USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Canton > History of the town of Canton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts > Part 31
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Cape Breton having been restored to France, Louisburg, in 1758, again became the scene of contention and hos- tilities. Gridley revisited his earliest field, and was pres- ent at the second taking of the city. He had charge of the advanced stores of the army, and so distinguished him- self in the siege that on the evacuation of the city by the French, Lord Amherst offered him the valuable furniture of the French Governor's residence, which offer he, with chivalrous delicacy, declined, ever unwilling to appropriate to his private use spoils taken from an enemy. While at € Louisburg he gave, October 12, a power of attorney to James Fritter, Esq., of Westminster, in Great Britain, to receive from the Right Honorable Henry Fox, Esq., Pay- master-General of his Majesty's forces, all sums of money that were or should become due him.
On the 29th of December, 1758, the following letter was addressed by William Pitt to Major-Gen. Jeffrey Amherst : -
I am also to signify to you His Majtys further pleasure, that you do forthwith take the proper steps to engage Col. Gridley (whom you
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appointed on the death of Mr Meserve to command the carpenters at the siege of Louisburg), or such other officer as you shall think proper, to collect the number of eighty carpenters and to proceed with them without loss of time to Cape Breton, in order that the same may be employed under the command of Col Gridley, -on such works as shall be necessary for the operations of the troops in the above expedition, or in such other manner as the Commander in Chief of the King's Troops in that expedition shall judge proper ; and in case you should think it expedient, you will endeavour to pre- vail on Mr Gridley to decline accepting any command in the Troops of his Province the ensuing campaign, in order that his whole time and attention may be employed on the above must essential service.
(Signed) W. PITT.
WHITEHALL, Dec. 29, 1758.
In obedience to the recommendations contained in this letter Gridley, in 1759, was appointed by General Amherst to the distinguished honor of commanding the provincial artillery, which, under General Wolfe, was about to besiege Quebec; his knowledge of the needs of an army was so exact that he was applied to for information respecting the quantity of provisions and clothing the provincial troops would require during the siege. General Amherst did not form a junction with Wolfe; he deemed the slender forces of the latter inadequate to the capture of a city so strongly fortified by Nature and art. Notwithstanding discourage- ments and disappointments, Colonel Gridley and the other principal officers warmly seconded the hazardous plan con- ceived by Wolfe, and landing in the night under the Plains of Abraham, succeeded in reaching the summit of the pre- cipice. It was Gridley's corps that dragged up the only two fieldpieces which reached the heights; and in the battle which ensued Gridley fought with bravery, and stood by the side of his renowned commander when that gallant officer fell, victorious.
Peace having been restored, Gridley went to England to adjust his accounts with the government. He was received with great cordiality. For his distinguished services, the Magdalen Isles, with an extensive seal and cod fishery,
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and half-pay as a British officer were conferred upon him. Much of his time was passed during the next few years at his island home. He founded on Amherst Island an estab- lishment for trading and for the seal and walrus fisheries. During the Revolution, American privateers visited the island and destroyed everything accessible. Gridley re- turned after the war; but the walrus soon became extinct, and the islanders turned their attention to cod and herring fisheries. An eminence on one of these islands is still called Mount Gridley. In 1762 he purchased a house in Prince Street in Boston; whether he occupied it himself or not is uncertain. In 1773 the Governor of New Hampshire, in acknowledgment of his meritorious services, granted him three thousand acres of land, now included in the town of Jackson. Advancing years induced him to resign the busi- ness at Magdalen Islands to his sons, whose descendants have ever since remained in the British possessions.
In 1770 Richard Gridley purchased of Edmund Quincy one half of Massapoag Pond in Sharon for the sake of procuring iron ore from its bed. He, also in connection with Edmund Quincy, purchased or erected a furnace for smelting the ore. He began "The New Forge" at the Hardware in 1772, and came to reside in this town, Sept. 28, 1773. He was then sixty-two years of age. To him- self and to his contemporaries it must have seemed as if his work was done. With the honors of a veteran of the French wars and a pension from the Crown, he might pass the re- mainder of his life in his rural home at Canton in comfort and with the respect of his countrymen. But this was not to be.
