USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : containing carefully prepared histories of every city and town in the county, Vol. II > Part 63
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The terrible fight came to pass in this way : The Indians were concealed in great force, - some say to the number of 1,500; but this is a conjecture, and most likely an extravagant one On the ap- proach of the English, a few of the Indians came out from their hiding-place, crossed the course of Captain Wadsworth, and as soon as they were dis- covered pretended fright and fled, only, however, as a matter of strategy. This plot succeeded, when they instantly made a furions assault on the Eng- lish. Captain Wadsworth and his men received the attack in good order, and falling back to an adjacent hill, maintained their ground for some four hours, losing only a few of their number, but in- flieting a very severe loss on their assailants. The Indians, in their emergency, resorted to another stratagem, and set fire to the woods to the wind- ward of the English, which spread with great ra- pidity, as the wind was strong and the grass very dry. The raging flames caused Captain Wadsworth and his men to abandon their favorable position, when the savages poured in upon them from every side, and so by superior numbers overcame them. All the English but about twenty were killed, or fell into the hands of the enemy. A portion of those who escaped took shelter in the mill near by, and were rescued by Captain Prentice, with about fifty horse, and Captain Cowell, who was on his way from Brookfield with abont thirty men. Both Captain Prentice and Cowell barely escaped the fate of Wadsworth and Brocklebank. Captains Wadsworth and Brocklebank, by all the historians of this battle, are spoken of as men of high stand- ing as captains, and as greatly esteemed for their noble moral and Christian character.
NO
PUBLIC
A Winter Bivouac: Warriors and Captives.
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· SUDBURY.
"The 18th of April, 1876, was observed as the two hundredth anniversary of this remarkable fight. The day was celebrated in a becoming manner, with a procession, and an address by Hon. T. P. Hurlbut at the monument, historical of the cause and method of its erection, a prayer at the Unita- rian Church by Rev. G. A. Oviatt, and an oration by Professor E. J. Young of Harvard College, fol- lowed by several addresses in response to senti- ments given by J. S. Hunt, Esq., all under the direction of the committee of arrangements, Messrs. J. P. Fairbanks, T. P. Hurlbut, and T. J. Sander- son, Homer Rogers acting as marshal of the day.
" The Wadsworth Monument stands as the joint tribute of the state of Massachusetts and the town of Sudbury."
" The first monument [quoting from Mr. Hurl- but's Address] on this spot, erected about 1730, was placed here by President Wadsworth of Harvard College, son of Captain Samuel Wadsworth." This monument, a simple, plain slate slab, was falling away, when many felt that something should be done to preserve it. November 10, 1851, the town appointed a committee of twenty-five, with Colonel Drury Fairbank as chairman, "to inves- tigate the subject and report at a future meeting. The 26th of January, 1852, this committee made a partial report, and were instructed to petition the legislature for aid in the erection of the monument." As the result of this movement the legislature made an appropriation of $500 to be expended under the direction of Governor Boutwell. What was needed in addition to this appropriation by the state was given by the town. The monument, together with a road leading to the spot, was completed at an expense of nearly $2,000. The monument was dedicated November 23, 1852, the dedicatory address being delivered by Governor Boutwell.
" The remains of the ancient dead were taken from their former graves and placed in boxes. Portions of twenty-nine skeletons, corresponding to the number recorded as buried there, were found. The bones were in a remarkable state of preser- vation, some of them bearing marks of blows that were given two hundred years ago. The boxes containing the remains were placed in the vault beneath the monument, the aperture was closed, and the ancient slab erected by President Wads- worth placed in front."
The difference of opinion long prevailing among historical writers in regard to the date of the battle
on Green Hill, in which Wadsworth was slain, led the writer to make independent and careful investi- gation of the testimony favoring the 18th of April and that supporting the 21st of April, 1676, as the true date. The result confirms the belief that the date recorded on the monument is an error, and that this memorable conflict took place on the afternoon of Friday, April 21, 1676.
There exist not less than five distinct sources of evidence, all contemporary, all made by men who were personally or officially connected with the events described, or who were in a position to learn the facts as they occurred, and who had no mnotive for recording anything but the truth.
