History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 173

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 173

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AID TO SOLDIERS AND THEIR FAMILIES .- Al- though at this time the people were absorbed in dis- cussing matters of state, as they understood them, they were not unmindful of the wants of the soldiers in the field, or their dependants at home. At this meeting aid was voted to their families, and a supply of shoes, stockings and shirts was forwarded to the soldiers in the camp or field.

Early in 1778 nine men enlisted into the army for nine months, and each received, as bounty, a note of thirty pounds, given by the selectmen, and on the 8th of June, of the same year, the town voted the selectmen authority to draw the sum of two hundred and ten pounds and interest from the treasury "to pay the said notes when they shall become due."

In 1779 six soldiers were furnished to go to Rhode Island, and eighty-four pounds in bounties was voted them for this service, and at the same time sixty pounds was voted to "provide for the families of the soldiers who are in the public service."

RETURNED TORIES .- The spirit of self-sacrifice that actuated these people was a noble one, and dur- ing the years of anxiety and hardship through which they had already passed their deliberations were marked by an earnest regard for the welfare of the country and their posterity. Actuated by this ardent love of country, they demanded that cowards in it be disgraced or otherwise punished, and traitors to it hanged.

It was the spontaneous overflow of this sentiment that prompted a hearty response to the town of Bos-

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

ton, by resolutions, in regard " to certain Inimical per- sons Lately Returned into the State." January 21, 1779, resolves were offered in town-meeting, the third of which read as follows, viz. :

Resolved, That we will, to the utmost of our power, aid and assist the civil magistrate in the execution of all laws made for the purpose of ex- cluding all such hateful creatures from among us.

The persons referred to were Tories, or Loyalists, as they styled themselves, who fled the country at the commencement of the Revolution, but were now ap- pearing again in Boston and other townsin the State, and their presence was as obnoxious now as at the com- mencement of the troubles with Great Britain, to which country they preferred to give their allegiance. Al- though their appearance again was so dista-teful, the magnanimity of the people, after the conclusion of peace, not only allowed their return to their homes, but even invited it, and they freely forgave them the heinous sin of disloyalty.

MORE SOLDIERS AND EQUALIZING EXPENSE .- During the year 1779 the energies of these people were severely taxed in devising ways for furnishing men to fill up the army, and raising money and material for the support of the same. On the 21st of June the sum of five thousand four hundred pounds was voted to pay for the services of seven men hired for the Continental Army, four for Rhode Island and others for guard over prisoners in the barracks at Rut- land. This year a committee was chosen " to see if the burdens caused by the expense of the war " could be equalized, and each made to bear his proportion of the cost; but after giving the matter careful considera- tion, it was found "that it was very difficult to do each person justice, and we omitted to proceed on sd business."

INSTRUCTIONS TO REPRESENTATIVE .- On the 7th of August following, Deacon John Muzzy was chosen representative, and instructed "to have particular regard for the United States, the State and his con- stituency, to support the credit of the currency, and not to give his consent to any act for making up the sink of money between debtors and creditors, either public or private, soldiers and officers of the Continental Army excepted."

PRICES REGULATED .- August 17th, Major Asa Baldwin was chosen delegate to a convention to be held at Concord on the first Wednesday in October, to take into consideration, among other matters, the regulating of prices of the necessaries of life. The following is a partial list of prices, established by the convention, and they indicate the condition of the currency at that period, viz. : Corn, $14 per bushel rye, $7 ; wheat, $27; oats, $6; hay, $5 per hundred ; labor, $9 per day ; beef, 92 cents per pound; butter, $1.83; cheese, 92 cents; men's shoes, $20 per pair ; stockings, $12, etc.

CONDITION OF MONEY .- The condition of the finances was growing worse daily, and at the begin-

ning of 1780 one dollar in currency was valued at about one-sixtieth of a hard dollar. This situation pressed so heavily upon the people, that many were obliged to ask an abatement of their taxes for this and the past year.

THE CONSTITUTION .- On the 27th of May, of this year, they were called upon to consider a new Consti- tution for the government of the Commonwealth, and after earnest discussion, with the exception of one article, the whole document received the unanimous approval of the town. The exception was to article two of the third section of chapter one, relating to the House of Representatives. In their judgment the small plantations were deprived of representation, and " they should be allowed to join two or more of them together, in choosing one or more representa- tives." This was, in substance, an amendment unanimously agreed upon by them, and language similar was, later on, made a part of the Constitution.

