History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 184

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 184

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The colonies loyally and heartily supported the mother country in the French wars from 1744 to 1763, and accepted with enthusiasm the hardships and suf- ferings of the several campaigns. They saw the perils to which their own settlements were exposed by the alliance of the French with the Indians, and compre- hended, to some extent, the magnitude and importance of the great struggle between England and France for supremacy in America. "Our people," wrote Benja- min Henshaw, of Connecticut, " are prodigiously spir- ited to help in the work."

In the several expeditions and engagements of the war of 1744 many Leicester men took part. The earlier enlistment rolls are not to be found, and there- fore the names of most of these men are unknown.

In 1745 the Legislature of Massachusetts planned an expedition for the reduction of the fortress at Louisbourg, on the island of Cape Breton. There are no means of knowing to what extent Leicester re- sponded to this call. Captain Jolin Brown com- manded a company in the expedition, and was present at the surrender of the place. James Smith died in the expedition. Other Leicester men shared in the terrible hardships of the six weeks' investment of the fortress. The next year a French fleet was sent to recover the place, and to ravage the coast of New England. The approach of this fleet caused great alarm, and an attack on Boston was expected. In September Captain Nathaniel Green, " in his Majesty's service in Leicester," received and executed an order

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from Colonel John Chandler for an immediate draft of twenty-five men, with ammunition and provision for fourteen days, to march for the defence of Boston. The fleet, however, was scattered by a storm, a pesti- lential fever broke out among the men, the whole ex- pedition was given up, and the two admirals, in their chagrin, took their own lives. In the winter of 1747 and 1748 men were sent to Colraine, and to Fort Massachusetts, in Williamstown, for the protection of that region against Indian attacks ; and others enlisted in the "Canada expedition."

In the French and Indian War, which broke out in 1754, still larger demands were made upon the town for soldiers. Leicester was represented by its sol- diers, in the earlier campaigns of this war, under General Winslow, and at Crown Point. In 1756 fifteen men enlisted in the expedition against Crown Point. They were in the company of Captain John Stebbins, son of the early settler by that name, but then a resident of Spencer. In that year twenty men from Leicester joined the army, only two ol whom were conscripts.

Thomas Newhall had command of a company of cavalry. Nathan Parsons, a native of Leicester, and son of the first minister, was present at the surren- der and the " Massacre of Fort William Henry," as was also Knight Sprague, then a boy of 16 years. Governor Washburn, in his history, gives in detail Mr. Sprague's reminiscences of that terrible scene in which men and women were the victims of the wild and drunken fury of the savages. "Sprague es- caped after being partially stripped, and made his way to Fort Edward. On the way he passed his captain, who had been entirely stripped and many women were in no better condition. The yells of the savages, the groans of the wounded and dying, the shrieks of the affrighted women and frantic soldiers, and the dead who lay scattered around them, made it a scene of unsurpassed horror. Fifteen of his own company of fifty were killed soon after leaving the fort."

In the final struggle of that war, in which Que- bec was taken by General Wolfe, and Canada was wrested from the French, a large number of Leices- ter men participated. The names of twenty-three are given in Washburn's History. Dr. Thomas Steele, of Leicester, was surgeon's mate in the same campaign and there were probably other Leicester men.

It was at this time that Colonel William Henshaw began his distinguished military career. He received a commission as second lieutenant March 31, 1759, in Colonel Timothy Ruggles' regiment, in the com- pany of Captain Jeduthan Baldwin, and served from May 10th to November 28th, in two campaigns.

He kept a diary of the daily experiences of these months, which is now in the possession of his grand- daughter, Miss Harriet E. Henshaw, of Leicester. Marching orders were received on the 9th of May. "The Carriages to be loaded by Day Break to Mor-

row Morning, and all the Troops that have passed Muster to gett themselves ready to march to Morrow Morning by Sunrise." The troops were conveyed on horseback and in carriages. It was a journey of fourteen days through the forest and over "the mountains." They passed through the "Land of Contention," the disputed territory between the States, and, at length reached Albany, where they " drawed Tents and Provisions, and encamped on the Hill 100 rods from Albany City." They were stationed most of the time at Fort Edward and Crown Point.