To understand the exact force of the records, it needs to be noted that the Indians attacked Marl- borough on Tuesday or Wednesday, and burnt the houses ; they assaulted Sudbury Town, which was on the east side of the river, during Thursday night or early in the morning of Friday ; and the fight with Captain Wadsworth took place late in the afternoon of Friday. News of the night or early morning attack reached Concord in season for their men to come to the relief and take part in the conflict, and it was news of this attack which induced Captain Wadsworth to retrace his steps from Marlborough. It was news of this attack on the east-side inhabitants which reached Major Gookin and the authorities at Boston early in the afternoon.
The evidence in the case may be stated thus : - 1. Major Gookin's History. He had command of the friendly Indians who were used as scouts, and a company of whom were with him that after- noon. His account is : " Upon April 21, about midday, tidings came by many messengers that a great body of the enemy had assaulted a town called Sudbury that morning. Indeed (through God's favor) some small assistance was already sent from Watertown by Capt. Hugh Mason. These, with some of the inhabitants, joined, and with some others that came to their help there was a vigor- ous resistance made, and a check given to the enemy. But these particulars were not known when the tidings came to Charlestown, where the Indian companies were ready. Just at the begin- ning of the lecture there, as these tidings came, Major Gookin and Mr. Thomas Danforth . gave orders for a ply of horses . ... and the In- dian company under Capt. Hunting forthwith to march away for the relief of Sudbury. . .. . Early in the morning upon April 22, over 40 Indiaus
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
passed over the bridge to the west side of the river . . . . made a thorough discovery . .. . saw so many English lie dead . . ,some they knew, namely Capt. Brocklebank of Rowley and Capt. Wadsworth of Milton, who with about thirty-two private soldiers were slain the day before."
2. Judge Sewall's Diary. "Nota bene. . Fri- day about 3 in the afternoon, April 21, 1676, Capt. Wadsworth and Capt. Brocklebank fall, almost one hundred, since I hear about fifty men slain 3 miles off Sudbury, the said Town burned, garrison house except." [The place of the fight on Green Hill is about three miles from the middle of the town of Wayland, then Sudbury.]
3. Military papers in the state archives. In Vol. LXVIII., page 220, in the council's letter to Governor Winslow is this statement : "This day we have intelligence in the general that Sudbury was this morning assaulted, and many houses burnt down; particulars of the sorrowful certainty of things is not yet come to hand. E. R. Secy.
"April 21, 1676."
In the same volume, page 220, is the following " Letter to Left. Jacob ": "The Council having lately received information of God's further power upon us in depriving the country both of your Captain and Capt. Wadsworth with several others by permitting the enemy to destroy them yesterday . we do order you to take the charge of the said Company. EDW. RAWSON Secy.
" Boston 22 April 1676."
4. The Roxbury Town Records.
" Thomas Baker jr. John Roberts
Nathaniel Leason
Thomas Romley sen. Wm Cleaves Joseph Pepper Thomas Hopkins Sam1 Gardner Lieut.
were all slain at Sudbury by the Indians under command of Capt. Sanı1 Wadsworth upon 21. April 1676."
5. The Middlesex County Probate Records. Here are preserved the following papers : "The humble petition of Esther Curry of Concord, show- ethi that her late husband David was slain by the Indians at Sudbury and left me a poor widow with six small children "; and in connection "the In- ventory of the estate of David Curry of Concord, who deceased .the one-and-twentieth day of April 1676."
" An Inventory of the estate of James Hosmer of Concord, deceased, being slain in the ingage-
ment with the Indians at Sudbury on the 21 of the second month 1676."
Papers of precisely the same import, relating to the estates of Josialı Wheeler of Concord, and William Heywood of Sudbury, are on file. And it should be stated in this connection, that a paper in the state archives [Vol. LXVIII., page 224], signed by two of Captain Mason's men, gives these particulars : " On the next day in the morning, we went to look for Concord men who were slain in the river meadow, where we found five, and brought in canoes to the Bridge foot, and buried them there."
The Indians of Sudbury were not a distinct tribe, nor did they belong to any of the neighboring tribes, but were a mixture very likely from fami- lies who came here for some special purpose, and finding such fine hunting and fishing, took posses- sion of the locality. They were not very numerous. From time to time they greatly annoyed the Eng- lish, and the records show that our fathers feared, every now and then, an Indian war, so that they were obliged, on all occasions, to be well armed, while it was contrary to law for any of them to change their place of residence without permission. The English evidently treated the Indians they found here in a friendly and Christian way; and with some success - small indeed - endeavored to bless them with Christian civilization.