Gen. Joseph Warren was an intimate friend of Gridley. It is asserted that as early as 1774 they signed a secret agreement, pledging themselves, in case of an open rupture with the mother country, that they would together join the patriot army. Be this as it may, Warren writes in January, 1775 :-
"Mr. Gridley, as an engineer, is much wanted. We have an opportunity of obliging him, which will, I believe, secure him to us in case of necessity."
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At the breaking out of the Revolutionary War, despite his age, Gridley eagerly accepted the overtures of his coun- trymen, who could ill spare one of such marked ability in the profession of arms. The men who had seen service in Nova Scotia and Canada were needed to regulate and dis- cipline troops who possessed, at this period, only one of the requisites of a soldier, courage. Throwing aside the in- ducements which would naturally have held him to the service of the king, Colonel Gridley, in answer to a letter from his British agent in England requesting to be in- formed on which side he should take up arms, replied, “I shall fight for justice and my country," and cast his lot with the patriots. His half-pay ceased, and the arrears already due he had too much spirit to accept.
Gridley was appointed to the command of the First Regi- ment of Artillery,-the only artillery regiment in the pro- vinces at the opening of the war. He was requested to select proper persons for officers, and we observe the name of Scarborough Gridley as second major. Ezra and Ste- phen Badlam appear respectively as first and second lieu- tenants in Samuel Gridley's company, - all Canton men. The second day after the meeting of the Provincial Con- gress at Concord, April 23, 1775, it was "resolved that an army of thirty thousand men was needed for the defence of the country. Artemas Ward, who had served under Abercrombie, was appointed Commander-in-Chief." It was further - ·
" Resolved, That Richard Gridley, Esq., be and hereby is, appointed Chief Engineer of the forces now raising in the Colony for the defence of the rights of the American Continent, and that there be paid to the said Richard Gridley, out of the public treasury of this Colony, during his continuance in that service, at the rate of £170 per annum ; and it is further resolved that from and after the time when the said forces shall be disbanded, during the life of said Gridley, there shall be paid to him, out of the said treasury, the sum of {123 per annum."
On the 26th of April Gridley entered the service and was soon actively engaged in the duties of his office. Dur-
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ing this time he was stationed at Cambridge and was in constant communication with the Provincial Congress, desir- ing them to appoint clerks to keep carefully the account of ordnance, stores, etc. In May Colonel Henshaw, Colonel Gridley, and Richard Devens were ordered by General Ward to view the heights in Charlestown. They attended to this duty and reported it advisable to fortify, first Pros- pect, then Bunker's, and finally Breed's Hill, so that if obliged to retreat from Breed's Hill, the fort at Bunker would cover our retreat with the cannon and drive the enemy's ships out of the rivers, and also prevent the enemy from keeping possession of Charlestown. "Why," says Colonel Henshaw, "the report was not approved I cannot say."
On the 16th of June, 1775, Prescott received orders from Gen. Artemas Ward to proceed that evening to Bunker's Hill and build fortifications, which were to be planned by Colonel Gridley. At the hour of sunset the troops assem- bled on Cambridge Common in front of General Ward's headquarters, provided with packs, blankets, and provisions. They soon set out on their silent march preceded by two sergeants with dark lanterns. The son of Colonel Gridley, Capt. Samuel Gridley, with his company of fifty men and two fieldpieces, accompanied and formed part of the expe- dition. Slowly they proceeded through the quiet of the night toward Charlestown, the only sound that greeted their ears being the drowsy cry of " All 's well!" from the sentry on the Boston shore. They reached the heights in about an hour, when the question arose whether Breed's or Bunker's Hill was the proper one whereon to erect fortifications. The consultation was long and acrimonious. Time was precious. The veteran Gridley urged with all the force of his ardent nature that Bunker's Hill was the only proper one whereon to erect breastworks. He sustained his opin- ion by examples from his own experience and from the chronicles of military history. One of the generals coin- cided with him, but the other was stubborn and determined not to yield. At length Gridley said to the latter, "Sir,
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the moments are precious; we must decide at once. Since you will not give up your individual opinion to ours, we will give up to you. Action, and that instantly, only can save us." Thus the obstinacy of this general decided the matter, and Breed's Hill was the one selected.
