning of April 19.
These lovers had secretly agreed that their mar-
riage should be solemnized by the use of a
ring. This was a great innovation upon family
custom ; for both families were strong Congrega-
tionalists, and shared in that contempt for any-
CUPID'S HEIRLOOM 20/
thing that savored of the Church of England, and
especially now that the king was making an at-
tempt to rob them of what liberties they had
enjoyed. The prospect of their marriage was poor
indeed. Moses felt it to be his duty to continue
in the service, and Rachel was too much of a
patriot to say anything against it.
The evacuation of Boston brought cheer to
many homes. By some it was thought to be the
end of the difficulty, and the triumph of the
Colonial cause ; but it soon became apparent that
fighting was to be done elsewhere. While the
seat of war had removed from Massachusetts Bay,
there was yet to be fighting, and Massachusetts
men must be in it. When Rachel was plying her
spinning-wheel with renewed courage, there came
the call for a seventh campaign. This time eight
men must go from Bedford to New York, and
Moses Fitch was of that number. The distance
made it harder for Rachel to bear ; but she was
a patriot, and willingly made the sacrifice of com-
fort, fearing only that she might be called upon
to make a greater sacrifice. She could no longer
send the little dainties to camp, and thus comfort
herself by cheering the one whom she had loved
from the days when they had together gone to
the little school on the hill, half-way between
their respective homes. Then, whatever troubled
one brought a shadow over the other's face ; and so
it had been down to the time when their greatest
208 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
trouble was their country's sorrow. She kept the
little wheel going, and week by week added new
pieces to her store of fine linen, while with her
own hands she tended the fresh crop of flax.
It was into the month of November before
the sad tidings were received from the battle of
White Plains, fought on the 28th of the previous
month. Not since the 19th of April of the pre-
vious year had such sorrow filled the hearts of
the people of this little town. Timothy Page had
been killed and Moses Fitch wounded. Rachel
was now ready to enter the service as a nurse ;
but being denied this privilege, she set to work
in the preparation of bandages and lint for the
use of the army surgeons. Months wore away,
during which occasional messages brought the as-
surance that the wounded patriot would recover,
and soon be able to return to his home. At
length in an unexpected hour he appeared, with
one arm hanging useless at his side. With a
reasonable expectation of ultimate recovery, the
young man endured the privation, with the aid
and sympathy of those who loved him. With
little prospect of either pay or pension, these
young people went on with their plans. When
the soldier's pay came, it was in the form of the
Continental currency, more bulky than valuable ;
but all this could not deter them from their one
purpose.
Rachel belonged to the " Daughters of Lib
CUPID'S HEIRLOOM
209
erty," and was resolved to be led to the marriage
altar in a gown of her own manufacture. To this
Moses was agreed ; but one purpose was to be
carried out, no matter how great the self-denial
in other directions. Rachel was to have a wed-
ding-ring. There was no stipulation as to quality,
unless the empty purse of her lover was to make
one. The wounded patriot _disposed of a good
Continental Currency
share of his depreciated currency, and secured the
ring, all unknown to Rachel, who had a secret
plan to drop a bit of her slowly accumulated coin
into the empty purse before this long anticipated
day arrived. Before the sounds of war had fully
ceased, the day was set when the friends of Moses
and Rachel should assemble, and witness the cere-
mony by which the attachment of childhood was
2IO BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
to be consummated in marriage. It was just
here that a new difficulty arose. The Rev.
Mr. , the only parson of the town, had leaned
too strongly towards the Tory sentiment to be
invited to unite these young patriots in the bonds
of wedlock. To fail to do it would be a great
breach of propriety; but he who had said, when
the regulars were on the march to Concord, "You
go and fight, and I will stay here and pray," could
not be invited to this service. To use the ring
and omit the minister would not be in the line of
good Congregationalism ; but it was in the time
of war, and this seeming contradictory act must
be explained by each guest and interested neigh-
bor for himself.
It was on Thanksgiving Day, 1782, that Moses
Fitch, in his homespun suit, led Rachel Stearns,
in a dress of her own manufacture, to the mar-
riage altar. While the " Squire " of the town
made the service legal, Moses placed the ring
upon Rachel's finger, with no priestly intervention.
Thus two of the most noted families of that
locality were brought together. The founder of
each came in the Winthrop immigration, being
of that stock which gave to New England its
grandest characteristics.
The ring consisted of a modest jewel in a set-
ting of gold. It was a simple thing ; but it meant
much to her as she received it from the soldier,
wounded in the struggle for liberty. In faqt, it
CUPID'S HEIRLOOM 211
spoke to her of his blood, poured out on the field
of battle. It has ever since been a talisman to
the generations that have succeeded this happy
couple. To Moses and Rachel, thus happily
united, there were born Solomon, Lucy, Moses,
Elijah, Rachel, Joel, and Nathan, — six of whom
are represented in most useful lives to-day. But
to the namesake of the mother it was early de-
cided that the wedding-ring should descend, and
that it should be delivered on the day of her
marriage.
Although the mother ceased to wear the ring
two years before the marriage of the daughter,
yet on Feb. i8, 1819, Rachel second, in appearing
at the marriage altar, wore the envied ring that
had glistened in her youthful eyes as she twirled
it on the finger of her mother, while she listened
to its story from her whose fondling embrace was
not forgotten.
Through the years of this second family posses-
sion the sacred obligation of the ring was kept in
mind. That it was the birthright of the Rachel
was a family truth. None but boys looked upon
the precious link of family connection, as by their
mother, Rachel, they were taught to revere the
memory of those through whose marriage the
sacred link had been welded. A niece had now
appeared, who bore the name for the third genera-
tion ; and on March 26, 1868, the golden band with
its glistening jewel was duly transferred. The
212 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
difficulty of carrying out to the letter the early
pledge was here again met ; for Rachel third had
not responded to Cupid's darts, when the second
proud owner could wear the ring no longer.
Upon the finger of a skilful dressmaker the tal-
isman was now seen for many years, as she plied
the needle in the wealthiest families of Boston.
Though deaf to all lovers' whispered words, she
bore the name of Rachel, and claimed the prize.
Again the letter of the rule was violated, and more
rudely than before. Competition had failed at the
baptismal font, and no generation of the name of
her for whom Jacob served so long now rose to
claim the ring.
It was by Sarah that the ancient race was per-
petuated, so the family council decided that the
one bearing this biblical name should be the
owner in the fourth generation.
Hence, a Middlesex bride of 1893 wore to the
marriage altar the ring which sacredly links the
present with the past, and which gave not a little
tinge of sentiment to the new relation entered
upon by one of the favorites of modern society.
Were this all, it were sufficient to arouse feel-
ings of envy in the minds of others of the family
circle ; but the happy bride by this act of mar-
riage became the possessor of a contingent legacy.
Rachel the third, whose skilful hand long bore
the precious heirloom when exercised in adorning
the brides of the palatial mansions of Boston and
CUPID'S HEIRLOOM 213
vicinity, studiously kept aloof from all matrimonial
alliances herself, but she thoughtfully offered a
prize upon the marriage rite.
In her last will and testament, probated in
September, 1888, is the following clause: "To my
sister I give and bequeath my Japanese jewel-case
and my silver spoons, and I direct her to give the
same to the first of my nieces that shall be mar-
ried, on her wedding day."
There were six nieces who shared in the accu-
mulated wealth of the third Rachel, either of
whom might be the fortunate legatee. There
was no apparent competitive struggle for the
jewels, but a stray quiver from Cupid's bow was
the means of the one who had the ancient heir-
loom becoming the rightful legatee under the will
of the last Rachel.
No woman of New England descent has a more
commendable pass into the Daughters of the Rev-
olution than she who wears the ring that was the
price of the blood of a Middlesex hero.
214 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER XVIII
CAPTURE OF PAUL REVERE. — -THE MOST DEADLY
FIGHT. — BURIAL OF THE KING's SOLDIERS.
OLD FAMILIES. NEW ENGLAND ANCES-
TORS OF PRESIDENT JAMES ABRAM GARFIELD
LINCOLN.
The people of Lincoln were more closely allied
with their neighbors in Concord than those of
either town that had formed parts of the original
settlement. Until within about ten years of the
beginning of trouble with the mother country, a
part of the town had been included in the "six
miles square." They had been recognized as a
separate municipality only about a score of years
when open hostilities were begun. Her sons were
well schooled in the art of war, having done faith-
ful service in the interests of the king. Within
a year of its incorporation Lincoln was engaged in
active preparation for war; and nearly a score of
the able-bodied men had their poll-taxes in the
county rates for the year 1755 abated, "they be-
ing in His Majesty's service in the defence of His
dominions in North America." Two were killed
at the battle of Lake George, Sept. 8, 1755, others
were in the expedition to the eastward in the dis-
CAPTURE OF PAUL REVERE 21 5
charge of their country's service, and through the
protracted troubles with the French and Indians
the town was well represented.
The same patriotism that prompted these peo-
ple to fight for the king was their impelling
motive when George III. turned his sceptre
against them, and their experience had fitted
them for the hardships before them.
Early in the business transactions of the young
town stands the record of March 15, 1770:
" Voted, that we will not purchase- any one article
of any person that imports goods contrary to the
agreement of the merchants of Boston ; " and in
answer to the circular letter of February, 1773,
they make the following record : " We will not
be wanting in our assistance according to our
ability, in the prosecuting of all such lawful and
constitutional measures as shall be thought proper
for the continuance of all our rights, privileges,
and liberties, both civil and religious ; being of
opinion that a steady, united, persevering con-
duct in a constitutional way, is the best means,
under God, for obtaining the redress of all our
grievances."
Among the notable families of Lincoln that did
valiant service in the Revolution, and which are
yet represented in the place, is the Farrar family,
still occupying the old estate, on which are two
dwellings that echoed the voices of anxious people
on the 19th of April, 1775. Miss Mary B. Farrar,
2l6
BEURATH OLD ROOF TREES
my informant, with others at the old home, repre-
sent the sixth generation in possession. The
first family dwelling was built by George Farrar
about 1692, and hence has sheltered the family
almost two centuries. About the time of setting
up his home at this place, a part of Concord, he
was urged to settle farther to the interior of the
Farrar Homestead, Lincoln
country, and was offered one-half the present
township of Southborough for two cents per acre,
and went to see it ; but on his return said it was
so far in the wilderness it would never be in-
halDited. This pioneer, who lived until 1760, and
his wife one year longer, was succeeded by a son,
Samuel, who was born in 1708. Through his mar-
riage with Lvdia Barrett of Concord, the family
CAPTURE OF PAUL REl'ERE 217
became joined with one of historical interest. He
lived to see the promise of liberty well-nigh veri-
fied, when he was succeeded by his son and name-
sake, Samuel, who was born in 1737, and whose
marriage with Mary Hoar in 1772 made the in-
terests of these towns more intimate. He was
distinguished in the Revolution, and ever since
appears in the records as "Captain." He attained
the age of ninety-two years, dying in 1829. The
family succession was continued by James, son of
Captain and Deacon Samuel, who began life at
this old home in the year of the Declaration of
Independence, for which his father nobly fought.
The marriage of James Farrar, first with Nancy
Barrett, and later with Mary Fiske Hoar, contin-
ued and strengthened interesting family history.
The second James, born in 1820, kept the
record unbroken, and aided in maintaining the
family integrity. He married Adeline Hyde in
1845 ; 3-iid their children occupy the old dwelling,
which they sincerely cherish, as does another
branch of the family, occupying another dwelling
of much historical interest. Judge Timothy
Farrar, who died in 1847, aged one hundred and
one years and seven months, said of his birthplace,
when asked as to its age on his centennial, " You
must ask some one older than I ; it was an old
house as long as I can remember."
Samuel Farrar, with his wife, Lydia Barrett,
both advanced in years, and their son, Samuel,
2l8 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
with Mary Hoar, his wife, were all living on
the old homestead at the opening of the Revolu-
tion. The home was but a short distance from
the village of Concord, and the reader can ipagine
that whatever affected the people of the mother
town touched the vital interests of thesp families
in Lincoln.
The geographical situation of Lincoln favored
a strong alliance with Concord. The main road
from Charlestown, through Lexington to Con-
cord and Groton, passed through the northerly
part of Lincoln ; hence the travel between the
lower towns and those of importance in Middlesex
county, farther inland, was naturally through Lin-
coln. Soldiers from Gage's army had been fre-
quently seen passing up and down this road ; and
if an invasion was made, it was expected to be
over this direct route. In the north-easterly part
of the town, near Lexington line, and not far
from Bedford, dwelt Mr. Josiah Nelson, an ardent
patriot, with whom arrangements were made to
extend an alarm in case of danger. Nelson was
awakened in the night of the i8th of April by
the noise of horsemen passing up the road. He
rushed out half-dressed to ascertain the cause of
the passing, and instead of information was given
a blow with a sword, gashing his head, and was
told that he was a prisoner. He was immediately
surrounded by a party of British scouts and To-
ries, who acted as guides ; after detaining him a
CAPTURE OF Paul pevppe ag
while the scouts left him in charge of the Tories,
who knew him well as an honored citizen, and they
soon released him, with an order to go into his
house and extinguish the light. They threatened
to burn his house over his head if he gave any
alarm, or showed any light. But this did not cause
the patriot to shrink from duty. After dressing
himself and his wound, he started to keep his
promise to the Bedford neighbors, a little north
of his home. This alarm, sounded in the extreme
south part of Bedford by Nelson, explains the
readiness with which the minute-men and militia
of that part of Bedford reported at Jeremiah
Fitch's tavern in Bedford Centre when the alarm
from Lexington was first given in the opposite
part of the town.
It was not far from Nelson's home that Paul
Revere, on his midnight ride, was captured, and
thus prevented from going to Concord, as the
poet describes him, unless it was by proxy.
" It was two by the village dock
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown."
(The town of Lincoln has taken action towards the erection of a monu-
ment where Revere was captured.)
Captain William Smith of the minute-men lived
on this road, and to him the alarm must have
220 BENEATH OLD ROOP TREES
come at a very early hour. He mounted his
horse, and made haste to spread the alarm, and
then pushed on to Concord, reaching there with
a part of his company about seven o'clock in the
morning. He was directed by a field-officer to
parade his men on the hill, which he did, leaving
his horse at the tavern. The horse was later ap-
propriated by the enemy to carry away one of
their wounded. When the British were in pos-
session of North Bridge, Captain Smith offered,
with his company, to endeavor to dislodge them.
Leaving Captain Smith and such of his com-
pany as received the alarm in time to join him in
the morning at Concord, I will now invite the
reader to join me in listening to the story of Mrs.
Samuel Hartwell as told by her grandson, who had
it repeatedly from her lips. Says Mr. Hartwell,
" It was my good fortune to have a grandmother
live in the full possession of her faculties until she
attained almost a century of life. The happiest
days of my youth were those spent at her fireside,
listening to her experiences on the day long to be
remembered. She said : ' Your grandfather, who
was sergeant, left the house, joining the neighbors
as soon as the alarm reached us. I did up the
chores at the barn, and cared for the children as
well as I could in my anxiety. When thus occu-
pied, a colored woman who lived near us came in
to spread the news of the approach of the British,
but was afraid to go farther; so I said, " If you will
THE MOST DEADLY FIGHT 221
take care of my baby, I will go and give the warn-
ing." I started for a neighbor's house, glancing
down the road, and saw such a sight as I can
never forget. The army of the king was coming
up in fine order, their redcoats were brilliant, and
their bayonets glistening in the sunlight made a
fine appearance ; but I knew what all that meant,
and I feared that I should never see your grand-
father again, although I then knew nothing of
their bloody work at Lexington.
'"I saw an occasional horseman dashing by,
going up and down, but heard nothing more until
I saw them coming back in the afternoon, all in
confusion, wild with rage, and loud with threats.
I knew there had been trouble, and that it had
not resulted favorably for that retreating army.
I heard the musket-shots just below, by the old
Brooks Tavern, and trembled, believing that our
folks were killed. Some of the rough, angry
soldiers rushed up to this house and fired in ; but
fortunately for me and the children, the shots went
into the garret, and we were safe. How glad I
was when they all got by the house, and your
grandfather and our neighbors reached home
alive!'"
The scenes that followed the alarm, when it
reached other homes in the town, were in some
respects like those at the home of Samuel Hart-
well. Says Mr. Farrar, a grandson of Captain
Samuel of the company of militia, and the owner
222 BkNEATti OLD JiOOP TREES
and occupant of one of the Farrar dwellings on
the old homestead, " My grandfather was on his
way to mill in the early dawn when he heard of
the trouble. Throwing his saddle-bags containing
the grist over a wall, he made haste to rally his
men, and went on to Concord."
The people, here as elsewhere, had become so
alarmed by premonitions of evil that this morn-
ing's intelligence was enough to cause them to
believe that neither life nor property was safe
within the range of the invading army. Says
Mr. Farrar, "The Concord families living near-
est to our home fled this way for safety, and
with my grandmother and others of the family left
this house, and took refuge in ' Oaky Bottom,'
a retired piece of forest land about one-half mile
in the rear of the house, still known by that name
in our community. Grandmother in her haste
had sufficient self-possession to think of the cattle
tied in the barn. These she let loose, desiring to
save them from the flames that she expected
would be kindled by Gage's army. She took her
babe, Samuel (the third), in her arms, the large
family Bible, a loaf of bread, and a looking-glass,
with what little silver she had, and bade farewell
to the old dwelling, never expecting to gather
her family about her again beneath that ancestral
roof. Every little while they would venture out
far enough to look over the hill to see if the
soldiers had set the house on fire." To appre-
THE MOST DEADLY FIGHT 223
ciate the situation of these people and others, the
young patriot needs to place himself in thought
back to that April morning, having in mind the
Samuel Farrak, "the babe Samuel"
many real threats and the more unwarranted
alarms that had emanated from the army at Bos-
ton. "The babe Samuel," said Mr. Farrar,
"grew and became a distinguished man. He was
224 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
one of the trustees of Andover Seminary, and
president of the bank for many years." His
picture taken at the age of ninety years appears
on page 223. The silver and the looking-glass,
for some time hidden in a ditch, were safely re-
turned to the home, and were long used in the
family. The old Bible with its well-worn leaves,
which long since left the vellum covers, is kept in
a glass case in the room from which it was so
hastily yet reverently taken.
While all the precaution taken by the Farrar
family proved to be unnecessary, too much was
not taken in the other part of Lincoln through
which the enemy passed ; for at more places than
the Hartwell house, already mentioned, there were
left indelibly stamped the signs of the vengeful
acts of the enemy.
The soldiers of the town met one another at
the scene of action at Concord ; and it was one of
them, Eleazer Brooks, whose calmness in the time
of danger prevented the determined patriots from
the rashness of attack, by saying, " It will not do
for us to begin the war." In the most severe
contest of the retreat, the Lincoln men were in
their own town, many of them on their own farms,
where they were familiar with every linoU and vale.
Says Mr. William F. Wheeler, "The retreating
column re-entered the town soon after noon.
