USA > Massachusetts > Commonwealth history of Massachusetts, colony, province and state, volume 3 > Part 15
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LATER SERVICES OF MASSACHUSETTS OFFICERS
The question naturally arises, did the former officers from Massachusetts play a prominent part in the later military and civil history of the nation and the State. Knox served effi- ciently as Secretary of War from March 18, 1785, to Decem- ber 31, 1797. William Hull stained his name by the surrender of Detroit at the opening of the War of 1812. He was partly the victim of the mismanagement of others, including his own son, but he had lost his fighting edge and he is condemned by two of the best modern authorities, Adams and Fortescue. In Massachusetts old officers of the Revolution obtained high rank in the militia. Benjamin Lincoln efficiently commanded the troops which put down Shay's Rebellion. John Blake, a lieutenant in the army of the Revolution, became a briga- dier of militia and as such commanded in the "battle" of Hampden, Maine, September 3, 1814.
Few high civil positions were given by Massachusetts to her former soldiers. None became United States Senator and none governor until 1816. In that year the Federalists elected John Brooks governor, and during the campaign laid much stress on his services in the Revolution. Probably they wished to make a special display of patriotism because of the oppro- brium cast upon them by the holding of the Hartford Con- vention of 1814. In the distribution of minor offices Massa- chusetts was more generous to her soldiers. Benjamin Lin- coln was lieutenant governor for one year, David Cobb for one, Henry Knox served in the Council.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
ADAMS, JOHN, and ADAMS, MRS. ABIGAIL (SMITH) .- Familiar Letters of John Adams and his Wife, Abigail Adams, during the Revolution (N. Y., Hurd and Houghton, 1876)-Edited by Charles Francis Adams. Contains a memoir of Mrs. Adams.
ADAMS, JOHN, ADAMS, SAMUEL, and WARREN, JAMES .- Warren-Adams Letters, Being Chiefly a Correspondence among John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Warren (2 vols., Mass. Historical Society, Collec- tions, Vols. 72-73, Boston, 1917-1925).
ADAMS, SAMUEL .- The Writings of Samuel Adams (4 vols., N. Y., Put- nam's, 1904-1908)-Edited by H. A. Cushing. See Volumes III and IV.
AMORY, THOMAS COFFIN .- The Military Services and Public Life of Major-General John Sullivan of the American Revolutionary Army (Boston, Wiggin and Lunt, 1868).
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SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
AUSTIN, JAMES TRECOTHICK .- The Life of Elbridge Gerry, with Contem- porary Letters. To the Close of the American Revolution (2 vols., Boston, Wells and Lilly, 1828-1829).
BANKS, CHARLES EDWARD .- "The Destruction of Falmouth in 1775 and the Responsibility therefor. Illustrated by documents from the Ad- miralty and Public Record Offices, London, England." (Maine His- torical Society, Collections and Proceedings, Second Series, Vol. V, pp. 408-429, Portland, 1894).
BARRY, JOHN STETSON .- The History of Massachusetts (3 vols., Boston, Phillips, Sampson, 1857)-Valuable. See Vol. III for the common- wealth period, 1775-1820.
BOLTON, CHARLES KNOWLES .- The Private Soldier under Washington (N. Y., Scribner's, 1902).
BRADFORD, ALDEN .- History of Massachusetts (3 vols., Boston, Richard- son and Lord, 1822)-See Vol. I for the period 1764 to 1775; Vol. II for 1775 to 1789.
BURNETT, EDMUND CODY, editor .- Letters of Members of the Continental Congress (Vols. I-IV, Carnegie Institution, Publications, No. 299, Washington, 1921-1928).
CARRINGTON, HENRY B .- Battles of the American Revolution, 1775-1781. Historical and Military Criticism with Topographical Illustration (N. Y., Barnes, 1876)-See especially pp. 507-526.
GREENE, GEORGE WASHINGTON .- The Life of Nathanael Greene, Major- General in the Army of the Revolution (3 vols., N. Y., Vol. I, Put- nam; Vols. II-III, Hurd and Houghton; 1867-1871).
HATCH, LOUIS CLINTON .- The Administration of the American Revolu- tionary Army (N. Y., Longmans, Green, 1904).
HEATH, WILLIAM .- The Heath Papers (3 vols., Mass. Historical Society, Collections, Fifth Series, Vol. IV, pp. 1-285; Seventh Series, Vols. IV- V; Boston, 1878-1905).