The first detachment had no sooner reached the hill than Gridley began to mark out the plan of the fortifications,- gave orders to his men, and when not busy in directing others, worked himself, spade in hand, throwing up the fortifications which were to be the protection of the embryo nation. It was a mistake for one having such knowledge and ability to join in the manual labor. The next morning, that never-to-be-forgotten SEVENTEENTH OF JUNE, Gridley was unwell, owing to his fatigue of the night previous, and was obliged to leave the hill; but he so far recovered as to return later in the day. He immediately placed himself at the head of his own battery of artillery, which, judging from all accounts, was poor enough. It had been raised espe- cially for Gridley, and great exertions had been made to complete it. It was believed that if commanded by him it would do great execution; but it consisted of only ten com- panies and 417 men. It had two brass pieces and six iron six-pounders. The brass pieces were those which have since been known as the "Adams " and "Hancock." Grid- ley, seizing one of these, pushed bravely forward, and aided in discharging it, until it was disabled and he was obliged to order it to the rear. During the whole engagement, though well knowing that a price had been set upon his head by the British government, Gridley never flinched, but was exposed to the severest fire of the enemy. He ascended the hill with Warren, was near him, and saw him fall. Almost at the same time he was himself struck by a musket-ball in the left leg. An historian, describing the state of affairs at this critical moment, says: "Warren was killed and left on the field; Gridley was wounded." All seemed to be lost, and finding that he could do no more, Gridley entered his sulky to be carried off, but meeting with some obstruction, had but just vacated it when the
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horse was killed and the sulky riddled by the bullets of the enemy. Enoch Leonard, one of his neighbors from Canton, went to Boston and conveyed him home. His wound could not have been serious, for a few days after, assisted by his son, Lieut. - Col. Scarborough Gridley, he took charge of a battery placed at Roxbury Highlands.
The last of June we find him at Cambridge, begging that the artillery may be supplied with blankets, declaring that his men are sadly in want of them, and are falling sick daily in consequence. On July 3 he addressed a letter to the Provincial Congress, asserting that he had nominated field officers for the regiment of artillery that he deemed best for the interests of the country. But he says, "The Pro- vincial Congress do not deem it necessary to consult with me;" and his letter closes thus :-
" Be assured, gentlemen, if I must have no judgment, and am not to be consulted in these matters, and must have persons transferred on me, I am determined I will withdraw myself from the army, and will have nothing further to do with it."
It is said that America began her Revolution with but ten pieces of cannon; and to the mechanical science and ingenuity of Gridley was she indebted for the first cannon and mortars ever cast in this country. His furnace was for a long time employed, by order of Congress, under his direction, casting cannon for the use of the army. In Feb- ruary, 1776, we find him at Massapoag Pond, with a num- ber of men, proving mortars, which were afterward placed on Dorchester Heights. He was assisted at this time by Captain Curtis, who, like himself, was a veteran of the French War. One year later, Feb. 14, 1777, Congress empowered Robert Treat Paine to contract with him for forty eight-inch howitzers, to be sent to Ticonderoga.
On the 20th of September, 1775, Richard Gridley re- ceived from the Provincial Congress the rank of major- general, and was ordered to take command of the artillery with the rank of colonel. He had received the highest rank from the Provincial Congress, and had his commission
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been renewed in the Continental army, Washington says, "He would have outranked all the brigadier and all the major generals." Nevertheless, he writes, Dec. 31, 1775: " I believe Colonel Gridley expects to be continued as Chief Engineer in the army. It is very certain that we have no one better qualified." Not only did Washington acknowl- edge his great value as an officer, but he urgently requested him to accompany the army to the South. But the infirm- ities of age were creeping upon him. He resigned his commission, and the council of officers coincided in the belief that on account of his advanced age it were better to place the command of the artillery in younger hands. On Friday, the 17th of November, 1775, Henry Knox, whose skill as an artillerist had attracted the attention of Washington, and whose subsequent career was so brilliant, succeeded General Gridley in command of the artillery.
