USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > History of the town of Acton > Part 9
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Warren, and since his was the longer route to Lexington (via Rox- bury, Brookline, Brighton, Harvard Square) he was the first to start. Revere, on the other hand, crossed the river by boat directly into Charlestown and made his way through Medford and Arlington (Menotomy) to the residence of the Rev. Mr. Clark in Lexington which he reached about midnight and gave the warning to Adams and Hancock who were tarrying there for the night. In about half an hour Dawes arrived and together they pushed on to Concord. Very shortly they were overtaken by young Dr. Samuel Prescott of Concord who had been courting his fianceé, a Miss Mullikin of Lexington. The three rode on together and inasmuch as Prescott knew the dwellers along the route he was valuable in assuring them of the genuineness of the alarm.
As the trio were traversing that portion of the highway that lies in Lincoln they were accosted1 by four of the armed sentries sent forward by Gage the day previous. They were all armed and threatened to, "blow out your brains", unless surrender was im- mediate. There was some little exchange of argument and in the meleé Prescott, being thoroughly familiar with the surrounding countryside, suddenly put his horse over the low stone wall and hastened to Concord by a route that only a native could know.2 Dawes and Revere were retained and questioned for a couple of hours and then released. The length of Revere's ride from the Charlestown shore to the place of capture was about sixteen miles.
The story of the progress of the British to Lexington and the one- sided engagement there which resulted in the needless death of eight minute men is fully told in several authentic histories. Our interest lies in what happened with respect to Acton. Prescott arrived in Concord in sufficient time so that the alarm bells were rung at three o'clock. Immediately, by prearrangement, other couriers set out in various directions. No record has been kept of the identity of the
1 Modern alterations, decidedly for the worse, have removed all semblance of the landscape as it then was but the spot is marked by a large bronze tablet on a field stone. The photograph facing page 28 in Coburn shows the ap- pearance as of about 1915.
2 Frederic Hudson, writing in Harpers Magazine for May, 1875, (page 785) asserts that Prescott gave the alarm in Lincoln so that the men from that town were able to assemble in Concord almost as soon as the Concord companies. This must mean that Prescott, after eluding the British, returned to the highway and warned the few residents who lived on the remaining portion of it lying within the boundaries of Lincoln. He certainly did not go several miles out of his way to pass through Lincoln village. The elapsed time between the departure from Lexington and the arrival in Concord makes it well nigh impossible.
In the same article Hudson replaces William Dawes by an individual named Ebenezer Dorr (Harpers, page 782) a leather dresser, and even shows a sketch of him. This is an interesting contradiction of all other writers concerning Revere's associate on the night of April 18th.
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person who came to Acton but, whoever he was, he rode up to the house of Capt. Joseph Robbins, located a few rods east of the bury- ing ground,1 struck sharply on the corner board with a bludgeon and at the same time shouted the well known words seen so often by every Acton youngster, "Capt. Robbins! Capt. Robbins! The regulars are coming!", that are inscribed on the granite field stone marker designating the site of the old house.
According to Fletcher the message contained the additional admonition for Capt. Robbins to rendezvous at the old North Bridge and to alarm the rest of Acton as soon as possible. Accordingly young John Robbins (aged exactly thirteen since April 19th, 1762 was his birthday) hastily mounted his father's mare and started for the home of Capt. Isaac Davis about a mile away, and then on to Deacon Simon Hunt's, who commanded the West Company.2
Some unknown rider, possibly the same one, took the alarm to the house of Francis Faulkner3 which still stands in what is now South Acton village. He was one of the town's outstanding citizens. He operated the mills which, until the coming of the railroad, gave the settlement its name of Faulkner's Mills. There was at first only a saw mill and a grist mill but later a fulling mill was added which was among the very first efforts in the manufacture of woolen cloth in this country.
As young Francis Faulkner, Jr., a boy of fifteen, lay awake early in the morning of April 19th he heard the clatter of hoofbeats approaching the house. Being fully aware of the tenseness of affairs and of the likelihood of a British advance, he immediately sensed the import of the arriving horseman. He leaped from his bed, ran to his father's chamber and cried, "Father, there's a horse coming
1 Capt. Robbins' house, reputedly the first painted house in Acton, had not only that distinction but was also the first one erected in town since it was the one built by Thomas Wheeler. It had been moved from its original location at the end of the lane on the opposite side of the highway. The barn was struck by lightning in 1830 and totally consumed. The house stood thereafter un- occupied for years until it was likewise burned. The field stone marker, setting a few feet in front of the old well and celler hole, was dedicated April 18th, 1895. It came from the farm of Mr. Luther Conant.
