USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Leicester > Brief history of Leicester, Massachusetts > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15
ized at the next March meeting, and thus recorded. Capt. John Brown was chosen delegate to thre eon- ference, "without any authority," and, in resolutions which breathe the spirit of fervent loyalty to the King and devotion to the English Constitution and the Magna Charta, and which yet declare the "dissolu- tion of the 'General Court' a real grievance," in- structed "to give his advice and use his influence that all rash measures be prevented, and every mild one adopted that may be consistent with Englishmen claiming their rights." The hour of rebellion had not yet eome, but it was rapidly approaching.
In January, 1770, a meeting was called to " see if the town will come to any note or vote about the pur- chasing of goods of those that import from Great Britan, contrary to the agreement of the principal merchants in Boston and most others on the conti- nent." A vote of thanks was passed to those merchants who were thus "sacrificing their own interest for the good of their country." The call for this meeting was prepared by William Henshaw, and was signed by twenty-eight persons. They asked the town to vote that those who should offend by purchasing the pre- scribed goods "shall be deemed enemies to America, and as such shall be recorded in the town's book of records," and the town appears to have adopted the proposal.
In May following, a military company of forty-six men was formed for drill. The next year the town bought one hundred pounds of powder, also bullets and flints.
In 1772 Committees of Correspondence were organ- ized under the leadership of Samuel Adams. They proved to be one of the most effective agencies in ad- vaneing the Revolutionary cause. Two years later, Daniel Leonard, the Tory writer, pronounced them "the foulest, subtlest and most venemous serpent ever hatehed from the egg of sedition. It is the source of the rebellion. I saw the Small seed when it was planted ; it was a grain of mustard. I have watched the plant till it has become a great tree." They were at first voluntary bodies, but were afterward recognized by the Legislature. The date and manner of the ap- pointment of the committee in Leicester are not known. It was in existence and in correspondenee with the Boston committee in January of 1773, within less than four months after the introduction of the system. Later the committee was chosen annually by the town.
Of the first committee William Henshaw was the chairman and Thomas Denny, Joseph Henshaw, Rev. Benjamin Conklin, Hezekiah Ward and Thomas New- hall were members, together with William Green, Samuel Green and Joseph Sargent, who were added the same year.
A convention of the Committees of Safety in the eounty assembled in Worcester in August, 1774. The meeting was opened with prayer by Rev. Mr. Conklin, of Leicester, and William Henshaw was made clerk.
10
LEICESTER.
Joseph Henshaw and Thomas Denny were also prom- inent members. The Leicester and Worcester com- mittees were appointed a committee for the county, to conduct correspondence, and eall a county congres- sional convention. The convention was continued by adjournment till May 31, 1775.
It was in accordance with the recommendation of Col. William Henshaw in the convention, and upon his motion, that the famed companies of "Minute- Men" were organized, who in the emergeney proved, as he in his motion expressed it, "ready to act at a minute's warning." He also presented the resolution in response to which six thousand men came to Wor- eester, armed and officered, and prevented the assem- bling of the Inferior Court. At this time Judge Steele, of Leicester, was compelled, with other justices, to sign an assurance that the court would stay proceed- ings. He was also forced to make a written apology for a letter of congratulation which he, with other justices, had sent to Gov. Gage upon his assumption of command at Boston.
Early in the year 1773 the town and districts again met to instruct their representative, Mr. Thomas Denny, and to pass resolutions. The meeting was " full," and continued till a late hour. "The votes were unanimous." These resolutions and instruc- tions contain a brief but comprehensive statement of the wrongs, and a declaration of the rights of the province. They were still loyal to the crown, but they resolve, " We have a right to all the liberties and privileges of subjects born within the realm of England; and we esteem and prize them so highly, that we think it our duty to risk our lives and for- tunes in defenee thereof." Mr. Denny was re-elected in May, and again instructed.
The patriots of Boston were greatly encouraged by the response of the towns of the interior. Two weeks after the instructions had been given to Mr. Denny, the Boston Committee of Correspondence wrote to the committee in Leicester, acknowledging the receipt of a copy of the proceedings, and added, "We think it must supprize our Oppressors to read your very ingenious and sensible Resolves, and your Instructions to your worthy Representative."
