USA > Massachusetts > History of the Military company of the Massachusetts, now called the Ancient and honorable artillery company of Massachusetts. 1637-1888, Vol. II > Part 43
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" Adjourned sine die.
Attest, WILLIAM WALTER JR. Clerk."
June 4, 1798, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company observed its anni- versary with the usual ceremonies. The appearance and exercises of the Company " were highly honorable to themselves and satisfactory to all who beheld them." After the usual sermon and banquet, which were attended by a large number of invited guests, including the president of Harvard University, Major-Gen. Elliot and his aides, the commander of the Castle, and the officers of the Boston military companies, a number of patriotic toasts were offered. Among them was the following: "The American Bard. May he be rewarded, as his talents have been applauded," referring probably to the author of the song "Adams and Liberty," which was sung by Mr. Bowman (1793) and other gentlemen, amid great enthusiasm.
ADAMS AND LIBERTY. THE BOSTON PATRIOTIC SONG. WRITTEN BY THOMAS PAINE, A. M. 1 YE sons of Columbia, who bravely have fought For those rights, which unstain'd from your Sires had descended, May you long taste the blessings your valor has bought, And your sons reap the soil, which their fathers defended.
1 "Thomas Paine, A. M.," had his name association of the man who, in his ' Age of Reason,' changed, March 8, 1803, by act of the Massachusetts lost his common-sense." Legislature, to Robert Treat Paine, "abhoring an
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
[1798
'Mid the reign of mild peace, May your nation increase, With the glory of Rome, and the wisdom of Greece; And ne'er may the sons of Columbia be slaves, While the earth hears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
In a clime whose rich vales feed the marts of the world, Whose shores are unshaken by Europe's commotion, The Trident of Commerce should never be hurl'd, To increase the legitimate powers of the ocean. But should Pirates invade, Though in thunder arrayed, Let your cannon declare the free charter of Trade.
For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,
While the earth hears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
The fame of our arms, of our laws the mild sway, Had justly ennobled our nation in story, Till the dark clouds of Faction obscur'd our young day, And envelop'd the sun of American glory. But let Traitors be told, Who their Country have sold, And barter'd their God, for his image in gold-
That ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,
While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
While France her huge limbs bathes recumbent in blood, And society's base threats with wide dissolution, May Peace, like the dove, who return'd from the flood, Find an Ark of abode in our mild Constitution. But though Peace is our aim Yet the hoon we disclaim, If bought by our Sov'reignty, Justice, or Fame,
For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia he slaves,
While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
'Tis the fire of the flint, each American warms; Let Rome's haughty victors beware of collision ! Let them bring all the vassals of Europe in arms, We're a WORLD by ourselves and disdain a division ! While, with patriot pride, To our laws we're allied, No foe can subdue ns - no faction divide.
For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,
While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
Our mountains are crown'd with imperial Oak, Whose roots, like our Liberties, ages have nourish'd; But long ere our nation submits to the yoke, Not a tree shall be left on the field where it flourish'd. Should invasion impend, Every grove would descend From the hill-tops they shaded, our shores to defend.
For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves, While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
303
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
Let our Patriots destroy Anarch's pestilent worm, Lest our Liberty's growth should be check'd by corrosion; Then let clouds thicken round us, we heed not the storm; Our realm fears no shock but the earth's own explosion. Foes assail us in vain, Though their fleets bridge the main, For our altars and laws with our lives we'll maintain !
For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,
While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
Should the Tempest of War overshadow our land,1 Its bolts could ne'er rend Freedom's temple asunder;
For, unmov'd, at its portal, would WASHINGTON stand, And repulse, with his breast, the assault of the Thunder ! His sword from the sleep Of its scabbard would leap, And conduct, with its point, every flash to the deep,
For ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,
While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
Let Fame to the world sound America's voice; No intrigue can her sons from their government sever;
Her pride is her ADAMS - his laws are her choice, And shall flourish, till Liberty slumber forever ! Then unite heart and hand
. Like Leonidas' band And swear to the God of the ocean and land,
That ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves, While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
Sept. 3, 1798, the Company paraded under the command of Col. Winslow (1786). Afterward the Company attended the interment of the remains of their venerable brother soldier, Deacon Samuel Barrett (1755).
