USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Ashburnham > History of Ashburnham, Massachusetts : from the grant of Dorchester Canada to the present time 1734-1886 with a genealogical register of Ashburnham families > Part 11
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DATE OF ENLISTMENT.
Jonathan Gates, First Lieutenant
April 25 1775
Francis Lane,
Sergeant
26
Peter Joslin,
26
Joshua IIolt
26
Jacob Kiblinger
26
Philip Locke
$6
26
David Robinson
26
Samuel Salter
26
Aaron Samson
66
26
Henry Hall
66
26
Ilenry Winchester
26
Samuel Willard
26
John Whitney
26
Ebenezer Wood
26
Philip Winter
26
144
HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
David Clark, Jr.
April 26
Joshua Hemmenway
26
John Farmer
26
Joseph Smith, Jr.
0 27
Jonathan Gates, Jr.
May 29
Isaac Blodget
July 17
John Locke
" 17
Jacob Winter
“ 17
Daniel Edson
“ 17
The men participating in the siege of Boston remained in the service until the close of the year and some of them remained a few weeks longer or until new recruits came for- ward to fill their place. In the same service were David Clark, Sen., in the company of Captain Longley in Colonel Whitcomb's regiment, Uriah Holt in Captain Burt's com- pany and Thomas Dutton in Captain Wyman's company of Colonel Prescott's regiment.
Twenty-three men from Ashburnham participated in the battle of Bunker Hill. Several others who subsequently removed to this town shared the danger and glory of that memorable engagement, but at the time were residents of other towns. Of these, twenty were in Captain Wilder's company and the remaining three were Clark, Holt and Dutton who were named in a former paragraph. It is prob- able that Colonel Whiteomb's regiment, as an organization, was not engaged in the battle of Bunker Hill but it is cer- tain, and the fact is undisputed, that the company of Cap- tain Wilder was warmly engaged on that occasion.
It was this year that the first summer boarders arrived in Ashburnham. We do not know their names nor the families that entertained them. In accordance with stipulations between the committee of safety and General Gage at Bos- ton, many families of that environed town were suffered to
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REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
leave unmolested and by the committee were distributed among the several towns of the colony for temporary sup- port. The number of these worthy poor assigned to Ash- burnham was twelve.
At the close of the year, 1775, a simple form of State government was in operation, controlled by a house of repre- sentatives and an executive council, and judicial courts were duly organized. This form of government was crude and untried. A healthy public sentiment and vigilance, tem- pered with prudence, were the main protection of the peo- ple. The summer of this year had been extremely hot and dry, and the slender harvests occasioned much anxiety and alarm for the future. This condition of affairs, the absence of many of the heads of families in the army, and the extreme solicitude experienced by all concerning the issues of the war, cast a deepening gloom over the trials and anxieties of the closing year.
1776. The year 1776 was an eventful one. The for- tunes of the army were not decisive in any degree, yet the patriotism and bold faith of the colonists at no time shone forth more conspicuously. The record of the year will afford ample proof that the inhabitants of Ashburnham gave an unqualified adhesion to the more comprehensive plans and the deeper sentiment which animated the colonies. The war commencing on the plea of defence now changed to a war for independence. It was no longer a domestic strife. The patriots ceased to be rebels and a civil war was odious to many. They were now ready for revolution and by the Declaration of Independence, in which they asserted their right and title to all the attributes of a nation, their position among the nations and their attitude to Eng- land were suddenly changed. Heretofore, the proceedings of the conventions were recommendations and appeals to
10
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
the patriotism of the people; now such enactments assumed the dignity and majesty of law, and, aided by a spirit of obedience which pervaded the colonies, there was no failure of orderly conduct nor any hiatus in the munici- pal government of the people. Through radical changes and for a season through the failure of any organic law, the town of Ashburnham held meetings, chose officers and ler- ied taxes with no authority except a loyal public sentiment.
In May of this year the General Court passed an order calling upon the people to express an opinion concerning a formal and entire separation from Great Britain. It was not presumed that a reconciliation was either probable or possible, but an explicit expression of opinion was suggested by this action. On the twenty-fourth day of June a war- rant for a town meeting was issued and four days later the inhabitants of Ashburnham were assembled to deliberate upon a grave and momentons question. The article and the vote are self-explanatory.