Mr. Fred Robbins holds the deed to the cellar hole and the small plot on which the alarm stone stands. Eventually the historic tract will revert to the town.
From the old Robbins house there was taken at one time a plan of the land holdings of Concord Village, drawn by Stephen Hosmer. A copy in good con- dition is in the Acton library but since the lots are merely numbered and only a few names appear the map is more of a curiosity than an historical asset.
2 Frederick Hudson, writing in Harpers of May, 1875, p. 786, asserts this this rider to be the same Samuel Prescott who brought the alarm to Concord.
8 Fletcher (p. 255) is in error when he asserts that young John Robbins was ten years of age. The town records give no John Robbins born in 1765. Furthermore John Robbins, Esq. is listed as having died in 1836 at age 74, which checks with the date 1762 as given above.
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on the full run and he's bringing news". Colonel Francis, however, was already partially dressed with his accouterments at hand. The horseman crossed the bridge by the mill dam and arriving at the house shouted, "Rouse your men Mr. Faulkner! The British are marching on Lexington and Concord!", then away he sped to carry the message westward.
Without stopping to dress Col. Faulkner fired his musket three times as rapidly as he could load, that being the prearranged signal to call out the minute men. Almost immediately a neighbor repeated it and young Francis related in later life the great thrill that was his as he heard the guns, ever fainter and fainter, carrying the alarm over the countryside. Signal fires were also lighted and the households awoke to the grim business of the day - which all deplored but which could not be averted by wishful thinking.
Very shortly the minute men began to arrive, accoutered with musket, powder horn, bullet pouch, and a ration of bread and cheese. So great was the tension that some brought along wives and children who would not be denied knowing just what was being done. Stakes were driven down and huge kettles hung in preparation for the cooking of beef, pork, potatoes, and cabbage, which was to be made into packages and transported in saddle bags by young boys as a noon meal for the soldiers. It could have been carried in a single wagon so far as bulk was concerned but some who had seen warfare before pointed out in such case it might be captured in toto should it develop that the British had command of the highway to Concord.
During these preliminaries Capt. Simon Hunt took command of the company in order to release Col. Faulkner for the duties that would occupy him upon his arrival at Concord. Meantime word had come from Capt. Isaac Davis that his men were coming in and that he would start by the route through Acton Centre as soon as thirty of his company had assembled. Shortly thereafter the line formed on the lawn south of the Faulkner house leaving the women grim and tearful, to complete the preparation of the rations.
Meanwhile other patriots were gathering at the house of Isaac Davis, the respected and godly gunsmith of the town. Among the very earliest to arrive was the local schoolmaster, James Hayward, not a member of the company and exempt from military service because of the loss of the toes of one foot from an axe cut, but none the less a man if ever one lived as the events of the day were to prove. In consequence of his craft, in which he was a master, Davis had provided his men with bayonets and one arrival, observing Hayward busily engaged at the grindstone, inquired the reason for his industry. "Because", said he, "I expect before night we shall come to a push with them and I want my bayonet sharp".
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Davis was a brave man, a Puritan, and a mystic. As he marched his company out of the yard in the glorious April morning he was heard to remark, "I have a right to go to Concord on the King's highway: and I will go to Concord". Thereupon Luther Blanchard, the fifer, and Francis Barker, the drummer, broke out the stirring rythm of the White Cockade and the company set off toward the sunrise. Of them all only Davis marched with the sure conviction that when they returned he would not be of their number.