From the foot of Hardy's Hill, the first consider-
able ascent on the returning march, to the foot of
THE MOST DEADLY FIGHT 225
the next hill, the road is the dividing line between
Concord and Lincoln. At the south-west corner
of the tanyard, the line of the town leaves the
road and turns northward. Eastward from the
tanyard the road ascends a steep acclivity, and
bends northward also. To reduce the grade of
the hill, and get material for the repairs of the
road, an excavation had been made in the brow
of the hill. Through this excavation the road
passed ; and on the easterly side of the road was
a dense forest, which afforded a covert for the Pro-
vincials, while the curves of the road exposed the
British to a raking fire from front and rear. It was
here that the refreat first became a rout — here
that the trained warriors of England's haughty
king first paled in wild dismay, and then fled in
dire confusion before an impromptu army of en-
raged and embattled farmers." Hard fighting was
done on Lincoln soil. Near the brow of the hill
eight British soldiers lost their lives. It was here
that Captain Jonathan Willson of Bedford, Daniel
Thompson of Woburn, and Nathaniel Wyman of
Billerica were killed. Two more British soldiers
lost their lives on Lincoln soil.
Some of the women of the town were not so
disconcerted as to fail to plan for the needs of the
men who had so hastily left their homes. Know-
ing that the men would probably pass down the
highway on their return, these women prepared a
lunch of hasty pudding and milk at the home of
226 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Leonard Hoar. "This," said Mrs. Farrar, "was
hastily served on extemporized tables of barrels
and boards by the roadside."
Although Mrs. Samuel Hartwell had good rea-
son for entertaining vindictive feelings towards
the invading army, her actions proved that her
better nature soon prevailed. She said, " I could
not sleep that night, for I knew there were British
soldiers lying dead by the roadside ; and when, on
the following "morning, we were somewhat calmed
and rested, we gave attention to the burial of
those whom their comrades had failed to take
away. The men hitched the oxen to the cart, and
went down below the house, and gathered up the
dead. As they returned with the team and the
dead soldiers, my thoughts went out for the wives,
parents, and children away across the Atlantic,
who would never again see their loved ones ; and
I left the house, and taking my little children by
the hand, I followed the rude hearse to the grave
hastily made in the burial-ground. I remember
how cruel it seemed to put them into one large
trench without any coffins. There was one in a
brilliant uniform, whom I supposed to have been
an officer. His hair was tied up in a cue." For
more than a century this common grave remained
unmarked, until the people of the town, consider-
ing the events of that day with a forgiving spirit,
have within a few years erected a memorial stone
over the resting-place of the unknown dead.
ANCSSTOKS OF PRESIDEA'T GARFIELD 22/
Among the many simple gravestones in the old
burial-ground of this town is one that has stood
for more than a ccntur^^ ^
It marks the resting-
place of a A'oung soldier
whii was with the com-
pany at Old North
Bridge and in
the later trials
of that April
day of 1 775,
and who died
on the 15 th
of the follow-
ing August.
For a full cen-
tury this gray
slab received
no more notice than did scores of others standing
there like sentinels, reminding the thoughtful of
the brave }'eomen soldiery of Middlesex. Dving
childless and unmarried, the only family associa-
tion at this grave is tJiat of earlier generations.
Who shall say it was a mere accident that the
name of Abraham Garfield and the family hero-
ism did not perish when this }'outig patriot's life
came to an end in the town of Lincoln .'
'' There's a diviiiily that shapes our ends."
The young man Garfield not only had a part in
Lrxro[_x ]\I(>NuMr,NT
228
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
that engagement which fixed the status of the
colonies as that of rebellion, but he was one of
eight men of the town who on the fourth day
succeeding the fight swore to an affidavit before
a magistrate.
Garfield Headstone
Lexington, April 2t,. 1775.
We, John Hoar, John Whitehead, Abraham Garfield, Ben-
jamin Munroe, Isaac Parker, WilHam Hosmer, John Adams,
Gregory Stone, all of Lincoln in the Coiuitv of Middlesex,
Massachusetts Bay, all of lawful age, do testify and sav, that
on Wednesday last, \ve were assembled at Concord, in the
ANCESTORS OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD 22g
morning of said day, in consequence of information received
tiiat a brigade of regular troops was on their marcii to tlie
said town of Concord, who had killed six men at the town of
Lexington.
About an hour afterwards we saw them approaching to
the number, as we apprehended of about 1,200, on which we
retreated to a hill about eighty rods back, and the said troops
then took possession of the hill where we were first posted.
Presently after this we saw the troops moving toward the
North Bridge, about one mile from the said Concord meet-
ing-house ; we then immediately went before them and passed
the bridge, just before a party of them, to the number of
about two hundred, arrived ; they there left about one-half
of their two hundred at the bridge, and proceeded with the
rest toward Col. Barrett's, about two miles from the said
bridge ; and the troops that were stationed there, observing
our approach, marched back over the bridge and then took
up some of the planks : we then hastened our march toward
the bridge, and when we had got near the bridge they fired
on our men, first three guns, one after the other, and then
a considerable number more ; and then, and not before (hav-
ing orders from our commanding officers not to fire till we
were fired upon), we fired upon the regulars and they
retreated. On their retreat through the town of Lexington
to Charlestown, they ravaged and destroyed private prop-
erty, and burnt three houses, one barn, and one shop.
It required the sublimest courage to place one's
signature to that paper, for it was an admission
under oath of having been a leader in the fight.
It not. only admitted, but justified, the act of firing
on the troops of the government. It seemed
almost equivalent to putting the executioner's
noose around one's neck. But to such men prin-
230 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
ciple was of more importance than life. It was
not only a means adopted for vindicating them-
selves before the government in England, but it
was necessary that the truth of that fight accom-
panied by proofs that could not be questioned
should be laid before the people of the colonies,
in order that they might be roused to rebellion
and revolution.
The patriots of 1775 not only did the deed, but
shouldered the responsibility.
Real history has the glow of romance when one
pauses to consider that one of the signers with
Abraham Garfield was John Hoar, who became
the great-grandfather of Senator George F. Hoar,
presiding officer of the convention which nomi-
nated James Abram Garfield for the Presidency.
Solomon Garfield, brother of Abraham, and
great-grandfather of the twentieth President of
the United States, was, like his brother, born in
Concord, now Lincoln, and was fully imbued with
the spirit that actuated the men of Lincoln, al-
though he had some years earlier set up his home
elsewhere. The Lexington alarm reached him at
his home in another town, thirty miles away from
the family seat ; but it met with a patriot's re-
sponse, and he was soon on the way to the bloody
scenes. Little more is known of him, save that he
came out of the war having been impoverished by
the loss of property, which was the occasion of his
seeking a home elsewhere. The family moved to
ANCESTORS OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD 23 I
New York, >vhere one of their sons, Thomas Gar-
field, was married. It was on the latter's farm, in
December, 1799, that a son, Abram Garfield, was
born. Though far away from family scenes, this
branch of the family did not fail to remember the
Lincoln patriot, who, like Joseph of old, was sleep-
ing in the sepulchre of the fathers. The Garfield
family became united with another of a like spirit,
— ■ the Ballous. The marriage of the namesake
of the Lincoln patriot with Eliza Ballou resulted
in offspring, the youngest of whom was destined,
not only to bear the name of the New England
son, but to reanimate the scenes of the past.
The fabric of history begun in Massachusetts
and completed in Ohio reveals some strong and
brilliant threads in the ancestry of the martyred
President of these United States.
The Roman chariot has found its place in liter-
ature, but the New England emigrant wagon has
failed of enduring notice. Yet the lives of richly
attired occupants of the former cannot be com-
pared with those who, clad in the coarse garments
of their own manufacture, were jostled across the
country in the latter. The emigrant wagon, with
its jaded horses, its muddy white cover, its much
confused load of household articles, and its sad-
eyed and forlorn but determined occupants, must
be recognized in the combination of circumstances
that resulted in reproducing a Massachusetts pa-
triot in the daughter State of Ohio.
232 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Said Senator George F. Hoar: "To Lincoln be-
longs a large share in the fame of the great sol-
dier who cleared Kentucky of rebellion, and was
the right arm of Thomas at Chickamauga. No
person was more ready to recognize this relation
than President Garfield himself. Several times
in the course of the spring of 1881 he said to me,
' I want you next summer to take me to Lincoln.'
I had two letters from him in the last few days of
June, one sent from the White House at twelve
o'clock, noon, June 30, less than two days before
he was shot, arranging to reach Concord on the
nth of July, 'to spend,' as he says, ' a few hours
amid the scenes of our national and family his-
tory ! ' . . . As you well know, he was setting out
on his journey when the bullet of the assassin
laid him low."
Thus it not only appears that it was the sons
of the Middlesex patriots of '75 who so readily
responded at their hearthstones to the call of
'61, but from new and distant homes went out
those in whose veins flowed kindred blood to that
poured out on the soil of Lexington and Concord.
The interest manifested on the 19th of April
by the Lincoln people was not abated, only as
distance from the scenes of action prevented a
general participation, and time afforded prepara-
tion for organized service. The town was repre-
sented by more or less of its citizens during the
entire war, and large numbers were found in some
AiVCESTORS OF PKESIDEXT GARFIELD 233
campaigns. Sixty men are credited with five days'
service and forty miles of travel in March, 1776,
being called down for the fortifying of Dorchester
Hills. This service was a plan of General Wash-
ington's to bring things about Boston to a climax,
and was extremely gratifying to all who partici-
pated, as it was soon followed by the evacuation
of the town, the possession of it by the Provin-
GARFinLl> HOMESTKAD, I.IXCOLN, ]\lASS.
cials, and the return of many patriots to their
abandoned homes. The Lincoln soldiers, like
many others, took their ox-teams with them to
aid in the work. "When in service on the hills,"
said Mr. Farrar, " we were obliged to manage
our oxen in silence, depending upon the prick of
our bayonets to urge them along rather than our
ordinary means of forcing them."
To one familiar with the citizens of this town
234
BENEATH OLD ROOE TREES
after the lapse of a century and a quarter, when
the events that tried men's souls have become
subjects of tradition and history, it is apparent
that many of the heroes of 1775 are still rep-
resented on the same farms where the plough-
shares were left in the unfinished furrows. A
notable instance is found in the Hartwell family.
Garfield Footstone
Samuel Hartwell, already mentioned, was not
only in service on the 19th of April, but was a
quartermaster at White Plains, N.Y., in 1776,
in service at Cambridge in 1778, and at Rhode
Island in 1779 and 17S0. The same name has
been prominent during all the )'ears since tliat
patriot's service; and in 1S95 the name Samuel
ANCESTORS OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD 235
Hartwell is borne by a grandson of the hero of
'75, who is evincing tlie principles of good citi-
zenship. Among the patriots of '75 still repre-
sented in the town in families of the same name
are Baker, Haynes, Weston, Wheeler, Brooks, and
Flint ; the last two being descended from the
first settlers of Concord.
236 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER XIX
BILLERICA PATRIOTS. HILL HOMESTEAD. PRO-
VISION FOR THE ARMY. MRS. ABBOTT's STORY
This town has individuality denied to many.
It is the only one of the name on this side the
Atlantic. Being a very early settlement, the
people were inured to hardship.
The nearness of the Indians, and their cruelty
in various localities, kept these settlers in a state
of anxiety and watchful preparation. Garrisons
were erected in various localities. They were
somewhat relieved by the labors of the Apostle
Eliot with the nearest tribes, who in a measure
elevated them from savage warfare.
But the people of Billerica did not escape the
ruthless hand of the red men. It was in 1695, at
midday, that they swept down upon the northern
part of the settlement, and killed or captured fif-
teen. Others perished at different times. This,
together with the ordinary hardship attending a
new settlement, prepared the people for later
troubles.
These pioneers, like many of New England,
were of sterling worth, —
"That neither gave, nor would endure, offence,"
BILLERICA PATRIOTS 23/
They came to build up a Christian community,
and laid their foundations broad and deep. Some
of the early settlers are still represented there by
their descendants, who occupy the same lands. It
was the same blood, heated in the effort to pro-
tect the log cabin from the savages, that, cours-
ing in other veins, was fired to action by the
oppressive measures of King George III.
Among the first pulsations of civilized life in
this town was that of the location of the Dudley
Farm, a grant of one thousand acres to the
deputy governor in 1637. It was upon this land
that the Hill and Farley families made very early
settlements; and a greater portion of their early
tilled lands is in the possession of their descend-
ants, after more than two and a quarter centu-
ries. With the former family the surname has
not changed.
Ralph Hill, the pioneer, appears in the business
transactions of the town in 1654. His house was
made a garrison in Philip's war, and around it
cluster the earliest actions of the people in regard
to resistance to George III.
As in other towns, the minister here was an
acknowledged leader, and Ralph Hill was a willing
follower. To an appeal from the Boston Com-
mittee, the town responded on June 6, 1774, in
a lengthy statement, concluding thus : " That, as
it would be an Indellible Disgrace and a Violation
of the Sacred Obligation we are under, to God,
2-,8
BEiXEATII OLD ROOF TREES
to our Country, to ourselves, and to Posterity, for
us tamely and Pusillanimously to give up these
invaluable Liberties, virhich our worthy Ancestors
purchased for us at Such Vast Expense of Blood
and Treasure, We are Determined to use our
utmost efforts to maintain them, and not part
with them at a Cheaper Rate than they were at
first Obtained."
fflJL^fti... .. . >ijffiB^S
I^HKii
4MM
IH^iH
■ Ji-^^JBIH^MB
^P J
J^^SBfr^ir^^^
H^^-''^SH|
V "^S
-f m^tsuMi^^^
gPp ^'^"'IIk
^^^H
ggl
Hill Humesthaij, Billerica
To these resolutions the name of Ralph Hill is
attached as one of a committee. He was also on
the Committee of Correspondence.
The town not only adopted such measures as
did other towns in the Province, but in some
respects were more positive. They say, "As
every method ought to be pursued which ma\'
tend to promote the arts and manufactures of
HILL HOMESTEAD 239
the Country, especially that of wool, The Inhabi-
tants of this town shall not Kill any lambs for
the markett till after the first Day of August next ;
and also that no one ought to sell any to any
Butcher or Petty Chapman, at any time whatever."
" Voted, That the Inhabitants of this Town will,
on the Death of a friend or Relative, Conform
to the 8th article of the American Association,
and go into no further mourning than such as is
therein Recommended, and will entirely Dis-
continue the Giving of any Gloves whatever at
Funerals."
The ruthless treatment of a Billerica citizen by
Gage's men in Boston (before explained in this
volume) had served to so arouse the people that
they were ready to march at the slightest notice.
At the Ralph Hill homestead, the facts are
gathered.
" The message probably reached the town by
two o'clock on the morning of the 19th. It came
by the way of Woburn, to the home of the Ditson
family, one member of which had been the recent
sufferer in Boston. As might be supposed, they
lost no time in arousing the people. A possible
opportunity was at hand to avenge the insult, and
they made haste to improve it. Two, at least, of
the family were early on their way to Concord,
bent on dealing out to Gage's troops something
more lasting in its effects than tar and feathers,
which they had so liberally used on March 8th."
240 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
There were citizens of this town who had more
than mere local military distinction, such as the
leaders of the minute-men were then enjoying.
Colonel Thompson and Lieutenant Stickney
were early in motion. Ebenezer Bridge, captain
of the minute-men, was quick to respond. Mus-
kets and accoutrements were hastily made ready
and donned. There were the alarm-list, the train-
band, and the minute-men, all gathered at the
Common for muster and orders, and were soon off
towards Concord. There were veterans also, as
volunteers in the ranks. They went by the way
of Bedford, there falling in by the "Old Oak,"
where Billerica, Reading, and other soldiers halted
near Fitch's tavern with the Reading men, when
they received added impulse and all made haste,
meeting the enemy, when on their retreat, at
Merriam's Corner.
"This was our first shot at them," said Mr.
Hill ; " and we lost no time for the rest of the
day. Two of our men were wounded."
" We had met the king's army in action, and
come off victorious, despite the boasts of the
enemy and all Tory predictions," continued our
hero.
The manner in which the army that began to
assemble at Cambridge was fed, clothed, and
nursed is without parallel. Each colony made
separate provision for its troops, — enlisting men,
establishing their pay, supplying them with pro-
PROVISION FOR THE ARMY 24 1
visions, and appointing and commissioning their
officers. Companies were going and coming pretty
much at their own will. Indeed, soldiers were
straggling up and down the roads. They had no
uniforms ; and their firearms were such as they
chanced to possess, but which they knew how to
handle to advantage. There could not be other
than disorder, for there was no authority vested in
any one as commander-in-chief. General Ward,
who early responded from his home at Shrews-
bury, did his best; but in a state of desperation,
he wrote, five days after tjie battle, to the Provin-
cial Congress : — •
" Gentlemen : — My situation is such, that, if I have not
enlisting orders immediately, I shall be left alone. It is im-
possible to keep the men here, except something be done.
I therefore pray that the plan may be completed, and handed
to me this morning, that you, gentlemen of the Congress,
issue orders for enlisting men."
While this was the state of things without,
there was great unrest within, the town of Boston.
General Gage, shut up with his army, was fearful
that the enraged country would sweep down upon
the town, and destroy him and his army. Arrange-
ments were made between General Gage and the
selectmen, by which people could leave the be-
sieged town ; but, when he saw them going in
large numbers, he regretted the step, realizing
that the presence of women and children would
242 BENEATH OLD ROOP TREES
stay the hand of the destroyer outside. Gage
then began to fail to keep his part of the obliga-
tion. He appointed guards to examine all trunks,
boxes, beds, and everything to be carried out ;
and every possible method for harassing the
patriots who preferred to leave was adopted.
In the meantime, the distressed tone of General
Ward's letter was not without its good effect.
In Massachusetts, the Provincial Congress assem-
bled at Concord resolved that an army of thirty
thousand was necessary for the defence of the
country, and resolved to raise, as this colony's
proportion, thirteen thousand six hundred troops ;
and General Artemas Ward was appointed com-
mander-in-chief.
The New Hampshire troops that had responded
to the Lexington alarm assembled at Medford,
where the field-officers held a meeting, and advised
the men to enlist in the service of the Massachu-
setts colony, and recommended Colonel John Stark
to take charge of them until the whole could be
ratified by the Provincial Congress of New Hamp-
shire.
Connecticut was prompt in its action on the
receipt of the alarm, and also in organizing its
army. They voted to raise six thousand men.
The Rhode Island Assembly immediately voted
to raise fifteen hundred men, and put them in
command of Brigadier-General Nathaniel Greene.
This was known as " the Rode Island Army."
PROVISION FOR THE ARMY 243
Thus was gathered the " great American army,"
consisting of about sixteen thousand men. Each
colony was providing for its own, " the only ele-
ment of uniformity being the common purpose
that called them together."
General Ward did have authority to command
the New Hampshire forces as well as those of his
own colony.
Each colony was drawing its supplies from its
several towns, and hence the patriots had both
duties at home and in the army. Billerica was not
remiss in this respect. It was there voted " to
provide Blanketts for those persons in this town
that have Inlisted into the provincial service."
They also ordered members of an old militia com-
pany to be " Ready on any occasion to take their
part in any Burthen." A committee was chosen
to provide straw for the army at Cambridge,- " to
purchase 60 hogsheads of salt and ten hogsheads
of Molasses, for a new stock." This was bought
at Beverly. Their extremity appears when they
record the purchase of a pair of shoes, an old coat,
and a pair of stockings for a soldier. One man
was set to work "to fix 5 Bayonets;" another to
make " 7 Cataridge Boxes for the minute-men."