Article 2. To see if the Inhabitants of said Town are willing to stand by the Honourable Congress in declaring the Colonies Independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain with their lives and fortunes to Support them in the measure.
June 28, 1776. Pursuant to the above warrant the town being met made choice of Mr. Elisha Coolidge moderator.
Voted. We the Inhabitants of the Town of Ashburnham, in Town meeting assembled being sensible of the disadvantage of having any further connections with the Kingdom of Great Britain and are willing to brake off all connections with them and it is our Resolution that if the Honorable Congress shall declare the Colonies Independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain that we the said Inhabitants will stand by them with our lives and for- tunes to support them in the measure.
The foregoing motion being put was voted unanimously.
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REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
.
Soon after this vote the Declaration of Independence was received in printed form. It was read from the pulpit and transcribed at length upon the records of the town.
At the annual meeting the town chose Jonathan Taylor, John Willard, Jonathan Samson, Abijah Joslin and Eben- ezer Conant, Jr., a committee of correspondence. The only remaining action of this meeting relating to the war was a vote "to abate the soldiers highway rates for the last year." The selectmen, upon whom devolved many duties concerning the prosecution of the war, were William Whit- comb, John Kiblinger and Oliver Willard.
In connection with these proceedings the service in the field for the year was the natural sequence of the spirit per- vading the town. The company of Captain David Wilder, containing twenty-four men from Ashburnham which par- ticipated in the siege of Boston, was discharged on account of expiration of term of service near the close of the year 1775. Without returning home Jonathan Gates, Jr., and possibly others, reenlisted and served an additional term of three months. About this time the army became so depleted by expiration of terms of enlistment that a call was issued for additional troops, and to maintain the army while the new recruits were being enlisted there was also a call for men for a short term of service. For the service last named this town furnished three men who enlisted for six weeks and were assigned to the right wing of the army at Roxbury. They were Jonathan Samson, Jr., Joseph Met- calf and his son, Ezekiel Shattuck Metcalf, in Captain Hill's company of Harvard. In an affidavit of the widow of Ezekiel Shattuck Metcalf, in support of her application for a pension in 1839, she alleges there were four men from this town in that company. Her recollection may be correct but no record of the remaining soldier has been dis-
148
HISTORY OF ASIIBURNHAM.
covered. In the company of Captain Rand of Westminster and in the same service was David Merriam who enlisted for three months in January of this year. When Washington withdrew the army to New York he left at Boston only three regiments of militia. Massachusetts promptly raised three additional regiments for the defence of the harbor. In these regiments, serving under General Ward, Ashburnham was honorably represented.
Jonathan Samson, Jr., after completing the enlistment mentioned in a former paragraph, joined the army again in July and served in the company of Captain Manasseh Sawyer of Sterling in Colonel Dyke's regiment. With his company he was engaged four and one-half months in constructing forts at Dorchester Heights. Again in December he enlisted into the same company and served three months at Dorches -. ter. In the last service he was joined by David Merriam, Ebenezer Bennett Davis and Daniel Putnam. In Captain Warner's company of Colonel Josiah Whitney's regiment are found the familiar names of Uriah Holt and Thomas Ross and in Colonel Dyke's regiment was David Taylor. Jacob Kiblinger and John Hall served two months in the summer of this year in the company of Captain Woods in Colonel Converse's regiment, which for a time was stationed at Dobb's Ferry and at Tarrytown and constituted a part of the main army under Washington. In the same com- pany was Abraham Gibson who then resided in Fitchburg, but subsequently removed to this town where he resided many years.
`
In the company of Captain Sargent of Princeton in Colonel Josiah Whitney's regiment from May to July were John Kiblinger, William Ward and Jacob Rodiman. They were stationed near Boston and for a short time were with the army in Rhode Island in an unsuccessful attack upon the
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REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
British. In the same company was Charles Hastings who enlisted from Princeton but soon after removed to this town.
David Stedman served one enlistment in Captain Fiske's company in Colonel Brooks' regiment, and Nicholas White- man enlisted December 8 in Captain Alden's company, Colonel Mitchell's regiment.
