USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > History of the town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts : from its earliest settlement to 1832; and of the adjoining towns, Bedford, Acton, Lincoln, and Carlisle; containing various notices of county and state history not before published. > Part 12
USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Concord > History of the town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts : from its earliest settlement to 1832 : and of the adjoining towns, Bedford, Acton, Lincoln, and Carlisle > Part 12
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Two of the soldiers killed at the bridge were left on the ground, where they were afterwards buried by Zachariah Brown and Thomas Davis, Jun., and the spot deserves to be marked by an ever-enduring monument, as the place where the first British blood was spilt, - where the life of the first British soldier was taken, in a contest which resulted in a revolution the most mighty in its consequences in the annals of mankind.
Most of the provincials pursued them across the bridge, though a few returned to Buttrick's with their dead.1 About one hun- dred and fifty went immediately across the Great Field to intercept the enemy on their retreat at Merriam's corner. From this time
1 Luther Blanchard went to Mrs. Barrett's, who, after examining his wound, mournfully remarked, " A little more and you'd been killed." " Yes," said Blanchard, " and a little more and 't wouldn't have touched me ;"- and immediately joined the pursuers.
1775.]
BATTLE OF CONCORD. 113
through the day, little or no military order was preserved. Every man chose his own time and mode of attack.
It was between 10 and 11 o'clock when the firing at the bridge took place ; and a short time after Captain Parsons and his party returned unmolested from Colonel Barrett's. They might have been attacked and taken, had the party that went across the Great Fields remained, and had strict military order been preserved ; but it was probably feared, that, if this had been done, the grenadiers would have burnt the village, or committed some other act of re- taliation, which it would have been impossible for the number of Americans then assembled to prevent. War, too, at this time was not declared. Though some may suppose the provincials here made a mistake, and neglected the advantages they possessed, yet no one who views all the circumstances correctly, will hesitate to consider this, as one of the most fortunate events, or be dissatis- fied with what the provincials did on that memorable day.
By this time the provincials had considerably increased, and were constantly arriving from the neighbouring towns. The Brit- ish had but partially accomplished the objects of their expedition ; the quantity of public stores destroyed being very small in com- parison with what remained untouched. They observed, how- ever, with no little anxiety and astonishment, the celerity with which the provincials were assembling, and the determined reso- lution with which they were opposed. Hitherto their superior numbers had given them an advantage over such companies as had assembled ; but they now began to feel that they were in danger, and resolved, from necessity, on an immediate retreat. They col- lected together their scattered parties, and made some hasty pro- vision for the wounded.
Several were taken into Dr. Minott's (now the Middlesex Hotel), where their wounds were dressed. One of the officers left his gold watch, which was discovered after he had gone out, by an old black servant. She, with honest simplicity, called out " Hollo, sir, you have left your watch," and restored it without fee or reward. At Wright's tavern, Pitcairn called for a glass of brandy, and stirred it up with his bloody finger, remarking, " He hoped he should stir the damned yankee blood so before night."1 One of
1 Major Pitcairn was killed at the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17th.
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
[1775.
the wounded died and was buried where Mr. Keyes' house stands. A chaise was taken from Reuben Brown,1 and another from John Beaton, which were furnished with bedding, pillaged as were many other articles from the neighbouring houses, in which they placed some of their wounded ; and began a hasty retreat a little before 12 o'clock. Several were left behind. About the same time they fired at Mr. Abel Prescott,2 whom they saw returning from an excursion to alarm the neighbouring towns ; but, though slightly wounded in his side, he secreted. himself in Mrs. Hey- wood's house and escaped.
The designs of the enemy were now fully developed ; and the indignation of the provincials was highly excited. Many of them were determined to be revenged for the wanton cruelties which had been committed. They had followed the retreating party between the bridge and the village, and fired single-handed from the high ground, or from behind such shelter as came in their way ; and thus began a mode of warfare which cost many a one his life.
The king's troops retreated in the same order as they entered town, the infantry on the hill and the grenadiers in the road, but with flanking parties more numerous and farther from the main body. On arriving-at Merriam's Corner they were attacked by the provincials who had proceeded across the Great Fields, in conjunc- tion with a company from Reading, under command of the late Governor Brooks. Several of the British were killed, and several wounded ; among the latter was Ensign Lester. None of the pro- vincials were injured. From this time the road was literally lined with provincials, whose accurate aim generally produced the desired effect. Guns were fired from every house, barn, wall, or covert.
