History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 93

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226

USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II > Part 93

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).

Captain Wadsworth arrived at Marlboro' some time during the night of the 20th. Upon ascertaining that the Indians had gone in the direction of Sud- bury, he did not stop to take needed refreshment, but started upon the enemy's trail.

The English encountered no Indians until they had gone some distance into Sudbury territory, when they came upon a small party, who fled at their approach . Captain Wadsworth with his company pursued until they found themselves in an ambush, where the main body of Philip's forces lay concealed. The place of the ambush was at what is now South Sudbury, a little northeasterly of the village and on the west- erly side of Green Hill.

The force that lay concealed is supposed to have been quite strong. Gookin speaks of "the enemy being numerous." "The Old Indian Chronicle" speaks of it as about a thousand. As the foe appeared, the English pursued, and followed hard as they withdrew. But the pursuit was fatal. The Indians retreated until the place of ambush was reached. Then suddenly the foe opened his fire from a-chosen place of concealment, where each man had the oppor- tunity of working to advantage.

But, though suddenly beset on all sides, they main- tained a most manly defence. It may be doubtful if there is its equal in the annals of the early Indian wars. From five hundred to one thousand savages, with Philip himself to direct their manœuvres, pour- ing their fire from every direction, and this against about four-score of Englishmen, hard marched, in an unfamiliar locality, could do deadly work. Yet there is no evidence of undue confusion among the ranks of the English.

392

HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

The sudden onslaught of the savages was attended, as usual, with shoutings and a horrible noise, which but increased the threatening aspect, and tended to indicate that things were worse than they were. In spite of all this, the brave company maintained their position, and more than held their own. Says Mather, "They fought like men and more than so." Says " The Old Indian Chronicle," "Not at all dismayed by their numbers, nor dismal shouts and horrid yell- ings, ours made a most courageous resistance." Not only was the foe kept at bay, and the English force mainly kept compact, but a movement was made to obtain a better position ; hard by was the summit of Green Hill, and thitherward, fighting, Wadsworth directed his course. This he reached, and for hours he fought that furious host, with such success that it is said he lost but five men.

THE FOREST FIRE .- But a new element was to be introdueed. The fight had doubtless been prolonged far beyond what Philip had at first supposed it would be. Desperate in his disappointment that the English had not surrendered, they again resorted to strategy to accomplish their work. The day was almost done. Philip's force had been decimated by Wadsworth's stubborn defenee. Darkness was soon to set in, and under its friendly conocalment the English might make their eseape. New means must be employed, or the battle to the Indians was lost, and the fate of Philip's slain warriors would be unavenged. Wadsworth might form a junetion with the soldiers at the east side of the town, or make his way to the Goodnow Garrison just beyond Green Hill. A crisis was at hand. Philip knew it, and made haste to meet it. The fight began with strategy, and he sought to close it with strategy. He set fire to the woods and the flames drove Wadsworth from his advantageous position.

THE RETREAT .- With this new combination of forces pressing hard upon them, nothing was left but retreat. But the results of the retreat were disastrous and exceedingly sad. There is something melancholy indeed attendant on that precipitous flight. For hours, shoulder to shoulder, these men had manfully stood. Inch by ineh they had gained the hill-top. The wounded had likely been borne with them, and laid at their protectors' feet; and the brave company awaited night's friendly shades to bear them gently to a place of relief. But they were to leave them now in the hands of a foe less mereiful than the flames from which they had been forced to retire. Their de- fenders had fired their last shot that would keep the foe at bay, and in hot haste were to make a rush for the Hop Brook Mill. It was a raee for life; a gauntlet from which few would eseape.

The flight of the men to the mill was doubtless at- tended with fearful loss. It was situated at what now is South Sudbury Village, on the site of the pres- ent Parmenter Mill. The distance from the top of Green Hill is from a quarter to half a mile. This

distance was enough to make the staughter great. A break in the ranks and the foe could close in, and the tomahawk and war-club could do a terrible work.