Three soldiers sealed their devotion to the cause of their country with their lives. These were Peter Joslin, aged about twenty-five years, who died on his homeward journey from the army ; Philip Winter, aged twenty-two years, who died in the service, and Daniel Hobart, aged twenty-seven years, who was killed at the battle of White Plains, October 28, 1776. Young Hobart enlisted in June and was assigned to Colonel Coleman's regiment which joined the army under Washington. In this engagement with the enemy he was wounded in the thigh with a musket ball and left upon the field. His retiring comrades beheld the enemy approach and beat him with clubbed muskets.
Dr. Abraham Lowe and David Wallis then of Lunenburg, Isaac Whitmore of Leominster, Cyrus Fairbanks of Harvard, Reuben Townsend of Shrewsbury, Isaac and William Stearns of Billerica, Jonas Rice of Sterling, Reuben Rice of Lancaster, Joshua Fletcher of Westford, Oliver and Jabez Marble of Stow, all of whom subsequently removed to Ash- burnham, were in the service some portion of the year.
1777. The spring of this eventful year was a season of deepest gloom and depression. To this time the American army had been engaged in a defensive warfare and very fre- quently had been found unable to cope with the disciplined and well-equipped forces of the enemy. Very frequently had the American soldier been obliged to retreat from scenes of courage and heroism worthy of victory. The discourage- ments of the hour were cumulative. To test the endurance
150
HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
and faith of the colonies came the depressing intelligence of the progress of the haughty army under Burgoyne in its advance from Canada to join the main army at New York. Apparently, a further invasion of the country was inevitable and especially was New England menaced with instant danger. The inhabitants of this town evinced no evidence of terror or dismay but calmly proceeded to adopt defensive measures and to raise their full proportion of men. The activity of the State authorities and the generous response of the Massachusetts and New Hampshire militia at this critical moment are important events in the history of the American Revolution ; but it is only the part borne by Ash- burnham that appeals for expression in this narrative. The number of enlistments in this town during the year was about one hundred. Some of these men were at Stillwater and Saratoga in the gallant army of General Gates which eventually crushed and annihilated the proud army of Burgoyne, so recently flushed with the hope of spoils and devastation. The latter they realized, but from a standpoint directly opposed to their lofty expectations.
Preliminary to an account of the enlistments for the year some reference should be made to the action of the town and the home trials of the year. Recognizing efficient service, and possibly as an encouragement to their successors in office to pursue a similar policy in the conduct of town affairs, the town in March voted " to allow the selectmen additional compensation for extraordinary services the past year" in a special appropriation of "twenty-four shillings for going to Boston in their country's service." In May, William Whit- comb was chosen " to represent the town in the great and general court to be held in Boston the 28th day of May eur- rent." This record presents an early employment of the high-sounding and ponderous title that has flattered a legisla-
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REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
ture with the weight of its own dignity. It was this session of the General Court which submitted a proposed constitu- tion for the acceptance of the people and which was rejected by a great majority carly the following year. The selectmen this year were Samuel Wilder, Deacou John Willard, Jona- than Samson, Jonathan Taylor and Captain Abijah Joslin. The committee of correspondence and inspection were Samuel Foster, William Wilder, Enos Jones, Joseph Met- calf and Francis Lane. Expressive of the sentiment of the town on the subject a committee, consisting of Captain Thomas Adams, George Dana, John Con, Captain Jonathan : Gates and William Wilder, was appointed to remonstrate the Legislature against the proposed measure of calling in the issue of paper money. Captain Adams named in this vote was the father of the centenarian, John Adams. The elder Adams removed to this town, 1775, and very soon after the alarm at Lexington, where he resided, until his death in 1802. If this statement is opposed by other records, it is nevertheless correct. The first reference to a depreciated currency upon the record of this town is found in a vote late in the year "to allow Rev. Jolin Cushing £333 on account of the fall of money."