1 Lieutenant Joseph Hayward, who had been in the French war, took these two chaises in Cambridge, and brought them to Concord, having killed a man in each. A little before, observing a gun pointed out of the window of a house by a British soldier, he seized it, and in attempting to enter the house found it fastened. He burst open the door, attacked and killed by himself two of the enemy in the room, and took a third prisoner. One of their guns is still owned by his son, from whom I received this anecdote.
2 He was brother of Samuel Prescott, who brought the intelligence from Lexington in the morning. Samuel was taken prisoner on board a priva- teer afterwards, and carried to Halifax, where he died in jail. Abel died of the dysentery in Concord, September 3, 1775, aged 25.
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BATTLE OF CONCORD.
1775.]
After they had waylaid the enemy and fired upon them from one position, they fell back from the road, ran forward, and came up again to perform a similar manœuvre. The Sudbury company attacked them near Hardy's hill on the south ; and below the Brooks tavern, on the old road north of the school-house, a severe battle was fought. Some were killed in the woods, and others in or near Mr. Hartwell's barn, close by. It was here that Captain Jonathan Wilson of Bedford, Nathaniel Wyman of Billerica, and Daniel Thompson of Woburn were killed. Eight of the British, who fell here and were left on the ground, were buried in the Lincoln burying-ground the next day, one of whom, from his dress, was supposed to have been an officer. Several were killed near where Viles's tavern now is ; and at Fisk's hill, a little below, Lieutenant Colonel Smith was wounded in his leg, in a severe engagement. At the house at the bottom of this hill a rencontre between James Hayward of Acton and a British soldier took place. Hayward, on going round the house for a draught of water, perceived his antagonist coming through the house on the same errand. The Briton drew up his gun, remark- ing, it is said, " You are a dead man "; " And so are you," an- swered Hayward. Both fired and both fell ; the former dead, and the latter mortally wounded. He died the next day. All the way the enemy were compelled to pass through ranks of men they had injured, and who were armed and eager to avenge the blood of their slaughtered fellow citizens.
An express was sent from Lexington in the morning to General Gage to inform him of what had happened there ; and about 9 o'clock a brigade of about 1100 men marched out under the com- mand of the Right Honorable Hugh Earl Percy,1 a brigadier-gene- ral ; consisting of the marines, the Welch Fusiliers, the 4th, 47th, and 38th regiments, and two field-pieces. This reinforcement arrived at Lexington about 2 o'clock, placed the field-pieces cn the high ground below Monroe's tavern, and checked for about half an hour the eager pursuit of the provincials. During this time they burnt the house, barn, and other out-buildings of Deacon
1 " Providence, May 10, 1777. On Monday General Percy, the hero of Lexington (weary of the American war, though covered with laurels), sailed from Newport for England in a ship mounting 14 guns only. The command has devolved on General Prescott." - Boston Gazette.
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[1775.
Joseph Loring, the house, barn, and shop of Mrs. Lydia Mulli- ken, and the house and shop of Mr. Joshua Bond. By the aid of this reinforcement they were able to effect their retreat to Charlestown, though not without sustaining continual losses on the way. They arrived about 7 o'clock, having, during a day un- usually hot for the season, marched upwards of 36 miles, and endured almost incredible suffering. All the provisions they had had were obtained by purchase or plunder from the people ; their provision-wagons having been taken by the Americans. Some of them " were so much exhausted with fatigue, that they were obliged to lie down on the ground, their tongues hanging out of their mouths like dogs after the chase." 1 Our militia and minute- men pursued them to Charlestown Neck, many of whom remained there during the night ; others returned home. The damage to private property by fire, robbery, and destruction, was estimated at £274 16s. 7d. in Concord ; £1761 1s. 5d. in Lexington ; and £1202 8s. 7d. in Cambridge.2
.Of the provincials 49 were killed, 36 wounded, and 5 missing. Captain Charles Miles, Captain Nathan Barrett, Jonas Brown, and Abel Prescott, jr., of Concord, were wounded. Captain Isaac Davis, Abner Hosmer, and James Hayward, of Acton, were killed, and Luther Blanchard, wounded. Captain Jonathan Wilson, of Bedford, was killed, and Job Lane wounded.