LOSS OF THE ENGLISHI .- As to the number of English slain, accounts somewhat differ. This is not strange, when men differ as to the number engaged. Mather says " that about fifty of the men were slain that day." Gookin speaks of "thirty-two besides the two captains." Hubbard says, "So as another cap- tain and his fifty perished that time of as brave sol- diers as any who were ever employed in the service." Lieut. Richard Jacobs, of the garrison at Marlboro', in his letter to the Council, dated April 22, 1676 (Vol. LX VIII., p. 223, State Arehive-), says, " This mori- ing, aboutsun two hours high, ye enemy alarmed us by firing and shouting toward ye government garrison house at Sudbury." He goes on to state that " soon after they gave a shout and eame in great numbers on Indian Hill, and one, as their accustomed manner is after a fight, began to signify to us how many were slain ; they whooped seventy-four times, which we hope was only to affright us, seeing we have had no intelligence of any such thing, yet we have reason to fear the worst, considering the numbers, which we ap- prehend to be five hundred at the most, others think a thousand."

Thus, according to the various accounts, by far the greater part were slain. There is one thing which goes to show, however, that Mather may not be far from eorreet,-that is, the evidence of the exhumed remains. When the grave was opened a few years ago, parts of the skeletons of twenty-nine men were found. We can hardly suppose, however, that these were all the slain. Some who were wounded may have erawled away to die. Others, disabled, may have been borne from the spot by the foe; and, in various ways, the wounded may have been remov- ed, to perish near or remote from the field of battle.

THE CAPTURED .- But the sad story is not wholly told when we speak of the slain. The tragedy was not complete when the surviving few had left the field and taken refuge in the mill. Some were eap- tured alive. These were subjected to such atrocious treatment as only a savage would be expected to give. Says Hubbard, " It is related by some that afterwards escaped how they eruelly tortured five or six of the English that night." Mather says, "They took five or six of the English and carried them away alive, but that night killed them in such a manner as none but savages would have done, . . . delighting to see the miserable torments of the wretelied ereatures. Thus are they the perfect children of the devil."

THE SURVIVORS .- The few English who eseaped to the mill found it a place of safety. Says tradition, this was a fortified place, but it was then left in a defenceless condition. This latter faet the Indians were ignorant of, hence it was left unassailed. The eseaped soldiers were rescued at night by Warren and Pierce, with some others, among whom was Captain

393

SUDBURY.

Prentis, " who coming in the day hastily though some- what too late to the relief of Capt. Wadsworth having not six troopers that were able to keep way with him fell into a pound or place near Sudbury town end where all passages were stopped by the Indians." Captain Cowell also gave assistance, and thus these weary, war-worn men, the remnant of the gallant company that fought on that memorable day, were conducted to a place of safety.

BURIAL OF THE DEAD .- The morning light of the 22d of April broke upon a sad scene in Sudbury. The noise of the battle had ceased, and the fires had faded away with the night-shadows. Philip had betaken himself from the field of his hard-earned and unfor- tunate victory, and nothing of life was left but the leafless woods, and these charred as if passed over by the shadow of death. It was a scene of loneliness and desolation. The dead, scalped and stripped, were left scattered as they fell; while their victors by the sun-rising were far on their way back over the track which they had made so desolate. This scene, how- ever, was shortly to change. Warm hearts and stout hands were pushing their way to see what the case might demand, and, if possible render, relief.

Before nightfall of the 21st, so far as we have learned, little, if any intelligence was received by the parties who had rushed to the rescue, of the true state of things about Green Hill. Wadsworth and Brockle- bank were encompassed about by the foe, so that no communication could be conveyed to the English, who anxiously awaited tidings of their condition. It was known at the easterly part of the town that hard fighting was in progress at or near Green Hill. The shonting, firing and smoke betokened that a battle was in progress, but how it would terminate none could tell. After the Sudbury and Watertown men had driven the Indians over the river, they strove hard to reach the force on the hill. Says Warren and Pierce, in their petition : "We who were with them can more largely inform this Honored Council that as it is said in the petition, that we drove two hundred Indians over the river and with some others went to see if we could relieve Capt. Wadsworth upon the hill, and there we had a fight with the Indians, but they being so many of them, and we stayed so long that we were almost encompassed by them, which caused us to retreat to Capt. Goodnow's garrison house, and there we stayed it being near night till it was dark."