In connection with the battles on the east side of the river the 20th, and on Green Hill the 21st of April, 1676, much property was destroyed and many houses burnt.1
The Indians, after the battle with Wadsworth, invested the Haynes garrison-honse, near the river, on the west side, in the northern part of the town, and used various expedients to destroy it. " At first they attempted to set it on fire with pitch- pine arrows lighted at the ends, but as they were obliged to approach quite near, they were reached by the arms of the besieged, and so were unsuc- cessful. They then loaded a cart with unbroken flax, set fire to it, and trundled it towards the garrison, but the cart was upset and consumed without doing any damage to the besieged.
" Twelve men coming from Concord for the relief of the garrison might have reached it, but for a number of squaws who decoyed them into the meadow, where all but one fell into the hands of the enemy."
It is not probable that any Sudbury men were
I The theory that Sudbury was attacked on the 20th, is not supported by the authorities cited in the text. - Ed.
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SUDBURY.
-
Haynes Garrison-House.
with Captain Wadsworth in his desperate struggle with the savages on the 21st of April, as they must have been the chief body that fought the Indians the day before. On the side of the Indians were their bravest and most trusted warriors, under their most powerful braves, led either by One-Eyed John or Sagamore Sam. In all coming time the Green Hill fight will be referred to as one of the most desperate and well-conducted battles ever waged between civilized and savage soldiers.
Having spoken of the Haynes garrison-house, it should be said that there were three noted houses of this sort on the west side of the river : the Walker house in the southwest part of the town, called Peekham ; the Haynes house on Water Row, north of the upper causeway; and another on the road to Framingham in the south part of the town, where Mr. Luther Cutting now resides. These garrison-houses were usually very massive, and bullet-proof. Professor Young, having person- ally examined it, describes the Walker house thus :-
This house, " now owned by the venerable Wil- lard Walker, was built by his great-grandfather two hundred years ago, and has been in the pos- session of the family ever since. There is one beam in this house measuring twelve by fourteen inches. The building is covered on all sides with four-ineh plank of pitch-pine, which is set up end- wise and reaches to the roof, and is held on the inside by wooden pins. The chimney, likewise, is immense, and has several enormous flnes ; while the fireplace was large enough to contain logs that were eight feet long. The windows were originally of diamond-shaped glass set in lead ; but these
have been removed. It is a most unique curiosity and an invaluable relic which should never be de- stroyed." This is the only one of the three garri- son-houses still remaining, the Haynes house hav- ing been demolished quite recently.
In the Revolutionary War, in 1776, when the Declaration of Independence was made, and the war formally begun, Sudbury was the most popu- lous, and in many respects one of the most impor- tant towns in Middlesex County. At that date the population was 2,160, while that of Waltham was 870; of Watertown, 1,057 ; of Cambridge, 1,586; of Charlestown, 360; of Concord, 1,341; of Lexington, 1,088 ; and of Marlborough, 1,554. The records show that Sudbury was in advance of almost all the towns round about in furnishing men, horses, cattle, hay, and many other supplies for the ariny. As in these respects Sudbury was such a leading town, the action of the voters on any meas- ures of public moment was sought, as carrying great weight with it.
It is evident that Sudbury at that time had sev- eral men of great ability, while the whole people were loyal to the core, and ready to bear their part in the prosecution of the struggle. For a long time before the war broke out there were in the town two companies of minute-men, - one on the east and one on the west side of the river, -and an alarm-company composed of old men exempt by age from service, and of those too young to enter the regular militia service. These companies met frequently for drill, often in the evening, and in the meeting-houses, and frequently by the light of pine-knot torches. The town used to pay a small
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
compensation to these companies of minute-men, according to the time they spent in the drill.
Patriotic instructions, prepared by a committee, by a vote of the town, were given to Peter Noyes, Esq., representative of Sudbury to the General Court, as vigorously setting forth the sentiments of the people in relation to the Stamp Act.
March, 1770, the town by vote " manifested their hearty approbation of the generous agreement of merchants in Boston to put a stop to the importa- tion of British goods, and engaged for themselves, and all within their influence, to countenance and encourage the same."