JOHNSTON, HENRY PHELPS .- The campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn. Including a New and Circumstantial Account of the Battle of Long Island and the Loss of New York (Long Island Historical Society, Memoirs, Vol. III, Brooklyn, 1878).
MARTYN, CHARLES .- The Life of Artemas Ward, First Comander-in-Chief of the American Revolution (N. Y., Artemas Ward, 1921).
MASSACHUSETTS (Commonwealth) .- Acts and Resolves, Public and Pri- vate, of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay (21 vols., Boston, 1869-1922)-Often referred to as the "Province Laws." See especially Vols. XX-XXII.
NICKERSON, HOFFMAN .- The Turning Point of the Revolution, or Bur- goyne in America (Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1928).
ST. CLAIR, ARTHUR .- The St. Clair Papers. The Life and Public Services of Arthur St. Clair, Soldier of the Revolutionary War; with his Cor- respondence and Other Papers (2 vols., Cincinnati, Clarke, 1882) -- Edited by W. H. Smith.
SMITH, JUSTIN HARVEY .- Our Struggle for the Fourteenth Colony: Can- ada, and the American Revolution (2 vols., N. Y., Putnam's, 1907). SMITH, JUSTIN HARVEY .- Arnold's March from Cambridge to Quebec; with a Reprint of Arnold's Journal (N. Y., Putnam's, 1903).
STRYKER, WILLIAM SCUDDER .- The Battle of Monmouth (Princeton, Princeton Univ. Press, 1927)-Edited by W. S. Myers.
STRYKER, WILLIAM SCUDDER .- The Battles of Trenton and Princeton (Bos- ton, Houghton Mifflin, 1898).
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TRUMBULL, JOHN .- Autobiography, Reminiscences and Letters of John Trumbull, from 1756 to 1841 (N. Y., Willey and Putnam, 1841).
TUCKERMAN, BAYARD .- Life of General Philip Schuyler, 1733-1804 (N. Y., Dodd, Mead, 1904).
WASHINGTON, GEORGE .- Writings (14 vols., N. Y., Putnam's 1889-1893)- Edited by W. C. Ford.
WILLIAMSON, WILLIAM DURKEE .- A History of the State of Maine; from 1602 to 1820 (2 vols., Hallowell, Glazier, Masters, 1832)-See espe- cially Vol. II, chaps. XVI-XVIII.
WILLIS, WILLIAM .- The History of Portland, from 1632 to 1864 (Portland, Bailey and Noyes, 1865).
1
CHAPTER VI
MASSACHUSETTS IN THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT (1776-1781)
BY JOHN F. SLY Lecturer on Government, Harvard University
THE MASSACHUSETTS LEAD (1764-1774)
It is well known that Massachusetts had for some years previous to 1775 borne the brunt of British displeasure. Her people were of Puritan heritage-sturdy, sincere and jealous of what they conceived to be their liberties-unaccustomed to dictation and immovable when principles were involved. Constitutional questions had always played an important part in sustaining charter rights; and many bitter battles with His Majesty's legal advisors had left marks quite as indelible as more widely known physical encounters. The leading com- munity, the town of Boston, gave its name with significant frequency to unpleasant events. The most prominent citizens throughout the colony were foremost in expressing violent dissatisfaction with British interference. Town meetings no longer represented only a few struggling wilderness settle- ments but some two hundred vigorous communities contain- ing over three hundred thousand inhabitants, and they served as admirable distributing points for the ceaseless publicity of political grievances. Hence ideas of resistance, as well as of possible independence, became firmly rooted in community thought.
For these reasons, the resentment of the British govern- ment was directed particularly against Massachusetts; and the two years preceding 1776 were marked by increasing fric- tion, each episode a little more violent in its effects than its predecessor. Nearly nine years elapsed between the first stages of the Stamp Act and the Boston Tea Party; but in
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nine months, from October, 1774, to June, 1775, came the three sessions of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, the First Continental Congress, the battles of Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Ticonderoga and Crown Point, as well as the opening of the Second Continental Congress and the beginning of the siege of Boston.
The share of Massachusetts in founding a permanent na- tional government goes back to the part played by the Massa- chusetts delegates in the first Continental Congress in Phila- delphia, September, 1774, described in detail in the preceding volume of this series. It is sufficient here to recall that the Salem meeting of the General Court (June, 1774) had con- fidently chosen delegates (only twelve dissenting voices had been raised in a membership of one hundred and twenty-nine), and James Bowdoin, Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, John Adams and Robert Treat Paine had been named to meet with representatives from the other colonies "to deliberate and to determine upon wise and proper measures . . for the re- covery and establishment of their just rights and liberties." It was a great opportunity and one that was met with firm- ness and humility. John Adams confided to his diary: "We have not men fit for the times. We are deficient in genius, in education, in travel, in fortune, in everything. I feel unutter- able anxiety. God grant us wisdom and fortitude."