Together with such minute preparations, out of
their straitened circumstances they were ready
" to take care of and provide for the Donation
persons that come from the towns of Boston and
Charlestown."
244 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
It is not strange that death should step in to
prevent many of these people from ever returning
to their homes. In the burying-ground given by
Ralph Hill to the town of Billerica may be seen
a stone on which is read the following : —
HERE LIES YE BODY OF THE WIDOW
LYDIA DYAR OF BOSTON, THE PLACE OF HER NATIVITY,
WHERE SHE LEFT A GOOD ESTATE
AND CAME INTO YE COUNTRY MAY 22D, 1775,
TO ESCAPE YE ABUCE OF YE MINISTERIAL
TROOPS SENT BY GEORGE YE 3D
TO SUBJECT NORTH AMERICA.
SHE DIED JULY 28tH, 1 776, AGED 80 YEARS.
" The sweet remembrance of the just
Shall flourish when they sleep in. dust."
The other Billerica homestead already referred
to is that of the Jaquith family. It joins the Hill
estate, and here early and later patriots have been
quick to respond to their country's call.
The farm was purchased by George Farley in
1653. Upon it was erected a commodious and
substantial dwelling, which was a stronghold in
Philip's war, 1676. The story of this old home
in times of peace and war is given by the oldest
living representative, Susan (Jaquith) Abbott, now
venerable with the crown of ninety-eight years.
Said this interesting woman, " I am of the eighth
generation of our family born on this estate ; and
as there are two more in which I take pleasure
MA'S. .-IflBOrr'S STOA'V
^45
here, it appears that ten generations of our family
have already enjoyed the homestead.
" It was my grandfather, Joseph Jaquith, who
joined the patriots on the arrival of the message
Susan (Jaquith) Ahuutt
from Ix-xington. He was ploughing in 'The Old
Field' in the rear of our home when the word of
danger reached him. He hastily unhitched his
o.\en from the plough, ran for the house, took his
gun from the wall over the door in ' Aunt Abigail's
246 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
room,' saying, ' The redcoats are coming. He
was not a member of an organized company pre-
vious to the alarm, but started off as many others
did at the call of need. When he returned with
other Billerica soldiers, there was but little mili-
tary precision ; their guns were slung over their
shoulders in an easy-going manner."
This patriot and many others are buried in the
South Burying-Ground, near the grave of the Bos-
ton lady who fled to this town for safety.
Since the organization of the Sons of the American Rev-
olution began its work, the Jaquith sepulchre has received
patriotic attention by one of the number, Charles E. Abbott,
who has honored his own name in honoring the memory of
a worthy ancestor and patriot of Billerica.
The patriots of this town were in service at the
battle of Bunker Hill, in the redoubt under Pres-
cott. Its captain of the 19th of April had been
made a colonel, and Lieutenant Jonathan Stickney
was in command. The Billerica men did not suf-
fer as much as many ; but the first soldier killed in
that battle was Asa Pollard,^ who was buried on
the field. His name, and also that of Samuel
Hill, who was killed, appear on the memorial
tablets at Charlestown. Others perished as a
result of that day's battle.
' The Pollard school at Billerica is a fitting memorial of its citi-
zen who gave up his life at Bunker Hill,
TBS. STOKV Of MENOTOMV 247
CHAPTER XX
THE STORY OF MENOTOMY. THE RUSSELL FAMILY
STORE. STORY OF WHITTEMORE FAMILY.
CAMBRIDGE.
MENOTOMY.
" In the village of Menotomy, as in no other
place on that AjDril day, the footprints of the pa-
triots were indelibly stamped in their own blood
and that of their enemy," said Mrs. Sophronia
Russell in 1894, when in her eighty-eighth year
she reviewed the sad experiences of her own
family and that of the Russells, with their neigh-
bors.
This may be attributed to the location and the
hour of the day. It was in the direct line of
march of the enemy, and sufficient time had
elapsed for the towns at a distance to respond
to the early alarm. The various routes taken
converged at this village.
Through the main road Gage's troops, in com-
mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, made their
stealthy midnight march ; and over the same route
they fought their way through a sheet of fire
back to the protection of their ships of war.
The outward march, intended to be silent, is
248
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
remembered in Menotomy by only a few trifling
incidents. Three of the Committee of Safety and
Supplies, before alluded to, viz., Elbridge Gerry
and Colonels Orne and Lee,i had stopped for the
night at Black Horse Tavern. They were aroused
soon after midnight to see the highway filled with
British regulars. When the centre of the column
Russell House, MENOT(:iMV
reached the tavern, the light of the moon revealed
the sly movements of an officer and file of soldiers
coming towards the house. The trio of anxious
guests understood that movement ; and, although
half-dressed, they made their escape through a
rear door, and sought the shelter of the corn
1 Lee took cold from ihe exposure of that night, and died on
May lo following. He was buried at Marblehead.
THE STOKY OF MEXOTOMY
249
Stubble of the previous harvest. Having searched
the house in vain for the coveted rebels, the soldiers
went out and joined their comrades on the march
into the countr\'.
The centre of Menotomy being away from the
line of Revere's midnight ride, there was but little
stir among the people when the regulars passed
Russell Store, Menotomy
out ; but it was not long before they were aware
of the march.
Lieutenant Smith, of Captain Locke's company,
upon going to his door was asked by a soldier for
a drink of water. This he refused, asking in turn,
"Why are }'ou out at this time of night .-' " This
and other similar incidents were enough to set an
expectant people in action.
250 Beneath old kooe trees
Among the buildings standing and presenting
much of the same appearance as in 1775 are the
Russell dwelling and store ; and no family is more
favorably situated for retaining the account of
those trying scenes than the Russell family. At
the old home and store it has been my privilege
to gather the story of Menotomy from the lips of
those who had it from their grandparents, who
participated in the bloody work of April 19, 1775.
The name of Russell appears in the list of the
first settlers of that part of Cambridge known
in the Revolution as Menotomy ; incorporated in
1807 as West Cambridge, and later changed in
name to Arlington.
In 1732 William Russell headed a petition for
better accommodations for the settlers in the
north-west part of Cambridge.
In 1762 the name is prominent among those
who secured the forming of a new parish by the
name of Menotomy. It was named after the
Indian river that flowed from Spy Pond brook
into the Mystic.
The first to establish the store in Menotomy
was Thomas, son of Jason, who was born in 1751,
in the old Russell house.
Jason, the father, was of the third generation
from; William the immigrant. He married Eliza-
beth Winship in 1740, and set up a home in the
Russell dwelling. That he was a man of promi-
nence, and had negro slaves, is apparent from the
TH& RUSSELL FAMILY STORE 2^1
records of the church, which say that Kate, his
negro child, was baptized on March 17, 1754, at
three months of age.
Thomas was one of a large family of children.
He set up business for himself at the Russell
store in 1773, married Anna Whittemore in the
following year, and was well established as the
only merchant of that village at the opening of
the Revolution. He left his home and merchan-
dise to shoulder the " king's arm," and serve as a
friend of the colonial cause. Says Thomas H.
Russell of the fourth generation of the merchants
of the family, " On returning to this place of busi-
ness, my great-grandfather, Thomas, found that
the British soldiers had entered the store, helped
themselves to what they wanted, destroyed much,
and after drinking all the rum they could, had left
the taps open, expecting to thereby empty the
hogsheads ; but a member of the family was
watching the enemy, and foiled the plan of de-
struction. But," continued Mr. Russell, " the
damage to this store and the loss of merchandise
were as nothing when the trials of that day were
summed up in the village, and especially in our
family." Menotomy, like many other towns, had
the good fortune of being led by a patriotic min-
ister. Rev. Samuel Cook was fearless in de-
nouncing the tyranny of the king, and ready to
espouse the cause of the Province whenever oppor-
tunity presented itself.
252 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Benjamin Locke and his company of minute-
men were early to respond to the alarm. They
assembled on the green by the meeting-house,
and marched on to the aid of those who had
charge of the stores at Concord. The women
and children were sent away to places at a dis-
tance from the Concord road. Many people hid
their silver and other valuables, expecting that the
army when returning would be given over to mur-
der and plunder.!
" The morning wore away quietly enough.
Towards noon the road was again glittering with
British bayonets. Smith's appeal for aid had been
answered. Lord Percy was sent at the head of
three regiments of infantry and two divisions of
marines — in all about twelve hundred men —
to re-enforce the first detachment. Marching out
through Roxbury, he was delayed for a little while
at Brighton Bridge, until the planks which had
been taken up could be replaced. Then he kept
on through Cambridge and Menotomy without
further hindrance."
The wagons of supplies and provisions which
followed met with great difficulty in crossing
the bridge, and were delayed so that they were
obliged to make their course unattended by the
army. The news of their approach preceded
them to Menotomy; and the old men, "exempts,"
1 A silver cup was recovered after the evacuation of Boston, and
is now treasured among the parish valuables.
i''i^n-r
'■At this Si'ut, Armi, igTn, 1775, the Or.r> JTen
OF JIen'jtumy Caftureij a Convoy of Ek^hteen
SoLiJiEKS WITH Supplies, on its Wav t.i join the
British at Lexington." Page 253
THE RUSSELL FAMILY STORE 253
determined to capture them, and thus aid the
cause for which they were not able to shoulder
the musket and march. About a dozen of them
met at Cooper's Tavern. If they were not led
by a minister, there was one in their number.
Rev. Phillips Payson of Chelsea, who was foremost
in this bold act. They secreted themselves be-
hind a breastworlc of earth and. stones opposite
the meeting-house, and when the wagons arrived
they ordered a halt and surrender. The drivers
whipped up their horses, but it was of no use.
The old men fired, killing some of the horses, one
or two men, and wounding others. The drivers
and remaining soldiers fled, leaving the supplies
with the people of Menotomy. This was a bold
act, perpetrated by the "exempts" without the
knowledge of the affair at Lexington or Concord.
They had fired at the king's army on the king's
highway, without regard for the oft-repeated in-
junction, " Let them begin the war." The little
group of invalids had a task before them, — they
must remove the wagons and everything that
would betray them to the returning enemy. Says
Mrs. Sophronia Russell, " When I was a child I
went with my father down to Spring Valley, near
where now is the residence of J. T. Trowbridge,
and saw the bones of the horses as they lay
bleaching in the sun."
All traces of the convoy of supplies were out
of sight when the regulars returned, and the men
2S4 SE^EATSi OLD HOOP TREES
of Menotomy had the satisfaction of knowing that
they had captured the first supplies during the
war. They never ceased telling this story as long
as they were able to meet at Russell's store, where
the more sorrowful experiences of the day were
often repeated by some member of the family
which met with the greatest loss. Said Thomas
Russell, " My grandfather, who was a non-com-
batant, would not go away for refuge as others
were doing. He was one of the principal citizens
of the village, being fifty-eight years of age, and
in possession of a large tract of real estate. He
was lame, and had difficulty in getting about, so
he decided to stay at his own house, which stood
near the highway. When friends urged him to
leave it, he replied, ' An Englishman's house is
his castle,' and he decided to stand his ground.
Meanwhile a number of Americans, mostly from
Danvers, had taken up a position in the rear of
his house, and within a walled enclosure, which
they strengthened by piling up bundles of shin-
gles. There were other men behind trees on the
side of the hill.
"When the retreating enemy reached the plains
of Menotomy they were better situated to do their
deadly work, for the Americans were less pro-
tected by heights on either side. Our people were
well arranged to meet the enemy if they came in
the highway ; but they did not anticipate a flanking
guard, which came suddenly upon their ambuscade,
THE RUSSELL FAMILY STORE 255
and, after a moment of most savage fighting, drove
our men in the enclosure down towards the road,
where their complete destruction seemed inevi-
table, as the main body of the enemy was before
them. Closely pursued, they entered our house.
Grandfather was shot at his own door, and then his
body was stabbed through and through with the
bayonets of the infuriated enemy as they rushed
in, killing everybody they could reach. Eight
Americans escaped to the cellar, where they pro-
tected themselves by firing up the stairway. One"
of the enemy was killed in attempting to continue
his pursuit to the cellar ; but after plundering the
house, the rest left, and went on their way. Our
house," said Mr. Russell, " was a sad place that
night. In the south room were laid the bodies of
twelve of the dead, grandfather among them, bear-
ing the marks of two bullet wounds and eleven
bayonet stabs. They had seemed to vent their
rage upon him. The Americans had observed
little or no order in the fighting of the morning ;
and now the enemy, finding themselves con-
fronted by fresh troops from either side as they
advanced, observed but little military order.
They plundered houses, besides our store ; en-
tered the meeting-house ; carried away the com-
munion service from the house of Deacon Joseph
Adams ; damaged the home of the minister, and
so on, to Cooper's Tavern, which had not been en-
tirely abandoned. They burst open the door, and
256 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
there lound two of the old men, who were un-
armed, and had only come up to the tavern to
get a mug of flip and the news. Neither age
nor helplessness deterred the infuriated mob ; for
Gage's army was little else at that time.
" The old men were at once despatched with
blows and bayonet thrusts ; but the keeper and
his wife, Benjamin and Rachel Cooper, having es-
caped to the cellar, were passed unharmed. The
sworn testimony of the tavern-keeper and his wife
is : ' The king's regular troops, under the com-
mand of General Gage, upon their return from
blood and slaughter which they had made at Lex-
ington and Concord, fired more than one hundred
bullets into the house where we dwell, through
doors, windows, etc. ; then a number of them en-
tered the house where we and two aged gentlemen
were all unarmed. We escaped for our lives into
the cellar. The two aged gentlemen were imme-
diately most barbarously and inhumanly murdered
by them, being stabbed through in many places,
their heads mangled, skulls broke, and their brains
out on the floor and walls of the house.'
" Not less than twenty-two Americans were
killed on that April afternoon in Menotomy,
and fully twice as many of the enemy perished.
Two of our men were taken prisoners ; one, Seth
Russell, was a member of our family. They re-
mained in captivity until the exchange of June
6 was made at Charlestown." Many of the dead
THE RUSSELL FAMILY STORE 257
were carried back to their own towns ; but twelve
of them, including the three Menotomy men, were
buried here. So urgent were their country's needs,
that the village people had no time for funeral
rites ; and the carpenter was too busy to make the
coffins, so these martyrs were committed to a
common grave with their clothes for shrouds.
Above this grave was afterwards placed a single
slate gravestone. This now stands beside a monu-
ment of more recent erection, on which is read: — ■
MR. JASON RUSSELL
WAS BARBAROUSLY MURDERED IN HIS OWN HOUSE
BY gage's bloody TROOPS
ON YE I9TH OF APRIL, 1/75, ^TAT, 59.
HIS body is QUIETLY RESTING IN THIS GRAVE WITH
ELEVEN OF OUR FRIENDS, WHO I.N LIKE MANNER,
WITH MANY OTHERS, WERE CRUELLY SLAIN
ON THAT FATAL DAY.
" BLESSED ARE YE DEAD WHO DIE IN YE LORD ! "
Dr. Warren and General Heath were active on
the plains of Menotomy, directing and encoura-
ging the Americans. " A ball struck a pin from
the earlock of the former ; but his life was spared
for another bloody conflict, when it was yielded
up in the cause of freedom."
From a poem printed in Boston in 1781 the
following is taken : —
" Again the conflict glows with rage severe,
And fearless ranks in combat mixt appear.
Victory uncertain ! fierce contention reigns.
And purple rivers drench the slippery plains !
2S8 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Column to column, host to host oppose,
And rush impetuous on their adverse foes;
When lo ! the hero Warren from afar
Sought for the battle, and the field of war.
From rank to rank the daring warrior flies.
And bids the thunder of the battle rise.
Sudden arrangements of his troops are made.
And sudden movements round the plain displayed.
Columbia's Genius in her polished shield
Gleams bright and dreadful o'er the hostile field!
Her ardent troops, enraptured with the sight,
With shock resistless force the dubious fight;
Britons, astonished, tremble at the sight,
And, all confused, precipitate their flight."
The scenes that have been enacted in the store
would furnish material for a thrilling narrative.
It was there that the distressed colonists as-
sembled to talk Over their grievances, after pla-
cing in the grave a few rods away the father
of the proprietor, his two neighbors, and nine
other comrades in death. The descendants of
Jason Russell, who have served in that store,
could not look to the southward from the busy
counter without seeing the memorial of this brave
ancestor.
Turning to the venerable member of the family
with whose general remark this section was in-
troduced, I was shown a Bible that belonged to
the widow of Jason Russell. In it is written : —
" Purchased with money given her by some unknown
friend in England, in consideration of the loss of her be-
TJIE Ki'SSELL FAMILY STOKE
^59
loved husband, on the igth of April, 1775, who was in-
hiimanl)- murdered by the British troops under the command
of Gen. Thomas Gage, to tlic eternal infamv of the Biitish
nation."
Sri}'s Mrs. Russell, " Some of the delights of
my earlv life were the visits to my uncle, Jona-
than Harrington,
at Lexington. He
was the last sur-
vivor of the bat-
tle of Lexington,
living until 1854.
By tlie open fire
he and Aunt Sally
would sit and tell
the story over and
over again. He
would cry out as
his mother did
when rushing to
his room, ' Jona-
than, you must get
Mrs. SoPHRONiA Russell
up
! The regulars are coming; something must
be done!'
" Uncle Jonathan lived to see the sentiment
o-row in the country until he was sought out by
men from all lands, and became a hero indeed.
When the veterans failed to come to his door,
their descendants rose up to honor him.
26o
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
*' ' The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay,
Sat by his fire, and talk'd the night away,
Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done,
Shoulder'd his crutch, and show'd how fields were won.
Leaving the Russell home and store, I turned
my steps to the residence of Mrs. Pamelia Fisk,
who began life with the opening of the nineteenth
century. To her, a native of Lexington, the
experiences of April 19, 1775, are as great a re-
ality as is the fir-
ing upon Sumter
to the middle-aged
man of to-day.
Says Mrs. Fisk,
" My two grand-
fathers fought at
Lexington, and
my grandmothers
were eye-witnesses
to the butchery.
They told me so
much of their trials
and sufferings at
that time that I
have felt as though
I was almost a participant in the fight myself."
No sentiment gilds the narrative as it falls from
her lips ; she has it as it was told to her when in
childhood she played on the smooth field where
" they poured out their blood like water before
Mrs. Pameli.\ Fisk
THE FISK FAMILY - 261
they knew whether it would fertilize the soil of
freedom or of bondage."
Mrs. Fisk is a granddaughter of Francis Brown
and of Edmond Monroe of Lexington. Her pa-
ternal grandmother was Mary Buckman, who lived
• at the old Buckman tavern. So on all sides she
inherits the blood of true patriots, and has heard
the story from their own lips.
" Grandfather Brown," she says, " told me this
story: 'I was out here near the meeting-house
at the very early hour of two o'clock, and an-
swered the roll-call of our company, and in response
to the order of Captain Parker loaded my gun
with powder and ball. I heard the discussion as
to the safety of Hancock and Adams. I went
back to my home, and waited until half-past four
o'clock, when I heard the alarm-guns and the
drum beat to arms, and I was again on the
green.