Of the British, 73 were killed, 172 wounded, and 26 missing ; among whom were 18 officers, 10 sergeants, 2 drummers, and 240 rank and file. Among the wounded were Lieutenant Colonels Francis Smith and Benjamin Bernard. Lieutenant Edward Hall was wounded at the north bridge, and taken prisoner on the re- treat. He died the next day, and his remains were delivered up to General Gage. Lieutenant Edward Thornton Gould was also wounded at the bridge, and taken prisoner on the retreat. He was confined and treated with kindness at Medford till May 28th, when he was exchanged for Josiah Breed, of Lynn. He had a
1 Holmes's Annals, vol. ii. p. 206.
2 Files of the Provincial Congress. Another paper in the Secretary's office, dated 1782, gives the amount of loss to Lexington £2576 2s. 1d., cur- rency ;- real estate £615 10s., and personal £1960 12s. ld. And the Se- lectmen say in this paper, " As. it is almost eight years since the 19th of April, 1775, some considérable part of the loss and damage sustained by the town cannot be ascertained at this time."
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1775.]
fortune of £1900 per annum, and is said to have offered £2000 for his ransom. Lieutenant Isaac Potter, of the marines, was taken prisoner, and confined some time at Reuben Brown's. Colonel Barrett was directed, April 22d, to give him liberty to walk round the house, but to keep a constant guard of three men, day and night, to prevent his being insulted or making his escape. Eight of the wounded received medical attendance from Dr. Cum- ing, at the house then standing near Captain Stacy's. One of them, John Bateman, died and was buried on the hill ; and none of them were known to return to the British. Samuel Lee was taken prisoner early in the morning, between Lexington and Concord, and afterwards lived in Concord till his death. He always stated that he was the first prisoner taken on that day. Fourteen prisoners were confined in the jail in Concord during the year, and a number of others were permitted to go out to work. Fifteen were ordered to Worcester, April 26th. Sergeant Cooper, one of the party who went to Colonel Barrett's, married a woman who lived with Dr. Cuming.
Such is an imperfect sketch of the occurrences of the 19th of April, 1775, " the greatest of that age." "Concord," says the late President Dwight, " will be long remembered as having been, partially, the scene of the first military action in the revolutionary war, and the object of an expedition, the first in that chain of events, which terminated in the separation of the British colonies from their mother country. A traveller on this spot, particularly an American traveller, will insensibly call to his mind an event of this magnitude, and cannot fail of being deeply affected by a com- parison of so small a beginning with so mighty an issue. In other circumstances, the expedition to Concord, and the interest which ensued, would have been merely little tales of wonder and of woe, chiefly recited by the parents of the neighbourhood to their circles at the fireside ; commanding a momentary attention of childhood ; and calling forth the tear of sorrow from the eyes of those who were intimately connected with the sufferers. Now the same events preface the history of a nation and the beginning of an empire, and are themes of disquisition and astonishment to the civilized world. From the plains of Concord will henceforth be dated a change in human affairs, an alteration in the balance of human power, and a new direction to the course of human im-
-
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HISTORY OF CONCORD.
[1775.
provement. Man, from the events which have occurred here, will, in some respects, assume a new character, and experience, in some respects, a new destiny."
CHAPTER VIII.
State of Feeling on the 20th of April. - Tories. - College removed to Concord. Committees of Correspondence. - Proceedings in Relation to the Monopoly Acts. - Revolutionary Soldiers. - Table of Different Campaigns. - Public pecuniary Sacrifices. - Taxes. - Constitution adopted.
THE events just described spread terror over the minds of some, indignation over others, and gloom over all; and predis- posed them to new alarms. The death of several fellow citizens, in defence of their rights against British soldiers, was indeed a novel sight of fearful interest. The next day, April 20th, a mes- senger brought a report into town by way of Lincoln, that the regulars were again on their march to Concord. For a while this was believed, and the most active preparations were made for their reception, by removing the women and children from the village, and concealing them in the remote parts of the town, and in the woods, the men parading under arms, determined to defend themselves or perish. After a few hours the report was contra- dicted, and the inhabitants returned to their homes.
Meantime the patriot-soldiers were continually marching to Concord from remote towns. On the 21st, 700 of them went into the meeting-house, where prayers were offered up by the Rev. Mr. Emerson, and an address made by the Rev. Mr. Webster of Salem. In the afternoon Mr. Emerson and several others went to Cambridge. Great commotion prevailed. The next day the town was again alarmed. The minute companies paraded and marched to Cambridge ; but, finding no enemy, they returned. The Provincial Congress met here on the 22d, and orders were given to raise an army forthwith.