Rev. Nathaniel Thayer delivered the Artillery election sermon of 1798. He was a son of Rev. Ebenezer and Martha (Cotton) Thayer, of Hampton, N. H., and was born July 11, 1769. He was prepared for college at Phillips Academy in Exeter, N. H., in the first class sent to Harvard College from that institution. He graduated at Harvard College in 1789, received the degree of A. M. from Harvard, also from Dartmouth in 1800, and S. T. D. from Harvard in 1817. After graduation he pursued his theological studies under the direction of Rev. David Osgood, D. D., of Medford, - who delivered the Artillery election sermon in 1788, - and at the same time he taught the grammar school in that town. He began to preach in 1791, but his first year of settled ministerial life was in 1792-3, at Wilkesbarre, Pa., where he resided in the family of Col. Timothy Pickering, a Massachusetts man, who was a member of President Washington's cabinet.
Rev. Nathaniel Thayer. AUTHORITIES : Mar- vin's Hist. of Lancaster; Thayer Genealogy.
1 Mr. Paine visited Major Russell (1788), of the Centinel, with his new song, "Adams and Liberty," and Major Russell (1788) pronounced it imperfect, because Washington was not properly noticed. "The sideboard was replenished, and Mr.
Paine was ready for a libation, when Major Russell [1788] interposed and insisted, in a humorous man- ner, that he should not slake his thirst till he had written an additional stanza, in which Washington should be introduced." He forthwith wrote and inserted this stanza.
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
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In 1792 he first preached at Lancaster, Mass., and, June 3, 1793, he was invited to settle in that town as colleague with Rev. Mr. Harrington. Mr. Thayer accepted, and was installed in that parish Oct. 9, 1793. He continued in this relation for forty-seven years. In 1840, for the benefit of his health, he visited Saratoga Springs and Niagara Falls. Monday, June 22, was spent in travelling on his return. He reached Rochester at night, retired at his usual hour, and died suddenly at two o'clock in the following morning.
1799. The officers of the Artillery Company elected in 1799 were : Robert
Gardner (1794), captain ; Lemuel Gardner (1787), lieutenant ; Thomas W. Sumner (1792), ensign. Ephraim Prescott (1796) was first sergeant ; Solomon Phipps (1796), second sergeant; Benjamin Coates (1796), third sergeant ; Charles Clement (1795), fourth sergeant ; John Winslow (1786), treasurer, and William Walter, Jr. (1791), clerk.
May 28, 1799, the officers of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company paid their respects to the President of the United States at his residence in Braintree. The visit was politely returned, when the President attended the anniversary exercises on the first Monday in June next following.
The members of the Artillery Company recruited in 1799 were : Edward Goodwin, Benjamin Hale, Thomas Oliver Larkin, Josiah Marshall.
Edward Goodwin (1799), mechanic, of Charlestown, son of Deacon David and Abigail (Jenner) Goodwin, was born in Charlestown, March 27, 1778, and married, May 8, 1800, Katherine Larkin, sister of Capt. Thomas O. Larkin (1799). Mr. Goodwin (1799) was a mechanic in some branch of the chaise-making business. He was totally blind for several years before his death. He lived in a house which stood on Water Street, near Charles River Bridge. He became a member of King Solomon's Lodge, A. F. and A. M., in September, 1799. He died July 27, 1807.
Benjamin Hale (1799), sailmaker, son of Benjamin and Sarah Hale, was born in Boston, March 24, 1777. He was first sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1803, and resided on Batterymarch Street.
Thomas Oliver Larkin (1799), merchant, of Charlestown, son of Ebenezer and Mary (Oliver) Larkin, was born (baptized) July 16, 1769. He married, (1) at Concord, Mass., May 3, 1796, Hannah Cordis, who died Oct. 28, 1796, and, (2) Nov. 29, 1801, Ann Cooper, by whom he had three children. He died April 18, 1808, aged thirty-nine years. His brother Samuel joined the Artillery Company in 1801.
Mr. Larkin (1799) rose to the rank of captain in the militia, but never held any office in the Artillery Company. He received the Masonic degrees, in 1796, in King Solomon's Lodge, Charlestown, and became a member of St. John's Lodge, A. F. and A. M., of Boston, Oct. 11, 1806. He was admitted into St. Andrew's Royal Arch Chapter, Dec. 13, 1797, and was a charter member in 1800. He succeeded Oliver Holden (1794) as master of King Solomon's Lodge.
Edward Goodwin (1799). AUTHORITIES : Wyman's Charlestown Genealogies and Estates; By-Laws of King Solomon's Lodge.
Thomas O. Larkin (1799). AUTHORITIES: Wyman's Charlestown Genealogies and Estates; By-Laws of King Solomon's Lodge.
Robert Partner
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
1799]
Josiah Marshall (1799), merchant, of Boston, was engaged in the West India grocery trade at No. 21 Merchants Row, and his residence was in " Half Court Square." He was an alderman of Boston in 1825 and 1826, and a representative to the General Court. He died suddenly in 1841.