The Massachusetts delegates were nevertheless men of mark,-capable, fearless and eager to emphasize any move- ment promising colonial solidarity. James Bowdoin, because of illness, declined the appointment, but the remaining dele- gates proved quite capable of speaking the thoughts of the Province. Thomas Cushing had behind him a consistent rec- ord of patriotism, marked by eight years as speaker of the House of Representatives. Few contemporaries were more favorably known to patriots of the colony than Samuel Adams, -educated in Harvard College, well founded in history and politics, a power in town meeting, deliberate, persevering and just. Robert Treat Paine held a high place in the public esti- mation. As a lawyer, he was among the most distinguished in America. He conducted the famous prosecution of Cap- tain Preston and his soldiers after the Boston Massacre, he was chairman of the committee for the impeachment of Chief Justice Oliver in 1773, and was an active member of the
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House of Representatives in June, 1774, when organized op- position to the British ministry was definitely undertaken.
John Adams completed the group,-"no one of the colonies could ever justly boast a character more profound as a civil- ian, or more resolute as a patriot." He was representative of Boston to the General Assembly during the trying expe- riences with Governor Hutchinson. He risked much when (as a matter of professional duty) he defended the British sol- diers after the Boston Massacre. He presided over the meet- ing in Faneuil Hall when the Boston Port Bill was under con- sideration, and almost at the same hour was chosen by the Provincial Congress to sit in the first Continental Congress. A fervent and active proponent of the colony, with a career in politics before him destined to be equalled by few Ameri- can statesmen.
FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESS (1774)
In the meetings that followed, the part played by these men is well known. Hardly was the Congress under way than the Massachusetts delegates presented the "Suffolk Resolves." Those resolutions, prepared by Joseph Warren and entered in- to by the towns and districts of Suffolk County convened in Dedham and later in Milton, September 6-13, 1774, strongly hinted that the time had come for armed defense. They were given immediate attention, and while, perhaps, many members were amazed at the extreme tone adopted, they were received (so Samuel Adams wrote to his friend Charles Chauncy) "with great applause;" and Congress was unani- mous in approving "the wisdom and fortitude" of their pro- visions and urged perseverance in "the same firm and tem- perate conduct" that the resolves expressed. This however was but a step. Massachusetts had been too close to events to approve the milder remedies of members from remoter sections, and while her delegates spoke softly in the interest of harmony, they nevertheless found occasion to guide timid colleagues to more extreme views. "We have been obliged," wrote John Adams, "to act with great delicacy and caution. We have been obliged to keep ourselves out of sight, and to feel the pulses and sound the depths; to insinuate our sentiments, designs, and desires, by means of other persons;
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sometimes of one Province, and sometimes of another." But whenever the opportunity offered they talked of vigorous meas- ures, which at that time were understood to mean strict non- importation, non-consumption and non-exportation agreements against the mother country.
There were moments, however, when even such remedies assumed an unheroic aspect. Writing to James Warren in July, John Adams assured his friend that he saw no use in such virtues as prudence, policy and integrity without power ; and could not refrain from calling attention to the fact that "When Demosthenes . ... went Ambassador from Athens to the other States of Greece, to excite a Confederacy against Phillip, he did not go to propose a Non-Importation or Non- Consumption Agreement !!! " He complained of the unen- durable "figurative panegyrics upon our wisdom, fortitude, and temperance; the most fervent exhortations to persever- ance, but nothing more is done"; and was plainly disappointed when the great acts of the Congress embraced only a Declara- ration of Rights and Grievances recalling every phase of the unhappy relations of the past ten years; and the famous Ar- ticles of Association designed to put into effect trade sus- pension with Great Britain. The Congress further solaced itself with numerous petitions-one to the King, a memorial to the colonists, and an address to the people of Great Britain- and a few days before adjournment, passed a resolution that was, perhaps, destined to be the most significant of its acts :
"Resolved, as the opinion of this Congress, that it will be necessary, that another Congress should be held on the tenth day of May next, unless the redress of grievances, which we have desired, be obtained before that time. And we recom- mend, that the same be held at the city of Philadelphia, and that all the Colonies, in North-America, chuse deputies, as soon as possible, to attend such Congress."
