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 59
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He was commissioned an ensign in the Third Regiment, Third Brigade, First Division, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, in 1819, lieutenant from 1820 to 1822, and captain in 1823 and 1824. He never held any office in the Artillery Company.
William H. Hunt (1820), carpenter, of Boston, son of John and Rebecca (Hicks) Hunt, of Watertown, was born in that town Oct. 5, 1795. He served as ensign in the Massachusetts militia in 1820 and 1821. His brother, Capt. James Hunt, joined the Artillery Company in 1823. Ensign William H. (1820) died at Montreal, Canada, Sept. 29, 1824.
Theodore Lyman, Jr. (1820), merchant, of Boston, son of Theodore Lyman, was born in Boston, Feb. 22, 1792. Rev. Joseph S. Buckingham was for some years his
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
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private teacher, but in 1804 he entered Phillips Academy, at Exeter, and in 1810 graduated at Harvard College. He was in Europe from 1814 to 1819. He married Mary Elizabeth Henderson, of New York.
He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1824, and a State senator in 1825. He delivered the oration in the city of Boston, July 4, 1820. Gen. Lyman (1820) had a taste for military affairs. He was elected lieutenant of the Artillery Company in 1821, at which time, says Mr. Whitman (1810), "he had no practical knowledge of military tactics. By the unexpected absence of Gen. Sumner [1819], one drill meeting, the command devolved upon him. His ill success disap- pointed the numerous members present. He dismissed the Company early, and during the week following studied most earnestly upon his duty. On the next drill meeting he again commanded, and the contrast was strikingly evident. Such was the deserved reputation he gained, that at the next anniversary he was elected commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, and afterward was commissioned brigadier- general of the Boston militia. No person ever commanded the Boston troops with more distinguished fame. An enthusiasm and improvement in a new system of discipline and tactics, which he infused into the whole body, drew from men of high military fame the most decided approbation. The praise of the Marquis La Fayette, who had an opportunity of witnessing his talents, was spontaneous and unequivocal." He was not sparing in his liberal donations to the Artillery Company, and to the militia generally. He was an aide-de-camp of Gov. Brooks (1786) from 1820 to 1822, and brigadier- general of the Third Brigade of the First Division from 1823 to 1826. He was chosen major-general, but declined the appointment. He was mayor of Boston in 1834 and 1835, a period of excitement and intolerance, when the Garrison riot occurred, and the Ursuline Convent in Charlestown was destroyed. Gen. Lyman (1820) was equal to the emergencies.
He was the author of " Diplomacy of the United States with Foreign Nations," one volume, octavo, 1825 ; reissued, enlarged, in two volumes, in 1828; the " Political State of Italy," 1820, and "Three Weeks in Paris." He held the offices of president of the Prison Discipline Society from 1847 until his decease, and of the Farm School three years. His summer home was first that of Gov. Gore, at Waltham, and afterwards at Brookline, on the estate formerly owned by Hon. Jonathan Mason. After his retirement from public life, he devoted himself to public charities. He was one of the most generous of Boston's citizens. He originated the State Reform School at Westboro ; was the secret donor of twenty-two thousand dollars to this institution, which sum, by his last will, was increased by a gift of fifty thousand more. He gave ten thousand dollars to the Boston Farm School, and ten thousand to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society.
Gen. Lyman (1820) visited Europe for the third time in 1848. Shortly after his return to the United States he died at his residence in Brookline, July 17, 1849. His death was regarded as a public calamity.
Peter Mackintosh, Jr. (1820), shopkeeper, afterward school-master, of Boston, son of Peter and Sybil (Hayden) Mackintosh, was born Jan. 3, 1788. His grandfather, John, came from Scotland. Peter, Jr. (1820), was educated in the Boston public schools,
Theodore Lyman, Jr. (1820). AUTHORITIES : Whitman's Hist. A. and H. A. Company, Ed. 1842; Loring's One Hundred Boston Orators.
Peter Mackintosh, Jr. (1820). AUTHORITY : MS. from the family.