The record of the Artillery Company for 1799 is as follows : -
"Thursday evening, 28th March, 1799. At a full Meeting of the Company, Voted, That each member pay for his Knapsack and Canteen; & any person on leaving the Company shall return them to the Commissioned Officers, who shall estimate the value of them, and direct the Treasurer to pay the same.
" Monday evening, Ist April, 1799. At a full Meeting of the Company, Voted, That each member pay to the Clerk the sum of three dollars as an assessment for the expense of his Knapsack & Canteen. Voted, That each member pay to the Clerk one dollar as assessment for the provision to be made by him for the two Spring trainings.
" Attest. WM. WALTER Jr. Clerk. -
" Monday evening, May 20th 1799. At a full Meeting of the Company, Col. Winslow [1786] informed the Members, the buttons ordered from England were at his store and ready for delivery. A Committee of arrangments for Election day were chosen consisting of Col. Winslow [1786], Lt Bray [1788] Ensign Phillips [1790], Capt T. Clark [1786], Maj. Blanchard [1794], Mr. Jonas S. Bass [1789], Mr. Messinger [1792], Capt Todd [1786], T. W. Sumner [1792], Col. Waters [1769] if in town, and the Clerk, ex officio. Mr Moses Wheeler proposed a candidate. Mr Thomas O Larkin [1799] admitted a member under the new arrangement for admission. WM. WALTER Clerk.
"The Clerk of the Company having been unwell and out of Town last Fall, the times the Company turned out under the command of their Commanding Officer, Col. John Winslow [ 1786], was not duly entered, but on the first Mondays of September & October, 1798 and on the first Monday of April & the [first] Friday of May they turned out & performed a variety of evolutions agreeable to Charter.
" Attest, WM. WALTER, Clerk.
"Monday evening, 27th May, 1799. The Committee of Arrangements reported, they had attended to their duty & had formed a list of persons to be invited, which was read ; and they proposed that an assessment should be laid on each Member of two dollars & fifty cents and that the Treasurer pay from the income of the Company the deficiency for the entertainment. Voted That the report of the Committee be accepted. Mr. Moses Wheeler admitted a candidate. Attest, WM WALTER Jr. Clerk.
" Friday evening, 31st May, 1799. Voted, that Mr. George Blanchard [1794], Mr. Thomas W. Sumner [1792], Mr. Joseph Eaton [1773], Capt Robert Gardner [1794] and Mr. Ephraim Prescott [1796] be a Committee to examine the Treasurer's & Clerks accounts and report at the first meeting after. Voted that Capt Thomas Clark [1786], Mr. Jonas S. Bass [1789], and Mr. E. Prescott [1796] be a Committee to procure silver eagles for the hats of the members.
" Monday, June 3d 1799. This being the Anniversary day of the election of officers for the Company, they paraded, fifty-seven, in number, at the Old State House, and at II o'clock marched to the New State House, where they received his Honor, Moses Gill, the Governor being very unwell, and a large number of other Gentlemen and escorted them to the Old Brick Meeting House, where a most excellent discourse,
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
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replete with pious and patriotic sentiments was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Emerson of Harvard ; after which the Company took up the escort & proceeded to Faneuil Hall, honored with the company of the President of the United States, where a most sump- tuous entertainment was provided, of which more than two hundred & twenty Guests partook ; after which a number of toasts, and good ones, were drank. The Company then proceeded to their appropriate Square in the Common, where the following gentle- men were unanimously chosen officers : - Capt Robert Gardner [1794], Captain ; Capt Lemuel Gardner [1787], Lieutenant ; Mr. Thomas W. Sumner [1792], Ensign ; Mr. Ephraim Prescott [1796], Mr. Solomon Phipps [1796] Mr Benjamin Coates [1796], Mr. Charles Clement [1795], Sergeants ; General John Winslow [1786], Treasurer, Mr. William Walter Jun [1791], Clerk. Voted, That the Commissioned Officers be a Com- mittee to wait on the Rev. Mr. Emerson of Harvard, & return him the thanks of the Company for his elegant, patriotic and pious discourse delivered before them this day, & request a copy thereof for the press. The Company then proceeded to the State House & escorted His Honor, the Lieut. Governor, the Major General, Adjutant & Quarter Master General, and a large number of very respectable Citizens to the Square, where they performed a number of evolutions & firings to the admiration of a great crowd of fellow citizens ; after which, the officers of the last year delivered up, & those chosen for the present year received, the different insignia of their respective offices. They then paid the salutes, escorted His Honor to his house, & their invited guests to the Hall, where was closed a day crowned with festive joy. Attest, WM. WALTER, Clerk.