"In the month of June," Lieutenant Henshaw writes, "I was taken from the Provincials and did duty in one of the British regiments under General Amherst, which afforded me opportunity of becoming acquainted with discipline." The severity and in- human cruelty of the British " discipline " are evinced by such entries as the following: "Sentenced 200 lashes each ; " "Two R. I. men whipped, One 1000 lashes, the other 500 lashes." While he was at Fort Edward, news was received of the taking of Ticon- deroga, upon which the "other prisoners were par- doned." Here, also, the news of the taking of Que- bec was received.

THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR .- In the preliminary stages of the Revolutionary struggle the town of Lei- cester acted a prominent and distinguished part. There were men bere of unusual ability. Some of them were well educated, and many were trained for military service in the French wars. Several of the leading families were intimately associated with the Revolutionary leaders in Boston. Hon. Joseph Allea was a nephew of Samuel Adams. Adams, Warren, Otis and Hancock often met at the house of Joshua Henshaw, in Boston, before his removal to Leicester, to discuss and mature their plans. Other leading citizens were in the confidence of the Revolutionary leaders.

There was then no mail service, but early and con- fidential information was received by couriers on horseback, respecting the movements of the English and the plans of the patriots. .

The records of the town show what a power the town-meeting was, in which, as the revenue com- missioners of Boston complained, "the lowest me- chanics discussed the most important points of government with the utmost freedom," and with what effect it unified and voiced the spirit of the people.

During all the years of British aggression, of the war, and the period which followed, in which the state and the federation were taking form, they came together in these meetings, in "the first meeting; house," and deliberated upon the great questions of principle and policy involved in the Declaration of Independence and the organization of government of the basis of personal liberty. From these town- meetings there issued manifestoes really statesmanlike in their grasp and expression.

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The whole original township acted together until 1775. The people were truly loyal to the King until hey saw that war was inevitable. Some of them, the Dennys, the Stebbingses, the Southgates and others, came directly from England to Leicester. The town lad heartily responded in former wars to every call of the mother country. They approved the " Protes- tant succession " and were ready to hazard " their" lives in defence of " the person, crown and dignity " of the King; but they were equally ready to maintain their own rights and to resist every encroachment upon their own liberties at whatever cost.

Nearly ten years before the war began, the town, with the districts of Spencer and Paxton, adopted the practice of giving formal instructions to their Representatives to the General Assembly, and, from time to time, of passing resolutions representing their opinions upon public affairs.

In October, 1765, having elected Capt. John Brown Representative, they proceeded to give him formal instructions in "this critical juncture." The Stamp Act had been passed and was soon to be enforced, and Courts of Admiralty had been ordered for the trial of offenders without jury. The excitement occasioned by these acts had been so great that a mob had, in August, burnt the house of Lieut .- Gov. Hutchinson. With these facts fresh in mind, the town and districts gave extended and specific instructions to their Rep- resentative, in whose "ability and integrity" they confided. They declared their "inexpressible grief and concern" in view of the "repeated taxes," and especially the "Stamp Act," which they "had no voice in Parliament in making ;" and expressed their alarm at the " unparalleled stretch given to admiralty jurisdiction," "by which every man is liable to be carried a thousand miles before a Court of Admi- ralty," "tried without jury," "amerced," "taxed with costs," and, if unable to pay, " to die in prison in an unknown land, without friends to bury him." They also expressed their disapproval of all "tumult- uous ravages," and especially that "wherein our Lieut .- Gov. suffered," and their surprise that he should "charge the outrage to the province, thus representing them as an ungrateful and disloyal people."