It is impossible at this late period to name all the men of Ashburnham who served in the army this year. As is well known, a portion of the muster rolls were never filed among the State papers and others have been destroyed by fire. The roll here given, although imperfect, is highly creditable to the town, while every one will join in a regret that any name has been lost from the record of patriotic service. Among the Massachusetts forces sent to the defence of Rhode Island in 1777, was the regiment commanded by Colonel Josiah Whitney, which included at least five men from this town. They were John Kiblinger, Jacob Rodi-
152
HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
man, Samuel Metcalf, Jonathan Coolidge and William Ward. The service was rendered in the early part of the year and before this regiment was sent to New York, as the mileage for five of these men due from the State was allowed to the town in June. From other evidence it appears that these men were in service four months. In the summer of this vear, intelligence of the fall of Crown Point and Ticonderoga and the steady and triumphant advance of General Burgoyne created a widespread sentiment of the most painful appre- hension. Early in July General Schuyler, while retreating before the enemy, issued a proclamation calling to his imme- diate assistance the militia of New England and New York, and aroused by the danger of the situation, multitudes obeyed the call. While men for this service were being recruited in Ashburnham, there came the startling intelligence that a detachment of the enemy had invaded the soil of Vermont and were pressing on toward the western counties of Massa- chusetts. The town immediately was in arms, and Captain Jonathan Gates, with twenty or thirty men from this town, immediately marched to the relief of their brethren. So prompt was the action of the authorities, and so responsive was the spirit manifested by the people, that all, or nearly every town in this vicinity, sent an independent company of men who did not delay for regimental organization, but each little company, independent of superior officers, conducted a brief campaign on personal responsibility. These men were not mustered nor organized into regiments and never received pay nor rations for their service. This company, with others from this vicinity, was marched to Charlemont, and was there held to await information of the progress and probable course of the enemy. Learning that the American army under General St. Clair had retreated into New York, and that the probable theatre of war had been removed beyond
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REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
their vicinity, they were dismissed and after an absence of three weeks returned to their homes. There were no muster rolls of these men, and, with few exceptions, their names have faded beyond recall. It was an anonymous campaign. In the same expedition were forty-eight men from West- minster, under command of Captain Elisha Jackson ; Captain Thurlo led a company of twenty-two men from Fitchburg. Lunenburg was represented by Captain Carlisle and a num- ber of men under his command. In the latter company was Dr. Abraham Lowe, later, the well-known physician of this town.
The few names of the Ashburnham company that can now be ascertained are Jonathan Samson, Jr., William Ward, John Adams, David Merriam and probably Jacob Constan- tine, John Kiblinger and Nicholas Whiteman. Scarcely had these men returned to their homes and the labor of their fields before they were again called into service. The annihilation of the army under Burgoyne was a preconcerted effort and this call upon the militia was a part of a well- matured plan. Catching the spirit of the undertaking, the men came promptly forward "to drive the Hessians into the woods." Captain Gates was commander also of this expedi- tion and in the rapid organization of the army, his company was assigned to serve in connection with a New Hampshire regiment commanded by Colonel Benjamin Bellows of Walpole. The company, quickly enlisted and hurriedly equipped, was marched through Charlemont, Williamstown and thence to Bennington, Vermont, arriving there two days after the victory of General Stark. Here they were per- mitted to behold the prisoners there confined and guarded in the meeting-house, and thus stimulated by a view of the fruits of valor, were hurried on to Fort Edward in New York, where a part of them remained until after the surren-
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HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
der of Burgoyne, which occurred October 17, and some of them were transferred to other companies and participated in the battles of Stillwater and Saratoga. The number of men from Ashburnham in the second expedition commanded by Captain Jonathan Gates was between twenty and thirty. Only a part of their names has been discovered. They are William Ward, Nicholas Whiteman, Jacob Constantine, John Adams, Jonathan Samson, David Merriam, Jonathan Gates, Jr., John Kiblinger, Ezekiel S. Metcalf, and Mr. Gates, a brother of Captain Jonathan Gates.
To avoid the inconvenience experienced during the pre- ceding two years, on account of the short terms of enlist- ment, and to create a more stable and a better disciplined army, orders were given carly in 1777 to establish the. regi- inents on the continental plan and recruit their decimated ranks with men enlisted for three years, or during the war. For this purpose the quota of Ashburnham was sixteen, and an earnest effort was made to supply the required number. Thirteen men enlisted and were mustered into service May 26, 1777, for three years, and the town or individuals hired the three remaining men, Francis Lce of Pepperell, Andrew Foster of Andover, and Josiah Fessenden of Boston, to complete the quota.