The Rev. James T. Woodbury, who was predominantly influ- ential in securing for Acton the imposing monument on the common, was a friend of Mrs. Davis during the latter part of her long life. He frequently talked with her concerning the events of the day of Concord Fight and made reference to her remarks in his writings and speeches. Upon one occasion, several weeks before the events at Concord, while driving past the cemetery, Davis saw a white bird flying in circles above the family lot and told his wife immediately that it was an omen of death.1
In his speech before the Massachusetts Legislature2 Woodbury tells of a most singular occurrence that happened just a few days prior to April 19th. For some reason Capt. Davis and his wife had been absent from home on an errand. They entered the house together and were confronted by a large owl sitting on the captain's favorite gun as it hung on the hooks, even though several other samples of his surpassing workmanship were also in the room. The owl sat motionless for several days and by Davis's specific order, was permitted to remain until such time as the ill omen sought to depart voluntarily. In consequence, as his company marched away on that fatal morning, this man, marked by destiny for all time, called a halt a few rods from the house, walked thoughtfully back to bid his wife one more fond farewell and say to her, "Take good care of the children".
With Isaac Davis patriotism was an inner spiritual force. The Rev. Brooks Noyes, a native of Acton who lived as a boy in the house now owned by Mr. Howard Billings, published in 1925 a short brochure entitled "The Tell-Tale Tomb" in which he comments upon his interviews with the grandaughter of the great patriot. She made it clear in all her remarks that the cardinal trait in her ancestor was the mystical quality. In this connection there is an
1 Born Hannah Brown (1749). After the death of Capt. Davis she married Samuel Jones (1782) and a third husband, Francis Leighton, (1802). After his demise she spent the latter years of her life with her grand-daughter, Mrs. Simon Davis (Harriet Noyes) occupying the house now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Boatman (Thelma Noyes). She died in December, 1841. For further details see Fletcher, p. 262.
2 Major portion given in Fletcher, p. 257. Full text may be found in Acton Library in book entitled "Historical Papers", vol. 2.
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interesting incident in point. Upon one occasion the Rev. John Swift, who rarely had the temerity to preach the full time until the sand in the hour glass had run out, presented a masterly discourse upon the state of the colonies. At the conclusion Davis's sensibilities had been so deeply stirred that he applauded and boldly requested that the pastor turn the glass and repeat the sermon. Surely here was a unique personality of which there are today all too few.
Mr. Woodbury bemoaned the fact that he was not a talented painter capable of portraying the soul stirring scene of the Davis Minute Men starting for Concord. Had he lived sufficiently long it would have been balm to his soul to have seen the episode marvel- ously treated in oils by an Acton resident, Mr. Arthur F. Davis. Of the picture and the artist Rev. Frederick Brooks Noyes writes.1
"In the Romanesque town library on Acton Common, not far from where the hero sleeps, is a canvas representing the Captain and his company. It is not only a work of art, but a piece of life. It sends the mind back to the great period it interprets. That painting will inevitably displace much biographical writing. It is unflinchingly realistic, even to the shoe buckles worn by this young gunsmith. The longer we gaze on this figure the more we can feel the un- common influence which his personality had over the Provincial gentry at Concord in that Council of War. The artist, Arthur Fuller Davis, is not a descendant of this hero. Boston born, he came to Acton at the Centennial of the Concord Fight, and has lived here ever since. But he has found the real historical Isaac Davis, and has put the legendary union of the adventurous and mystical into his whole bearing. He has transmitted this outstanding Revolutionist to all who appreciate art. The horror, pathos and glory of the battle are all there. And, moreover, Mr. Davis has made the right choice of the moment to paint. It is the one just before the men reach the King's highway, marching out of the lane that led from their Captain's house. The illusion created by the artist is that Acton men are forever marching to save the day at Concord."
On this bright morning, under an unflinching leader, bent on a grim and portentous errand, Davis's company set forth, first march- ing along what is now Hayward road about forty rods, at which point a left turn was made through the barway and into the lane leading through the land now owned by Mr. Howard Reed, thence along the lane as it then existed and past the home of Rev. John Swift (now Mr. Liebfried's) and along the present Maple Ave. to the junction