To this letter the committee replied at length, through Colonel Henshaw : " We have paid, and are still willing to pay due obedience to laws,-made by our own consent,-and lawful authority ; but he who tamely submits to 'the tyrannical Edicts of the British Parliament and Ministry,' is unworthy even of the name of ' an American.' "
In November, 1773, four days before the arrival in Boston of the vessels loaded with tea, the Boston committee, in a long letter on "that worst of plagues, the detested tea," wrote to know the sense the "towns have of the present gloomy situation of our public affairs." To this the Leicester committee re- plied in no doubtful terms, expressing obligation to the committee in Boston for their "vigilance," and
for their " late proceedings and manly resolutions in regard to the detestable tea sent here by the West India Company," "and as you have requested our adviee, we shall, as a committee, freely give it: and that is to go on as you have begun, and on no ac- count suffer it to be landed, or pay one farthing of duty." This was two days before the tea was thrown overboard. Joshua Henshaw is understood to have been one of the " tea party."
On December 27 the town and districts responded. They were loyal still to the crown, and ready to haz- ard their lives in its defence, but they asserted their provincial rights of property and person, denounced the Stamp Act as "a usurpation of authority to which no power on earth is entitled, and contrary to the fundamental principles of our happy Constitution ;"' and promised to oppose, "at the hazard of their lives and fortunes," any impositions unconstitution- ally laid upon imported articles.
They also resolved "That we will not use any tea in our families or suffer any to be consumed therein while loaded with a tribute contrary to our consent, and that whoever shall sell any of that destructive herb shall be deemed by us inimical to the rights of his country as endeavoring to counteract the designs of those who are zealous for its true interests." They enforeed these proceedings by choosing a committee of fourteen to " inspect any teas sold or used in the towns and distriets and report the names of offenders at the annual meeting."
The objection of the people to " that destructive herb" was not to the tea nor to the tax, but to its im- position by a government in which they had no rep- resentation, and in 1781 we find the town voting to license persons "to sell Bohea tea and other Indian teas, according to the law of 1781," imposing " excise duties."
One of the aets of the crown which awakened special alarm, and against which the people indig- nantly protested, was that which provided that the judges of the Superior Court should be paid out of the royal treasury. Chief Justice Oliver was the only judge who accepted this provision, and the House of Representatives took prompt measures for his impeachment. Upon the meeting of the court in Worcester in April, 1774, the grand jurors, instead of coming forward to be sworn, presented a written protest, refusing to serve if Justice Oliver was to sit with the court. This protest was drawn up by Col. Win. Henshaw. "By his own confession," it declares, "he stands convicted, in the minds of the people, of a crime more heinous, in all probability, than any that might come before him." The chief justice, however, was not present, and the business of the court procceded without interruption. In a subsequent letter to the court, a draft of which, as well as the original protest, is in the possession of his granddaughter, Col. Henshaw, after explanations and the expression of satisfaction at the course of the
11
LEICESTER.
judges, makes complaint of what he styles "a great hardship," and at that early day recommends the course which now universally prevails in the courts. The complaint was of " having a foreman imposed upon jurys by the Court, which we think onght to be chosen by the Jurors." The reason given is that "the Jurors who live in the vicinity are better acquainted with the abilities of their neighbors than the judges can be." " We hope," he writes, " that this error in appointing a Foreman will be soon rectified, & the power vested in the Jurys to choose their own foreman by a fair Vote, which we think would be of vast utility to the Public and for the facilitating business & saving expense to the County."
The year 1774 was one of agitation and prepara- tion. Repeated acts of oppression were effectually exhausting the loyalty of the people to the mother country, and the spirit of resistance was growing more determined. Eighteen town-meetings were held this year, and repeated instructions and resolu- tions were voted, some of which rank with the ablest and most eloquent manifestoes of that period. They cover the whole range of questions involved in the struggle, and counsel the most determined resistance. In May they protested against the Port Bill. In July resolutions, prepared by a committee, were adopted, which elearly, comprehensively and elo- quently diseuss the issues of the hour, and declare the duty of citizens loyal, at the same time, to the Province and to the rightful authority of the Crown. It is a dignified and determined declaration of rights, by the town of Leicester and the districts of Spencer and Paxton assembled, "not tumultnously, riotously or seditiously, but soberly and seriously, as men, as citizens and as Christians, to take into our considera- tion the present distressed state of our affairs." They pledged themselves not to purchase goods imported from England, and to have no dealings with those who import such goods while the duty on tea is con- tinned, unless "other measures of redress be recom- mended by General Congress." They also urge the people to "associate together, and discourse and in- form themselves of their rights and privileges as men, as members of society and the English Consti- tution."