" ' The order not to fire unless fired upon de-
terred me and all of us from having a shot at the
British soldiers as they came up the road. I parti-
cipated in the early action ; and, having cared for
our dead and wounded neighbors, I was in the
afternoon attack, when I was wounded by a ball,
which entered my cheek, passed under my ear,
and lodged in the back of my neck, where it re-
mained nearly a year.' " Mrs. Fisk said, " I used
to put my finger on those scars, as he told me just
how the ball went. We needed no fairy-tales in
262 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
our youth ; the real experiences of our own people
were more fascinating than all the novels ever
written."
The Whittemore home is one of the residences
of old Menotomy which remains as a reminder
of the day of peculiar trials. Says Lewis Down-
ing Whittemore, " Here my ancestors made an
early settlement, having numerous representatives
actively engaged in the opening Revolution. The
home has not been without a representative of
the family and name since Samuel, born in 1696,
of the third generation in this country, located
here. He inherited the old homestead, situated
nearer Boston, and exchanged it for the present
well-known estate about 1730. There were two
dwellings on the farm in 1775 occupied by the
family; on the northerly side of the highway lived
my great-great-grandfather, Samuel Whittemore,
and on the opposite side his son Samuel was
living.
" Among those who manifested great bravery
and courage on April 19, 1775, was Samuel the
elder, then in his eightieth year.
The following narrative appeared in an obituary
notice of the Columbian Sentinel oi Feb. 6, 1793:
"Died at Menotomy, the 2d instant, Capt. Samuel Whit-
temore, MX. 96 years and 6 months. The manly and moral
virtues, in all the varied relations of a brother, husband,
father, and friend, were invariably exhibited in this gentle-
man. He was not more remarkable for his longevity and his
STORY OF WHITTEMORE FAMILY 263
numerous descendants (his progeny being 185, one of which
is the fifth generation) than for his patriotism. When the
British troops marched to Lexington, he was 79 years of
age, and one of the first on the parade ; he was armed with
a gun and horse-pistol. After an animated exhortation to
the collected militia to the exercise of bravery and courage,
he exclaimed, ' If I can only be the instrument of killing
one of my country's foes, I shall die in peace.' The prayer
of this venerable old man was heard ; for on the return of
the troops he lay behind a stone wall, and discharging
his gun a soldier immediately fell ; he then discharged
his pistol, and killed another ; at which instant a bullet
struck his face, shot away part of his cheekbone ; on which
a number of the soldiers ran up to the wall, and gorged their
malice on his wounded head. They were heard to exclaim,
'We have killed the old rebel.' About four hours after, he
was found in a mangled situation; his head was .covered
with blood from the wounds of the bayonets, which were six
or eight ; but providentially none penetrated so far as to de-
stroy him. His hat and clothes were shot through in many
places ; yet he survived to see the complete overthrow of his
enemies, and his country enjoy all the blessings of peace
and independence. His funeral will be held to-morrow at 4
o'clock p. M. from his house at Menotomy, which his rela-
tives and friends are requested to attend."
Among the family treasures of to-day are the
cartridge-box and bayonet used by Captain Sam-
uel Whittemore, when at the age of almost four-
score years he responded to the Lexington alarm.
" In my great-grandfather's family," said my
informant, " were two sons, Jonathan and Josiah,
aged thirteen and eleven years respectively. Be-
ing too young to shoulder a musket if there had
264 BENEATH OLD JiOOF TREES
been an extra one beneath the old roof, these boys
fled with others from their home upon the approach
of the retreating army, but injudiciously perched
upon a rail fence at a distance, with no thought
of being detected ; but they were seen by a strag-
gling soldier from the regulars, who discharged
his musket at them. They were uninjured, but
so much frightened that they instantly fell from
the fence, one exclaiming, ' I'm shot.' They
made haste to the forest beyond, and, becoming
bewildered, wandered about until they reached
Watertown, where, on the following morning,
they were taken in charge by a friend of the fam-
ily, who returned them safely to their despairing
parents." One of them is represented by a grand-
daughter in the old home ; and the other is repre-
sented by a grandson, who, while treasuring the
military equipments, delights in telling this story.
CAMBRIDGE.
(In tracing the movements of the patriots
through Cambridge, it is well to bear in mind that
Brighton was at that time " Little Cambridge,"
and the Somerville of to-day is a comparatively
recent incorporation ; hence Charlestown was the
adjoining township.)
The setting sun of April 19 saw Cambridge
transformed to a theatre of war. For nearly a
year it was given over to the use of the American
CAMBRIDGE 265
army. Although it was the assembled patriots,
many of whom were not far from their own homes,
the town suffered by the unavoidable devastations
of war. The fences, forest-trees, fruit-trees, and
orchards for a mile around the camp were taken
and burned for fuel by friendly hands in a state
of desperation.
In early winter the straitened condition of
the camp was relieved through an act of the au-
thorities, by which the patriots in the neighbor-
ing towns were required to deliver at camp a
specified number of cords of wood per day. The
records of the different towns attest to the cheer-
ful manner in which their people met the demand.
Roxbury, Dedham, Milton, and Dorchester de-
livered three cords per day to the Roxbury wing
of the camp ; Lexington five, Bedford four, Lin-
coln three and a half, to Prospect Hill wing ;
Newton and Weston six, Needham five, Waltham
four. Concord and Natick three, to Cambridge.
Hay and other supplies were provided in a sim-
ilar manner.
The daily coming and going of the teams kept
the towns within a radius of a dozen miles in
touch with the life of the camp. Many a box of
goodies from a mother's larder brought cheer to
the boys, with a loving message from the anxious
at home ; and many a son, prostrated by the depri-
vation of camp-life, was borne home by the team-
sters to languish and die, filling patriots' graves
266 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
to-day as truly as though they had fallen at Lex-
ington, Concord, or Bunker Hill.
The evacuation of Boston relieved Cambridge
of the camp, and made it possible for Harvard
College to return to its own buildings. Many
patriots returned to their deserted homes ; but the
Loyalists, of which Cambridge had a good share,
found no sympathizing hearts to welcome them
back to familiar scenes.
Before the barracks had been removed from
Prospect and Winter Hills, the surrender of Bur-
goyne occurred ; and in November, 1777, his army
of prisoners were lodged in these old apartments.
The superior position of officers was recognized
by their allotment to dwelling-houses, where they
were kept under guard.
Several houses that witnessed the scenes of
camp-life still remain in Cambridge, chief among
which, for its pre-Revolutionary reminders, is
the dwelling on Linnehan Street, nor far from
the college buildings.
In my tour about Cambridge, seeking for hid-
den footprints, I happily came upon this dwelling,
which had witnessed the vicissitudes of more than
a century before the Revolution. Its plain sim-
plicity is in striking contrast with the famous
Vassall house, and it is a forcible reminder of
the more common life of the majority of the
colonists.
While the house in its well-kept condition offers
CAMBRIDGE 267
many attractions to the antiquarian, a face seen
through the narrow pane was much more attrac-
tive. It was that of Mrs. Charlotte Holden, who
in her ninety-eighth year, in the enjoyment of
her faculties, told the old story as she received
it while resting her youthful head upon her
mother's bosom she listened to the recital of what
she witnessed at Concord. "My mother," said
Mrs. Holden, " was Hepsibah Buttrick, daughter
of Joseph, who, with his brother, Major John But-
trick, not only acted the part of patriots at Con-
cord, but did much to infuse that spirit into the
camp-life of Cambridge."
I would that any who thoughtlessly enjoys the
blessings of liberty might be aroused. to a keen
sense of his obligation to become a good citizen
through this woman's recital of the sacrifices
made to give every true American a share in the
glorious heritage of freedom. Said Mrs. Holden :
"I am one of three sisters whose united ages are
two hundred and eighty-five years. We are grand-
daughters of one of the " thirteen well-instructed
children of Samuel Buttrick of Concord."
After thoughtfully noting this woman's confir-
mation of the narrative already received, I turned
to consider with her a few incidents connected
with this locality.
The route through Cambridge by which the
enemy made haste to protection was not the same
as they had taken under cover of the night, nor
268 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
that which the re-enforcements took at midday.
In the hasty return they took the route that winds
around Prospect Hill. Their situation was critical
when they entered this part of Charlestown.
Their progress was hindered by their burden of
wounded comrades, whom they disliked to leave
to the untried mercy of the patriots, while a
strong force was advancing from Roxbury, Dor-
chester, and Milton. Seven hundred of the Essex
militia, under Colonel Pickering, threatened to cut
them off altogether. The Americans followed
closely upon the enemy, reluctant to obey the
order of General Heath to cease the pursuit be-
yond Charlestown Common.
The dinner provided for the " men-folks " in
the homes throughout the near towns came to the
hungry men as they ceased the pursuit, and in
time to revive many who, regardless of self, had
fought their way from Old North Bridge with
little or no refreshment. General Heath placed
suitable guards, and conducted the weary troops
to Cambridge, where they "were ordered to lie on
their arms."
The power of imagination fails when one at-
tempts to recall the scenes that must have passed
before the sleepless eyes of many who, having
thrown themselves down in the open field, sought
nature's sweet restorer. From their beds in peace-
ful homes they had sprung, made a hasty march,
faced the enemy, pursued them through a deadly
CAMBRIDGE 269
fire, and now waited for they knew not what on
the morrow's dawn.
The continual arrival of men, together with the
novel labor of fitting up a camp, furnished variety
for a few days ; but this soon wore away, and noth-
ing but the spirit of real patriotism could have
deterred them all from returning to their homes,
in the absence of military restraint and discipline.
The fight through Cambridge to Charlestown
Common was not without its sad results to Cam-
bridge families. On North Avenue, near the
easterly end of Spruce Street, three were killed,
— John Hicks, Moses Richardson, and William
Marcy. It was claimed that Hicks was a mem-
ber of the Tea- Party of Dec. 16, 1773. He left
his home early in the morning ; and, not returning,
his wife sent a son of fourteen years to look for
him. He found him lying by the side of the road
dead ; Marcy and Richardson were near him. The
boy procured assistance ; and the bodies were lifted
into a rough wagon, and taken home. Here, as in
Menotomy, circumstances did not favor funeral
rites ; and the three were hastily buried in one
grave. It is said that a son of Moses Richardson,
standing b}', was too tender hearted to see the
earth thrown directly upon their faces ; and, getting
into the trench, he spread the large cape of his
father's coat over his face. A neat Scotch granite
monument stands over the grave. The inscription
is this : —
270 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
ERECTED BY THE CITY A.D. 1870.
TO THE MEMORY OF
JOHN HICKS, WILLIAM MARCY, MOSES RICHARDSON;
BURIED HERE, JASON RUSSELL, JABEZ WYMAN,
JASON WINSHIP, BURIED IN MENOTOMY.
MEN OF CAMBRIDGE
WHO FELL IN DEFENCE OF THE LIBERTY OF THE PEOPLE,
APRIL 19, 1775.
"O WHAT A GLORIOUS MORNING IS THIS ! "
In the afternoon of the 20th, General Arte-
mas Ward arrived in Cambridge, and, being the
senior general officer, became commander-in-chief.
Other officers having arrived, a council of war was
immediately held.
Anxiety and deep planning were now the por-
tion of the leaders, culminating in the battle of
Bunker Hill, where Colonel Thomas Gardner, an
honored citizen of " Little Cambridge," received a
mortal wound. He had honorably discharged the
duties of many offices, both civic and military.
When his superior officer, the Tory Brattle, fled to
Boston, he was promoted to the command of his
company. He responded to the Lexington alarm,
and soon after enlisted a regiment for the Con-
tinental army, of which he was commissioned as
colonel about two weeks before the battle of
Bunker Hill.
Colonel Gardner lingered about two weeks after
the battle, dying on the day which is remembered
by Washington's taking command of the army.
CAMBRIDGE 271
Of the line of fortifications that extended across
Cambridge, there is but little remaining. The
" three-gun battery " which commanded the river
down to Lechmere's Point has been carefully pre-
served. It was restored in 1858 as nearly as pos-
sible to its original state, enclosed by an iron
fence, within which three cannon given by the
United States are mounted. This memorial is fit-
tingly known as Fort Washington. The site of
Fort Putnam at East Cambridge presents nothing
of the appearance of a fortification, but bears an
enduring monument, — the Putnam School.
The use to which houses in Menotomy were
hastily put is apparent from the journals of indi-
viduals, as well as from the traditions of families,
especially that of the Russell family. Says my
venerable informant : —
" In the confused companies of the British when on tlieir
retreat, was seen a horse and chaise in which was being car-
ried one of their officers, who proved to be Lieutenant Edward
Hull of the British Forty-third Regiment. He was wounded
at North Bridge, and was being conveyed back to Boston.
The horse was not so swift as the men ; and, falling in the rear,
the officer received a second wound. It was near the Samuel
Butterfield dwelling, and he was carried into the house
vacated by the affrighted family. Upon the return of the lady
of the house, she found her rooms occupied. There was a
wounded Provincial, besides Lieutenant Hull. They were both
in one room, each having been placed upon a bed by their
respective comrades. How much interchange of sympathy
there was we do not know, but Mrs. Butterfield could not with-
2/2 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
hold her sympathetic attention from both. She ministered
to friend and foe alilce ; saw the former recover, and return to
his family at Framingham. But notwithstanding the care of
the good woman, together with that of nurses, and supplies
sent out from Boston with a flag of truce, the young officer
died in about two weeks ; and, according to 'Cnt. Salem Gazette
of May 5,. 1775, 'His remains were next day conveyed to
Charlestown, attended by a company of Provincials and several
officers of distinction, and there delivered to the order of
General Gage.' "
He was the first British officer who lost his hfe
in the war, and was probably buried on Copps
Hill.
While receiving the best of care at the Butter-
field home, he was visited by Rev. Dr. McClure, a
prominent clergyman, who kept a journal, a frag-
ment of which has come to light, and is of great
interest, not only to the people of Menotomy, but
to all interested in the events of that time.
FRAGMENT OF DIARY.
. . " that it was flattened on one side by the ribs as if
it had been beaten with a hammer. He was a plain, honest
man, to appearance, who had voluntarily turned out with his
musket at the alarm of danger, as did also some thousands
besides, on that memorable day. [Doubtless Mr. Hem-
enway of Framingham.J In the same room lay mortally
wounded a British officer. Lieutenant Hull, of a youthful,
fair, and delicate countenance. He was of a respectable
family of fortune in Scotland. Sitting on one feather-bed,
he leaned on another, and was attempting to suck the juice
of an orange which some neighbor had brought. The phy-
CAMBRIDGE T.'Jl
sician of the place had been to dress his wounds, and a
woman was appointed to attend him.
" I observed that he had no shirt on, and was wrapt in a
coating great-coat, with a fur cap on his head. I inquired
of tlie woman wliy he was tlius destitute of clotliing. He
answered, 'When I fell, our people [the British] stripped me
of my coat, vest, and shirt, and your people of my shoes and
buckles.' How inhuman ! his own men ! I asked him if he
was dangerously wounded. He replied, ' Yes, mortally ; "
that he had received three balls in his body. His counte-
nance expressed great bodily anguish. I conversed with him
a short time on the prospect of death, and a preparation for
the solemn scene ; to which he appeared to pay serious at-
tention. He lived about a week ; and the people conveyed
his body in a coffin to Charlestown ferry, where I happened
to be present, and a barge from the Somerset took it to
Boston.
" Not far from this house lay four fine British horses ; the
people were taking oif their shoes. One informed me that a
wagon loaded with provisions was sent from Boston for the
refreshment of the retreating army, under an escort of six
grenadiers. They had got as far as this place, when a num-
ber of men (ten or twelve) collected, and ordered them to
surrender. They marched on, and our men fired, killed the
driver and the horses ; when the rest fled a little way and
surrendered.
" Another wagon sent on the same business was also
taken that day. It was strange that General Gage should
send them through a country in which he had just kindled
the flames of war, in so defenceless a condition. Saw three
regulars in beds in a house in Cambridge ; one of them mor-
tally wounded. Conversed with them on their melancholy
situation. One of them refused to answer, and cast upon
me a revengeful look. Perhaps he was a Papist, and his
priest had pardoned his sins. The houses on the road of
the march of the British were all perforated with balls, and
274 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
the windows broken. Horses, cattle, and swine lay dead
around. Such were the dreadful trophies of war for about
twenty miles. I hovered around Boston several days. Very
few of the inhabitants were permitted to come out. Having
some things in Boston which I wished to have sent round
to Marblehead, I wrote to my brother-in-law, Capt. Henry
Hunter, who with my sister Hunter were there, to send
them ; and having obtained a permit from the colonel com-
manding our militia at Roxbury, to go to the British guards
on the Neck, I went within call, and waved my hat for per-
mission to enter, when Davis, a Boston Tory, and inspector of
those who came out, came towards me, but refused to take
the letters which I passed towards him. He said General
Gage had given orders that there should be no communica-
tion between town and country. I got my letter in, how-
ever, the same day."
GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD 275
CHAPTER XXI
GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD. THE OLD HOMESTEAD
SHREWSBURY
There are many houses in New England still
cherished because of their association with the
opening Revolution ; among them is one from
which went the organizer of that volunteer army
of April 19, 1775. It is in the town of Shrews-
bury, and is known as the Ward homestead. It
may be seen to-day in much the same condition as
when General Artemas Ward rushed to the front
door upon seeing in the distance on the king's
highway a galloping steed, "bloody with spurring
and dripping with sweat," and heard from the
excited rider, " To arms ! To arms ! the war's
begun ! "
This house has never passed out of the family
possession ; and the great-grandchildren cross the
same threshold which their illustrious ancestor
trod when after hasty preparations he mounted
his horse and galloped off to Cambridge, reaching
there with the gathering volunteers on the day
following the experiences at Lexington, Concord,
and Cambridge.
276 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Artemas Ward, famous as scholar, soldier, and
jurist, was born in Shrewsbury, Worcester County,
in 1727. He was a graduate of Harvard College,
and for some years a teacher of distinction.
He married a great-granddaughter of Rev. In-
crease Mather, and settled in the house which
has ever since been a family dwelling of peculiar
Ward Homestead
interest. It was first looked upon by the people
of the county as a place of justice, young Ward
having been commissioned one of his Majesty's
justices.
In this house the expounder of the law had his
ofifice ; and many an offender was from its narrow
apartments sent to the whipping-post, stocks, or
pillory. Ward, being of an ambitious turn of
GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD 2"]"]
mind, devoted a second apartment to a store, and
there dealt out rum, molasses, broadcloth, and
that combination of necessaries found at that
time in all well-regulated stores.
The rum, says a descendant and present occu-
pant, was bought by the barrel in Boston of
Joshua Winslow, and the cloth of John Hancock,
the affluent merchant, who inherited his uncle's
famous mart of trade, with much other property.
Dealing out rum in one room, and meting out
justice in another, seem like contradictory em-
ployments ; but both were profitable, and regarded
as equally honorable in those days.
Young Ward was made captain of the first
military company raised in the town, and this
dwelling was the headquarters of the militia. He
was raised to the rank of major in the Third Regi-
ment in 1755, and three years later was made
lieutenant-colonel in the regiment of footmen
under command of Colonel Williams that set out
for the invasion of Canada in May of 1758.
Colonel Ward kept a journal during this cam-
paign. It is held by his family at the old home,
and is full of interest. In it he wrote : —
Ajtg. 9. "News from Rogers that he had got forty scalps
and two prisoners ; he lost 20 and had 50 men wounded : two
brought into Fort Edward that was scalped, but alive. Ye
truth is they gave ye enemy a good drubbing this time."