GOVERNOR .- In the autumn of this year the town cast its first vote for Governor, and John Hancock re- ceived the whole number of votes cast, viz. : sixty- nine. The first representative under this new régime was John Bisco, Esq.

During this and the two succeeding years the town responded to the calls for more men for the army, raised money for bounties and other purposes, cared for the families of the soldiers and forwarded requisi- tions of beef and other supplies to headquarters. The appropriations for 1780, for war and kindred expenses, were : July 11th, £19,000 to pay for services of six and three-months' soldiers; October 12th, £48,456 for the same purpose; £3,565 for horses purchased ; and £12,000 for beef supplies, aggregating nearly £90,000, or about $4,000 in coin.

WATCHFUL .- In 1780 the General Court passed an act for repealing, or "taking of the new emissions of money," and the people of Spencer thought this to be a "notorious Breach of ye Public faith and a grand Reflection on yo Continental Congress," and they for- warded a remonstrance and petition to that body, asking for the immediate repeal of said act, request- ing, at the same time, that the " vote be taken by yea and nay, and published, that the good people of the Commonwealth may have a Greater Opportunity to Guard against Enemies of the Glorious cause of America." They watched closely the doings of the General Court, condemning that which seemed op- pressive or unjust, and commending when they felt that the people would be benefited thereby.

In 1781 they were passing through the severest crisis of their existence, the heavy war debt causing burdensome taxes, the resources of the country nearly exhausted, and the Continental money almost worth- less. Nothing could procure the men and materials called for but hard money, and the town was in great danger of having executions levied upon it for defi- ciencies in men and beef. June 20th the sum of £416 hard money was raised for supplies of men and

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beef, and a committee of three, viz. : John Bisco, Lieutenant John Muzzy and Lieutenant John Wor- ster, were chosen to procure the same. All transac- tions were now made upon a hard money basis. Spencer filled her last quota in March, 1782, the war being now virtually over; still there were men in the field to be cared for, as it was not yet considered safe to disband the army.

GRIEVANCE .- The following five years was a pe- riod full of grievances and, sad to relate, of mis- guided judgment. In the winter of 1781-82 the General Court passed the Valuation and Excise Acts, and the town, upon their consideration, freely ex- pressed their disapprobation of them in a remon- strance as being "unjust and oppressive, and an In- fringemeut on ye National Rights of mankind." That part relating to the valuation they characterized as "unjust and unreasonable as Nebuchadnezzar's de- manding of his magicians an interpretation of his untold Dream," and they demanded that both be re- pealed.

April 9, 1782, a meeting was held at Worcester to take into consideration "the many grievances of the good people of this commonwealth," and Isaac Jenks was sent as delegate from the town. On the 16th of May following he was elected representative, and a long list of instructions, suggested by the recent con- vention, were given him, of which the following is but a fractional part, viz .: "that it shall be unlaw ful for the Creditor to sue, until the Debtor be notified ; that all state securities, whether notes or certificates, be made Lawful tenders ; that all goods or estates, taken on execution, be appraised to the Creditor, &c., &c."

In 1785 the people were in a most "Distressing and Disagreeable" condition. No cash was to be had ; stock and produce, though they had it, would not pay debts, unless sold at too great sacrifice, and they asked the General Court to relieve them, by making paper money pass equal to silver or gold, or real and personal estates a tender in discharge of debts. But this they could not do. The town was now deficient in its taxes, executions had heen served upon it for their payment, and they were obliged to pawn their State securities to satisfy these demands. These securities were, however, subsequently redeemed.

On the 26th of June, 1786, a convention was called at Leicester to see if means could be devised which would bring " relief for grievances, done one way or other, occasioned by the scarcity of the Circulating Medium," and John Sumner was chosen delegate.

Grievances were now, with common consent, the order of the day ; but Spencer was not alone affected by this malady. Other towns and plantations in the State bear record of the same disease, contracted un- der the same influences. Business was at a stand- still, while the State and Continental debts were enormous, and the people were called upon, by way of taxation, until their patience was well-nigh ex-

hausted. Property was seized for debt ; people were thrown into jails, and great distress prevailed here and throughout the Commonwealth. High salaries of public officers, fees of lawyers and sheriff's and costs of courts, when compared with their own scanty means of subsistence, and, added to these, their own jealousy towards those officials and courts, were, ac- cording to their reasoning, sufficient grounds for complaint, and for a resort to force, if need be. Their animus was especially directed to the courts, and they demanded that they be abolished, as " their existence was a burdensome expense." This, and the nursing of the feelings which led to it, were but the wild vagaries of the communistic ideas, better known to the present age than to the people of those times.