1 Rev. Frederick Brooks Noyes, "The Tell-Tale Tomb", p. 13.
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with Woodbury Lane. At this point imagine Maple Ave. to con- tinue straight on behind the Library and all the houses on that side of Main Street until it meets Nagog Hill Road at the point where the barn of Mr. Winthrop Richmond now stands. On past the old meeting house they went and down the hill (the present Main Street) to the level ground just below the present laboratory of the Tech- nology Instrument Corporation. Just a few rods beyond the entrance to the laboratory parking lot, through a barway still in existence, went the old road to Concord, around the base of the hill and down into the meadow and across Nashoba Brook by an old stone bridge that was located at just about the point where the present day rail- road track crosses the brook. In fact some of the granite blocks supporting the present railroad bridge were taken from the older one over which Davis and his company passed.1 Thence the line of march went up the slope passing just to the south of the homestead known for many years as the Horace Hosmer place2, then across the Great Road and along Strawberry Hill to its present junction with Esterbrook Road; thence along Esterbrook Road a few rods to the point where it today turns sharply to the right.3 At this point in Revolutionary days the highway formed a Y, the left branch passing just to the south of the Brabrook house, and meeting Pope Road as at present.4 A short distance beyond the Brabrook house, the column took a short cut through the woods to again meet the highway to Concord near the house of Seth Brooks. About seventy five rods beyond they crossed the Concord line and continued on toward the little village of Barrett's Mills as the shortest route to the rendezvous at the North Bridge.
We have two pieces of evidence concerning the progress of the column from this point on. It proceeded to a location somewhat to the rear of Colonel Barrett's house where a halt was called for a short time to observe the movements of a detachment of the enemy which was searching the building and grounds for war supplies. Then, partly by a cross road, and partly over the fields north of Barrett's Mills, a straight course was taken to the Widow Brown's Tavern.5
Futhermore Charles Handley stated in a deposition6 that at the
1 The old stone bridge which sets out in the meadow about ten rods to the west of the present route 2 at this point is of considerably later date.
2 The present owners are the Robert Davisons.
3 The portion of Strawberry Hill Road which at present leads from Esterbrook Road to Pope's Corner, passing to the north of the old Brabrook house, is of much later date. Fletcher (p. 256) writing in 1890 speaks of it as a com- paratively new road.
" The Brabrook place built 1751 was occupied by Mr. Hammond Taylor about 1890 and for several years thereafter; present owner is Alden Flagg.
5 Frederic Hudson, Harpers, May 1875, p. 790, Ist. column.
6 See Appendix XII.
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time of the Concord Fight he lived at the tavern kept by the Widow Brown, nearly a mile northwest of the North Bridge, and saw Davis' men as they came from Acton. He asserts that, "While on the march they went in files of two abreast. I first saw them coming through the fields north of Barrett's Mills, and they kept to the fields until they came to the road at Mrs. Brown's tavern. They then took the north road leading to the bridge. They marched fast to the tune of a fife and drum. I remember the tune but am not quite sure of its name. I think it was called "The White Cockade".
At this stage of the march the company was at approximately full strength. The official roll as recorded by Coburn on page 173 will be given below but it should be pointed out that it was taken from the Lexington Alarms, XII, 116, and contains one error and omits the names of three known to have been present, namely, Abner Hosmer, James Hayward, and James Fletcher, a boy of sixteen, who appeared with musket and ball and pled successfully to be allowed to accompany the enlisted men on the morning of April 19th. The error lies in the fact that Reuben Law appears as Reuben Low. With these corrections the list of those who served at Concord Bridge under Isaac Davis is as follows:1
Isaac Davis, Capt.
James Fletcher
James Hayward, Succeeding Capt.
Abraham Hapgood
John Harris
John Heald, Lt.
Benjamin Hayward
David Forbush, 2nd. Lt.
Ebenezer Heald
Oliver Emerson, Sgt.
Jonas Hunt
John Barker, Corp.
Simon Hunt, Jr.
David Davis, Corp.
William Johnson
John Davis, Corp.
Reuben Law
Joseph Barker
Phillip Piper
Ephraim Billings
Joseph Reed
Joseph Chaffin
John Robbins
Elijah Davice
Stephen Shepherd
Ezekiel Davis
Solomon Smith
James Davis
Samuel Smith
Reuben Davis
Thomas Thorpe2
Thomas Darby
Moses Wood
1 The other two Acton companies were (1) Faulkner's company which as has been already mentioned was taken over by Capt. Simon Hunt, of which there is no list, and (2) Capt. Joseph Robbins' company concerning which we have only the following record: Joseph Robbins, Capt. Thomas Noyes, Ensign Isreal Heald, Officer Robert Chaffin, Officer
2 Thomas Thorp, a farmer, was the last survivor of Davis' company. He died of old age on October 19, 1849 at the age of 94.
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William Macksfield, Sgt.