On April 5, 1776, Colonel Gridley was directed to super- intend all works that were begun or might be resolved on for the defence of the harbor; and on the 16th Colonel Hutchinson's regiment was ordered to erect the works to be laid out at Dorchester Point, next to Castle Island, the colonel to appoint a proper officer to superintend the work under the direction of Colonel Gridley. Samuel Adams Drake writes, -
"Gridley was chief engineer and the only man in the army capa- ble of the important task of planning and executing a systematic line of investment. Knox occasionally assisted ; but it is hardly fair to raise him to the same consequence as Gridley, whose experience, ability, and superior rank no one questions."
On the memorable night of the 4th of March, 1776, it was decided to fortify Dorchester Heights. With his usual celerity and skill, Gridley marked out the plan of the breast- works, and a strong redoubt was soon erected which one historian compares "to the works of Aladdin; " and another, in speaking of the fortifications, says, "In history they were equalled only by the lines and forts raised by Julius Cæsar to surround the army of Pompey." Certain it is that they
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were so strong that neither Lord Howe nor Earl Percy dared attack them, and deemed it best to evacuate Bos- ton, - "as absolute a flight," said Wilkes in the House of Commons, "as that of Mahomet from Mecca."
After the evacuation of Boston, General Washington offered to Gridley his choice of a place of residence in that city, where he remained many months, and was in- trusted by the commander-in-chief with the duty of demol- ishing the British intrenchments on the Neck; and in order that the work might be well and quickly done, General Ward had orders to furnish him with as many men as he deemed necessary for the undertaking. Castle William, the hills of Charlestown, Fort Hill in Boston, and all the prominent positions about the harbor were erected or strengthened under his direction.
When Bunker Hill again came into the possession of the Americans after the departure of the royal troops, search was made for the body of Major-Gen. Joseph Warren; and when, on the 8th of April, 1776, the body was rein- terred, Richard Gridley was among the distinguished gen- tlemen who acted as pall-bearers.
Twelve days after, Gridley was ordered by Washington to attend to the fortifications on Cape Ann and protect the harbor of Gloucester. While performing his duties here, he attended the ministrations of the Rev. John Murray, and it was but a step for one who had been an admirer of May- hew and Chauncy to become a Universalist. He adopted the belief of the "Promulgator," as Murray was then called, and there was established between them a friendship, desig- nated by Mrs. Murray in after years as "an old and unbroken amity." In the deepest trouble of his life, when his beloved partner - whom he had married before he was of age, and with whom he had enjoyed nearly sixty years of connubial happiness - died, it was to Murray, his friend and spiritual guide, that he looked for comfort and strength. No better insight into Gridley's home life can be had than that given by Mrs. Murray in a letter addressed to her parents, under date of Oct. 24, 1790 :-
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" The weather on Monday morning proving remarkably fine, we commenced our journey to Stoughton. Much had we dwelt on the serene enjoyments which awaited us in the family of Col. Gridley, and it was only in the paternal dwelling that we expected more un- equivocal marks of friendship. Upon how many contingencies doth sublunary bliss depend ; all felicity is indeed a work too bold for , mortals, and we ought never assuredly to promise ourselves the pos- session of any good. With much rapidity we posted forward. For the convivial smiles of hospitality we were prepared ; but alas for us ! the venerable Mistress of Stoughton villa had, the day before our arrival, breathed her last. Her family - her bereaved family - met us in tears ; but her clay-cold tenement, shrouded in its burial dress, unconscious of our approach, preserved with dignified tranquillity its sweet and expressive composure. Often had her arm with even ma- ternal tenderness been extended to us, while the tumultuous joy of her bosom was described by every expression of her face. But now her heart had forgot to beat, -to the glad sensations of affection it is no longer awake ; and for the arrival of the messenger of peace the sigh of her perturbed bosom will no more arise. Many years of pain she hath lingered out, and for weeks past her agonies have been exquisite. Ought we then to mourn her exit, when, moreover, she departed strong in faith, giving glory to God? Yet, for me, I confess I am selfish, censurably selfish ; and while I stood gazing on her breathless corse, the agonized breathings of my spirit to the Preserver of men were, that I might never be called to view my beloved parents thus stretched upon the bed of death. The life of Mrs. Gridley has been amiable ; she has departed full of days, and her connections will retain of her the sweetest remembrance.