In September Thomas Denny was chosen Repre- sentative to the Great and General Court, which, driven from Boston, met the next month in Salem, and instructed to be sworn only by an officer ap- pointed under the charter, and to refuse to be sworn by the Lieutenant-Governor. The Legislature was prorogued by the Governor, and immediately re- solved itself into a Provincial Convention or Con- gress.
fore you that was ever transacted sinee the settle- ment of North America." "Everything now con- spires to prompt the full exertion of true policy, valor and intrepidity." The instructions are under ten "particulars." They urge, since " charters have become bubbles," resistance to all compromise, and " compliance with the advice of the Continental Con- gress." They urge an "endeavor to have the militia of the Province put on the most respectable footing, and that every town be supplied with one or more field pieces, properly mounted and furnished with ammunition. A militia composed of the yeomanry and proprietors of the country is its surest defenee : therefore we esteem it a matter of the last necessity that they be properly disciplined and taught the arts of war with all expedition, as we know not how soon we may be called to action."
They demand restitution for the removal of arms and ammunition from Boston and Cambridge, and for loss and damage resulting from the blockade of Boston. They urge the eneonragement of arts and manufactures, by granting premiums and prevent- ing importation, recommend intercolonial corre- spondenee and the apprehension and trial of persons "inimical to their country."
Mr. Denny died soon after the assembling of the Congress, and Col. Joseph Henshaw was chosen his successor. He was briefly instructed to promote with all his influence "any plan for the common good, generally adopted by the Congress," and urge upon it " an immediate assumption of government." " Par- ticular matters will no doubt turn up in the course of the session, which, as we, your constituants, are not now apprized of, so cannot particularly instruct." This was January 9, 1775.
The anticipated "matters" were not far in the future. When they did " turn up" they found the people in this hot-bed of treason ready to convert their resolutions into actions. The standing com- pany of the town was under the command of Capt. Thomas Newhall and Lieutenants Benjamin Richard- son and Ebenezer Upham. An "independent com- pany of volunteers," formed in 1770, had been re- organized, with Seth Washburn as captain and Wil- liam Watson and Nathaniel Harrod as lieutenants.
The town had also made some provision for ammu- nition. The minute-men had met weekly for drill, under an ofheer of the regular army, whom they had hired.
In February the Committee of Safety and Supplies of the Provincial Congress decided to remove the powder stored at Concord to Leicester; also eight field-pieces, shot, cartridges and two brass mortars, with bombs. The letter of Joseph Henshaw to his brother, whom he styles "Brother Billy," gives minute directions with reference to the storing of the six or seven hogs- heads of powder in the barns of Colonel Henshaw, Major Denny, Captain Newhall and Captain Green.
Mr. Denny was delegated to represent the town in this " convention " at its meeting the next month in Concord,-" An assembly," as they suggest in their instructions, "in which at this dark and difficult day, perhaps the most important business will come be- It was afterward decided to distribute these stores in
12
LEICESTER.
nine towns, of which Leicester was one. In all the correspondence of these years the greatest seereey was observed. The letters were often without signature, and often signed by fictitious names.
In March there were rumors of the movement of the British forces, and Colonel Henshaw and Joseph Allen walked to Worcester over the snow-drifts on " rackets " to ascertain their truth. It is said that at one time Mr. Allen had his knapsack and his trunk, with his wedding snit, packed, not knowing whether he should first be called to battle or to his marriage.
The scenes of the 19th of April, and indeed of the period which immediately followed, are graphically given by Governor Washburn in his history. Many of them were told him by the actors themselves, who have long been dead.