SHAYS' REBELLION .- It was this condition of the social atmosphere that led to the inglorious Shays' Rebellion, which "began with high-sounding trumpets at Worcester, about the 3d of December, 1786, and vanished like a mist on the hills of Princeton," not far from a month later. Some of the good people of Spencer took part in this unfortunate fracas, among whom were found commissioned officers of the militia. At its close they were temporarily disqualified, and ordered to renew their allegiance to the government, which they humbly did. One Abijah Livermore and six confederates broke into the town magazine and took away the stock of powder, balls, etc., but soon after the insurrection was stamped out, he, with three others, made a written confession to the inhabitants of Spencer, in which they "craved the assistance to live to the Honor of the town and the Glory of God in all our future conduct."

Henry Gale was one of the leaders in this revolt, and after his capture was sentenced to death for high treason. The people of Spencer interested themselves in his behalf, and forwarded a petition to His Excel- lency, Governor Hancock, asking that he might be pardoned, "as he appears to be very Penitent and Humble for his very wicked crime." He was brought to the gallows for execution, but was there reprieved and afterwards pardoned.

COMMITTEES OF CORRESPONDENCE .- The Commit- tees of Correspondence, during and after the war, were :- in 1774, John Cunningham, Oliver Watson, Asa Baldwin; in 1775, Oliver Watson, Moses Liver- more, John Muzzy; in 1776 and 1777, Asa Baldwin, Jeremiah Whittemore, Joshua Draper, David Prouty, Knight Sprague, Benjamin Gleason ; in 1778, Joshua Lamb, John Muzzy, Joshua Bemis, John Worster, John Watson; in 1779, James Livermore, Benjamin Gleason, John Worster, John Muzzy, Jacob Upham ; 1780, John Muzzy, Johnson Lynde, John Sumner, Benjamin Bemis, Jonas Muzzy ; in 1781, John Sum- ner, Jonas Muzzy, Johnson Lynde, Jeremiah Whitte- more, Nathaniel T. Loring; in 1782, Asa Baldwin, Jeremiah Whittemore, Captain Ez-kiel Newton; in 1783, James Hathaway, Jonas Muzzy, Isaac Morgan. THE LATE REBELLION .- In the late Rebellion

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the military spirit of this town was aroused, as in days of yore, and men and means were furnished without stint or grudging, in the grand effort made for the preservation of the Union. The echo of the first gun fired on Sumter, and the clash of arms in the streets of Baltimore, had scarcely died away be- fore the heroic spirit of the people of Spencer showed itself, with but oue feeling of sentiment and purpose, viz .: that the government should be sus- tained at all hazards in this hour of her need. From this moment until the closing scenes at Petersburg the citizens never faltered in their duty to the Union cause; and the courage and bravery of the men sent out were honorable alike to the town as her citizens and to themselves as soldiers. Before the first call of the President for seventy-five thousand soldiers, men were volunteering into the service of the government, and the sound of the fife and drumn resounded through the streets, calling them-not to a holiday festival, as was their wont, but to the stern realities of a bloody war.

On the 29th of April, 1861, a town-meeting was called, "to see what measures the towu would take to furnish outfits and uniforms for a company of volunteers about to be organized for the service of the government." At this meeting the selectmen and assessors were made a "Committee of Safety," and their duty was to "supervise, expend and lay out such a sum of money, not exceeding $5000, as may be necessary," paying the members of the com- pany "seventy-five cents for each one-half day they drill during the next thirty days." These men were at first placed under the military instruction of Col. Alonzo Temple, of Spencer, a militia officer of the old school, but later on Capt. J. M. Studley, of Worcester, became their drill-master, and their time was now occupied in becoming familiar with the manœuvres of the soldier in camp or field. When the time for their service should arrive, the town stipulated that they should be paid a further sum of ten dollars per month, in addition to their govern- ment pay. This company left towu for camp at Springfield, arriving there June 20th, and on the 21st were mustered into the service of the United States for the term of three years. It numbered fifty-one men, and formed parts of Companies F, G, H and K, of the Tenth Massachusetts Regimeut.

At the above-named meeting a committee of eleven citizens was chosen for recruiting purposes, and the ladies were invited to procure a flag for the volunteer company. The Committee of Safety were also ordered to " purchase a flag, to be erected on the town-house." This committee, according to instruc- tions, purchased the uniforms for the company in training. For these, together with a flag and staff, and the drilling of the volunteers, they expended the sum of $2463.75. One of their important duties was the care of the soldiers' families, and this they attended to most carefully and conscientiously.