It also voted to discountenance the importers who advertised in the public prints, " who presume to counteract the Patriotic scheme of the body of merchants in Boston and throughout North Amer- ica, by withdrawing all commercial connection from them and their abettors, and by frowning upon those who hold any commerce with them."
At that same meeting the town voted to encour- age the nailing business.
February 1, 1773, the town adopted the report of a special committee chosen at a previous meet- ing, with instructions to their representative to the General Court. The report is able, spirited, full of the matter; but for the want of space we here give only the instructions to the representative.
" Instructions to John Noyes, Esq.
" SIR, - You being chosen by the inhabitants of this town to represent them in the Great and General Court or Assembly of this Province, we think proper at this critical Day, when our inval- uable rights and privileges are so openly invaded, to give you the following instructions :
" That you invariably adhere to and stead- fastly maintain (so far as you are .able) all our Charter Rights and Priviliges and that you do not consent to give them, or any of them up, on any pretence whatever. That you make use of all your influence that some effective method be devised and pursued for the restoration of our violated rights and redress of all our grievances. That you use your endeavor, that the Governor be prevailed upon to make a grant for the payment of an agent chosen by the Representative body of the Province, to present our complaints to the ears of our King.
" JOHN MAYNARD SAMSON BELCHER JOHN BALKAM WM RICE Jr. PHINEAS GLEAZER AARON MERRIAM
Committee."
December, 1774, the town chose a committee to " observe the conduct of all persons touching the association agreement entered into by the Conti- mental Congress, whose business it shall be to see the articles contained therein are strictly adhered to by the inhabitants of this town," and chose Jolın Nixon Chairman of this Committee.
June 10, 1776, the town voted "That in case the Honorable Congress should, for the safety of the American Colonies declare them Independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain they, the inhabi- tants of said town, will with their lives and fortunes support them in the measure." Lieutenant Jona- than Rice, Mr. William Rice, and Ezra Taylor, Esq., were chosen a committee to draft instructions for their representatives, and report at a future meet- ing. And the action of the town respecting the importation of tea, in connection with the action of Boston in throwing the tea overboard in Boston harbor, was equally decided and patriotic.
Sudbury's most distinguished military man be- fore and during the Revolutionary War was Gen- eral John Nixon.1 He was a soldier by nature. In the French and Indian wars he displayed great ability and bravery. He was born in Framing- ham, in 1725. When only twenty years of age he served under Sir William Pepperell in the expedi- tion against Louisburg. Having been seven years in service; both in the army and navy, he returned to his native place, but not long to remain inactive, or in the pursuit of the peaceful avocations of life. After a short respite he again joined the army, and was honored with a captain's commission. He was in the attack on Ticonderoga, and bore a part in the defeat of Abercrombie. He was in the battle at Lake George, and subsequently in the same war with the French was led into an ambuscade, but " cut his way out" and escaped from the enemy, but not without the sacrifice of most of his men.
As soon as the people began to organize an army to resist the arbitrary measures of the mother country, Nixon was placed in command of one of the companies of minute-men in Sudbury, in which town he then resided, which company, rep- resenting the west side of the river, he led in the memorable battle at Concord and Lexington, April 19, 1775.
Under the resolution to raise and equip a regi- ment for the emergency, Captain Nixon was suc-
1 Most of the sketch of General Nixon is copied from an ad- dress by the late Hon. Lorenzo Sabine of Framingham, Member of Congress.
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SUDBURY.
cessful in enlisting men to serve under him, and in | ject of Washington was to guard against an assault June, 1775, an order was passed by the Committee on West Point. Three brigades were stationed on the east side of the river, one of which was General Nixon's. of Safety, recommending Congress to promote him to the rank of colonel, which recommendation was at once complied with, as their records show that he was appointed the next day, and that the five commissions were appointed to his officers " agreea- bly to the list by him made out"; thus he went into the service with both officers and men of his own selection, all, as a regiment, having full confi- dence in each other.
In the battle of Bunker Hill Colonel Nixon's regiment was on the Mystic side, and was con- spicuous for its good conduct, having the honor of being directly under the eye of General Warren. In this engagement Colonel Nixon received a severe wound, from which he never wholly recovered, and was borne off the field but a few moments before General Warren fell.