But another force had also striven to reach the town, and join in the work of rescue. This was a company from Charlestown, commanded by Captain Hunting. Of this company, Gookin says (" History of Christian Indians") : "On the 21" of April, Capt. Hunting had drawn up and ready furnished his company of forty Indiane at Charlestown. These had been ordered by the council to march to the Merrimac river near Chelmsford, and there to settle a garrison near the great fishing places where it was expected the enemy

would come to get fish for their necessary food." But, says Gookin, " Behold God's thoughts are not as ours, nor His ways as ours, for just as these soldiers were ready to march upon the 21st of April, about midday, tidings came by many messengers that a great body of the enemy . . . had assembled at a town called Sud- bury that morning." He says "that just at the begin- ning of the lecture there, as soon as these tidings came, Major Gooken and Thomas Danforth, two of the magistrates who were there hearing the lecture ser- mon, being acquainted, he withdrew out of the meet- ing house, and immediately gave orders for a ply of horses belonging to Capt. Prentis's troop under con- duct of Corporal Phipps, and the Indian company under Capt. Hunting, forthwith to march away for the relief of Sudbury ; which order was accordingly put into execution. Capt. Hunting with his Indian com- pany being on foot, got not into Sudbury until a little within night. The enemy, as is before [narrated], were all retreated unto the west side of the river of Sudbury, where also several English inhabited."

But though the rescuing parties were either re- pulsed or too late to render assistance at the fight, they were on hand to bury the dead. Says Warren and Pierce,-"After burrying the bodies of the Con- cord men at the bridge's foot, we joined ourselves to Capt. Hunting and as many others as we could pro- cure, and went over the river to look for Capt. Wads- worth and Capt. Broklebank, and we gathered them up and burried them."

The manner in which this burial scene proceeded is narrated thus by Mr. Gookin (" History of Christian Indians "): "Upon the 22nd of April, early in the morning, over forty Indians having stripped thein- selves and painted their faces like to the enemy, they passed over the bridge to the west side of the river, without any Englishmen in the company, to make discovery of the enemy (which was generally con- ceded quartered thereabout), but this did not at all discourage our Christian Indians from marching and discovering, and if they had met with them to beat up their quarters. But God had so ordered that the enemy were all withdrawn and were retreated in the night. Our Indian soldiers having made a thourough discovery and to their great relief (for some of them wept when they saw so many English lie dead on the place among the slain), some they knew, viz., those two worthy and pious Captains, Capt. Broklebank, of Rowley, and Capt. Wadsworth, of Milton, who, with about thirty-two private soldiers, were slain the day before. . . . As soon as they had made a full discov- ery, [they ] returned to their Captains and the rest of the English, and gave them an account of their mo- tions. Then it was concluded to march over to the place and bury the dead, and they did so. Shortly after, our Indians marching in two files upon the wings to secure those that went to bury the dead, God so ordered it that they met with no interruption in that work."

394

IHISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Thus were the slain soldiers buried on that April inorning, in the stillness of the forest, far away from their kindred, friends and homes. Those who, through inability, had failed to defend them in the day of battle, now tenderly took them to their last, long resting-place. A single grave contained them. Though scattered, they were borne to one common place of burial, and a rough heap of stones was all that marked that lone, forcst grave. Such was that soldiers' sepulchre-a mound in the woods, left to grow gray with the clustering moss of years, yet marking in its rustic simplicity one of the noblest and most heroic events known in the annals of King Philip's War. They sleep

" while the bells of autumn toll, Or the murmuring song of spring flits by, Till the crackling heavens in thunder roll, To the bugle-blast on high." -

PLACE OF BURIAL .- The grave was made on the westerly side of Green Hill, near its base, and was in the northeast corner of the South Sudbury Cemetery be- fore its recent enlargement. In our recollection the grave was marked by a rude stone heap, at the head of which was a plain slate-stone slab. The heap was made of common loose stones, such as a man could easily lift, and was probably placed there when the grave was made. It was perhaps three or four feet high, and a dozen feet wide at the base. The slab was erected about 1730 by President Wadsworth, of Harvard College, son of Captain Wadsworth. As we remember the spot, it was barren and briar-grown ; loose stones, fallen from the top and sides of the mound, were half concealed in the wild wood grass that grew in tufts about it. It remained in this con- dition for years, and the villagers from time to time visited it as a place of interest.