" June 10th, 1799. The Commanding Officer, Capt Robert Gardner [1794], ordered the Company to meet at Faneuil Hall at 8, P. M. when the following card was read :
"'The Committee appointed by the Legislature of Massachusetts to conduct the funeral of His late Excellency, Governor Sumner, request your attendance to join the funeral procession, from the New State House in Boston, on Wednesday the 12th inst at 3 o'clock, P. M. JOHN COFFIN JONES Chairman.
"' JUNE 10th 1799.
"' To Capt Robert Gardner [1794], the officers and members of the A. and H. A. Company.'
" Whereupon after some observations made by several of the Members upon the rank in which the Committee had placed the Company in the procession, which was almost the last ; it was Voted, That from respect to the memory of His late Excellency, Gov. Sumner, this Company do attend the funeral in uniform with their side arms. Voted, That the Commissioned Officers be a Committee to wait on the Committee of the Legislature, & inform them respectfully, that we had accepted the invitation, and to adjust with them the proper place in the procession for the Company's rank. Adjourned to meet at the Gun House, opposite the Common on Wednesday at 2, P. M. Attest, WILLIAM WALTER, Jr. Clerk.
"June 12, 1799. Met at the Gun House as pr Adjournment, when the Command- ing Officers informed the Company they had attended to the duty assigned them at the last meeting, and that the rank of the Company at the procession was adjusted to mutual satisfaction.
"The Company then joined the procession and were afterwards dismissed at the Mall.
Attest, WM WALTER Jr, Clerk.
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1799]
HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
" Monday evening, 26th August 1799. The Committee appointed to examine the Treasurer's and Clerks accounts of the past year, reported, that they had attended to their duty & found the accounts of each right and the balances due as stated. Thanks of the Company were voted unanimously to Wm Walter Jr, & the Clerks who have pre- ceded him, for their attention to the duties of their office, and for having presented the Company with their proportion of the fines & entrance money. Voted That the bond given by the Treasurer for the monies in his hands and other property of the Company, be kept by the Commanding Officer for the time being. Voted, That an assessment of two dollars be paid by each member to defray the expense of the two Fall trainings & pay the balance due the Clerk. Benjamin Hale [1799] and Edward Goodwin [1799] unanimously admitted.
Attest, WILLIAM WALTER Jr, Clerk.
" Monday, Sept 2d 1799. The Company paraded at Faneuil Hall and marched to the Common where they unanimously Voted, that it was necessary there should be a fourth officer chosen by the Company, to perform the duties of Adjutant. Voted, That the Commissioned Officers, Gen. John Winslow [ 1786], and Col. Amasa Davis [1786] be a committee to consult with the Executive, (Lieut. Governor,) the necessary measures to carry the foregoing vote into execution. After which the Company went through their firings & evolutions with their accustomed accuracy, marched to the Fortifications [on Boston Neck] returned to Faneuil Hall & were dismissed, after which they partook of an excellent cold collation.
Attest, WILLIAM WALTER Jr. Clerk.
" Monday, 7th October 1799. The Company paraded at Faneuil Hall, and marched to the Common, where they went through their evolutions and then marched to Copps Hill, at the North End, and performed their exercise & firings with great Eclat; they then returned to the Hall, and partook of an excellent cold collation provided by their Clerk, pro tem, W. D. [probably William Dall (1787)] for the occasion.
"Attest, WILLIAM WALTER Jr. Clerk."
The anniversary exercises, on the third day of June, 1799, passed off with complete success. The pleasure of the day was increased by the presence of the President of the United States, John Adams. He replied at the dinner to the second toast, "The President of the United States. The solid column which foreign assailants can never break nor domestic traitors disorder." The President concluded his address with the following sentiment: "The Ancient and Honorable Artillery and Faneuil Hall ! May their principles never be misunderstood, perverted or misapplied."
Rev. William Emerson delivered the Artillery election sermon of 1799. He was the only son of Rev. William and Phebe (Bliss) Emerson, and was born at Concord, Mass., May 6, 1769. He married, Oct. 25, 1796, Ruth Haskins, daughter of John (1768) and Hannah (Upham) Haskins. Mr. Emerson graduated at Harvard College in 1789, and after teaching school for two years he pursued his theological studies. May 23, 1792, he was installed as pastor over the church at Harvard, Mass. From this place he was called to a sphere of wider influence in Boston. Oct. 16, next following his sermon before the Artillery Company in June, 1799, he was invited to become the pastor of the First Church, in Boston. He accepted, and continued in this pastorate
Rev. William Emerson. AUTHORITIES : Mass. Hist. Coll., Vol. I., p. 256; Shattuck's Hist. of Con-
cord; Appleton's Cyc. of Am. Biog .; Ralph Waldo Emerson, - His Maternal Ancestors.