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
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graduating as a Franklin medal scholar. He went into business early in life, opening a store in Cornhill, now Washington Street. In 1813 he married Dorcas Burditt, and lived in a house on Hawkins Street, where the Charity Bureau is now located. Business pur- suits were not agreeable, and he accepted the position of writing-master in the Hancock School. He joined the Boston Light Infantry, and went with that company down to one of the islands in Boston Harbor for the protection of the town in the War of 1812, when an attack by the British was expected. He was ensign of a company in the Second Regiment, Third Brigade, First Division, in 1818 and 1819 ; lieutenant of the same in 1820, and captain in 1821 and 1822. He was also first sergeant of the Artillery Com- pany in 1821, and was discharged from the Company, at his own request, March 19, 1823. At this time his military service ceased. He resigned the captaincy, and received from the Boston Light Infantry a parting gift, consisting of a silver service, thus engraved : " Presented to Peter Mackintosh, Jr. [1820], our esteemed friend and late commander." He then began the true business of his life, which was the instruction of youth. He taught in the public schools at the North End for twenty-five years. He died July 28, 1848.
He was a member of the Second (Unitarian) Church in Boston ; held the office of deacon in it for several years, and was superintendent of the Sunday school. On his removal to Cambridge, he attended the Austin Street Church, was superintendent of its Sunday school, and, later, was elected a deacon in the Lee Street Church. Mr. Mack- intosh (1820) was a great uncle of William P. Jones ( 1860).
John Muzzy (1820), grocer, of Boston, was lientenant of a company in the Second Regiment, Third Brigade, First Division, from 1818 to 1821 inclusive, and captain in the same from 1822 to 1825 inclusive. He never held office in the Artillery Company, and was honorably discharged, May 12, 1823.
Thaddeus Page (1820), grocer, of Boston, after several years' service in the militia, was commissioned captain of a company in the First Regiment, Third Brigade, First Division, and held that office in 1814, 1815, and 1816; became major in 1817, lieuten- ant-colonel in 1818, and colonel from 1819 to 1822 inclusive. He died Jan. 27, 1837, aged forty-nine years.
Samuel H. Parker (1820), bookseller, of Boston, was ensign in a company of the Sublegion of Light Infantry from 1809 to 1812 inclusive, and captain in the same from 1813 to 1815 inclusive. He was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Third Regi- ment, Third Brigade, First Division, and served during [819, and was colonel of the same from 1819 to 1822 inclusive. In the last-named year he was ensign of the Artillery Company.
Joseph S. Porter (1820), cordwainer, of Charlestown, married, Oct. 11, 1812, Anna Carleton. He was captain of the Columbian Guards, and, being promoted, became lieutenant-colonel of the Charlestown regiment - Fifth Regiment, First Brigade, Second Division-in 1822, and afterward became colonel of that regiment. Mr. Whitman (1810) says Mr. Porter removed to New York.
James Talbot (1820), shopkeeper of Dedham, married, Dec. 17, 1815, Abigail Smith, of Dedham. He rose to the grade of major in the militia, being a staff officer under Gen. Crane (1819).
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
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Andrew G. Winslow (1820), merchant, of Boston, was a son of Brig .- Gen. John Winslow (1786). He was clerk of the. Artillery Company in 1821. He died in October, 1832, at Cincinnati, O., of Asiatic cholera.
Nehemiah Wyman (1820), victualler, of Charlestown, son of Nehemiah and Susan- nah (Stearns) Wyman, was born in Charlestown, Feb 17, 1786, and married, Dec. 3, 1812, Susan F. Cutter. He was lieutenant of the Warren Phalanx, Charlestown, in 1814, and afterward became its captain. After years of faithful service, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Charlestown regiment, - First Regiment, First Brigade, Third Division, Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, - which he held in 1819, 1820, and 1821. He then resigned this office, and again commanded his favorite corps, restoring its former discipline and numbers. He was first corporal of the Artillery Company in 1821. Col. Wyman (1820) subsequently went West, and is said to have settled in St. Louis, Mo.