Early in the afternoon of the 19th of April an un- known horseman rode rapidly through the village, stopped long enough before the blacksmith's shop to say, "The war has begun ; the regulars are marching to Coneord," and then hurried on to alarm the towns beyond. " I saw," wrote Col. Wm. Henshaw, " the ex- press that came from the town of Lexington, inform- ing that the enemy had killed several men in that town." The blacksmith, who was Captain Seth Wash- burn, dropped a plonghshare on which he was work- ing, rushed into the road and discharged his musket. The members of the companies were called together from all parts of the town. At four o'clock every minute-man was on the common, They were uni- formed, but they came with their Queen's arms, and with their powder-horns and shot-pouches. Members of their families and other friends were assembled to render assistance and to bid them God speed."
Dr. Honeywood, an Englishman-the physican of the place-had never till that hour had confidence in the ability of the province to resist the power of Great Britain, but when he saw that little company of reso- Inte, determined men, who had come at a moment's warning, some of them leaving their plows in the fur- rows, he said : "Such men as these will fight, and what is more they won't be beat."
The pastor of the church, Rev. Benjamin Conklin, himself a " high liberty man," was present, and before the company started, as the men leaned upon their muskets and all heads were uncovered, committed them, in prayer, to the guidance and protection of the God of battles. "Pray for me and I will fight for you," said the captain to his venerable mother, and then gave the order, " Forward !"
.
Within three hours after meeting on the Common, the company marched. They halted in front of the house of Nathan Sargent, in Cherry Valley, and Mr. Sargent, to supply the need of the company, melted down the leadeu weights of the family elock, and dis- tributed the bullets to the company.
little later. Companies from Spencer and other western towns followed. The march of the companies was rapid till they reached Marlborough, where they heard of the retreat of the British. Lights were burning in every window on the way through the night. Regimental officers in town were equally prompt in joining their commands,
A part of the company returned after a few weeks' service. Others enlisted under Captain Washburn for eight months. There were fifty-nine men in this company, most of them from Leicester. The embargo of Boston and its occupation by the regulars rendered it necessary to call upon the towns to contribute for the support of its poor. Thirty-six were apportioned to Leicester. In May Leicester was also required to furnish one barrel of powder and twelve muskets for the use of the province.
Colonel William Henshaw, who reached Cambridge on the forenoon of the 20th, was a member of the council of war, and, with Colonel Gridley and Rich- ard Devans, reconnoitred the heights of Cambridge and Charlestown. The report of the committee is signed by Colonel Henshaw, as chairman. It recom- mended the fortification of Bunker Hill and the construction of redoubts between Charlestown and Cambridge. Colonel Prescott was detailed to exe- eute this plan, but decided to fortify Breed's Hill, in- stead of Bunker Hill. On the 27th of June Colo- nel Henshaw was commissioned adjutant-general of the Provincial army, under General W. Ward. Upon the arrival of Washington, he was, on the 3d of July, superseded by General Gates, adjutant of the American army. He was, however, persuaded to re- main as assistant of General Gates. The Orderly Books, in four volumes, covering the period from April, 1775, to October, 1776, are in the possession of his granddaughter, Miss Harriet E. Henshaw, of Leicester, and are an invaluable treasure. The first volume was published by the Massachusetts Historical Society, as its centennial volume. It contains the roster of the regiments, the " Parole " and " Counter- sign " for each day, the " Officer of the day " and " Field-officer" and the general orders from April 20, 1775, to September 26th of the same year.
On the day of the battle of Bunker Hill, Captain Washburn's company, which formed a part of the regiment of General Artemas Ward, in command of Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Ward, marched from Cambridge, by way of Lechmere Point, and took posi- tion at the rail-fence, "gallantly covering the retreat." It was to them a thrilling hour. They saw the hur- ried movement of the troops, they heard the beat of drums, the roar of British artillery and " the cracking of musketry over in Charlestown." Just before marching, Captain Washburn addressed his company in words of counsel and encouragement and com- mitted them to God in a fervent prayer. "Some of them often spoke," says Washburn in his history, " in
There were forty-three men in the company. Cap- tain Thomas S. Newhall, with the standing company of the town, consisting of thirty-four men, marched a " their old age, of the unfaltering confidence with
13
LEICESTER.