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
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until his death, which occurred May 11, 1811, in the parsonage, near the corner of Summer and Chauncy streets.
Rev. William Emerson and wife, Ruth, had eight children, of whom one was the late Ralph Waldo Emerson, of Cambridge.1 Rev. William Emerson became a member of nearly all the learned and charitable societies in Boston, and in most of them was intrusted with some important office.
The officers of the Artillery Company elected in 1800 were : Jonas S. 1 800. Bass (1789), captain ; Daniel Messinger (1792), lieutenant ; Richard Austin
(1792), ensign. Joseph Loring, Jr. (1793), was first sergeant ; Joshua Eaton (1796), second sergeant; John P. Duncklee (1796), third sergeant; Nahum Piper (1794), fourth sergeant; John Winslow (1786), treasurer, and John S. Lillie (1794), clerk.
In the year 1800 Amasa Davis (1786) was quartermaster-general of Massachusetts ; Andrew Cunningham (1786), deputy quartermaster-general, First Division; William Hull (1788), major-general of the Third Division, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia ; Samuel Swan (1788), deputy quartermaster-general, Third Division ; Ebenezer Mattoon (1817), major-general of the Fourth Division ; John Winslow (1786), brigadier-general of the Legionary Brigade ; George Blanchard (1794), brigade-major ; Benjamin Russell (1788), major of the First Sublegion ; Elijah Crane (1819), captain in Second Brigade, First Division of Cavalry. Among the Company officers in the Legionary Brigade in Boston were Captains William Williams (1789), Asa Hatch (1801), Amasa Stetson (1796), and Daniel Messinger (1792) ; in the Sublegion of Light Infantry, Capt. John Brazer (1786) ; in the Sublegion of Artillery, Capt. Robert Gardner (1794), and Lieuts. John Bray (1788) and George Singleton, Jr. (1792).
Oct. 30, 1800, Capt. Messinger's (1792) and Capt. Stetson's (1796) companies of Boston militia paraded at noon in honor of the President of the United States, and in the afternoon a banquet was served in Concert Hall, at which the President and other distinguished guests were present.
The members of the Artillery Company recruited in 1800 were : Henry Brazer, Henry Messinger.
Henry Brazer (1800), a seedsman, of Boston, resided in Cole I.ane.
1 The following lines were written on the occa- 1814, by his grandson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, then sion of Mr. John Haskins's (1768) death, Oct. 27, a lad of eleven years : -
"ON THE DEATH OF MR. JOHN HASKINS [1768].
"See the calm exit of the aged saint, Without a murmur and without complaint; While round him gathered, all his children stand, And some one holds his withered, pallid hand. He bids them trust in God, nor mourn, nor weep; He breathes religion, and then falls asleep. Then on angelic wings he soars to God, Rejoiced to leave his earthly, mortal load; His head is covered with a crown of gold, His hands, renewed, a harp immortal hold; Thus clothed with light, the tuneful spirit sings - He sings of mercy and of heavenly things."
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
1800]
Henry Messinger (1800), hatter, of Boston, brother of Col. Daniel Messinger (1792), and son of Daniel and Mary Messinger, of Wrentham, was born in that town, March 23, 1773. He married (1) Frances Bowen and (2) Esther Gould. His shop was No. 10 Dock Square, and his residence No. 6 Winter Street. He was first sergeant of the Artillery Company in 1804. .
All the records of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, or of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, as the Company is called at the present time, from the first record now existing to the close of 1799, have been printed on the preceding pages. These records are reproduced with a careful adherence to the original as regards spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
The annual records of the business and parades of the Company in the years subse- quent to the Revolution increase in length year by year, and at the same time possess a similarity which seems to forbid their reproduction in detail.
Hereafter, the general facts of the records, which will add to the interest and value of the Company's history, will be presented in the same order as heretofore, but with no attempt at exact quotation.
On Saturday evening, Jan. 4, 1800, the Company held a special meeting, "on the mournful and distressing occasion of the death of the immortal Washington." The Company then "Voted unanimously, that, in testimony of the high respect and venera- tion of the character of the illustrious deceased, Gen. Washington, this Company will appear upon their parade days and all special occasions upon which they may be on duty during the present year, and their officers on Sundays during that time, with the usual badge of mourning."
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