Jan. 3, 1820, Thomas Dean (1806), captain of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, issued the following order : --
" LIEUT. Z. G. WHITMAN, Lieut. of the A. & H. A. Company :
" Sir, -To preserve and perpetuate the names of the members of the Company, their military titles and also civil titles, which reflect honor on the institution, the several offices held by individuals, and also the records of their doings from time to time, as precedents for the government and instruction of our successors ; and whereas it will afford amusement, as well as produce benefit, and will [be] the means of transmitting to posterity the usefulness of those who have labored to render the institution valuable ; and whereas our records are liable to be lost, and all remembrance of the ancient state of things with them ; and, at a meeting of the present officers of the Company, the above being made known, David W. Bradlee, Esq. [1811], wished the Company to accept of a suitable book for the purpose of recording them ; I do hereby order and direct, that you accept of the same and present the thanks of the officers, in behalf of themselves and Company, for the donation, and that a fair and legible transcript be prepared of what has been preserved and now exists, in chronological order, with marginal references to the original. You will therefore cause the same to be done and completed, if practi- cable, on or before the first Monday in June next, that the Company may dispose of the same as will best effect the object of the order. You will also hand this order over to the clerk, to be recorded in its proper place."
The Artillery Company held meetings for drill March 27 and April 3, 1820, and for field drill on April 7. At the meeting of April 3 the following report was read : -
"COUNCIL CHAMBER, Feb. 11, 1820.
" The committee of the council to whom was referred the Rules and Regulations of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, the same having been laid before the executive for approbation, according to ancient charter and usage, respectfully report that they have examined the same, and nothing therein being found objectionable, they recommend that the same be approved by his Excellency the governor and the honorable council, which is submitted. SAMUEL P. P. FAY, per order.
Nehemiah Wyman (1820). AUTHORITIES: Wyman's Charlestown Genealogies and Estates; Mass. Military Rolls; Whitman's Hist. A. and H. A. Company, Ed. 1842.
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
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" In council chamber, Feb. 11, 1820. This report is accepted, and by the governor approved. ALDEN BRADFORD, Secretary of the Commonwealth.
" A true copy.
" ALDEN BRADFORD, Secretary of the Commonwealth."
Friday, April 7, the Company met for their first spring field-day. "Snowing quite fast." Before leaving the Hall, Rev. John Codman, of Dorchester, was elected to preach the next anniversary sermon. The Company then marched to Sergt. Harrington's (-1815), and partook of refreshments, after which they went through the firings and evolutions, and, returning to the armory, were dismissed.
Meetings for drill and business were held April 17 and April 24, and May 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29.
The number of persons provided for at the anniversary dinner was two hundred and eighty-five, of whom fifty-nine were active members of the Artillery Company. The agreement in regard to the dinner is recorded for the first time in 1820. It was furnished by Mr. Forster, of Concert Hall. He agreed to furnish the bill of fare as follows : -
Six rounds à la mode beef .
weighing 120 lbs. in 12 dishes.
Six rumps, four second-cuts, beef roasted Six fillets of veal, stuffed and roasted .
150 " in 10
" 70 " in 6
Fifteen pigs
Five hams boiled, five hams roasted .
120
" in IO
Saltpetred beef .
25
in
IO
Salmon, boiled .
16
100
in
Tongues, boiled
175
" " in
15 18
"
Puddings .
in
40
940 lbs. in 151 dishes,
" 180 " in 30
and a sufficient quantity of potatoes, asparagus, gravies, rolls, brick-loaves, crackers, cheese, butter, radishes, salads, oil, vinegar, mustard, pepper, cayenne, salt, etc .; to lay and furnish the five tables with the circular head, with tablecloths and all other necessary table furniture, excepting pitchers, decanters, tumblers, and wine-glasses; to wash all the glass and other ware both before and after dinner ; also, after the entertainment in the evening ; to furnish three tables in the evening without cloths, with the meats left at dinner and with bread, butter, cheese, crackers, salads, radishes, etc., as at noon ; also all the meats and other fragments that might be left were to be furnished for a collation the next day. To furnish one side table for the constables and music, and one table in the front gallery for the band to dine at on election day; and one ham and fifteen pounds of saltpetred beef to be placed on a table in the town clerk's room, with glasses, bread, etc., for a collation before the Company left the Hall in the morning. The Company agreed to pay Mr. Forster, for two hundred gentlemen, at the rate of one dollar and seventeen cents each, and the same price for each one above that number that might dine with them on that day, and fifty-eight cents each for constables and musicians.
As the First Church in Chauncy Place was undergoing repairs, application was made for the use of the New South Church in Summer Street on the first Monday in June, and a band was secured from Fort Independence.