These occurrences brought out the friends and opposers of liberty. Two or three individuals in town were yet inclined to toryism. It was not strange it should be so. It was a tremen-
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1775.]
dous step to take up arms against the mother country ; and, to say the least, the issue of the contest was doubtful. Men honest- ly differed in opinion as to the propriety of the measures of Eng- land, and others as to the proper course to be taken to obtain redress. Some had sworn allegiance to the king, and were afraid they should break their oath. While entertaining such opinions they did not enter warmly into the popular cause. They were, however, sure to receive the unwelcome notice of the people. One individual, who had been a selectman, was heard to say, " For myself I think I shall be neutral in these times ; " and his name was immediately taken from the jury-box. The govern- ment was dictated by the force of public opinion. The town assumed, in some respects, the authority of an individual commu- nity, -an independent republic. Its committee of correspon- dence met daily, and acted in a legislative, executive, and judicial capacity. All suspicious persons were brought before it for trial, and, if found guilty, were condemned. The people supported them in their decisions. The following is a copy of one of these sentences, and most remarkably shows the peculiar spirit of those times.
" We the subscribers, committee of correspondence for the town of Concord, having taken into consideration the conduct of Dr. Lee of said town of late, are fully of the opinion, that he be con- fined to the farm his family now lives upon ; and that, if he should presume to go beyond the bounds and should be killed, his blood be upon his own head. And we recommend to the in- habitants of the town, that, upon his conducting well for the future, and keeping liis bounds, they by no means molest, insult, or disturb him, in carrying on his common affairs on said farm.
JONAS HEYWOOD, EPHRAIM WOOD, JR. JAMES BARRETT, JR. JOSEPH HOSMER, SAMUEL WHITNEY. " Concord, April 26, 1775."
Committee of Correspondence.
Dr. Lee was not set at liberty till June 4, 1776. His house was fired at several times by soldiers who passed through town ; and so strong was the feeling against all called tories, that he would probably have been killed, had he gone beyond his bounds. All
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his privileges were, however, restored to him.1 The estate of one individual only in Concord, that of Daniel Bliss, Esq., was con- fiscated and sold by government.
The citizens of Boston, called by a notice published in the newspapers, held their town meeting in Concord, July 18, 1775, when they elected a representative, and transacted other town business. At this time that town was occupied by the British troops, and inany of its inhabitants removed to Concord.
The Provincial Congress ordered that the probate records, " supposed to be at Mr. Danforth's and Dr. Kneeland's houses, and the other records of the county at Mr. Foxcroft's, should be removed to Dr. Minott's in Concord."
The buildings of Harvard College were occupied as barracks for the American army, while stationed at Cambridge, and the students were dispersed. The college was removed to Concord, and commenced its operations on the first of October, 1775. Presi- dent Langdon lived at Dr. Minott's (now the Middlesex Hotel) ; Professor Sewall lived at James Jones's ; Professor Wigglesworth at the Bates place on the Bedford road ; and Professor Winthrop at Darius Merriam's, near which was the library and philosophical apparatus ; and other officers in different parts of the town. Twelve of the students boarded in the house now owned by Joseph Barrett, Esq., and others in many different places. The recitations were at the court-house and meeting-house. Prayers were attended at the latter place. The following proceedings of the government of the college were communicated to the town when it was about to be removed to Cambridge.
" Concord, June 12, 1776. At a meeting of the President, Professors, and Tutors of Harvard College, voted, that the follow- ing address of thanks be presented by the president to the select- men, the gentlemen of the committee, and other gentlemen and inhabitants of the town of Concord, who have favored the college with their encouragement and assistance, in its removal to this town, by providing accommodations.
" GENTLEMEN, - The assistance you have afforded us in ob- taining accommodations for this society here, when Cambridge was filled with the glorious army of freemen, which was assem-
1 Dr. Lee's son, Jonas, was a warm friend of liberty, and for his son's sake many were restrained from committing outrages upon him.
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1775-1783.]
bled to hazard their lives in their country's cause, and our removal from thence became necessary, demands our grateful acknowledg- ments.
" We have observed with pleasure the many tokens of your friendship to the college ; and particularly thank you for the use of your public buildings. We hope the scholars while here have not dishonored themselves and the society by any incivilities or indecencies of behaviour, or that you will readily forgive any errors which may be attributed to the inadvertence of youth.
" May God reward you with all his blessings, grant us a quiet re-settlement in our ancient* seat to which we are now returning, preserve America from slavery, and establish and continue re- ligion, learning, liberty, peace, and the happiest government in these American colonies to the end of the world.
SAMUEL LANGDON, President. Per order."