At a town-meeting held July 19th, measures were discussed for offering bounties, and it was decided to pay the sum of $100 each "for thirty-two persons who shall enlist iuto the service of the United States at such a time as the committee of safety shall pre- scribe," aud a further sum of $50 each "to all who remain in the service more than one year," and an additional sum of $5 "to all who shall enlist to-day." This number was the town's quota under the Presi- dent's call, May 29, 1862, for 300,000 troops, to serve for the term of three years, or until the end of the war. On the 4th of August following, another call was issued for 300,000 meu to serve for uine months, and in response to this a town-meeting was held, to make provisions for their quota under it, and a bounty of $100 was voted to each volunteer, to- gether with aid to the families of all such.

At au adjourned meeting, held September 11, 1862, eleven persons were chosen to notify the enrolled mi- litia to meet at the town-house for medical examina- tion, preparatory to a draft, "if one is found neces- sary." On the 17th of October, 1863, a call came for 34 men more, and on the 25th of February fol- lowing, an additional one for 25 men. In the mean- time a draft had takeu place, and by it 28 men were secured, either by voluntary enlistment, furni-hing substitutes or paying a commutation fee of $300. This number was further increased by ten soldiers re- enlisting and 49 new recruits, and the town now had a surplus of 23 men, which could be applied on fu- ture calls. August 20, 1864, a meeting was held to arrange for 39 soldiers to fill the quota of the town, under the last call of the President, and a bounty of $125 was offered to such as would enlist. December 24th the selectmen were authorized "to procure all the soldiers that, in their judgment, they think the town will need." April 26, 1866, the town refunded the sum of $5955 to such of the enrolled militia as had previously subscribed to the war expense ac- couut.

Many of the soldiers, at the expiration of their long or short terms of service, having a desire to witness the closing scenes of this gigantic Rebellion, re-enlisted "for the war," with an enthusiasm all the more earnest for the hardships they had endured or dangers encountered in behalf of the cause. Spencer furnished 319 men for the war, which was a surplus of 32 over and above all demands, among whom, at its close, were eight commissioned officers.

The first regiment forwarded to the seat of war, in which were Spencer soldiers, was the Tenth Massa- chusetts, and they were engaged in the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Fredericks- burg, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court-House, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, &c. The Fifteenth Regiment contained five men from Spencer, who went into camp June 28, 1861, and were under fire the first time at Ball's Bluff, October 21, 1861. This body of troops went into the engage-

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ment with six hundred and fifteen men and came out with only three hundred and eleven fit for duty. The Twenty-first contained twenty-six Spencer men, and went into camp July 19, 1861, on the agricultural grounds, Worcester, and they reached Annapolis, Md., on the 29th of August following, and on the 6th of July, 1862, embarked in the Burnside expedi- tion to North Carolina and took part in the battles of Roanoke Island, having fifty-seven men killed and wounded. In one year the regiment had lost one hundred and thirty men, in killed, disabled by wounds, prisoners and discharged. At the expiration of their term of service all but twenty-four men re-enlisted for a term of three years, and nearly all the Spencer soldiers returned with the re-enlisted. Besides Roan- oke Island, they were engaged in the battles of Newbern, Camden, second Bull Run, Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Wilderness Spottsylvania and Petersburg. The Twenty-fifth, with nine Spencer men, followed the Twenty-first on the 7th upon the same expedition, and their loss at Roan- oke Island was six killed and 42 wounded. It was also in the engagements at Newbern, Port Walthall Station, Arrowsfield Church, Drury's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Point of Rocks, &c.

The Thirty-fourth went into camp June 3, 1862, with forty-three Spencer soldiers. Their first year's experi- ence was garrison and picket duty in front of Washing- ton. From the time of its first engagement it passed through the battles of Newmarket, Piedmont, Lynch- burg, Winchester, Fisher Hill, two battles at Cedar Creek, Petersburg and Richmond. June 16, 1865, the original members were mustered out of the service and the remainder transferred to the 24th. The 57th contained sixteen Spencer men and was raised in the spring of 1864. It left the State in April and "fought its way from the Wilderness to Hatcher's Run, bearing a part in nearly every battle which occurred between these two points." For three

months, following January 1, 1865, they were in the lines before Petersburg, marching and fighting until Lee's surrender. The 60th was a one hundred days' regiment, and in it were fifteen men from Spencer ; also twenty-five men were distributed through the Ist, 2d, 3d, 4th and 5th Cavalry and ten men in the 2d and 11th Heavy Artillery. Spencer was also repre- sented in the 1st, 9th, 12th, 19th, 24th, 28th, 36th, 50th, 54th Massachusetts Regiments, the 154th New York, the California Artillery and the navy.