On the Ist of July, 1820, the following-named companies occupied the apartments (now called the armory) over Faneuil Hall, and carried the following-named number of
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
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guns : Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, sixty-four guns ; Cadets, seventy guns ; Fusileers, forty-two guns ; Boston Light Infantry, seventy-two guns; Washington Light Infantry, forty guns ; Winslow Blues, sixty-four guns ; Soul of the Soldiery, forty guns ; New England Guards, one hundred guns ; Rangers, sixty-four guns. Total, five hundred and fifty-six guns.
Monday, June 5, 1820, " a very fair and temperate day," the Artillery Company met, in a dress uniform, under the command of Major Thomas Dean (1806), and observed their usual exercises. His Excellency John Brooks (1786), governor, with other guests, was escorted to the new stone church in Summer Street, where Rev. John Codman, of Dorchester, delivered the anniversary sermon. Dinner was provided at Faneuil Hall by Mr. William Forster, after which the regular toasts were offered. At four o'clock P. M. the Company marched from the Hall with the field-pieces, manned by a large body of the honorary members in their citizen's dress, armed with swords, to their allotted square on the Common. The Company, leaving the field-pieces on the Common in charge of the old and honorary members, marched to the State House, where they received his Excellency and other guests, and escorted them to the Common. A salute of thirteen guns was fired on the arrival of the governor. A variety of evolutions was performed, to the satisfaction of an immense collection of people, "said to be greater than on any former occasion"; officers were elected, and were installed by the governor into their respective offices. During the exchange of badges of office the artillery saluted the new officers thus: five guns for the new commander, three for the new lieutenant, and two for the new ensign. The Company returned to the Hall, passed the usual votes, and, after a collation, were dismissed.1
On this occasion an elegant china punch bowl, holding eight gallons, was presented to the Company by the Hon. Jonathan Hunnewell, one of the senators of Suffolk, which was filled with punch at the head of the table. The history of this bowl is as follows : Capt. Ephraim Prescott, admitted a member in 1792, was remarkably attached to the Company, and was in good circumstances in trade in Boston, but by misfortune lost his property. Being an enterprising, active, young man, in the capacity of supercargo he embarked on a voyage to the East Indies. At Canton he ordered a bowl to be made and marked, "The Military Company of Boston, called the Ancient and Hon- orable Artillery, incorporated 1638," intending it as a present to his favorite Company on his return ; but on the voyage back he was taken sick and died. The bowl was delivered to his wife, who, being poor, and ignorant of who were members, or what her husband's intentions were, it remained in her possession, unknown to the Company. The Hon. Jonathan Hunnewell, having accidentally discovered the bowl and heard of the destitute situation of the widow, purchased the bowl, and presented it to the Company.
On motion of Capt. John Dodd, Jr. (1810), it was voted, " that a committee be chosen to inquire into the expediency of adopting measures to fill up the ranks of the
1 The New England Galaxy, after describing, in a humorous way, election week, concludes by saying : "Next week Artillery election -- great show warm sermon. Teach soldiers their duty - fine dinner - lots of broken bottles - Governor set in a chair on the Common - company fire - march - officers make great speech, full of patriotism - negroes fight - constables break up gambling boards
- lots of bloody noses and ragged shirts - tents clear off - crackers flying - squibs hissing - tables upset - glasses broke - punch spilt - wheelbarrow broke - gingerbread stolen - sailors swearing - women scampering, petticoats muddy, shoes down at the heel - get home safe - only a sprained ancle - get over it by Independence - industry must prosper - Lots of delight."
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HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT AND
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Company, and also to consider the propriety of a variation in the uniform in such manner that every officer in commission, being a member, may appear in the uniform of his commission, and generally to inquire into the expediency of an alteration of the uniform, and any measures that may be adopted to advance the interests, promote the honor, and increase the number of members of the Company." The motion was unani- mously accepted, and a committee was appointed to consider the matter.
Sept. 4, the Company paraded agreeably to their charter, in uniform, under the command of Capt. Welles (1807), and marched to the residence of Capt. Southack (1816), where a collation was provided. After exercise on the Common the Company returned to the Hall.