20. " This day news came to' headquarters from a letter
from Gov. Hutchinson of ye surrender of Cape Breton, that
it surrendered ye 26 of July last,''
2-78 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
The Ward family treasure a bayonet and other
military trappings of that expedition in which
their illustrious ancestor acted a creditable part.
In 1763 this popular man of the Province was
given the commission of colonel, and regularly
conducted the training required in all towns at
that time. He had urged his men to fight for the
king against the French, but now showed them
their duty to prepare to resist the encroachments
of George III.
The royal governor, Francis Bernard, in his
luxuriant living at Boston, heard of the disloy-
alty of Colonel Ward, and sent a messenger to
this house with a letter. The colonel was not at
home, but was found at the meeting-house su-
perintending workmen. The mounted agent of
Bernard handed the letter to the leading man of
the town.
The scarlet-coated messenger aroused the curi-
osity of the workmen ; and they paused to learn
the nature of the message, which Colonel Ward
read aloud : — ■
Boston, June -^o, 1766.
To Artemas Ward, Esq.
Sir, — I am ordered by the Governor to signify to you
that he has thought fit to supersede your commission of
Colonel in the regiment of militia lying in part in the County
of Worcester, and partly in the County of Middlesex, and
your said commission is superseded accordingly.
I am, sir, your most ob't and humble serv't,
Jno. Cotton, Deputy Secretary.
GEA'EKAL ARTEMAS WARD
279
» »*
Not to be disconcerted in such a manner, the
young officer manifested the gentleman and pa-
triot by replying thus : —
" Give my compliments
to the governor, and say
to him that I consider
myself twice honored, but
more in being superseded
than in being commis-
sioned, and " (holding up
the letter) "that I thank
liim for this, since the
motive that dictated it is
evidence that I am, what
he is not, a friend to my
countrv."
As the governor's mes-
senger rode away the
people shouted, " Colonel
Ward forever ! "
Artemas Ward added
to a good literary educa-
tion a practical training
in law, and also a thor-
ough military discipline.
He was an ardent Whig,
and did not withhold his
opinions on the state of government, although he
knew his free expression must result in the dis-
approval of the Loyalist leaders in the Province.
Gener..\l Ward's Sword
28o BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
His sentiments were approved by his towns-
men, who sent him to act as governor's council-
lor; but the enraged minion of King George III.
would not accept him as an adviser, and ordered
him to retire.
He was then sent as a representative to the
General Court, where he acted according to his
belief. He went from his home to the Provincial
Congress, which held their first session at Salem
Court House. Before their adjournment to the
meeting-house of Concord, they chose a commit-
tee of thirteen "to consider what is necessary to
be done now for the defence and safety of the
Province."
Colonel Ward was one of this committee, and of
the Committee of Safety raised to regulate the
militia. The Provincial Congress selected Arte-
mas Ward as one of the general officers; and it
was doubtless through his advice that Worcester,
so near his home, was selected as one of the
places for the deposit of the materials for an army.
During the winter of 1774-5 he directed the
movements of the patriots near his home, and
also attended the meetings of the Congresses. At
the adjournment on Saturday the 15th of April,
General Ward left Concord for his home, John
Hancock for his lodgings at Lexington, and
others for other homes in the vicinity.
The associations and experiences for months
had kept General Ward familiar with the move-
GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD 28 1
ments of the British in Boston ; and he, with
his townsmen, were well prepared for the mes-
sage which called him from his home on the
19th.
Despite the proclamation of Governor Gage,
that all rebels taken in arms should be brought
to the gallows, General Ward was found on duty
at Cambridge, April 20, when as the senior gen-
eral officer he relieved General Heath, and became
commander-in-chief.
He established his headquarters at the house
of Jonathan Hastings, now known as the Holmes
House.
Even an army of volunteer patriots required
discipline, and General Ward found it difficult to
bring order out of the condition into which the
unrestrained volunteers naturally fell. On the
19th of the following month the Provincial Con-
gress issued his commission as commander-in-
chief of the Massachusetts forces.
The Congress of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay to the
Honorable Artemas Ward, Esquire, greeting: —
We, reposing especial trust and confidence in your cour-
age and good conduct, do by these presents, constitute and
appoint you, the said Artemas Ward, to be general and
commander-in-chief of all the forces raised by the Congress
aforesaid for the defence of this and the other American
colonies.
You are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge
the duty of a general in leading, ordering, and exercising
282 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
the forces in army, both inferior officers and soldiers, and to
keep them in good order and discipline, and they are hereby
commanded to obey you as their general ; and you are your-
self to observe and follow such orders and instructions as
you shall from time to time receive from this or any future
Congress or House of Representatives of this colony, or the
Committee of Safety, so far as said committee is empowered
by this commission to order and instruct you for the defence
of this and the other colonies ; and to demean yourself
according to the military rule and discipline established by
said Congress, in pursuance of the trust reposed in you.
By order of the Congress.
Dated 19th May, a.d. 1775.
Jos. Warren,
Pres. pro iem.
The army met by General Ward at Cambridge
was enough to excite the laugh which they re-
ceived from the British soldiers. Some of them
were dressed in the long-tailed linsey-woolsey
coats and breeches which had been spun and
woven in farmhouse kitchens ; some.wore smock
frocks like a butcher, also of home manufacture ;
some wore suits of British broadcloth, so long
used for Sunday clothes that they were the worse
for wear ; and every variety of dress and fashion
figured in these motley ranks.
This tatterdemalion army had gone out with
the idea of fighting the British on the first day,
then and there to settle the whole matter.
General Ward's first order after leaving his
peaceful home at Shrewsbury was issued at Cam-
GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD 283
bridge on the 20th, "That 9. captain, one lieu-
tenant, two sergeants, and fifty-two rank and file
march immediately to bury the dead and take
care of the wounded."
Love had prompted the Americans along the
route to care for their dead and wounded, and of
necessity many of the enemy had received Chris-
tian attention.
The distance did not prevent correspondence
between the Shrewsbury home and the headquar-
ters of their honored citizen at Cambridge. When
the poor were sent out of the besieged town of
Boston, thirty-two found homes among the neigh-
bors of General Ward.
Their arrival aroused the sympathy and curi-
osity of the people who were left at home ; and
a son of General Ward, with a boy companion,
set out and walked to Cambridge, reaching there
on the unfortunate day of the battle at Charles-
town.
The General was not well pleased to see his son
there at that time, for the battle was already be-
gun. His look of disapproval, and " How is this,
Tommy .' " struck the boy as not propitious for a
long visit ; and "You must go right back," settled
the matter. It was the order of thc'commander-
in-chief, and must be obeyed ; and so these sons of
soldiers, who were brought up to obey in times
of peace, turned their backs on the camp and
all they had walked so far to see, and set their
284 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
faces homeward, even though the balls from the
Lively and Somerset, men-of-war in the harbor,
were flying over at the intrenchments on Bunker
Hill, and the redcoats would soon march up the
hill to their death. The rattle of musketry
reached their ears, and the flames of burning
Charlestown were in sight, when they turned to
look back after they were well out of town. They
had seen the camp, and had heard the noise of
battle ; they had that to remember ; and they
could remember also that like good soldiers they
had obeyed orders.
General Ward's authority did not extend at first
beyond the colony of Massachusetts, but later was
extended to the command of the New Hampshire
forces. The affairs were in a very precarjous sit-
uation when the Continental Congress appointed
George Washington to be commander-in-chief of
all the forces, and he took command at Cambridge
on July 3.
Washington arranged the army into three grand
divisions, each consisting of two brigades, or
twelve regiments, in which the troops from the
same colony, as far as practicable, were brought
together.
The right wing, under Major-General Ward,
consisted of two brigades, commanded by Gen-
erals Thomas and Spenser, and was stationed at
Roxbury and its southern dependencies. The left
wing was placed under the command of General
GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD 285
Lee, and consisted of the brigades of Sullivan
and Green ; the former was stationed on Winter
Hill, the latter upon Prospect Hill. The centre
station was commanded by General Putnam, and
consisted of two brigades, one of which was com-
manded by Heath, and the other by a senior offi-
cer of less rank than that of brigadier. Thomas
Mifflin, who accompanied Washington from Phil-
adelphia as aid-de-camp, was made quartermaster-
general. Joseph Trumbull, son of the patriot
governor of Connecticut, was appointed commis-
sary-general ; and upon Joseph Reed of Philadel-
phia was bestowed the post of secretary to the
commander-in-chief. In a short time Reed re-
turned to Philadelphia, and was succeeded in office
by Robert H. Harrison, a lawyer of Maryland.
General Ward was now in charge of the forces
at Roxbury, where he directed the movements of
the patriot army.
It would naturally be expected that the people
of Shrewsbury, neighbors and friends of General
Artemas Ward, would make liberal sacrifice to
aid the cause of the patriots, which they most
cheerfully did.
In the preparations for war being made at Cam-
bridge, it was found that the number of firelocks
was not equal to the number of enlisted men ;
and a call was made upon the towns to forward
any in their possession to Watertown, where they
would be duly paid. Twenty-two were sent from
286 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Shrewsbury ; and there were found in that town
five barrels of powder, which, with the exception
of one-half of a barrel, were sent off to the army.
A large number of the citizens were soon found
at Cambridge, following in the footsteps of their
beloved fellow-citizen from that remote town.
They were with their honored townsman, and of
the army that threw up the fortification at Dor-
chester Hills, the work of which General Howe
said, " The rebels' have done more in one night
than my whole army would have done in a
month."
In a correspondence which passed between
Generals Washington and Ward at this time,
there is allusion to the plan of filling barrels with
sand to roll down upon an advancing enemy. Of
this Washington writes : " As I have a very high
opinion of the defence which may be made with
Barrels from either of the Hills, I could wish you
to have a number over. Perhaps single Barrels
would be better than linking of them together,
being less liable to accidents. The Hoops should
be well nailed, or else they will soon fly and the
casks fall to pieces."
After the evacuation, came the entry of Wash-
ington to the dilapidated town of Boston. When
the cornmander-in-chief was preparing to go with
most of his army to New York, he wrote to Gen-
eral Ward, asking him to remove into Boston (if
he were not afraid of the small-pox), and to take
GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD 287
command of the five regiments to be left there
for the defence of the town, direct the erection
of works, and attend to matters in general.
He took command as requested, and found the
town in a state of confusion, disorder, disease,
and poverty. His task to restore order, and
cleanse, fortify, and defend the place, was most
discouraging. He wrote to John Hancock in the
autumn of 1776: "I had everything to do, and
nothing to do with."
General Ward escaped the fearful scourge,
small-pox; but not so fortunate were all his towns-
men, as a gravestone in Granary Burying-Ground
bears witness.
HERE LIES INTERRED
YE BODY OF MR. JOTHAM BUSH OF SHREWSBURY,
WHO DIED WITH THE SMALL-POX
FEBRUARY YE 1ST, A. DOM. 1 776,
IN YE 49TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
While stationed in Boston, General Ward re-
ceived a letter from John Hancock, which speaks
for itself, and reminds us of that bold act of the
people, by which the 4th of July became an occa-
sion of joy to all Americans.
Philadelphia, /?//k, 6, 1776.
Sir, — The enclosed Declaration of Independence, I am
directed to transmit to you with a request that you will have
it proclaimed at the head of the Troops under your command
in the Way you shall think most proper. I have only time
288 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
to add, that the importance of it will naturally suggest the
Propriety of proclaiming it in such a manner, as that the
whole army may be fully appraised of it.
I have the honor to be, sir.
Your most obed. and very h'ble ser.
John Hancock,
Presdt.
The reading of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence was ordered in every department of the
army and in every town in the colonies.^ It was
the minister who read it, generally, in the towns ;
and the public reading was followed by a record
of the immortal document being made in the
town's book by the clerk.
If the patriot of to-day would put himself in
touch with the patriots of 1776, let him visit
the old meeting-house at Sandown, N.H., or at
Rocky Hill in Salisbury, Mass., or at Rockingham,
Vt., in either of which he will see the meeting-
place of the people in its primitive simplicity, as
when the minister from the high pulpit unrolled
the scroll, and read to his congregation the act of
the Continental Congress, to the support of which
they had pledged their lives and fortunes.
I have stood in each of these rude meeting-
houses until I have seen rise up in fancy from
the great square pews the whitened head of the
1 The Declaration of Independence was first read in Boston
amid great rejoicing from the balcony of the Town House on
July 18,
KocKV IIiLL Church, Salisbury. Page 2,SS
GENERAL ARTEMAS WARD 289
aged father, extending his form in earnestness,
with hand raised behind his ear to enable him to
catch the words as they fell from the minister's
lips. I have seen the mother in sable mantle
bow her head in cheerful assent, while she wiped
away the tears from eyes that would not cease
their weeping since the loss of a noble son at
Bunker Hill. I could read in the tell-tale counte-
nance of some half-persuaded Tory, " Let them
maintain it if they can." From the upper gallery
I have detected the shining face of a negro slave,
ready to smile assent to what he saw gave pleas-
ure to his master in the pew below, little realizing
that it meant ultimately freedom to himself. I
have stood outside when the congregation, having
sung " Praise God from whom all blessings flow,"
have come out, gathered in groups, and discussed
the grave questions of the hour.
At the close of the year 1776 General Ward's
duties in the army ceased, through his resignation
occasioned by ill health ; but his service as a pa-
triot was not over. In the following year he was
elected president of the Executive Council of the
colony, and in 1779 appointed a member of the
Continental Congress.
The method of travel of the patriots of the
Revolution is seen in the manner in which Gen-
eral Ward set out from his home on the i6th
of May, 1780, for Philadelphia, to take his seat in
Congress. He was accompanied by Daniel New-
290 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
ton of the same town, who went with him as
servant, each on horseback, the horses being pur-
chased for the trip ; the expense of the journey
being ;^204i.5o in old currency. In the follow-
ing year Mr. Samuel Adams being in Philadelphia,
and wishing to return to Massachusetts, young
Newton was sent as his escort, who returned
immediately, and accompanied General Ward back
to his Shrewsbury home. My acquaintance with
the family warrants me in extending an invitation
to my readers to accompany me to the home of
the famous patriot and of the generations who
have succeeded him.
The old homestead retains much of its colonial
grandeur and distinction. Standing away from the
village, surrounded by ample grounds, it suggests
in a limited manner the home of Washington at
Mt. Vernon, or of Lee at Arlington, with the
Potomac for their highway.
Here are the hand-made window-sashes and
heavy blinds, the great locks and hinges on the
doors, and the hospitable fireplace, around which
the general sat with his family as he told them of
the experiences of camp-life, as well as of Bunker
Hill, of which he made the simple record, " The
battle is going on at Charlestown." There is
the old wainscoting, each panel of which seems to
serve as the background for a picture of colonial
grandeur.
If there was any feeling of dislike for Washing-
THE OLD HOMESTEAD 29 1
ton when he superseded the 'noted patriot of
Shrewsbury, it all passed from the breast of Gen-
eral Ward when the Father of his Country visited
that town in 1789. He was entertained at the
Farrar Tavern, then in its full glory as a hostlery.
The room is still indicated where the general sat
and drank his wine, while those of inferior rank
stood up to the bar and drank together after the
more common social manners of the time.
A souvenir of that trip made by Washington
is preserved. It is a silver quarter of a dollar, and
was obtained in the following way, says the histo-
rian, a descendant of General Artemas Ward.
" When it became known that the hero of the
Revolution was to pass this way, the school-chil-
dren received an extra lesson in making their
manners, that they might greet the chieftain with
proper respect ; and so it happened that as General
Washington was riding by in his carriage drawn
by two bay ho.rses, preceded by his guard on dap-
ple-gray horses, his attention was attracted to
a row of children on each side of the road, the
boys on one side making their bows, and the
girls sweeping their graceful courtesies on the
other.
"The outriders in their uniforms, bright with
scarlet cloth and gold lace, were so splendid that
the children hardly noticed the stopping of the
carriage, until a gentleman in plain brown dress
alighted, and Washington himself stood before
292 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
them, speaking to every child, and shaking hands
with the older ones.
" A daughter of the tavern-keeper was among
them ; her expectations of seeing some wonderful
being were disappointed when the tall man plainly
dressed appeared before her; and she turned
her back, refusing her courtesy to the ' Father of
his Country,' exclaiming, ' He is nothing but a
man ! '
"This amused Washington, who, calling her to
him, presented her with a silver quarter."
FJJiST RIDK OF PAUL REVERE 293
CHAPTER XXII
GROTON PATRIOTS. THE FIRST RIDE OF PAUL
REVERE, AND ITS _ CONSEQUENCES. JAMES
SULLIVAN. GROTON INN. REV. SAMUEL
DANA. CHARLESTOWn's DISTRESS. STORY
OF REV. JOSEPH WHEELER
Before undertaking to trace the footprints of the patriots of Groton,
it may be well to consider a movement which may throw much light
upon the acts of the men of this town.
The midnight ride of Paul Revere, made fa-
mous by the poet Longfellow, was not the first
ride taken by that patriot in the interest of the
colonial cause.
He rode out to Lexington on Sunday the i6th
of April with a message from Dr. Warren to the
noted guests at the parsonage, they having left
Concord on the previous afternoon at the adjourn-
ment of the Congress. The message was doubt-
less to the effect that the movements of Gen-
eral Gage indicated some decided action in the
near future. Having delivered his message with
promptness, Revere returned in the afternoon,
when, before crossing the river from Charles-
town, he made the arrangement with Colonel
Conant for hanging the signal lanterns,
"One if by land, two if by sea;"
294 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
a plan doubtless matured in his mind during his
return trip from Lexington.
While the Provincial Congress had adjourned on
the 15th to meet again the. next month, the Com-
mittees of Safety and Supplies, which had con-
trol of the military matters, etc., had not reached
a final adjournment. They held a meeting on
Monday following, and, it is inferred, began the
session before the arrival of John Hancock from
Lexington, who, doubtless actuated by the Sab-
bath message, secured a vote to send the cannon
away to places of safety.
A vote is recorded, "That the four six-pounders
be transported to Groton, and put under the care
of Colonel Prescott."-
Another vote, "That the two committees ad-
journ to Mr. Wetherby's " (The Black Horse) at
Menotomy, at ten o'clock, explains the presence of
a trio before mentioned, early driven from their
lodgings on the night of April 18-19.
Agreeable to the votes of the committee, the
cannon were sent to Groton on Tuesday the i8th,
arriving there late in the afternoon, at the very
time the British troops in Boston were preparing
to take their midnight march in search of them
with other supplies.
Having introduced this preliminary in order to
make clear some of the movements of the Groton
patriots, we now turn to consider the town's part
in the memorable events.
QroToi^ patriots 295
Groton and Pepperell were territorially one in
the early days, and their military relations were
somewhat mixed at the time of the Revolution.
The popularity of Colonel Prescott, whose home
was at Pepperell, led many outside of his town to
desire to be in the ranks under his command.
There were four companies from these two towns
early in the pursuit of the enemy on the 19th ;
while it is claimed that several patriots preceded
the companies, and were at Concord in time to
engage in the fight at the bridge. I give the
story of Captain Aaron Corey, as told to me by
William W. Wheildon, a noted historian, who had
it from Mr. Wright, a grandson of Captain Corey.