In the summer of 1768 the colonies were aroused by new acts of oppression. The General Assembly of Massachusetts was dissolved by the Governor, and not allowed to meet again while it refused to withdraw an appeal to the other colonies. A sloop-of-war was anchored in Boston harbor, and troops were ordered to Bostun to subdue the rebellious spirit of the peo- ple. In consequence of these proceedings the citizens of Boston called a conference of towns. Ninety-six towns responded. The call was issued September 14th, and five days afterward we find the citizens of Lei- cester in "the first meeting-house," called together hastily, and without due notice, to act upon the prop- osition. The proceedings of this meeting were legal-

ized at the next March meeting, and thus recorded. Capt. John Brown was chosen delegate to the con- ference, "without any authority," and, in resolutions which breathe the spirit of fervent loyalty to the King and devotion to the English Constitution and the Magna Charta, and which yet declare the "dissolu- tion of the 'General Court' a real grievance," in- structed "to give his advice and use his influence that all rash measures be prevented, and every mild one adopted that may be consistent with Englishmen claiming their rights." The hour of rebellion had not yet come, but it was rapidly approaching.

In January, 1770, a meeting was called to "see if the town will come to any note or vote about the pur- chasing of goods of those that import from Great Britan, contrary to the agreement of the principal merchants in Boston and most others on the conti- nent." A vote of thanks was passed to those merchants who were thus "sacrificing their own interest for the good of their country." The call for this meeting was prepared by William Henshaw, and was signed by twenty-eight persons. They asked the town to vote that those who should offend by purchasing the pre- scribed goods " shall be deemed enemies to America, and as such shall be recorded in the town's book of records," and the town appears to have adopted the proposal.

In May following, a military company of forty-six men was formed for drill. The next year the town bought one hundred pounds of powder, also bullets and flints.

In 1772 Committees of Correspondence were organ- ized under the leadership of Samuel Adams. They proved to be one of the most effective agencies in ad- vancing the Revolutionary cause. Two years later, Daniel Leonard, the Tory writer, pronounced them " the foulest, subtlest and most venemous serpent ever hatched from the egg of sedition. It is the source of the rebellion. I saw the small seed when it was planted ; it was a grain of mustard. I have watched the plant till it has become a great tree." They were at first voluntary bodies, but were afterward recognized by the Legislature. The date and manner of the ap- pointment of the committee in Leicester are not known. It was in existence and in correspondence with the Boston committee in January of 1773, within less than four months after the introduction of the system. Later the committee was chosen annually by the town.

Of the first committee William Henshaw was the chairman and Thomas Denny, Joseph Henshaw, Rev. Benjamin Conklin, Hezekiah Ward and Thomas New- hall were members, together with William Green, Samuel Green and Joseph Sargent, who were added the same year.

A convention of the Committees of Safety in the county assembled in Worcester in August, 1774. The meeting was opened with prayer by Rev. Mr. Conklin, of Leicester, and William Henshaw was made clerk.

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Joseph Henshaw and Thomas Denny were also prom- inent members. The Leicester and Worcester com- mittees were appointed a committee for the county, to conduct correspondence, and call a county congres- sional convention. The convention was continued by adjournment till May 31, 1775.

It was in accordance with the recommendation of Col. William Henshaw in the convention, and upon his motion, that the famed companies of "Minute- Men" were organized, who in the emergency proved, as he in his motion expressed it, "ready to act at a minute's warning." He also presented the resolution in response to which six thousand men came to Wor- cester, armed and officered, and prevented the assem- bling of the Inferior Court. At this time Judge Steele. of Leicester, was compelled, with other justices, to sign an assurance that the court would stay proceed- ings. He was also forced to make a written apology for a letter of congratulation which he, with other justices, had sent to Gov. Gage upon his assumption of command at Boston.

Early in the year 1773 the town and districts again met to instruct their representative, Mr. Thomas Denny, and to pass resolutions. The meeting was "full," and continued till a late hour. "The votes were unanimous." These resolutions and instruc- tions contain a brief but comprehensive statement of the wrongs, and a declaration of the rights of the province. They were still loyal to the crown, but they resolve, "We have a right to all the liherties and privileges of subjects born within the realm of England; and we esteem and prize them so highly, that we think it our duty to risk our lives and for- tunes in defence thereof.". Mr. Denny was re-elected in May, and again instructed.

The patriots of Boston were greatly encouraged by the response of the towns of the interior. Two weeks after the instructions had been given to Mr. Denny, the Boston Committee of Correspondence wrote to the committee in Leicester, acknowledging the receipt of a copy of the proceedings, and added, " We think it must supprize our Oppressors to read your very ingenious and sensible Resolves, and your Instructions to your worthy Representative."