"Sept. 6, 1820. At a meeting of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, the committee of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company who were appointed 'to inquire into the expediency of adopting measures to fill up the ranks of the Company, and to consider the propriety of varying its uniform in such manner as that every officer in commission, being a member of the Company, may appear in the uniform of his commission, have attended to their instructions, and ask leave to lay before the Company the result of their inquiries, and the opinions they have adopted. The diversity of sentiment, which it was well known existed among the members of the committee at the time of their appointment, and their unanimity upon the proposition, which they have agreed to submit to the Company for its adoption, will naturally induce the supposition that the subject has been thoroughly examined, and has undergone a full, free, and candid discussion. It is, therefore, perhaps unnecessary to remark that the committee have had several meetings, which have been fully attended, in which such considerations were suggested as were viewed as important by those who urged thein, and which, it was thought, would have weight on the minds of other members of the Company. The committee, desirous, if so great a change as was contemplated should be made in the appearance of the Company, that a correspondent effect should be produced in the community, have also unofficially conferred with some of the most influential members of the civil government of the State, and with many military officers who are not members of the Company. In having done this, they feel confident that they will not be considered as having transcended their powers. For, on the one hand, the committee agreed that, let public opinion be what it might, their duty as members of the Company required that no proposition should be submitted which, for want of a general acquiescence among its members, might interrupt its harmony if adopted ; and, on the other, that it would be useless, let the Company be ever so well united in it, to propose any change in the by-laws for the purpose of filling up its ranks which should not make a favorable impression on the community. Besides, the committee considered the public as having a direct interest in the question ; for the Company have never regarded themselves as a private association, claiming particular privileges for their own advantage, but as a public institution, invested with the greatest powers for the advance- ment of the most important public benefits. In this light the institution was viewed by the original grantees, and those who have succeeded them have so estimated it to the present time. The four persons named in the charter were public-spirited characters, living in the towns of Boston, Charlestown, Cambridge, and Dorchester, who solicited a charter, so that they and others associated together might be able to yield to the public those services which as individuals they could not render. From the preamble of the charter it is to be inferred that the grantees were members of different companies, who
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HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY.
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were desirous of advancing the military art, by introducing an uniformity of discipline throughout the provinces, and, for that purpose, "desired the license of the court to join themselves into one Company." It also appears that their petition was viewed in so favorable a light by the government, that their request was not only complied with, but that the authority of appointing its officers was expressly relinquished by the General Court and council, and the power of choosing them granted to the Company. Such a privilege as this would not have been conferred by an arbitrary government but upon such individuals as the government itself leaned upon for support. The extent of the confidence of the council in them is to be inferred as well from the election privilege aforenamed, as from the authority which was given to them to assemble in any town within the jurisdiction. Their military standing and importance is to be deduced from the fact that their services in the companies to which they belonged were considered so indispensable that those were ordered not to assemble on the days established for the Company meeting. It would seem, also, from the prohibition upon towns not to hold their meetings upon the days of the Company training, that the grantees and their associates were not only of importance as military men, but that, like those who now usually sustain military offices, they were persons possessed of important, useful influence in the political concerns of the country. Surely great value must have been attached to an institution to which was given such high and unusual privileges, and to which was added a grant of land to aid it in the accomplishment of its public objects.
"' The patriotic spirit evinced by the founders of the Company has since exhibited itself in various periods of its history. This was successfully appealed to by Gov. Bowdoin, who, at the time of the " Insurrection in 1786," when the militia was entirely disorganized, "applied to the Company for their aid in the present emergency in public affairs, and solicited that they would find gentlemen to accept of the command of the several companies in the town of Boston, which was done, and the gentlemen recom- mended accepted their appointments." The Company also unanimously voted " to do everything in their power in support of the government of the Commonwealth, and to hold themselves in readiness, on the shortest notice, to turn out in defence of the same "; not only so, but they completely equipped themselves for immediate service, and, as their record says, " had the honor of leading in the military duties of the then important day." Their conduct, on that and several other occasions, was highly exemplary ; and it is with no small degree of pride and pleasure, in looking over the rolls and records of the Company, that the committee find that those who have succeeded to the immunities and honors of the original grantees, have been possessed of similar influence and char- acter. Such persons will ever spurn to hold exclusive powers which they cannot bene- ficially use, and will not be forgetful of their duties when they claim privileges. That such has ever been the case is evident from its history ; and its records discover that its utility has been the foundation of the continued patronage of the government, shown to it in additional grants of land by the Legislature, their remission of taxes on its property, and the distinguished honors annually conferred on it by the executive.
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