In the year 1851 the town agitated the matter of erecting a monument, and the Legislature was peti- tioned for aid, which was granted. But the monu- ment does not mark the original grave. The com- mittee who had the matter in charge located it about fifty feet to the north. The old grave was at or about the turn of the present avenue or path, at the northeast corner of the Adam Smith family lot in the present Wadsworth Cemetery. After it was decided to erect the monument in its present position, the re- mains of the soldiers were removed. The grave was opened without ceremony in the presence of a small company of villagers. It was the writer's privilege to be one of the number, and, according to our recollec- tion, the grave was about six feet square, in which the bodies were placed in tiers at right angles to each other. Some of the skeletons were large and all well preserved.

The war with King Philip being ended, the way was open for renewed prosperity. New buildings went up on the old estates, garrisons again became quiet homesteads, and the fields smiled with plenti- ful harvests.

ERECTION OF SAW-MILL .- A movement that de- notes the town's activity and recuperative power was the erection of a saw-mill. A town record dated March 26, 1677, imforms us it was ordered that " Peter King, Thomas Read, Sen., John Goodenow, John Smith and Joseph Frceman have liberty granted them to build a saw-mill upon Hop Brook above Mr. Peter Noyes's mill, at the place viewed by the commit- tee of this town chosen the last week, which if they do, they are to have twenty tons of timber of the common lands for the building thereof, and earth for their dam, and also they are to make a small dam or suffi- cient causage so as to keep the waters out of the swamp lands there, provided also that if Mr. Peter Noyes shall at any time throw up his corn-mill they do in room thereof set up a corn-mill as sufficient to grind the town's corn and grain as Mr. Noyes's present mill hath done and doth, and see to maintain the same, and whenever they or any of them their heirs, execu- tors, administrators, Assigns, or successors, shall either throw up their said corn-mill or fail to grind the town's corn and grain as above said, the towns land hereby granted shall be forfeited and returned to the town's use again, and lastly the said persons are not to pen up the water, or saw at any time between the middle of April and the first of September, and they are also to make good all the highway that they shall damage thereby."

DEATH OF REV. EDMUND BROWNE .- The town had not moved far on the road to renewed prosperity before another calamity came. This was the death of its pastor, Rev. Edmund Browne, who died June 22, 1678.

Mr. Browne came from England in 1637, and, ac- cordingly to Mather, was ordained and in actual ser- vice in that country before he came to America. He was a freeman of Massachusetts Bay Colony, May 13, 1640. He married, about 1645, Anne, widow of John Loveren, of Watertown, but left no children. He was a member of the synod that established "The Cambridge Platform," 1646-48; was on the council that met in 1657 to settle the difficulties in Rev. Mr. Stone's church, Hartford; preached the artillery elec- tion sermon in 1666; and his name is attached to the testimony of the seventeen ministers against the pro- ceedings of the three elders of the First Church, Bos- ton, about 1669.

Mr. Browne was quite a land-owner, his real estate as it is supposed, amounting to three hundred acres. His early homestead at Timber Neck had originally belonging to it seventy acres. He received from the General Court a grant of meadow land situated in the present territory of Framingham, and from time to time became possessed of various lands both within and without the town. Mr. Browne hunted and fished, and it is said was a good angler. He played on several musical instruments and was a noted musi- cian. In his will he speaks of his " Base Voyal " and musical books and instruments. He was much interest-

395

SUDBURY.

ed in educating and Christianizing the Indians, and at one time had some of them under his special care. His library was for those times quite valuable, con- taining about one hundred and eighty volumes. He left fifty prunds to establish a grammar school in Sudbury ; but by vote of the town, in 1724, it was diverted to another purpose. He also left one hun- dred pounds to Harvard College.

Soon after the death of Mr. Browne the town called the Rev. James Sherman to the pastorate, and bought for his use, of John Loker, "the east end of his house, standing before and near the meeting- house; and the reversion due to him of the western end of the house that his mother then dwelt in." The town also agreed to pay Mr. Sherman eighty pounds salary, part in money and part in produce.

NEW MEETING-HOUSE .- In 1685 the town made a contract for a new meeting-house which was to "stand upon the present burying-place of this town, and on the most convenient part thereof, or behind or about the old meeting-house that now is."