To this letter the committee replied at length, through Colonel Henshaw : "We have paid, and are still willing to pay due obedience to laws,-made by our own consent,-and lawful anthority ; but he who tamely submits to 'the tyrannical Edicts of the British Parliament and Ministry,' is unworthy even of the name of 'an American.' "

In November, 1773, four days before the arrival in Boston of the vessels loaded with tea, the Boston committee, in a long letter on "that worst of plagues, the detested tea," wrote to know the sense the "towns have of the present gloomy situation of our public affairs." To this the Leicester committee re- plied in no doubtful terms, expressing obligation to the committee in Boston for their "vigilance," and

for their " late proceedings and manly resolutions in regard to the detestable tea sent here by the West India Company," "and as you have requested our advice, we shall, as a committee, freely give it: and that is to go on as you have begun, and on no ac- count suffer it to be landed, or pay one farthing of duty." This was two days before the tea was thrown overboard. Joshua Henshaw is understood to have been one of the " tea party."

On December 27 the town and districts responded. They were loyal still to the crown, and ready to haz- ard their lives in its defence, but they asserted their provincial rights of property and person, denounced the Stamp Act as " a nsurpation of authority to which no power on earth is entitled, and contrary to the fundamental principles of our happy Constitution ;" and promised to oppose, "at the hazard of their lives and fortunes," any impositions unconstitution ally laid upon imported articles.

They also resolved "That we will not use any tea in our families or suffer any to be consumed therein while loaded with a tribute contrary to our consent, and that whoever shall sell any of that destructive herb shall be deemed by us inimical to the rights of his country as endeavoring to counteract the designs of those who are zealous for its true interests." They enforced these proceedings by choosing a committee of fourteen to "inspect any teas sold or used in the towns and districts and report the names of offenders at the annual meeting."

. The objection of the people to " that destructive herb " was not to the tea nor to the tax, but to its im- position by a government in which they had no rep- resentation, and in 1781 we find the town voting to license persons "to sell Bohea tea and other Indian teas, according to the law of 1781," imposing " excise duties."

One of the acts of the crown which awakened special alarm, and against which the people indig- nantly protested, was that which provided that the judges of the Superior Court should be paid out of the royal treasury. Chief Justice Oliver was the only judge who accepted this provision, and the House of Representatives took prompt measures for his impeachment. Upon the meeting of the court in Worcester in April, 1774, the grand jurors, instead of coming forward to be sworn, presented a written protest, refusing to serve if Justice Oliver was to sit with the court. This protest was drawn up by Col. Wm. Henshaw. " By his own confession," it declares, "he stands convicted, in the minds of the people, of a crime more heinous, in all probability, than any that might come before him." The chief justice, however, was not present, and the business of the court proceeded without interruption. In a subsequent letter to the court, a draft of which, as well as the original protest, is in the possession of his granddaughter, Col. Henshaw, after explanations and the expression of satisfaction at the course of the

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udges, makes complaint of what he styles "a great hardship," and at that early day recommends the course which now universally prevails in the courts. The complaint was of "having a foreman imposed apon jurys by the Court, which we think ought to be chosen by the Jurors." The reason given is that "the Jurors who live in the vicinity are better acquainted with the abilities of their neighbors than the judges can be." "We hope," he writes, "that this error in uppointing a Foreman will be soon rectified, & the power vested in the Jurys to choose their own foreman by a fair Vote, which we think would be of vast utility to the Public and for the facilitating business & saving expense to the County."