" We had intended to have reached town earlier in the week ; but it was not in friendship to leave unburied so venerable a connection, to resist the importunities of her aged companion and her earnestly im- ploring children. From Monday noon until Friday morning we remained in Stoughton, yielding such alleviations as an old and un- broken amity had a right to expect. On Thursday afternoon, the sepulchral rites were performed. Her only surviving brother, a white- haired old gentleman, with his lady, and a number of other connec- tions, arrived about noon from Boston, for the purpose of paying the last honors to the deceased by attending her obsequies. An affec- tionate exhortation and prayer was delivered by Mr. Murray previous to the commencement of the procession, and at the grave, also, some suitable observations were made by our friend, calculated to do jus-
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tice to the departed, and administer improvement and consolation to survivors. Our company at Col. Gridley's on Thursday even- ing was large, and we passed it like those who entertain the sure and certain hope of meeting again the pleasing connection who had so recently taken her flight. The weather yesterday morning proved most propitious to our wishes, and after a night of refreshing slum- bers, we departed from Stoughton, enriched with the warmest wishes of our friends."
"Stoughton Villa," the residence of General Gridley, was situated on almost the exact spot where the house of Miss Chloe Dunbar now stands, and in the yard the peonies still blossom from the original stock which Gridley planted.
To return to the military career of Gridley. In Novem- ber, 1776, he was at Castle William, and gave his testimony in favor of Preserved Clapp, as the inventor of a gun-car- riage, signing himself chief engineer. In a letter dated March, 1778, he wrote to General Heath for more men to close the fortifications at Castle William and Governor's Island. He desired that the assistance be sent him that spring, as he feared a return of the enemy. In doing this, he said he was instigated by his love of country, and that should any accident happen through delay, the blame would fall on him. His receipts for payment and the commuta- tion accounts for July, August, and September show that he was still chief engineer.
In 1780 he wrote to Major-General Heath that he had had no pay for thirteen months, and begged that the general would allow him something and charge it to his depart- ment. He complained that the last pay he received he was obliged to divide with his son, who assisted him. It is stated upon good authority that Gridley was connected, in 1781, with the operations in Rhode Island, but we have no documentary proof of it. On Feb. 26, 1781, Congress re- solved that it be recommended to the State of Massachu- setts to make up to Richard Gridley the depreciation of his pay as engineer, at sixty dollars per month, from the time of his appointment to the Ist of January, 1781. The Mas- sachusetts "Register," of 1783, asserts that Col. Richard
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Gridley by recommendation of Congress had a pension granted him of £121 13s. 4d. annually during his life, in compensation for the loss he had sustained by entering into the service of the United States.
It is the year 1783, and the citizens of the town have met in the old church to celebrate the return of peace. From the tower the bell rings forth a merry peal. Flags are fly- ing; guns are booming. Men who have taken part in the dangers of the war greet at the church door their compan- ions-in-arms. Young men and maidens come from far and near to join in the festivities. In the pulpit sits the pastor who has ministered to the people for over half a century, and by his side the orator of the day. But when the thanks of the people were to be returned to the veterans of the war, and thanksgiving was to be offered to Almighty God for the success of our arms and the establishment of the Republic, Richard Gridley was uninvited, forced to remain at home and see the great concourse of people pass his house to celebrate the return of a peace to which he had contributed more than any of them. Gridley could not understand this neglect, and inquired of a friend why he had received no invitation to the celebration. His friend reluctantly an- swered, "Because, General, you are not considered by those having that matter in charge a Christian." His friend alluded to the fact that Gridley had become a Uni- versalist in religious belief. The veteran paused a mo- ment, dropped his head upon his breast, and solemnly uttered these words: "I love my God, my country, and my neighbor as myself. If they have any better religion, I should like to know what it is."
General Gridley's last appearance in public was in 1795, when he assisted in laying the corner-stone of the State- House. The same year we find his name attached to the petition for the Act of incorporation of the town of Canton.
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