MASSACHUSETTS SENTIMENT (1774-1775)
Events moved rapidly and Massachusetts continued the storm center of disturbances. With a remarkable single- mindedness and intensity of purpose she continued to resist the King. The Salem meeting of the General Court had been followed by extensive military preparations; county conven-
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tions had been called; and inhabitants from the interior (par- ticularly from Worcester and Berkshire Counties) assured friends in Boston that they were "never more firm and zeal- ous," and that they looked "to the last extremity with spirit and resolution." Measures that smacked of rebellion in- creased,-so much so, that General Gage attempted the use of troops to disperse public meetings and to protect the courts.
During the fall and winter of 1774-1775 the colony was governed in effect, not by the titular Governor Gage, but by the series of extra-legal Provincial Congresses described in detail in chapter iii of this volume. Here the political busi- ness of the day was undertaken in earnest, and everything possible was done to prepare for eventualities. The inhabi- tants were cautioned that inasmuch as their lives, liberties and properties depended very much on effective military equip- ment, they must provide themselves with arms and ammuni- tion and "use their utmost diligence to perfect themselves in military skill." A Receiver-General (to act as Treasurer of the Province) was provided, and the record states that "Henry Gardner, Esq. [delegate from the town of Stow], was chosen." Donations were promoted and received for the relief of Boston and Charlestown, the work of the first Continental Congress was praised and delegates chosen in anticipation of the second meeting. An address was printed To the Freeholders and Other Inhabitants of the Towns and Districts of Massa- chusetts Bay,-and on September 10, with provisions for call- ing a future assembly in the event of "unexpected important events," the first Provincial Congress in Massachusetts was dissolved.
The second met in February, 1775, and continued consid- eration of "the state and circumstances of the province." Four sessions were subsequently held-the first in Cambridge, the second and third in Concord, and the fourth in Watertown- extending (including some six weeks of recess) until May 29. Like the former gathering, this Congress continued its appeal to the patriotism of the people, outlined colonial grievances, expressed abhorrence of actual hostilities, but nevertheless firmness in the resolve to "defend those rights which Heaven gave, and no man ought to take from us."
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MILITARY PREPARATIONS (1775)
Military preparations were continued with vigor. Several companies of artillery were ordered to be organized, a set of rules was adopted for the "constitutional army" (if one should be raised) ; and the selectmen of the several towns were urged to provide for the speedy collection of public taxes and to raise what additional sums they could from loans.
In the fore part of April it was decided to raise an army with all possible haste because of anticipated hostile move- ments from the British troops; and the order was strength- ened by the appointment of delegates to "repair to Connecti- cut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire .... to request them to co-operate with us, by furnishing their respective quotas for general defense." On April 15, 1775, a resolve was passed recommending a day of fasting and prayer and, with the provision that the Congress meet again at Concord on the tenth of May unless called together sooner by certain dele- gates appointed for the purpose, the assembly was adjourned.
This was Saturday. Two days elapsed. The members re- turned to their homes, unapprehensive of immediate danger. But ominous rumors reached the ears of the committee con- stituted to provide for an emergency meeting of the Congress, and on April 18, the following summons was sent to each member :
"Sir: Having received certain intelligence of the sailing of a number of troops to reenforce the army under general Gage; this, with the industrious preparations making in Bos- ton for a speedy march into the country, impresses us with the absolute necessity of convening the Provincial Congress at Concord, as soon as may be, agreeably to a vote of Con- gress, at the last session. We are therefore requested im- mediately to repair to Concord, as the closest deliberation, and the collected wisdom of the people, at this alarming crisis, are indespensably necessary for the salvation of the country."
RICHARD DEVENS, per order [delegate from Charlestown]
But although circulated with the greatest speed, probably few of the delegates received the message until the news of
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Lexington and Concord had thrown the Province into tumult. On Saturday, April 22 (one week to a day from the ad- journment), Congress assembled in Concord, to adjourn at once to Watertown (to be near the army), and on Sunday, while acting upon a letter from General Ward respecting the New Hampshire troops, resolved unanimously "that an army of 30,000 men be immediately raised and established," of which 13,600 were to be supplied by Massachusetts. Some two weeks later accordingly (through the actions of a revolu- tionary assembly) General Gage found himself a prisoner in Boston, surrounded by nearly 12,000 armed men.
SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS (1775)
Closely following these stirring events the second Continen- tal Congress met in Philadelphia on May 10. Massachusetts had been pleased with the former session. Hardly had it adjourned than the first Provincial Congress expressed ap- preciation for its "wise and able exertions in the cause of American liberty", and appointed five delegates to attend the next meeting. With the exception that John Hancock, a man of great wealth, prominent in Boston politics, president of the first and second Provincial Congresses and a member of the Committee of Safety, replaced the name of Mr. Bowdoin, the representatives were unchanged.