The men from Ashburnham whose names are deeply inscribed in the tablets of the history of the town, were Ebenezer Bennett Davis, David Clark, David Clark, Jr., Jolm Winter, Thomas Pratt, Samuel Mason, John White, Paul Sawyer, Jacob Lock, Thomas Ross, Joshua Holden, Timothy Johnson and Adam Rodiman.
A considerable number of other men from this town was in the service this year. There are many incidental refer- ences which establish the fact, but do not reveal the names of the soldiers. In August this year there was a
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REVOLUTIONARY HISTORY.
draft in this town for men to serve three months, but the number of men required has not been ascertained. It appears that David Chaffin was drafted at this time and was assigned to Captain Nathaniel Carter's company in Colonel Cushing's regiment and joined the army under General Gates. On account of sickness he was discharged and arrived home, November 1, 1777.
1778. The new year opened with a town meeting at which the town voted that they " were not willing to send any relief to the Continental soldiers now in the army." The natural construction of this language unfairly represents the prevailing sentiment and the real intent of the town. It was the intention of the town, as appears from other records, that the needs of the soldiers beyond their stipu- lated pay and bounty should be left with their friends and the generosity of individuals, which had proved adequate in the past and were confidently invoked in this instance. Present in this meeting, perhaps, was Samuel Metcalf, then a youth of sixteen years, who had but recently returned from a long and perilous journey to the army, bearing clothing to his brother Ezekiel to supply a loss caused by the burning of his tent which had left him destitute. With such evidence of the thoughtful care of the soldier in the field, with the hum of the wheel, the click of the loom and the busy needle in every home, there was present in this meeting every assurance that the individual and not the town could best respond to this call upon their charity.
In May of this year, the town approved of the Articles of Confederation proposed by the Continental Congress. The vote was decisive. The records assert "there was but one against it," but the name and motive of this dissenting voice are not revealed. In the midst of the weighty responsibilities resting upon our worthy fathers, perplexed with the demands
156
HISTORY OF ASHBURNHAM.
of war and the problems of new forms of government, the town eloquently assert their attentive care of the family of the soldier in a vote "to help Timothy Johnson's wife who is in needy circumstances, so that she may be made comfort- able."
Timothy Johnson is found in the list of men enlisting the previous year for three years and leaving, doubtless with confidence, his wife and their three babes to the considerate care of his townsmen.
To the husbandman the summer of 1778 was one of great discouragements. The season was extremely dry and the product of the field was small and unremunerative. The partial failure of the erops was keenly felt at a season when the product of the farm was the only means to meet the heavy demands for money and . provisions to carry on the war. To give poignancy to their despondeney the currency depreciated so rapidly in value that financial ruin seemed instant and inevitable. During the year 1778, the equiva- lent of a unit of money decreased from one-third to less than one-sixth of its nominal value. One assessment of taxes fol- lowed another in rapid succession, until the constable, who was also collector of taxes, only left the door to soon return with renewed demands, and creditors, beholding every dol- lar of their dues fade in value from month to month, were importunate and peremptory in their demands for immediate payment. In the midst of these depressing surroundings at home came many assurances of amended fortunes.
During the past few months a disheartened and retreating army, receiving timely reenforcement, had fought several suc- cessful battles which had completely annihilated a proud and invading army. The patriots had taught the disciplined and well-equipped soldiery of Europe that they were their equals, both in the open field and in the strategems of war.
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They had awakened a renewed confidence in themselves which imparted the strength of cohesion and of discipline to the patriot army. The seat of war was removed to the South, and the calls for troops were less frequent and imper- ative. The sudden and tantalizing alarms which had char- acterized the preceding year, giving the minute-men but little freedom from actual service or solitude when at home, for many months were not repeated. In addition to all these flattering omens, which encouraged hope to triumph over despondeney, the most enlivening hopes were associ- ated with the alliance with France, and her proffers of assist- ance in the prosecution of the war. A firmer faith in the success of their cause was everywhere manifested, until many were persuaded to believe that the war was substan- tially at an end. And yet amid these cheering omens another vial was being opened whose bitterness soon drenched the land ; only an oasis had been reached, and not the fruitful soil beyond the desert sands ; the clouds were not breaking, but only shifting into new shapes, to again inundate the land with darker days and greater trials.
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