MILITARY MATTERS .- In the wars that occurred in the last of the seventeenth and the early part of the eighteenth centuries, Sudbury soldiers did valiant service. The town was represented in the ill-fated expedition of Sir William Phipps, in 1690, and in the expedition subsequently made against the eastern In- dians. They also later did good service in and about Rutland, Ma's. Repeatedly are the town's soldiers on the muster-rolls of a company of rangers who served in that vicinity. One of the commanding officers was William Brintnal, a Sudbury school- master.

SCHOOLS .- A prominent feature in the history of Sndbnry at the beginning of the eighteenth century was the attention given to schools.

November 17, 1701, at a town-meeting, "it was voted to choose Mr. Joseph Noyes as a grammar school master for one year. . . . Also chose Mr. Wm Brown and Mr. Thomas Plympton to present the said school master urto the Rev. ministers for their appro- bation of him, which are as followeth, Mr. James Sherman, Mr. Joseph Esterbrooks, Mr. Swift, of Fra- mingham." This reverend committee duly met, and examined the candidate, and reported as follows, Nov. 21, 1701: " We, the subscribers, being desired by the town of Sudbury to write what we could testify in concerning the justification of Mr. Joseph Noyes, of Sudbury, for a legall Grammar School master, hav- ing examined the said Mr. Joseph Noyes, we find that he hath been considerably versed in the Latin and Greek tongue, and do think that upon his dili- gent revisal and recollection of what he hath formerly learned, he may be qualified to initiate and instruct the youth in the Latin tongue.

"JOSEPH ESTERBROOKS, JOHN SWIFT."

On the strength of this careful approval and guarded recommendation the successful candidate went forth to his work. He did not, however, long

retain his position. For some cause not mentioned the place soon became vacant; and February of the same year Mr. Picher became Mr. Noyes' successor. The contract made with Mr. Picher was as follows : "It is agreed and concluded that the town will and doth grant to pay unto Mr. Nathaniel Picher six pounds in money in course hee doth accept of the Towne's choice as to be our Grammar scool master, also for one quarter of a yeare, and to begin ye third of March next ensuing, and to serve in the place tlie full quarter of a yeare, one half of the time on the east side of the River, and the other half of the time on the west side of the river. This Grammar scool master chosen if he accepts and doth enter upon the work it is expected by the above said Towne, that he should teach all children sent to him to learn Eng- lish and the Latin tongue, also writing and the art of Arithmatic." In 1703 it was voted to pay Mr. Picher for service done that year twenty-eight pounds, "he deducting a months pay . . . for his being absent one month in summer time from keep- ing of scool, which amounth to twelfth part of time;" "also voted and agreed, as a free will, to give unto Mr. Picher two days in every quarter of his year to visit his friends, if he see cause to take up with it." In 1711, Lieut. Thomas Frink and Quartermaster Brintnal were "to agree with some person who is well instructed in ye tongues to keep a scool." His pay was not to exceed thirty pounds.

The place of the school was changed from time to time. In 1702 it was voted "that the scool master should keep ye scool on ye west side of ye river at ye house of Thomas Brintnell, which is there parte of time belonging to ye west side of ye river." The custom of changing the place of the school was con- tinued for many years; for we find the following record as late as 1722: "Voted by the town that ye scool master shall keep scool one half of ye time on ye west side of ye river in Sudbury, voted by ye town, that ye scool master shall keep ye first quarter at ye scool house at ye gravel pitt, voted by ye town that ye second to bee keept on ye east side ye river as Near ye water as may be conveniant, voted by ye town that ye third quarter to be keept at ye house of Insign John Moore, voted by ye town that ye fourth quarter to be keept at ye house of Clark Gleason." In the year 1717 Samuel Paris was to keep school four months of the year at the school-house on the west side of the river, and at his own house the rest of the year. If he was away part of the time he was to make it up the next year.

In addition to these means for obtaining advanced instruction, there were schools of a simpler character. About the time that provision was made for a gram- mar school, we read of "masters who were to teach children to rede and wright and cast accounts." This was, done in 1701, at which time the town "voted and chose John Long and John Balcom" for the purpose just stated, "and to pay them for one year thirty

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.

History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. II, Part 93

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1226

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) ed. cn
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1226