November 4, 1775, Colonel Nixon was in camp in Cambridge, in command of four regiments. Early in 1776 Washington, as commander-in-chief, addressed a letter to Congress in reference to the appointment of general officers, and with it a list of all the colonels in the army from New Hamp- shire to Pennsylvania, stating that Colonel Nixon's military talents, and his bravery on the 17th of June, entitled him to promotion ; and consequently he was one of the six who, at that date, were com- missioned as brigadier generals.
In December, 1776, General Nixon was with his brigade on the Delaware. July 1, 1777, Wash- ington wrote to General Putnam that it was almost certain that Generals Howe and Burgoyne would, if possible, " unite their attacks and form a junction of their two armies," and, he continued, "I ap- prove much of your conduct in ordering Nixon's brigade to be in readiness ; and I desire it may be embarked immediately with their baggage, to go to Albany as soon as General Varnum's and General Parson's brigades are so near Peeks-Kill that they arrive to supply their place."
General Nixon shared fully in the honor of the capture of Burgoyne.
In the Stillwater battle a cannon-ball passed so near his head as to nearly destroy the vision of one eye and the hearing of one ear.
In June, 1779, Washington made his head- quarters at New Windsor, that he might better personally have his army on both sides of the Hudson, under his eye. The main body he left under the command of General Putnam. The ob-
This closes the account of General Nixon during the Revolutionary War. He resigned in 1780. His residence in Sudbury was on the northern slope of Nobscott. He was twice married, and had eleven children ; only one grandchild survives, Christopher Gore Cutler, who lives in the south part of the town. Esquire Cutler is now in the eighty-ninth year of his age, and remembers very distinctly his grandfather Nixon as a man of medium size, of a pleasant countenance, and a very white head. He used to delight in the society of his grandchildren, and often amused them by relating stories and singing a song of the war. General Nixon moved to Middlebury, Vermont, where he died at the ad- vanced age of ninety years.
The next prominent military man as a represen- tative of Sudbury in the Revolutionary War was Colonel Ezekiel Howe. He was a native of this town, and one of the proprietors and keepers of the Red-horse Tavern, or, more poetically, The Way- side-Inn.
Shattuck's History of Concord says (p. 110) : - " There were at this time, 1775, in this vicinity, under a rather imperfect organization, a regiment of militia and a regiment of minute-men. Officers of minute militia, Col. Jas Barrett and Lieut. Col. Ezekiel Howe." Again (p. 115), " The Sudbury Company attacked them (the British) near Hardy's Hill and below the Brooks Tavern, and on the old road north of the school-house a severe battle was fought.
" Two companies from Sudbury under Howe, Nixon, and Haynes came to Concord, and having received orders from a person stationed at the entrance of the town for the purpose of a guide, to proceed to the west instead of south bridge, ar- rived near Colonel Barrett's just before the British soldiers retreated. They halted in sight of Colonel Barrett, and Colonel Howe observed, ' If any blood has been shed, not one of the rascals shall escape,' and disguising himself, rode on to ascertain the. truth. Before proceeding far, firing began at the bridge, and the Sudbury companies pursued the retreating British."
In the Coneord and Lexington battle, April 19, 1775, - only one battle, in fact, - three of our men were killed, namely, Deacon Josiah Haynes (of the alarm company), Mr. Asahel Read, and Mr. Joshua
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HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Haynes. Exclaimed George W. Curtis in his cen- tennial oration, April 19, 1875 : " The minute- man of the Revolution ! He was Deacon Josiah Haynes of Sudbury, eighty years old, who marched with his company to the South Bridge at Concord, then joined in the hot pursuit to Lexington, and fell as gloriously as Warren at Bunker Hill."
Of Colonel Nixon's regiment in the battle at Bunker Hill, one company was from Sudbury, and of this company this minute is found : " Killed on the 17th of June, at Battle of Bunker Hill, Mr. Joshua Haynes jr. of Capt. Aaron Haynes' com- pany."
The following, dated Sudbury, March 21, 1775, is authentie, and shows the feelings and condi- tion of the town before the first gun was fired in the war, in anticipation of the worst that might come : -
" The return of the several companys of militia and minute men, in Said Town, viz - Capt. Moses Stone's Company - 92 men, of them 18 no guns, at least one third part firelocks unfit for sarvis, and otherways nnaquipt.
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