Their influence, as formerly, remained on the side of vigor- ous measures. On the second day of the session, John Han- cock laid before the Congress testimony pertaining to the "late engagement between the troops under General Gage, and the inhabitants of Massachusetts bay" as well as a letter from the Provincial Congress respectfully requesting "the direction and assistance of your respectable Assembly."
John Adams was there to encourage the laggards and to inspire the eager. He advised recommending to the people of "every State in the Union to seize on all the Crown offi- cers, and hold them .... as hostages for the security of the people of Boston". He urged that new governments be at once instituted by the people of the States; that a declaration of independence be immediately issued; that the troops in Cambridge be at once adopted as a Continental Army, and that when these things were done (and not before) negotia- tions be opened with Great Britain looking towards "a res-
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toration of harmony between the two countries, upon perma- nent principles." If such steps were not successful, there re- mained another device: alliances should be sought with Europe,-"with France, Spain and any other power . .. . that would contract with us".
But Congress hesitated. Committees were appointed to draft further petitions and remonstrances,-one to the King, one each to the inhabitants of Great Britain, Ireland and Jamaica, and one to bring in an estimate of the money to be raised to prosecute the war. John and Samuel Adams were on the committee to address the people of Ireland, and Thomas Cushing on the monetary committee. The action of Massachusetts in opposing George III received the hearty ap- proval of the delegates, and the establishment of an Assembly and Council was urged "until a Governor, of His Majesty's appointment, will consent to govern the colony according to its charter."
Martial preparations were continued. The colonies of New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut as well as the "in- terior towns of Massachusetts bay" were earnestly advised to furnish the American army before Boston with all the powder that they could spare, and six companies of riflemen were ordered to join the army near Boston. On June 16 the presi- dent (John Hancock had been unanimously chosen to this post on May 24, when Peyton Randolph was called home to Virginia) informed "George Washington Esqr. that he had the order of the Congress to acq[ain]t him, that the Congress had by a unanimous vote made choice of him to be general and com [mander] in chief to take the supreme command of the forces raised .... in defense of American liberty".
The General, while expressing modesty in so trying an en- gagement, pursuant to an order of the Congress that he "repair with all expedition to the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, and take charge of the army of the United Colonies," arrived in Cambridge July 2 to discharge the great duty im- posed upon him.
Even these preparations, however, were too conservative for John Adams. While enthusiastic over the appointment of Washington, "the modest and virtuous, the amiable, gener- ous, and brave;" he still found occasion to write to his wife that America was like a large fleet sailing under convoy-
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"the fleetest sailors must wait for the dullest and slowest." Events, nevertheless, were moving with increasing rapidity. Benedict Arnold had called the attention of Joseph Warren and the Committee of Public Safety to the military truth that the important stronghold of Ticonderoga could not last an hour against a vigorous attack. At daybreak of May 10, Ar- nold, in conjunction with Ethan Allen and some one hundred and seventy men (most of whom were from Pittsfield, Massa- chusetts), entered the gates of the old fort and overpowered the astonished guards.
A few weeks later (almost on the same day that Adams was complaining of the slowness of Congress) Abigail Adams was writing to her husband of new and more terrible events in the vicinity of Boston: "Charlestown is laid in ashes. The battle began upon our intrenchments upon Bunker's Hill, Saturday morning, about three o'clock, and has not ceased yet; and it is now three o'clock, Sabbath afternoon."
PREPARATIONS FOR INDEPENDENCE (1775 - 1776)
This was June 18. On July 3, General Washington took formal command of the Continental troops in Cambridge. On the twenty-first, Benjamin Franklin was proposing a plan of colonial confederation to the Congress assembled in Phila- delphia,-it was headed Articles of Confederation and per- petual Union. On August 23, His Majesty George III issued a formal proclamation declaring a state of rebellion in the Colonies. On November 4, the Continental Congress was ad- vising South Carolina to resist the mother country and "to establish such a form of government as in their judgment will best produce the happiness of the people." On the last day of December came the battle of Quebec; and in January of the new year, Thomas Paine published his stirring pamphlet Common Sense which "satisfied multitudes that it is their true interest immediately to cut the Gordian knot by which the . . . colonists have been bound to Great Britain, and to open their commerce, as an independent people, to all the nations of the world."
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