" My grandfather told me, that • on the day be-
fore the Concord Fight, April 18, while I was
ploughing in my field, some distance from the
middle of the town, I received notice of a meeting
of the minute-men, which, of course, demanded
immediate attention. It was in the afternoon
towards evening when I received the notification.
I at once unhitched my plough, drove my oxen
home, took down my gun and belt, told my wife
Molly that I was going away and could not tell
when I should come back, and that she must take
care of the oxen. I then hastened to the middle
of the town, and joined my comrades who had
-assembled there.
'"The circumstance which had led them to call
the meeting was the arrival of some brass cannon
296 BElVUATH OLD ROOF TREES
from Concord. Of course the presence of these
immediately gave rise to discussion and specu-
lation as to the reason for their being sent to
Groton from Concord. Various suggestions were
made, the most prominent of which was a propo-
sition that the company should march at once to
Concord ; but this when put to vote was deter-
mined in the negative, most of the members pre-
ferring to wait for further intelligence.
"'This conclusion was not satisfactory to all of
us, and some determined to go at once. There
were nine of us who started that evening. We
travelled all night, carrying lighted pine torches
a part of the way, and we reached Concord at
an early hour of the morning [probably through
Acton]. We entered one side of the town some
hours before the British troops entered upon the
other. We all went and got some breakfast at
Colonel Barrett's house, which was later visited
by the British troops in search of the cannon,
ammunition, and stores, most of which had been
fortunately removed the day before to places of
safety. After getting something to eat, we pro-
ceeded toward the centre of the town, and soon
joined the men of Concord, and finally were in
the ranks of the minute-men at or near the North
Bridge, where the fight with the British troops
occurred. We kept with the minute-men, and fol-
lowed the retreating troops to Lexington and
beyond.'
GROTON PATRIOTS 297
"After telling me this story," said Mr. Wright,
" my grandfather gave to me an old powder-horn
which he had used during the war, saying, ' I took
this from a British soldier who had been shot
on the retreat to Lexington, and whose body was
lying by the roadside in Lincoln.^ Some of the
other men took off his boots and some of his
clothes.' The powder-horn," said Mr. Wright,
"was quite a nice piece of work, and held just
one pound of powder. It had a peculiar stopper
(probably a spring snapper like some now known) ;
and at the large end, on the under side (when
hung over the shoulder), was engraved the Eng-
lish coat-of-arms, and on the upper side what
they called the British ensign. The bottom of
the horn was made of brass, saucer-shaped, with
a hole half an inch in diameter in the centre
serving as a tunnel to pour in the powder, with
a wooden stopper. After using the powder-horn
in many hunting excursions, it was finally lost in
the burning of a house."
Dr. Samuel A. Green, a distinguished son of
Groton, has done much to perpetuate the record
of some of the patriots who have been identified
with his native town. From his record I gather
the following facts : Although not a native, James
Sullivan added lustre to the honor of Groton.
He was born in the district of Maine, on April
1 The dead soldier was probably one of those buried in Lincoln
graveyard. See Lincoln.
29§ BENEATH OLD liOOP TRERS
22, 1744, and spent his early years there. He
was a member of three Provincial Congresses
from Biddeford, during the years 1774 and 1775,
and was a member of the General Court from the
same town during the two succeeding years. On
March 20, 1776, he was appointed a judge of the
Superior Court of Judicature, which position he
held for six years. He went to Groton in 1778,
to locate with his family in order to get away
from the seacoast. In August of the same year
he was chosen by the voters of Groton as a dele-
gate to the convention for framing the Constitu-
tion of Massachusetts. In February, 1782, he was
chosen, by a joint convention of both branches
of the General Court, a delegate in the place of
Samuel Adams to the Continental Congress, then
in session at Philadelphia. He represented the
town of Groton in the House of Representatives
for thirteen years, and Medford for twelve years.
He was speaker of that body for thirteen years,
the longest term of service in that capacity ever
held by one person. He was elected the seventh
governor of the State in 1807, and died in office
on Dec. 10, 1808.
The town of Groton is notable for its many
time-honored residences, but there is none around
whose hearthstone so many of the heroes of the
Revolution have gathered to smoke the pipe in
peace as have assembled around the blazing fire
at " Groton Inn."
JiEV. SAMUEL DAUA 2gg
The guest of to-day, when crossing that well-
worn threshold, can have no adequate idea of the
dignified step of the man in clerical robes who
went in and out this door at the times of peculiar
trial in the colonies. It was then the parsonage ;
and here Rev. Samuel Dana resided with his
family, honored and beloved by his people, until
the political troubles of the Revolution began to
crop out. His sympathies were with the crown,
while those of his people were equally strong on
the other side. The minute-men, knowing their
pastor's sentiments, invited the Rev. Samuel Web-
ster, pastor of the church at Temple, N.H., to
preach to them at Groton. His sermon, delivered
Feb. 21, 1775, was full of patriotic sentiment, and
doubtless served to widen the gap between the
pastor and people at Groton. Rev. Mr. Dana, firm
in his conviction of duty, preached a sermon from
his pulpit early in the spring, which together
■with other Tory acts led to his dismissal from the
church and town.
The vacated parsonage was occupied by Captain
Jonathan Keep, and kept by 'him as a tavern dur-
ing the latter part of the Revolution. Here the
broken soldiers were wont to assemble, and tell
how fields were won, while the crackling ilames
rolled up the chimney, and the oft -repeated three-
penny glass of grog served to rekindle the fire of
patriotism in the breasts of the heroes of Bunker
Hill, Bennington, or Valley Forge.
300 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
The old parsonage, enlarged from time to time,
has been kept as a tavern for the greater part of a
century. The old soldiers long ago ceased to con-
gregate beneath that ancient roof ; but their noble
deeds are still rehearsed at the cheerful fireside,
and the old musket occupies a familiar place on
the wall.
CHARLESTOWN.
The geographical situation of Charlestown ren-
dered the circumstances of her patriot citizens
peculiarly trying. Separated from Boston by
the narrow channel of the Charles River, and
that continually traversed by a ferry, made the
two towns practically one settlement. Every
public movement of the Charlestown people was
detected by Governor Gage, who through the aid
of the Loyalists knew the entire workings of this
near neighborhood. But even this did not deter
the patriots from decided action, each step be-
ing in harmony with that of their sympathizers
in Boston. The Stamp Act infuriated them ; the
massacre in King Street called out their indigna-
tion, and they went in large companies over the
ferry to see. the blood of the victims that cried
out to them from the ground, " Avenge thy
brothers' death." The question of the tea seemed
to disturb the entire social element of the town.
This, as no previous question, disturbed the patri-
otic women. The sociability of the exhilarating
charlestown's distress 301
cup was nevertheless set aside to some extent.
A substitute for green and bohea was quite com-
monly introduced in the colonies. It was an herb
known as Labrador, of which immense quantities
grew all over New England. It was advertised
as of superior flavor to the imported tea.
In 1768 the inhabitants of Charlestown unani-
mously agreed to use no more tea. They gath-
ered up the stock in hand, and burnt it in the
public square at midday.
One of the Daughters of Liberty of this town,
while in a store in Boston, made selection of vari-
ous articles which she desired to purchase, and
then asked if they sold tea ; being told that they
did, the patriot refused to take any of the articles.
A man who carted to Marblehead some chests
of tea that had been imported contrary to rules
was immediately visited by the indignation of his
townsmen, who were assembled with him at a
husking frolic. The nearness of the Charlestown
people seemed to make them more determined in
many respects than were the patriots in the dis-
tant towns.
In order to encourage the production and man-
ufacture of woollens, the people unanimously
agreed not to eat or even suffer any lamb to be
dressed in their families till the first of August.
The proclamation of Governor Gage forbidding
town meetings did not deter the patriots of this
town, so near to his headquarters, from holding
302 S£NEArfI OLD ROOF Tr££S
their meetings, in which they took most positive
action. But the records fail to give evidence of
the military preparation that was made elsewhere
in the colonies. They had, however, a way of
their .own, which was adopted on Dec. 2, 1774,
when the engine companies of the town, three
in number, voted to join in one body as exempts,
and prepare themselves for action. They chose
their officers, and voted " that every man be pro-
vided with a good gun and bayonet, with an iron
ramrod." Any one failing to do this within one
month was to be punished by paying three shil-
lings.
The enforcement of the Boston Port Bill was as
trying to the people of Charlestown as to their
neighbors in Boston. Here rents declined, the
stores were closed, travel was suspended, and dis-
tress from want and threatened outbreaks settled
down upon the people. They were entitled to
share with Boston in the donations made by the
country towns for their relief, the committee be-
ing directed to apply seven per cent of the amount
that poured in from near and far to the relief of
the people of Charlestown.
Notwithstanding the distress of the patriots,
they would not render assistance to the Loyalists,
even though they were offered liberal compensa-
tion for services. Mechanics refused to labor in
building the barracks for Gage's army. One who
for years had mowed his Tory neighbor's hay now
CHARLESTOWN'S DISTRESS 3O3
refused — "the honest scythe would not cut Tory
grass," and another's oxen " would not plough
Tory ground."
Many citizens of the town abandoned their
homes, as did Boston people, and sought shelter
with friends in the country towns ; but there were
many who were forced to remain, and suffer from
want of the necessities, when ordinarily they were
classed among the " well-to-do " people enjoying
the luxuries.
The other colonies were prompt and liberal in
sending aid, so much so as to receive the thanks
of the Provincial Congress, passed on Nov. 30,
1774. The towns of Connecticut were particu-
larly favorable towards Charlestown, and rehdered
her people material aid, and tendered letters of
sympathy.
Aid came from various localities in that colony.
How much of it was due to the perseverance of
Israel Putnam we may not know; but such records
appear as the following from New Britain : " A
committee was appointed to take in subscriptions
of Wheat, Rye, Indian Corn, and other provisions,
and to transport the same to the Town of Boston,
to be distributed by the Select Men to those who
needed help in consequence of the blockade of the
harbor."
The call upon the towns of Massachusetts of
Dec. 6, 1774, was sent to the ministers, who
made the appeal to their people, and the responses
304 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
were sufficient to satisfy the distressed town that
others were not unmindful of them. A letter
dated Charlestown, Jan. 14, 1775, reads: —
" While servile placemen, pensioners, and expectants are
employing their venal pens in support of a system of tyranny,
the honest yeomanry of this Province are joining our com-
passionate brethren," etc.
On one January day of 1775, the inhabitants of
Lexington sent sixty-one loads of wood and some
money as a present to the poor sufferers by the
Boston Port Bill ; and says a record extant, " On
Thursday last the first and third Parishes of Read-
ing sent twenty-seven loads of wood, some money
and grain."
These recorded donations were only a few of
the many that came from the towns not far away
in Massachusetts ; and, in fact, the towns of south-
ern New Hampshire were prompt in responding
to the calls of their distressed brethren, — the
patriots of Boston and" Charlestown. These acts
were not without some signs of merriment on the
part of the giver, and receiver as well.
While I have looked in vain for a dwelling of
pre-Revolutionary days in Charlestown (the flames
of June 17 having swept them away), I have
been gratified in meeting those who tell the story
of that town, as they have had it from those who
participated in the trying scenes. Mr. William P.
Jones of Boston says, " My grandmother, Mercy
CHAKLESTOWN'S DISTRESS 305
Tufts Boylston, lived at the Neck. She had not
fled from the town as very many did, but remain-
ing with other patriots saw what in days of peace
she loved to describe. ' I saw long processions of
teams coming in from the country loaded down
with donations. The merrymaking of the team-
sters, and the grotesque figures displayed on
some teams, plainly showed that " it is more
blessed to give than to receive." On one of the
sleds loaded with wood from Reading was hoisted
the Union flag with the following inscription in
the centre : —
" To the "worthy inhabitants of Boston and Charles-
town : —
" Ye noble patriots, constant, firm, and true,
Your country's safety much depends on you.
In patient suffering, greatly persevere ;
From cold, from famine, you have naught to fear.
With tender eye the country views your woe ;
With your distress will her assistance grow.
Or if (which Heaven avert) some fatal hour
Should force you from your homes by tyrant power.
To her retire, — with open, generous heart.
All needful aid and comfort she'll' impart ;
Gladly she'll share the wealth by Heaven bestown.
With those for her who've sacrificed their own.'"
Said Mrs. Boylston, " Our people would not
allow the teamsters to return to their homes
without being entertained at some tavern where
the landlord was an avowed patriot. Many dain-
306 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
ties were sent with the teams to families who
were connected by ties of blood or friendship, and
thus the sad and anxious days of the winter- of
1774-5 were passed.
" A committee of distribution was kept busy in
trying to make a just division of the patriotic do-
nations from the country. At a meeting held on
April 5, forty-three of the remaining inhabitants
were relieved, and an adjournment for two weeks
was made. They were to meet on the 19th of
April, at five o'clock p.m.; but when the time
arrived," said Mrs. Boylston, " there were other
things of more importance that demanded their
attention, and but few of the people of Charles-
town were remaining to call for aid. The town,
throughout the day, presented a scene of intense
excitement and confusion. Although Revere's
trusted friends resided on that side of the Charles,
the stealthy march of the enemy was known at a
distance hours before the patriots of Charles-
town received the alarming news. While all
was in confusion in towns a dozen miles' away,
the schools of Charlestown were holding their
regular session. Rumors were received in the
forenoon of the events at Lexington, but no cer-
tain intelligence reached the town until Dr. War-
ren galloped down from the scenes of blood that
he had witnessed on the road. It was then that
the schools were dismissed, and excited citizens
gathered in groups in the streets. Many of the
CHAKLESTOWN'S DISTRESS 307
men went out with their firearms into the field,
women and children alone remaining. General
Gage sent a message to Hon. James Russell, to
the effect that he was aware that armed citizens
had gone out to oppose hrs Majesty's troops, and
that if more went he would lay the town in ashes.
It was possible to quiet the excitement in a meas-
ure, until the report came that the Cambridge
Bridge had been taken up, and consequently the
return would be made through Charlestown. It
was then that the few remaining people made
haste to leave. Rumors not so well founded had
so often been received, and given rise to needless
anxiety, that some of the people discredited this,
until they heard the report of muskets in the road
above the town, when they made haste towards
the Neck. Some got across the Mystic at the
ferry, and more ran along the marsh towards Med-
ford. The dread reality was apparent at about
sunset. The troops came in haste and confusion
into the town. The first of her sons to be sacri-
ficed was a boy, Edward Barber, who was stand-
ing in a house, and was there shot. He was my
cousin," said Mrs. Boylston, " and would have es-
caped if our people had obeyed orders. We were
told that no harm would befall us if the army was
not fired upon. A careless, excited negro dis-
charged his musket, and the return fire killed the
inoffensive boy. Later, there was killed James
Miller, who was a native of the town, born in
308 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
1709. His wife was Sarah Lane of Bedford.
She liad fled to her people, the patriots of that
town, where she received the sad news of the
death of her husband, who had thought that duty
required him to stand by the town in her time of
distress. After the army passed through the
town, the inhabitants who were near turned back
to seek their homes. The cry that ' the British
are massacring the women and children,' started
from the shooting of the Barber boy, created a
panic. Some remained in the street speechless
with terror. The army, however, offered no vio-
lence to the people, but prevailed upon them to
go to their homes, where they would be safe, ask-
ing in return of them cold water, which they
freely received. The officers flocked to the tav-
ern in the Square, and got such refreshments as
they could secure. With the night there came
quiet, save from the wounded and disabled, many
of whom were carried across the river during the
night in boats belonging to the warship Somerset,
that was hauled into Charles River on the 14th,
and now lay between the ferryways. My observa-
tions of the returning troops," said Mrs. Boylston,
"were made from beneath an archway in our
cellar, to which we retreated upon seeing the
approaching army."
The rest of the story of Charlestown during the
hostilities in Massachusetts is familiarly known to
all. The footprints of her patriots were lost in
STOJiY OF REV. JOSEPH WHEELER 309
the ashes that alone remained to remind the sor-
rowing people of their once happy homes. It was
enough that her green hill should become the
sepulchre of hundreds of human beings, without a
slaughter of her own sons.
In the Essex Calendar for the year 1776, in
the month of June, among the events set against
the corresponding date of previous years, we
read : —
17th. Bloody bat. of Charlst. where were k. & w. 324
provincials, 1450 regulars ; there were destroyed in
Ch. by the latter, i meeting-house, 350 dwelling-
houses and 150 other buildings.
STORY OF REV. JOSEPH WHEELER.
Chaplain in Washington 'j army at Cambridge.
" Tell us a story of Bunker Hill," said a group
of bright-eyed children, as they gathered around
their grandfather. Rev. Joseph Wheeler, in his
home in Worcester.
The story which they received is now repeated
by one of the group, H. W. Wheeler of that city.
" My ancestor. Rev. Joseph Wheeler, was minis-
ter of the church in Harvard, Mass., from the
year 1759 to 1768, when impaired health com-
pelled him to give up the pastoral office.
"But he continued to live in the town until 1781,
when he removed to Worcester, where he resided
till his death, in 1793. Although not the acting
clergyman of the town of Harvard during the try-
3IO BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
ing years that preceded and covered the Revolu-
tion, Mr. Wheeler had the confidence of the
patriots of that town, and being regarded as a
man of superior judgment, was chosen their
representative in many important conventions.
" He was chairman of the Committee of Corre-
spondence of that town, and also moderator of the
town-meeting which assembled on Feb. i8, 1773,
for the purpose of considering the 'present situa-
tion.'
" As might be expected, Mr. Wheeler was a
member of the first and third Provincial Con-
gresses, and represented Harvard in the General
Court.
" Although not able to endure the exposure of
a soldier's life in the camp during the siege of
Boston, he desired to aid his countrymen, being
a firm patriot ; and he early responded to the call
from Cambridge, and after General Washington
arrived was chaplain to the commander-in-chief."
The story to the anxious children from the hon-
est lips of Rev. Joseph Wheeler was as follows :
" When the order was given by General Artemas
Ward to Colonel Prescott to go with a body of
men to Bunker Hill, to throw up the fortification,
I went with others to plan out the works. When
the breastwork was completed, we stood under an
apple-tree discussing the situation and prospect.
" It was at the early dawn of the 17th of June ;
our situation was on a slope of the hill toward
STORY Ofi kEV. JOSEPH WHEELER 3II
Boston. While standing there engaged in con-
versation, we were perceived by the men on one
of the British warships lying in the channel
opposite, and were made a target for one of their
guns.
"The discharged ball went over our heads, and
buried itself in the earth a short distance away.
I marked the spot where it fell, not thinking of
what was soon to follow.
"In the passage of the ball through the air, a
shoot was cut from a limb of an apple-tree near by,
and, dropping, fell near my feet. I picked it up
and took it away with me, and later made of it a
walking-stick."
"This," says Mr. Wheeler, "has been handed
down in the family as the Bunker Hill Cane, and
is now carefully cherished by one of the descend-
ants living in Connecticut."
" But how about that cannon-ball aimed at you,
grandpa," said one of the listeners.
"Oh," said the minister, "after the battle and
the destruction of the town, I went sorrowfully
back, found the place, and dug it out of the earth,
and here it is. Let me see you lift it."
They all tried, and many failed, and so have
many of his descendants since that day.
The ball is to-day owned by one of the many
who proudly trace their lineage back to the good
minister of Harvard, and it is kept as a pre-
cious memento in a home in the city of Boston.