Abner Hosmer
Ebenezer Edwards
Abraham Young Francis Barker, Drummer Luther Blanchard, Fifer
As Acton's three companies make their respective ways toward the rendezvous let us turn our attention to what was going on to produce the circumstances they encountered upon their arrival. According to the depositions of numerous persons the British column reached Concord between seven and eight o'clock whereupon Lt. Colonel Smith immediately proceeded to carry out the plan of the expedition, namely the destruction of the military stores. Ensign De Bernicre acted as guide since he had been one of the spies sent out for the express purpose of locating them some time previous. Capt. Lawrence Parsons of the 10th Regiment, with six light com- panies, was dispatched to the North Bridge, distant three quarters of a mile. There he left Capt Walter Lawrie of the 43rd Regiment with three of the companies for guard duty, while he proceeded with the other three, guided by Ensign De Bernicre, over the bridge and up the left bank of the Concord River and its northerly branch the Assabet River, to the home of Colonel Barrett, almost two miles from the North Bridge.1 Capt. Mundy Pole of the 10th Regiment was sent with a force to the South Bridge for similar guard duty and the destruction of such military stores as might be uncovered.
In the meantime large numbers of Americans were gathering on Punkatasset Hill to the northward beyond the river.2 Some of these, particularly the companies of Capt. Nathan Barret and Capt. George Minot of Concord, had gone out earlier in the morning to meet the British near Merriam's Corner on the east side of the village but had wisely retired when the vastly superior British command came into sight. They did not wish to repeat the unfortunate episode at Lexington the fresh details of which had just been brought in by breathless and sweating couriers.
Captain Lawrie, who had deployed his grenadiers to the west of the bridge for a limited reconnaissance, was by no means unmindful of the concourse of yeomanry in the vicinity and deemed it wise to concentrate his little command of three companies at the east end of the bridge. In this strategic position he could, if it became necessary, rip up a part of planking and thus make the crossing of the river exceedingly awkward for any appreciable force of his opponents that might seek to enter the town and interfere with the ransacking for stores which was then going on apace.
'Diary of De Bernicre.
2 About 200 ft. higher than the river, and four-fifths of a mile from the bridge. (U.S. Geological Survey, 1943)
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Approximately a quarter of a mile beyond the bridge to the west there is a little hill which is some forty feet higher than the river. At about nine o'clock the Americans moved forward from Punkatas- set to this little hill, under the command of Col. James Barrett of Concord, and formed their lines under the direction of Adjutant Joseph Hosmer, with the minute companies on the right and the militia on the left, facing the bridge.1 As these details were going forward, and as the officers were assembling at the request of Col. Barrett, the Acton company under Davis arrived and took its place at the extreme left of the lines as had been arranged on muster days.
There were now assembled2 four companies from Concord com- manded respectively by Capt. David Brown, 52 men; Capt. Charles Miles, 52 men; Capt George Minot, number unknown; and Capt. Nathan Barrett, number unknown. From Acton there were three companies, one under Capt. Isaac Davis, 38 men; one under Capt. Joseph Robbins, number unknown; and one under Capt. Simon Hunt, number unknown.3 There were two companies from Bedford, one being under Capt. John Moore, 51 men, and one under Capt. Jonathan Wilson, 28 men. The Lincoln company under Capt. William Smith had 62 men.
In addition to these regularly enlisted soldiers, militia and minute men who had received at least the rudiments of military drill, there were certain free-lance individuals of all ages who for multifarious reasons couldn't or wouldn't sign up and attend regular muster They were not averse, however, to risking their lives to take a pot-shot at the redcoats if it became the style of the day.
In the presence of these hardy and determined volunteers, freinds and acquaintances for the most part, but on this particular morning resolute and grim warriors with homes and principles at stake, Colonel Barrett convened the first council of war of the Revolution. It was a momentous occasion which could never be repeated. Opinion was divided. It was agreed that the Americans now had sufficient man power to repulse the small force under Capt. Lawrie but once the bridge was forced it meant pursuing them into the town and engag- ing the whole command there under Col. Smith. Some advised await- ing more of the reinforcements which were coming in steadily. Across the river stood the professional soldiers of Great Britian; men to whom war was a business; men who though small in number at the specific instant nevertheless were backed by the might of the Britishı empire. But also across the river lay Concord from which by now
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