which, after this, they went through the experiences of the day." On their way to Charlestown Neck, they were met by a man on horseback, supposed to be Dr. Benjamin Church, afterward proved to be a traitor, who inquired of Lieutenant-Colonel Ward to what point he was marching. He answered, " To the hill." " Have you not had counter-orders ?" " ] have not." " You will have soon," he said, and com- manded the regiment to halt. Most of the regiment therefore remained behind ; but Captain Washburn stepped forward and said, "Those are Tory orders ; I sha'n't obey them. Who will follow me?" The en- tire company followed the captain, and two other companies with them left the regiment and moved on toward the scene of action, exposed to the shot of the British fleet ; the captain gave any who might be afraid the privilege of going back. Not a man of that brave company left the ranks. "Then we'll all go together," said the captain ; and the whole com- pany started on "double quick " and ascended the hill. Charlestown was on fire and the enemy were advancing on the redoubt. A ball lodged in the ear- touch-box of the captain. The company for a time fought at the rail-fence, but were soon obliged to re- treat. Several of the company were wounded and borne from the field under fire. One of the two strands of Daniel Hubbard's cue was cut off close to his head by a ball. Abner Livermore's canteen was shot away and rolled toward the enemy. His brother Isaac ran and secured it, saying, " I'll be darned if the regulars shall have that rum." Samuel Sargent lost the con- tents of his canteen, but saved the ball that pierced it. Four balls passed through the captain's coat and one through his wig. Israel Green, a native of Lei- cester, had three sons in the battle, one of whom was killed, the second died of wounds received, and a third was killed in the battle of Monmouth.
Among the soldiers in this battle was Peter Salem, a negro, and formerly a slave. He was a native of Framingham, and in Colonel Nixon's regiment. It was the shot from his musket which killed Major Pitcairn, just as he mounted the redoubt and shouted, " The day is onrs." After the war he came to Leices- ter, where he remained until, in his old age and poverty, he was taken to the poor-house in Framing- ham, where he died.
In July of this year the inhabitants of Leicester, having chosen Hezekiah Ward Representative to the Provincial Congress, instructed him with reference to his duties. "To this important now," they say, " posterity will look back with joy and admiration, secure in the enjoyment of their inestimable liber- ties, or with keenest sensations of grief, while they drag the galling chain of servitude." He was di- rected to comply with the orders of the Continental Congress, to oppose the accession to power of those who had proved inimical to their country, or had failed to give it their support, " waiting the tide of events;" to watch "with jealous yet candid eye the disposition
and motions of the American army, always rement- bering the importance of preserving the superiority of the civil power over the military ;" to urge the execution of the laws against immorality and vice ; and to act for the interest of the cause in relation to other specific matters.
In May, 1776, instructions were given to Seth Washburn, as Representative to the General Court, urging the utmost deliberation and caution in the measures of the court for protection and organization. At the same meeting it was " Voted by the inhabit- ants then present, unanimously, That in case the Honorable the Continental Congress should declare these Colonies independent of Great Britain, they would support said Congress in effectnating such a measure at the risk of their lives and fortunes."
With this declaration this remarkable series of in- strnetions and resolutions ends. They cover a period of nearly eleven years previous to the Declaration of Independence. There is hardly a question involved in the controversy with the mother country, or the policy of the colonies, which they do not discuss. In clearness and breadth of view, in forethought and wisdom, in felicity and eloquence of expression, and in fervent, self-sacrificing, courageous, invincible pa- triotism, they are hardly surpassed, even in the his- torie productions of that period. Bancroft, in his his- tory, quotes from them, as illustrative of the spirit of the time.
But the time for manifestoes had now passed ; the time for action had come. Henceforth the work of the town, as its records also show, was enlisting sol- diers, raising bounties, hiring soldiers, providing for the purchase of ammunition and entrenching tools, and the pay for carting provisions, buying beef and clothing for the army, aiding companies that had done more than their share of service, authorizing the selectmen "to supply the necessities of life to sol- diers," abating the poll-taxes of soldiers, caring for soldiers' wives, providing for families of officers and soldiers and fixing the prices of commodities. There was no authorized government and all difficulties were settled by arbitration.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.