312 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
CHAPTER XXIII
WOBURn's part. THE THOMPSON FAMILY. —
COLONEL LOAMMI BALDWIN. THE WINN
HOME. A ROMANCE OF WAR. GENERAL
gage's EXCURSION REPORTED IN 1 775
The town of Woburn, at first known as Charles-
town Village, was among the very early settlements
of the colony. Among the first to begin the Eng-
lish settlement there was James Thompson, who
with his wife and children came to New England
in the Winthrop emigration of 1630. James
Thompson was one of the first board of selectmen
of Woburn, 1644. From that time to the present
the name of Thompson has been prominent in all
that pertains to the welfare of the town.
They were found among the most decided pa-
triots at the beginning of troubles with the mother
country.
Early in 1774 the town erected a house for the
safe keeping of their stock of ammunition, and
procured an additional stock, " consisting of two
barrels of powder, and bullets and flints in pro-
portion, for the use and benefit of the town."
When the memorable alarm was given in the
town, it met with a ready response. But two days
U'OBURN'S PART 313
before the outbreak the people had taken action
for organizing a company of minute-men, and con-
sequently could not have been under very good
military discipline, only as they had been drilled
in the customary manner of playing soldier, or
had caught the military spirit from those who had
done service in the earlier wars.
When but a child, moved by curiosity, to meet
a centenarian, I went with many people to the
home of Mrs. Betsey Taylor in the town of Bur-
lington, Mass. ; and among others of the aged
woman's personal reminiscences I gathered that
of April 19, 1775. She was then a child of eleven
years. " A messenger sent by Captain Joshua
Walker, who commanded the military company of
Woburn precinct, came to my father, Mr. Jonathan
Proctor, the drummer of the company, to beat an
alarm as soon as possible, for the redcoats were
on the move."
The manner of spreading the alarm in the pre-
cinct we may infer was the same as that which
called the people to action in the main part of
Woburn; and turning to the old Thompson home-
stead, to the ancient hearthstone in North Woburn,
we listen to the story of the movements of that
family, as now related by Rev. Leander Thomp-
son, a grandson of one who participated : " Sam-
uel, Daniel, and Abijah Thompson were sons
of Samuel and Ruth (Wright) Thompson. They
were all born in North Woburn, in a house still
314 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
standing, and still occupied by a great-grandson
of Samuel. When the Revolutionary War com-
menced they were all married, and had young
families around them. Daniel lived about one
mile from the others, on the road to Woburn
Centre. On hearing in the early morning of
April 19 of the march of the British towards
Concord, the family tradition is, that he instantly
sprang upon the bare back of his horse, and ran
with speed to rouse the people of North Village.
Only one man of those he met hesitated ; and
when that one asked him if he were not too hasty,
and exposing himself to great danger, he instantly
replied, ' I tell you that our tyrants are. on their
march to destroy our stores, and if no one else
opposes them, I will.' Immediately hurrying away
to the scene of action, he boldly took his position,
and poured his fire into the ranks of the British.
On the retreat of the enemy, he took a station
near the road, stepping behind a barn to load ;
then advancing around a corner of the building,
he fired diagonally through the platoons of the
enemy, thus making every shot effectual. A gren-
adier who watched his movements was so enraged
that he ran around the corner of the barn, and shot
him dead on the spot while he was in the act of
reloading his gun.
"Tradition says that a well-directed ball from
another Woburn gun prevented the grenadier
from ever rejoining his comrades. It has ever
THE THOMPSON FAMlL Y 3 1 5
been supposed that the avenger was one of the
brothers of Daniel Thompson, and that the Brit-
ish gun for many years was treasured in the
Thompson family.
" The two brothers of Daniel whora^he particu-
larly desired to arouse had immediately seized
their muskets, and hurried away also to the
scene of action. Samuel, the eldest of the three,
charged his boy Jonathan, fifteen years of age, as
he left, to be a good boy, and take good care of
his mother. But the father had hardly more than
gone before the boy borrowed an old musket and
a horn of powder, and taking, without the knowl-
edge of the family, the leaden weights of the
scales, ran them into bullets at a neighboring
shop ; and thus armed and equipped, he, too, set
off for Concord. He arrived at the scene of
action just as the enemy began their retreat.
Noticing that the method of annoyance employed
by his countrymen was that of gaining the head
of the retreating column by a circuitous route,
and then from a favorable position previously
chosen pouring their shot among the ranks till
all had passed, he did the same. In one of these
circuits, to their mutual surprise, he met his
father, who at once exclaimed, ' Why, Jonathan,
2lx& you here.? Well, take care of yourself. Your
Uncle Daniel has been killed. Be prudent, my
son, and take care of yourself.' Father and son
then each pursued his way. The son followed
3l6 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
the retreating enemy to Menotomy, from which
place he crossed over to Medford, where with
others, all of whom, were excessively fatigued, he
sought repose in a barn, reaching home safely
early the following morning.
"Abijah, the youngest of the three brothers,
also immediately hastened from home to the
scene of action, in which he bore a conspicuous
part till he was deputed tp convey the sad news
of Daniel's death to his distracted family in
Woburn.
" The two brothers who survived the conflict,
and also the boy of fifteen years, were subse-
quently regular soldiers of the Continental army,
and after the declaration of peace became highly
enterprising, useful, and respected citizens of
Woburn."
The Thompsons were among the many patriots
who without military order made haste across the
towns, and intercepted the enemy below " Mer-
riam's Corner."
Of the many, Daniel Thompson, already men-
tioned, and Asahel Porter, whose name appears
on the Lexington monument, were all who per-
ished on that day of the Woburn men. Three
others were wounded.
Rev. Leander Thompson also says, "Asahel
Porter and Josiah Richardson set out for Boston
market during the night of April i8; and when
near Menotomy, the present town of Arlington,
THE THOMPSON FAMILY 317
being on the route the British had taken, they
were halted by the enemy, deprived of the horses
they rode, and forced to accompany their captors
to Lexington as prisoners of war. They were
released just as the firing on the Common began,
on condition that they were to leave without
making themselves conspicuous by running, un-
der penalty of being shot. Porter disobeyed, and
after walking a few steps began to quicken pace,
and was shot dead. His body was found by Amos
and Ebenezer Locke as it lay by the side of a
stone wall."
The Salem Gazette of that period affords a
glimpse of the sorrow that followed the memora-
ble 19th in Woburn.
" Same day [Friday, April 21], the remains of Messrs.
Asahel Porter and Daniel Thompson of Woburn, who also
fell victims to tyranny, were decently interred at that place,
attended to the grave by a multitude of persons, who assem-
bled on the occasion from that and the neighboring towns. ■
Before they were interred, a very suitable sermon and
prayer was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Sherman." ^
Standing by the grave of Daniel Thompson,
with naught to recall the multitude who gathered
about the open grave save the leaning, moss-
grown slabs, I copied the following, while the
eye moistened from sympathy for the widow and
children : —
1 Brother of Roger Sherman of Connecticut.
3l8 BENEATH OLD ROOfi TREES
HERE LIES BURIED THE BODY OF
MR. DANIEL THOMPSON,
WHO WAS SLAIN IN CONCORD BATTLE ON YE I9TH OF APRIL,
1775, AGED 40 YEARS.
Here, Passenger, confined, Reduced to dust.
Lies what was once Religious, wise and just.
The Cause he engaged did animate him high.
Namely, — Religion and dear Liberty,
Steady and warm in Libertie's defence.
Tru£ to his Country, L.oyal to His Prince,
Though in his Breast a thirst for glory fir'd.
Although he's gone his name Embalmed shall be
And had in Everlasting memory.
The name of Asahel Porter is read, not only on
the Lexington Monument, but on a marble slab
erected at his supposed grave;, on the centennial
of his death, by Post 33, G. A. R., of Woburn.
The patriots of to-day, appreciating the bless-
ings of liberty, turn aside from the busy scenes of
the modern city of Woburn to her ancient burial-
ground, and there seek out the graves of two
brave men who so early fell victims of tyranny.
Sylvanus Wood, alluded to in our Lexington
story in this volume, was another prominent pa-
triot from Woburn. His narrative, given under
oath, was, in brief, that he lived with Deacon
Obadiah Kendall, about three miles from Lexing-
ton. The bell of that town aroused him at an
early hour; and, fearing there was trouble, he
arose, took his gun, and with Robert Douglass
made haste to Lexington, where he found the
COLONEL LOAMMI BALDWIN 319
company assembled. By invitation of Captain
Parker, he (Wood) and Douglass also joined in
the ranks, shared in the experience at the Com-
mon, and hastened on to Concord, after assist-
ing in carrying the dead into the meeting-house.
When near Viles's Tavern in Lexington he cap-
tured a British soldier as prisoner.
William Tay, Jr., made oath to a statement of
his experience. He claimed to have been in the
throng of countrymen who pursued the enemy to
Charlestown. While nearing the latter place, he
and others were passing a house, and were fired
upon by three of the enemy who were hiding
there. He with his party returned the fire, killing
two of the British, and capturing the third by
seizing him bodily, and cuffing him until he gladly
surrendered. He claimed that he was deprived
of his just credit by some other American, who
carried away the military equipments of the trio
of the enemy, and thus he lost the evidence of
what he had bravely done.
The most notable patriot of the town was Colo-
nel Loammi Baldwin. His military service began
as early as 1768, when, in his twenty-fourth year,
he is credited as enlisting in His Excellency's
Troop of Horse Guards, in command of Colonel
David Phips. By this it seems he was not en-
tirely without experience when he was called into
service as a patriot of Woburn. Extracts from
the diary of such a man cannot fail to interest and
320 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
instruct every one who has a just appreciation of
the republic which Colonel Baldwin did so much
towards successfully establishing : —
1775, April 19. Wednesday. This morning a little be-
fore break of day, we were alarmed by Mr. Stedman's Ex-
press from Cambridge. Informed us that the Regulars were
upon the move for Concord. We mustered as fast as pos-
sible. The Town turned out extraordinary, and proceeded
toward Lexington. I rode along a little before the main
body, and, when I was nigh Jacob Reed's I heard a great
firing; proceeded on, — soon heard that the Regulars had
fired upon Lexington people, and killed a large number of
them. We proceeded on as fast as possible and came to
Lexington, and saw about 8 or 10 dead and numbers wounded.
. . . We proceeded to Concord by way of Lincoln meet-
ing-house, . . . ascended the hill, and pitched and refreshed
ourselves a little. . . . The people under my cpramand and
also some others came running off the East end of the hill
while I was at a house, and we proceeded down the road, and
could see behind us the Regulars following. We came to
Tanner Brook at Lincoln Bridge, and then concluded to
scatter and make use of trees and walls for to defend us, and
attack them. We did so and pursued on, flanking them, till
we came to Lexington. I had several good shots. The
enemy marched very fast, and left many dead and wounded
and a few tired. I proceeded on till coming between the
meeting-house and Buckman's Tavern with a prisoner before
me, when the cannon began to play, the balls flew near me,
I judged not more than 2 yards off. I immediately retreated
back behind the meeting-house, and had not been there ten
seconds before a ball come through the meeting-house near
my head. I retreated back towards the meadow, north of
the meeting-house, and lay and heard the balls in the air
and saw them strike the ground.
COLONEL LOAMMI BALDWIN 32I
It is inferred that lie was then an officer. We
later find that he enlisted in the regiment under
command of Colonel Samuel Gerrish, and was pro-
moted to the office of lieutenant-colonel on June
16. On the memorable 17th he was designated as
the field-officer of the main guard.
He was stationed for a time at Chelsea, and
writes his wife from there on March 6, 1776: —
" I have had much to do, constantly keeping a party on
Noddle's Island for spies to discover all the movements of
the enemy.''
A clause in this letter furnishes evidence, in ad-
dition to that of General Ward, of the preparations
of the patriots for an attack, which was prevented
by the evacuation of Boston on the 17th of March,
the letter being dated eleven days before it : —
" Our works on Dorchester Hills are completing as fast as
possible. The enemy's ships are all drawn up in line of
battle before them, but are very quiet at present.''
Colonel Baldwin was commissioned as such on
Jan. I, 1776. His regiment was known as the
Twenty-sixth.
He was ordered to follow General Washington
to New York. The route taken is indicated by
a letter from the colonel, under date of April i,
1776, at Grafton, Mass. He writes, —
" I have this moment received orders to alter the route,
and go to Providence, R.I."
322 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Two days later, he writes from Providence that
he is quartered with his regiment in the college.
On the 6th he reports to his wife, —
' ' I have this moment arrived at Norwich, after a march of
eight days. . . I have just received orders to continue my
march to New London, where I expect to embark for New
York."
April lo brings a letter to his wife from New
York, in which he gives his impressions of the
place, etc. On the 19th he sums up the service
of a full year in the army. On the 28th of April
he writes : —
" I know not when we shall leave New York ; we go into
tents this week. The encampment for my regiment is laid
out near the Jews' burying-ground, joining the northerly
part of the city. The army is healthy. I have just i-eturned
from hearing the last of two of the best sermons (I think)
that I ever heard in my life, preached this day to my regi-
ment and some others, at Dr. Rogers's meeting-house, the
afternoon sermon preached by the doctor himself."
July 14, with other things, he writes : " General Heath is
this moment come to camp. He informs me that a flag of
truce from Lord How, newly arrived from England, brother
of General How, with a packet, or single letter, directed to
' George Washington, Esq.,' was rejected and sent back on
account of the direction. I suppose the generals insist upon
its being directed to ' His Excellency, George Washington,
Commander-in-chief of the Army of the United States.' So
we know nothing of the contents of the letter."
Letters now begin to reveal the declining health
of the colonel ; but he continues in service until
COLONEL LOAMMI BALDWIN 323
the opening of the year 1777, during which time
he notes many changes, among them being the
battle of White Plains.
Dec. 19, he reports to his wife from "Camp, 5 miles
west of the Delaware, and 30 miles above Philadelphia."
" If I were at home, I should think myself sick enough to
keep house, but here feel myself in good spirits. ... On the
3d inst. marched from Peekskill for King's Ferry. Very
rainy all day. Crossed the river just before night. Pitched
our tents in New Jersey, by the side of the mountains, took
my lodgings in a common tent upon the wet ground ; very
cold, there being no house to go to. In the night the rain
increased, and the flood came down from the mountains, and
ran in torrents among and through the tents, and almost
washed them away. I had no bed nor blanket, except a thin
piece of drugget."
Colonel Baldwin lived in Woburn until Oct. 20,
1807, when he was lamented by his townsmen
and by all who knew him as a true patriot and
good citizen.
It is noticeable that the Battle of Bunker Hill
was largely fought, on the side of the Americans,
by men from a distance, the nearest towns being
but sparsely represented. The evidence of Wo-
burn's part is mostly incidental. Rev. Mr. Mar-
rett, quoted at length in connection with the
" Parson and Parsonage," recorded — that the
day was Saturday, and " fair, and very warm and
drying." The following day, Sabbath, he had a
324 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
"very thin meeting," "the men gone down to the
army on the alarm yesterday." On June 22, fol-
lowing, the weather being fair and drying, in the
morning the good minister of the precinct was
"at home," but in the afternoon attended the fu-
neral of Samuel Russell, aged twenty-one, belong-
ing in the first, or old, parish, who had died, hav-
ing been "mortally wounded in the battle at
Charlestown." On the following 26th of the
same month, he attended the funeral of George
Reed, Jr., "who died of a fever, which was occa-
sioned by a surfeit, or heat, he got in Charlestown
fight on the 17th instant."
The horrors of war were not confined to san-
guinary action, or that which it inflicts upon the
camp ; but the ravages of small-pox frequently ac-
companied the movements of the army. It broke
out in Woburn in the spring of 1775, when many
died, and more suffered from the malady, which
never failed to leave its loathsome effects.
The home of Mr. Joseph Winn seems to have
been the seat of this disease. Possibly a pest-
house was established there, the location being
at a distance from the general settlement.
The Winn estate is one of the few in Woburn
that has never left the possession of the family.
For more than two hundred and fifty years the fam-
ily has been represented at this place, the name
A ROMANCE OF WAR 325
being identified with the interests of the settle-
ment in its entirety. The present home is on the
border of the town of Burlington (Woburn pre-
cinct), and is occupied by John Winn. It was
built by Joseph, of the third generation, in 1734;
and while subsequent generations have "vexed
the antiquity " of the colonial residence, there is
much remaining to keep green the memory of the
family at the old homestead ; while the Woburn
library, a gift from the late Bowers Winn, is a fit-
ting monument to the whole family.
The Winns were stanch supporters of the pa-
triot cause. Deacon Timothy was a representa-
tive for many years from Woburn to the General
Court. Joseph Winn, the great-grandfather of
John, the present owner, who is of the sixth gen-
eration, was among the Woburn patriots who
were early astir on the morning of April 19, 1775.
The musket which served him on that day is a
treasured reminder of the patriot ancestor, and
is kept at the old homestead.
A ROMANCE OF WAR.
To say that more than fifty by the name of
Richardson are credited with service in the Rev-
olution from the town of Woburn is sufficient
evidence of the family location. Allowing that
in some instances one may appear in several cam-
paigns, there are still enough remaining to prompt
326 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
the observer to think of that early settlement as
Richardson-town. In the christening-record of
this long list, a fine array of Bible- names appears.
There are Jacobs many ; Zachariahs and Zadoks ;
Calebs and Joshuas in faithful union ; Paul, Silas,
and Barnabas closely allied ; Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John often repeated. So numerous are all
these that it would require a skilful genealogist
to decide to which generation an individual shall
be assigned. Reference to the old burial-ground
of 1642, " In which are buried the ancestors of
Presidents Pierce, Cleveland, and Harrison," is
of but little assistance ; for so strangely are these
rudely carved slabs backed up to one another,
that the most reverent visitor is inclined to
the belief that some of these heroes must have
given up life in a vain attempt to establish their
identity, and their executors resorted to this
method of giving them a post-mortem individual-
ity, which they were denied in life. Even a frown
seems to cloud the grim death's head on the rude
stone at the grave of " Ye Reverend Mr. Jabez
Fox," tottering as it is in the midst of this confu-
sion of Richardsons. But even here military au-
thority seems to assert itself, as we read on a
well-kept slab occupying a slight elevation : —
HERE LYES BURIED
YE BODY OF MAJOR JAMES CONVERS, ESQR.
AGED 61 YEARS
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE IVLY I /8tH I706.
A ROMANCE OF WAR 327
I had a word of approval upon my lips for the
authorities of this early settlement, because they
did not follow the example of some, and rob
these ancient sepulchres of their identity, by
arranging the rude memorials in parallel rows,
when I chanced to observe a stone that brought
forth a word of approbation for a branch of the
Richardson family that had dared to face the
reverend Mr. — — at the baptismal basin, and say
that the child should be called Ichabod.
This stone itself stands as direct evidence of the
fallacy of the superstitious members of the family,
who hid their faces when the minister laid his
hand upon the little head of three days, and sol-
emnly said, " Ichabod, I baptize thee in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost." That their prediction, "won't live long,"
uttered with subdued voice when leaving the meet-
ing-house, was not verified is apparent from the
stone : —
HERE LYES BURIED
THE BODY OF MR. ICHABOD RICHARDSON,
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE
MAY THE I2TH, I768, IN THE 63D YEAR OF HIS AGE.