The year 1774 was one of agitation and prepara- ion. Repeated acts of oppression were effectually exhausting the loyalty of the people to the mother country, and the spirit of resistance was growing more determined. Eighteen town-meetings were ield this year, and repeated instructions and resolu- ions were voted, some of which rank with the ablest and most eloquent manifestoes of that period. They over the whole range of questions involved in the struggle, and counsel the most determined resistance. In May they protested against the Port Bill. In July resolutions, prepared by a committee, were adopted, which clearly, comprehensively and elo- quently discuss the issues of the hour, and declare the duty of citizens loyal, at the same time, to the Province and to the rightful authority of the Crown. It is a dignified and determined declaration of rights, by the town of Leicester and the districts of Spencer and Paxton assembled, "not tumultuously, riotously or seditiously, but soberly and seriously, as men, as citizens and as Christians, to take into our considera- ion the present distressed state of our affairs." They pledged themselves not to purchase goods imported from England, and to have no dealings with those who import such goods while the duty on tea is con- tinued, unless "other measures of redress be recom- mended by General Congress." They also urge the people to " associate together, and discourse and in- form themselves of their rights and privileges as men, as members of society and the English Consti- tution."

In September Thomas Denny was chosen Repre- sentative to the Great and General Court, which, driven from Boston, met the next month in Salem, ind instructed to be sworn only by an officer ap- pointed under the charter, and to refuse to be sworn by the Lieutenant-Governor. The Legislature was prorogued by the Governor, and immediately re- solved itself into a Provincial Convention er Con- gress.

Mr. Denny was delegated to represent the town in this " convention " at its meeting the next month in Concord,-" An assembly," as they suggest in their instructions, "in which at this dark and difficult day, perhaps the most important business will come be-

fore you that was ever transacted since the settle- ment of North America." "Everything now con- spires to prompt the full exertion of true policy, valor and intrepidity." The instructions are under ten "particulars." They urge, since " charters have become bubbles," resistance to all compromise, and " compliance with the advice of the Continental Con- gress." They urge an "endeavor to have the militia of the Province put on the most respectable footing, and that every town be supplied with one or more field pieces, properly mounted and furnished with ammunition. A militia composed of the yeomanry and proprietors of the country is its surest defence : therefore we esteem it a matter of the last necessity that they be properly disciplined and taught the arts of war with all expedition, as we know not how soon we may be called to action."

They demand restitution for the removal of arms and ammunition from Boston and Cambridge, and for loss and damage resulting from the blockade of Boston. They urge the encouragemeut of arts and manufactures, by granting premiums and prevent- ing importation, recommend intercolonial corre- spondence and the apprehension and trial of persons " inimical to their country."

Mr. Denny died soon after the assembling of the Congress, and Col. Joseph Henshaw was chosen his successor. He was briefly instructed to promote with all his influence "any plan for the common good, generally adopted by the Congress," and urge upon it "an immediate assumption of government." " Par- ticular matters will no doubt turn up in the course of the session, which, as we, your constituants, are not now apprized of, so cannot particularly instruct." This was January 9, 1775.

The anticipated "matters" were not far in the future. When they did " turn up" they found the people in this hot-bed of treason ready to convert their resolutions into actions. The standing com- pany of the town was under the command of Capt. Thomas Newhall and Lieutenants Benjamin Richard- son and Ebenezer Upham. An "independent com- pany of volunteers," formed in 1770, had been re- organized, with Seth Washburn as captain and Wil- liam Watson and Nathaniel Harrod as lieutenants.

The town had also made some provision for ammu- nition. The minute-men had met weekly for drill, under an officer of the regular army, whom they had hired.

In February the Committee of Safety and Supplies of the Provincial Congress decided to remove the powder stored at Concord to Leicester ; also eight field-pieces, shot, cartridges and two brass mortars, with bombs. The letter of Joseph Henshaw to his brother, whom he styles "Brother Billy," gives minute directions with reference to the storing of the six or seven hogs- heads of powder in the barns of Colonel Henshaw, Major Denny, Captain Newhall and Captain Green. It was afterward decided to distribute these stores in

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nine towns, of which Leicester was one. In all the correspondence of these years the greatest secrecy was observed. The letters were often without signature, and often signed by fictitious names.

In March there were rumors of the movement of the British forces, and Colonel Henshaw and Joseph Allen walked to Worcester over the snow-drifts on " rackets " to ascertain their truth. It is said that at one time Mr. Allen had his knapsack and his trunk, with his wedding suit, packed, not knowing whether he should first be called to battle or to his marriage.

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History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 184

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