Tablets erected in the town-house bear the follow- ing names of those brave and true men who gave their lives in defence of the liberties of their country, viz. : Oscar R. Bemis, 10th Regiment, died in hospital at Bal- timore, Md., August 22, 1862; Harry F. Adams, 21st Regiment, died at home on a furlough, May 19, 1863 ; Frederick A. Bemis, 21st Regiment, killed at Chan- tilly, Va., September 1, 1862; Elbridge C. Barr, 21st Regiment, killed at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862; Frank Bird, 57th Regiment, killed at Wilderness,

Va., May 6, 1864; Dwight Chickering, 34th Regiment killed at Snickers Ford, Va., July 18, 1864; Henry C. Chickering, 34th Regiment, lost from transport, May 2, 1865; Isaiah Crosby, 10th Regiment, killed at Malvern Hill, Va., July 1, 1862; Thomas Carney, 10th Regiment, died in hospital, Washington, D. C., August 30, 1861 ; James Crook, 2d Heavy Artillery, died at home on a furlongh, April 25, 1865 ; Freeman Davis, 15th Regiment, killed at Wilderness, Va., May 6, 1864; Louis Dana, 21st Regiment, killed at New- bern, N. C., March 14, 1862; Nathan S. Dickenson, 25th Regiment, died in hospital, Philadelphia, Pa., August 18, 1864; Lucien Fogg, 10th Regiment, killed at Wilderness, Va., May 12, 1864; William A. Frink, 25th Regiment, killed at Drnry's Bluff, Va., May 16, 1864; George Farrel, 5th Cavalry, died at Point Lookout, Md., July 29, 1864; Joel W. Green, 1st Cavalry, died at Potomac Creek, Va., January 22, 1863 ; David Green, 3d Cavalry, died in hospital, Louisiana, July 28, 1864; Gardner M. Gage, 34th Regiment, killed at Berryville, Va., October 18, 1863; George W. Henry, 21st Regiment, killed at Roanoke Island, N. C., February 8, 1862; Otis M. Hunter, 34th Regiment, killed at Harper's Ferry, Va., April 10, 1864; Leroy Haws, 34th Regiment, died on trans- port, April 3, 1865 ; Dennis Harrington, 25th Regi- ment, died in hospital, Newbern, N. C., September 21, 1862; Sylvester D. Johnson, 10th Regiment, killed at Fair Oaks, Va., May 31, 1862; Daniel Kelly, 9th Regiment, died in hospital, Fairfax, Va., October 20, 1862; Waldo H. Luther, 10th Regiment, died at Newbern, N. C., October 23, 1864; Edward A. Lamb, 60th Regiment, died at Indianapolis, Ind., October 31, 1864; Abraham Luchay, 57th Regiment, killed at Wilderness, Va., May 6, 1864; James Larkey, 21st Regiment, died at Arlington, Va., June 1, 1864; Alfred W. Midgely, 10th Regiment, died of wounds, May 12, 1864; Joseph Mead, 21st Regiment, died at Danville, N. C., January 15, 1865; George W. Nason, 2d Heavy Artillery, died at Newbern, N. C., April 15, 1865; Nelson Reno, 4th Cavalry, died at Jacksonville, Fla., September 5, 1864; Samuel D. Sargent, 2Ist Regiment, killed at Roanoke Island, N. C., February 8, 1862; Jarius Sessions, 46th Regiment, died at Newbern, March 10, 1865 ; Edmund Toomey, 10th Regiment, died at Harrison's Landing, Va., July 19, 1862; John M. Worthington, 10th Regiment, killed at Winchester, Va. September 9, 1864; Horace Wilson, 24th Regiment, died in hospital, Newbern, N. C., April 26, 1862.

The whole amount of money expended by the town on account of the war, exclusive of State aid, was $27,101.70 ; for State aid, $23,529.92.

SCHOOLS .- The advantages for schooling in the West Precinct of Leicester were very limited during its early history as a precinct. Indeed, there were no schools in this part of the town until 1748, when a term of ten weeks was granted them, and three years later another term of six weeks. In 1753 this pre-

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 173

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1576

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1576