One departure from the list of family names
did not prove disastrous ; and when Ichabod first
had lived prosperously for forty years, they ven-
tured to repeat the act, and Ichabod, with Sarah
his wife, carried their first born to the altar, and
there had the seal of the covenant placed upon
328 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
him, and his name declared to be Ichabod. " Such
wrong-doing may be forgiven once or twice,"
thought some of the kin, " but persistence in it
must bring trouble." It was in January, 1771,
that the record of the birth of the third Ichabod
was made. That he had the cradle unmolested
when the Revolution broke out was ominous to
the family prophets, who kept well prepared for
the worst. When the alarm of April 19, 1775,
called scores of the family from their peaceful
homes, among whom was Ichabod, it was a fore-
gone conclusion that he would' never return ; but
when the Richardsons returned alive, and it was
two of their neighbors who fell, there was occa-
sion for the exercise of sympathy in another direc-
tion.
The roar of the cannonading of Bunker Hill,
distinctly heard in the Woburn homes, caused the
ominous wag of many a head ; but the safe re-
turn of Ichabod brought joy and thanksgiving to
reunited families. Some thoughtfully pondered
over the familiar clause of Scripture, " visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them that hate
me."
Ichabod Richardson, the father, was now
twenty-eight years of age. It seemed apparent
that every able-bodied man must enter the service
of the colonies, or all must become slaves of the
haughty King George III. Ichabod "did a turn"
A ROMANCE OF WAR 329
in the besieging army at Cambridge; but the dull
routine of camp-life was too monotonous for him.
He had always felt a longing for the sea. When a
boy, he had stolen many times away from home,
down to the shores of the Mystic, and watched
the movements of the sailors on the small craft
that came up to the town ; in fact, he had been to
the top mast himself, and become quite familiar
with the terms so freely Used by the sailors. Burn-
ing with indignation for the oppression that was
heaped upon the people, and with an ardent desire
to serve the colonial cause, Ichabod decided to
enter the service upon the water. He enlisted as
a Provincial privateersman. The sorrow in the
Richardson home at the parting was only such
as cast its shadow over almost every patriot home
in the colonies. There was no time to devote to
tears, and the last hours were spent by the faith-
ful wife in making the best preparations for the
comfort of the husband and father.
We may well imagine the inquiring words of
little Ichabod, now past five years of age, as he
saw the warm stockings rolled up, the best home-
made blanket folded, and, with other comforts,
made into a rude bundle. These strange prepara-
tions served to amuse the child, while they brought
sorrow to the wife and mother. Shouldering the
tear-sprinkled bundle, Ichabod Richardson bade
farewell to his young wife and son, and with a
sorrowful but bold purpose set sail on a voyage
330 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
of uncertainty. He was not out of sight of his
native land before he was seized upon by peculiar
emotions that had never disturbed his manly
heart before. The devotion of wife, and clinging,
childish affection of son, were to him now more of
a reality than when he was in the immediate enjoy-
ment of them. It was too late to turn back, un-
manly to weep, he thought ; so he vainly tried to
bury his sorrow in the hilarity of the life of the
ordinary privateersman. He fancied an early
return, when, loaded with bounty, he should sit
down at home to share his luxuries with his loved
ones. Theirs was a swift-sailing vessel, manned
entirely by men from the towns about Woburn ;
the voyage was a prosperous one, and they were
soon cruising about the English Channel. Several
richly laden vessels from British ports were dis-
cerned, and pursued by the American privateer,
but made good their escape. When the flush of
immediate success was over, they espied one, and
lost no time in the chase. They bore down upon
her, and soon had her in their power. The Brit-
ish vessel made a show of resistance, but was
soon overcome, the crew surrendered as prisoners,
and the rich freight was the property of the
American privateersmen. They lost no time in
making for the coast of France to find a safe
refuge. They had scarcely time to realize that
they were in possession of a rich prize, when a
British man-of-war came upon them, and not only
A ROMANCE Ofi WAR 33 1
• recaptured the vessel so recently freighted at
their own shore, but the American privateer as
well. A few hours before they were in the jubi-
lant possession of wealth, but now prisoners of
war, in irons. Alas for Ichabod ! Now, as never
before, the vision of that happy reunion faded
from sight ; and all hope vanished when they were
landed, and confined in an English prison. Icha-
bod Richardson, with other American sailors, was
committed to Forton prison, near Portsmouth, on
June 26, 1777. He was one of a second company
of like unfortunates who were confined at that
place.
The sorrow of that Woburn family was not
alone on the part of the husband and father.
Time dragged slowly in the home. The weeks
of hopeful expectation lapsed into months of evil
forebodings. When the north-east storm beat
against the windows of the lonely home, it brought
to the anxious wife and mother visions of a dis-
mantled ship tossing about upon the angry waves
of the restless ocean. Then the mother pressed
the son more closely to her bosom in the vain en-
deavor to lose herself in sleep. As the little boy
prattled by her side in the warmth of the mid-day
sun, Mrs. Richardson tried to comfort herself by
detecting in him movements and developing fea-
tures that reminded her of the absent one. As
the separation was extended to years, the suspense
culminated, to her, in the death of her husband.
332 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
She patiently acquiesced in what she thought
to be the will of God. She mourned Ichabod as
dead, and taught her growing son to speak of his
father as safe in the heavenly kingdom. There
were those who, in the expression of their sympa-
thy, did not fail to whisper to the neighbors, " I
expected it."
It was when the sorrow hung the most heavily
over the home of Ichabod Richardson that his
Cousin Josiah was called upon to part with his
wife. The many relatives bowed submissively in
this sorrow, regarding it as the loving act of a
kind heavenly Father. The tears of Sarah, the
supposed widow, were freely mingled with those
of Josiah, now bereft of his companion. Thus
they lightened each other's burden as they visited
the old burial-ground together. The widow, for
such she was regarded, felt her lot to be the most
severe. She had not even the melancholy pleas-
ure of the freshly made mound to remind her of
the silent tenant ; and when the sorrowful husband
performed the last duty by adding one more to
the many gravestones in the yard, the widow
wished her means would admit of her testifying of
her love for Ichabod in the same manner.
The months wore slowly away, and sorrow was
depicted on two faces ; each saw the traces of the
other's burden, and tried to lighten it. In promis-
ing to be a father to the little boy, Josiah Rich-
ardson was at length accepted as a husband in
A ROMANCE OF WAR 333
place of the supposed dead. The mother refused
to have the name of Ichabod changed to that of
Josiah. She regarded the name as the one strong
tie that bound the memory of the past to that of
the present. The name was much to her ; while
the growing boy, so like his lamented father, was a
comfort beyond expression. Josiah and Sarah
Richardson lived happily together. The anticipa-
tion of ultimate freedom from the oppressive yoke
of George III. at length resulted in the reality,
and they began to plan for more luxuriant sur-
roundings, as the people in general did when re-
lieved from the burden of a long and distress-
ing war. Happily the declaration of peace was
as far-reaching in its effects as that of war had
been.
Could Sarah Richardson in her anxiety have
seen a journal later displayed by a Lexington man,
she would have seen in a roll of prisoners com-
mitted to Forton jail the name of her husband,
and also that of the prizemaster, Mr. Hammon.
Against some names she would have read " Run,"
while against others she would have seen the
word " Dead." Short but expressive were the
entries ; yet in the former instances there was
left an occasion for hope, while in the latter all
hope was abandoned.
It would be useless to try to decide whether
Ichabod or Sarah was the greater sufferer. He
skulked about from place to place ; to be sure, pro-
334 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
tected while within the bounds of France ; but it
was not home to him, and he was but a hopeless
wanderer, with not even the little bundle in his
possession that had been wrapped together by
loving hands. When in this forlorn state, the
news of the declaration of peace reached him,
and he lost no time in taking ship for America,
accepting the most menial position, if thereby he
could again see his native land. This wish was
gratified, and Ichabod Richardson made haste to
the town which he had left seven years before.
He detected change on every side. The barracks
of the enemy had been removed from Boston, and
the Stars and Stripes were floating where before
the British Lion had been displayed.
Ichabod's inquiry for Sarah Richardson was
as promptly answered as it was made. He saw
faces that were still familiar to him, but received
no recognizing smile in return. As he passed
through the narrow roads of the town, he revolved
in his mind what he would say when he met his
faithful wife ; he tried to make up his mind how
the little boy of five years, now a lad of twelve,
would look. Occupied with such thoughts, he
reached the house, stepped up, and pulled the
familiar latch-string. The door swung open. The
changes that seven years had brought to his once
manly form were as apparent in those he left at
home. Anxiety and distress had made deep fur-
rows in the smooth brow, while the flush of the
A ROMANCE OF WAR
335
cheeks on which Ichabod pressed a farewell kiss
had faded from sight.
Seven years had changed the prattling, inno-
cent child to a thoughtful youth, in whom was a
striking resemblance of the long-lost father.
The wife was Sarah Richardson still ; but when
the table was spread for the thanksgiving meal,
four plates were put upon it. Ichabod and Josiah
Richardson exchanged many thoughtful glances.
All refreshed themselves, and arose from the fam-
ily board to decide whose wife Sarah should be.
In law the second marriage was void, because
neither death nor divorce had entered the early
home ; but there were other matters to be con-
sidered. Ichabod left some property when he
bade his family farewell, and Josiah had added
to it. Although both had but recently been war-
riors, they decided that the difficulty should be
amicably adjusted. Sarah decided in favor of
Ichabod, the father of her son. They called in
the assistance of the village magistrate, Josiah
Johnson, Jr., the "squire" of the town, who pre-
pared a legal document, to which the two husbands
appended their names.
The paper is styled " Ichabod Richardson and
Josiah Richardson — Stipulation " : —
" Whereas Ichabod Richardson of Woburn in the County
of Middlesex, Commonwealth of Massachusetts shop joiner
[carpenter] , about six or seven years since, (during the un-
happy Difference between Great Brittian and America), the
336 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Colonies Inlisted him on board one of the American Priva-
teers, leaving behind his wife Sarah, by which, he had Issue,
one son, in which unlucky voyage he was taken Prisoner by
the Brittians and was carried to Great Brittian and from
thence to the East Indies, which occasioned him six or seven
years absence ; without any the least notice to his said wife
Sarah, of his being in the land of the living. During this un-
certain interim the said Sarah in a desolate state, Josiah
Richardson of said Woburn, blacksmith, being left a wid-
ower, married the said Sarah. But so it happens at this pres-
ent time, the said Ichabod is now returned and puts in his
claim to his said wife Sarah, which by reason of their said
son she preferres to live with in the future . . . and they the
said Ichabod and Josiah, for the amicable settlement of the
unhappy affair between them, stipulate as follows, namely —
the said Ichabod on his part, on the penalty of one hundred
pounds, lawful money, stipulates with the said Josiah, his
heirs and executors to pay discharge, and Indemnify him and
them from all demands of what nature so ever against the
said Sarah, at and until the time of her intermarriage with
the said Josiah, and from all for the future, and that he the
said Josiah shall Retain all the goods by him, the said Josiah
and the said Sarah, Procured since the time of their inter-
marriage, during life. And he the said Josiah, on his part
stipulates with the said Ichabod, his heirs and executors, on
the penalty of one hundred pounds like money, to discharge
the said Sarah from the obligations of such marriage, and to
Restore all tlie goods she brought with her at that time.
" In confirmation of all above written, they have here-
unto interchangably set their hands and seals, this fifteenth
day of February, one thousand seven hundred eighty three.
{Signed) ICHABOD RICHARDSON (seal).
JOSIAH RICHARDSON (seal).
Signed, sealed, and delivered \
in the presence of >
WILLIAM FOX,
JOSIAH JOHNSON."
GENERAL GAGE'S EXCURSION 337
Note. — Ichabod Richardson, son of Asa, was born in Woburn,
March 3, 1747; married Sarah Wyman, June 6, 1770; had Icha-
bod, born in 1771. She married Josiah Richardson March 19,
1782. Ichabod Richardson died in Woburn, Feb. 5, 1792. Jo-
siah Richardson died in Woburn, Nov. 12, 1801.
[From George's Cambridge Almanack; or, The Essex Calendar /or the
Year of oitr Redemption, 1776.]
Narrative of the excursion and ravages of the king's troops, under the
command of General Gage, on the 19th of April, 1775 ; taken with 104
depositions to support the truth of it, and published by order of Congress.
This concise and much-admired narrative is said to be drawn up by
the revered and patriotic Mr. G n, of the third parish in Roxbury,
together with an accurate list of all the Provincials who were killed,
wounded, and missing in the action, including all that was lost on
that day ; collected by authority ^ —
"On the 19th of April, 1775, a day to be remem-
bered by all Americans of the present generation,
and which ought, and doubtless will be, handed
down to ages yet unborn, in which the troops of
Britain, unprovoked, shed the blood of sundry loyal
American subjects of the British King in the field
of Lexington. Early in the morning of said day,
a detachment of the forces, under the command
of General Gage, stationed at Boston, attacked
a small party of the inhabitants of Lexington, and
some other towns adjacent, the detachment con-
sisting of about nine hundred men, commanded by
Lieutenant-Colonel Smith. The inhabitants of
Lexington and the other towns were about one
hundred, some with and some without firearms,
who had collected upon information that the de-
tachment had secretly marched from Boston the
preceding night, and landed on Phips's Farm in
338 BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
Cambridge, and were proceeding on their way with
a brisk pace towards Coiicord (as the inhabitants
supposed), to take or destroy a quantity of stores
deposited there for the use of the colony ; sundry
peaceable inhabitants having the same night been
taken, held by force, and otherwise abused on the
road, by some officers of General Gage's army,
which caused a just alarm to the people, and a
suspicion that some fatal design was immediately
to be put in execution against them. This small
party of the inhabitants, so far from being disposed
to commit hostilities on the troops of their sover-
eign, that unless attacked were determined to be
peaceable spectators of this extraordinary move-
ment, immediately on the approach of Colonel
Smith with the detachment under his command
they dispersed. But the detachment, seeming to
thirst for blood, wantonly rushed on, and first be-
gan the hostile scene by firing on this small party,
in which they killed eight men on the spot, and
wounded several others, before any guns were fired
upon the troops by our men. Not contented with
this effusion of blood, as if malice occupied their
whole soul, they continued to fire until all this
small party who escaped the dismal carnage were
out of the reach of their fire. Colonel Smith, with
the detachment, then proceeded to Concord, where
a part of this detachment again made the first fire
upon some of the inhabitants of Concord and the
adjacent towns, who were collected at a bridge
GENERAL GAGE'S EXCURSION 339
upon this just alarm, and killed two of them, and
wounded several others, before any of the Provin-
cials there had done one hostile act. Then the
Provincials (roused with zeal for the Liberties of
their country, finding life and everything dear and
valuable at stake) assumed their native valor, and
returned the fire, and the engagement on both
sides began. Soon after which the British troops
retreated towards Charlestown (having first com-
mitted violence and waste on public and private
property), and on their retreat were joined by
another detachment of General Gage's troops, con-
sisting of about a thousand men, under the com-
mand of Earl Percy, who. continued the retreat.
The engagement lasted through the day. Many
were killed and wounded on each side, though the
loss on the part of the British troops far exceeded
that of the Provincials. The devastation com-
mitted by the British troops on their retreat, the
whole of the way from Concord to Charlestown, is
almost beyond description, such as plundering and
burning of dwelling-houses and other buildings,
driving into the street women in child-bed, killing
old men in their houses unarmed. Such scenes of
desolation would be a reproach to the perpetra-
tors even if committed by the most barbarous
nations, how much more when done by Britons
famed for humanity and tenderness. And. all this
because these colonies will not submit to the iron
yoke of arbitrary power."
340
BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES
The following is a correct list of those Provin-
cials who were killed, wounded, and missing in the
action of the 19th of April, 1775, and the towns to
which they respectively belonged ; —
BELONGING TO CAMBRIDGE AND MENOTOMY.
KILLED.
William Marcy. Jason Russell.
Moses Richardson. Jabez Wyman.
John Hicks. Jason Winship.
WOUNDED.
C. Samuel Whittemore.
MISSING.
Samuel Frost.
Seth Russell.
CHARLESTOWN.
KILLED.
James Miller.
C. Barber's son.
WATERTOWN.
KILLED.
Joseph Cooledge.
SUDBURY.
KILLED.
D. Josiah Haynes.
Asahel Reed.
WOUNDED.
Joshua Haynes.
ACTON.
KILLED.
Isaac Davis.
James Hayward.
Abner Hosmer.
WOUNDED.
Luther Blanchard.
GEK^JiAL GAGE'S EXCURSION
BEDFORD.
KILLED.
Jonathan Willson.
WOUNDED.
Job Lane.
WOBURN.
KILLED.
Asahel Porter.
George Reed.
Jacob Bacon.
Henry Putnam.
Daniel Thompson.
Johnson.
MEDFORD.
KILLED.
WiUiam Polly.
NEWTOWN.
WOUNDED.
Noah Wiswell.
LEXINGTON.
341
Jonas Parker.
Robert Munroe.
Samuel Hadley.
Jonathan Harrington.
Isaac Muzzy.
John Robbins.
Solomon Pierce.
John Tidd.
Joseph Comee.
Ebenezer Munroe, Jr.
WOUNDED.
Caleb Harrington.
John Brown.
Jedediah Munroe.
John Raymond.
Nathaniel Wyman.
Thomas Winship.
Nathaniel Farmer.
Prince Estabrook.
Jedediah Munroe.
Francis Brown.
BILLERICA.
WOUNDED.
John Nichols.
Timothy Blanchard.
342
BENEATH OLD KOOE TREES
CHELMSFORD.
WOUNDED.
D. Aaron Chamberlain.
C. Oliver Barron.
C. Charles Miles.
Nathan Barrett.
Abel Prescott, Jr.
CONCORD.
WOUNDED.
Jonas Brown.
George Minot.
NEEDHAM.
John Bacon.
Elisha Mills.
Amos Mills.
Eleazer Kingsbury.
FRAMINGHAM.
WOUNDED.
Daniel Hemmenway.
DEDHAM.
KILLED.
Elias Haven.
WOUNDED.
Israel Everett.
STOW.
WOUNDED.
Daniel Conant.
Henry Jacobs.
Samuel Cook.
Ebenezer Goldthwait.
George Southwick.
WOUNDED.
Nathaniel Chamberlain
Jonathan Parker.
Tolman.
ROXBURY.
MISSING.
Elijah Seaver.
BROOKLINE.
KILLED.
Isaac Gardner.
SALEM.
KILLED.
Benjamin Pierce.
DANVERS.
KILLED.
Benjamin Daland.
Jotham Webb.
Perley Putnam.
GENE PAL GAGE'S EXCURSION 343
WOUNDED.
Nathan Putnam. Dennis Wallace.
MISSING.
Joseph Bell.
BEVERLY.
KILLED.
Reuben Kennison.
WOUNDED.
Nathaniel Cleves. William Dodge.
Samuel Woodbury.
LYNN.
KILLED.
Abednego Ramsdell. William Flint.
Daniel Townsend. Thomas Hadley.
WOUNDED.
Joshua Felt. Timothy Monroe.
MISSING.
Josiah Breed.
Total. — Killed, 49; wounded, 39; missing, 5 = 93.