The committee of correspondence, &c., chosen March, 1776, were John Cuming, Esq., Ephraim Wood, Jr., Esq., Captain Jo- nas Heywood, Captain Joseph Hosmer, James Barrett, Esq., Captain David Brown, and Captain George Minott. In 1777, Colonel John Buttrick, Josiah Merriam, Isaac Hubbard, Captain Abishai Brown, Captain David Wheeler, Mr. Ephraim Potter, and Lieutenant Nathan Stow. In 1778, John Cuming, Esq., Colonel John Buttrick, Ephraim Wood, Jr., Esq., Jonas Hey- wood, Esq., James Barrett, Esq., Captain David Brown, and Mr. Josiah Merriam. These were reelected in '79, '80, '81, and '82, In 1783, James Barrett, Esq. Jonas Heywood, Esq., Ephraim Wood, Jr., Esq., Captain David Brown, and Lieutenant Joseph Hayward. This committee was not chosen afterwards.
A convention of about 100 members of committees of corre- spondence from 32 towns in the county, called by the members in Concord, was held here August 20, 1776, and passed some spirited resolutions in relation to the duties of committees, and guarding against any efforts of the enemies of liberty. Ephraim Wood, Jonas Heywood, and James Barrett, Esquires, were chosen a county committee to call other meetings.
Efforts were often made during the revolution to regulate the prices of labor and merchandise. In 1777, a committee, chosen
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[1779.
by the town for the purpose, reported the prices of various kinds of " common labor, carpenters', cordwainers', blacksmiths', women's labor, firewood, charcoal, live swine, horse-hire, chaise-hire, upper leather, saddlery, entertainment at public houses, flax, spirits, milk, clothiers' work," &c. &c. All who varied from the estab- lished prices were prosecuted and treated as enemies. Colonel John Buttrick was chosen to collect evidence against such as might be brought to trial. It does not appear, however, that any prose- cutions took place in Concord.
A state convention met in Concord, July 14, 1779. The dele- gates from this town were John Cuming, Esq., Jonas Heywood, Esq., James Barrett, Esq., Colonel John Buttrick, Ephraim Wood, Jr., Esq., Captain David Brown, and Mr. Josiah Merriam ; from Bedford, Mr. John Merriam ; from Acton, Captain Joseph Robbins, Mr. Seth Brooks, and Mr. Thomas Noyes ; and from Lincoln, Capt. Samuel Farrar and Abijah Pierce, Esq. The whole nnmber was 174. The object of this convention was to establish a state price-current, and to adopt other means to pre- vent monopoly, extortion, and unfair dealing. The meeting was opened and closed with prayer by the Rev. Mr. Ripley. The Hon. Azor Orne, of Marblehead, was Chairman, and Samuel Ruggles, Secretary. After passing some very spirited resolutions, fixing the prices of several articles of merchandise, and agreeing upon an address to the people, the convention adjourned on the 17th, recommending another similar one to meet again in October.
Their proceedings were laid before the town, July 30th, when they were approved, and a committee of thirteen chosen, " more fully to regulate the prices of articles of produce among us." This committee reported, August 9th, when another, of six, was chosen, in conjunction with the committee of correspondence, " to keep a watchful eye over the people, and proceed against any who should dare transgress the regulated prices of arti- cles enumerated, either in or out of town, by taking more than they are set in the report ; and to treat them as enemies to their country." The town voted also " to support their committee in every regular method they shall take to punish those that violate them."
Another convention, having similar objects in view, of dele- gates from Concord, Billerica, Lexington, Westford, Stow, Bed-
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1779.]
ford, Acton, and Lincoln, was held here, August 5th, which re- vised previous price-currents, and endeavoured to make one which should be uniform through the towns represented. John Cuming, Esq. was Chairman, and Ephraim Wood, Jr., Secretary.
A state convention met in Concord again, October 6th, and continued in session seven days. Colonel Cuming and Captain David Brown were delegates from Concord. A revised edition of the state price-current, several new spirited resolutions, re- lating to trade, currency, &c., and an address to the people, were adopted and published. County, town, and district meetings were recommended to carry these resolutions into effect. They were laid before this town, November 1st, and a committee of four- teen chosen, to fix the prices of such articles as were not therein enumerated. They reported, the next week, " that, as the regulations agreed upon by the late convention had been broken over by the inhabitants of Boston and many other places, they thought it not proper to proceed in the business assigned them, but to postpone the matter." Thus ended the proceedings re- lating to this difficult subject. It was indeed a fruitless attempt to enforce a system of uniform prices of merchandise, while the currency was constantly depreciating in value. And it is believed, that the attempts just noticed were means to increase private property, more than to promote the public good. The value of money was regulated monthly. January 1st, 1777, $100 in silver was worth $105 currency ; in 1778, $328; in 1779, $742; in 1780, $2934; and in February, 1781, $7500. Such a rapid depreciation introduced great embarrassment and distress into all commercial transactions, which no body of men could remove by resolutions, addresses, price-currents, or prosecutions.
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