USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Hingham > History of the town of Hingham, Massachusetts, vol 1 > Part 31
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In the useful, honorable, and distinguished life of Benjamin Lin- coln, there may have been greater triumphs than that which the successful achievement of this June day brought, but for us there is a homelike and personal character about the event that endears it especially ; and it would be difficult not to believe that the sturdy heart of our Hingham general beat the quicker and with a warmer glow as he watched the enemy's topmasts sink beneath the distant horizon, and felt that the freeing of the capital and of the homes of his neighbors and of his own home from the fear and
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Military History.
menace of the preceding months was the attainment, at least in part, of the men of his own town, and the companies of his own regiment.
Among the companies in service on this day was that of Capt. Peter Cushing of Hingham. The roll differs somewhat from that already given and is as follows : -
Peter Cushing, Capt., Thomas Burr, Lieut., Thomas Fearing, 66
Daniel Cushing, Jr., Sergt., Martin Tower, Private, 66
Thomas Jones,
66 Isaac Hearsey,
Elijah Whiton,
Joseph Mansfield, יר
Amos Sprague,
Corp.
Daniel Souther, 66
David Burr,
Jonathan Smith,
John Burr, Jr.,
Jesse Sprague,
Zadock Hearsey, Drum,
Samuel Lazell,
66
Solomon Cushing, Fife,
Isaiah Hearsey, Jr.,
William Cushing, Private,
David Lane,
66
Thomas Cushing,
Abel Fearing,
66
Reuben Hearsey,
Levi Burr,
66
Ebed Cushing,
66
Isaiah Wilder,
66
Moses Whiton,
Laban Hunt,
66
Nehemiah Ripley
66
Thomas Loring, Jr.,
Isaac Sprague, Jr.,
Joshua Leavitt,
Benj. Barns,
Squire (a negro).
John Hunt,
66
The same company was again called into the service on June 23d, and responded with the additional names of -
Abner Loring,
Nathaniel Gilbert,
Jacob Thaxter,
Welcome Beal,
Elisha Cushing, Jr.,
Enoch Stodder,
Thomas King,
Reuben Simmons,
John Barns, Jr.,
Isaac Cushing,
Thomas Berry,
Silas Joy, Jr.,
Benj. Joy,
Noah Stodder,
David Sprague,
Israel Stodder,
Benj. Cushing, Jr.,
Shubael Fearing
Joshua Loring,
Rufus Lane,
Benj. Cushing, Jr.,
Matthew Cushing,
On the same date, and also at Hull, we find another Hing- ham company in the service. Although there appears to be no record of the occasion, the alarm must have been pressing to require the presence of such a number of men. The roll is here given : -
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History of Hingham.
Heman Lincoln, 1st Lieut.,
Abijah Stoddard,
Joseph Beal, 2
James Leavitt,
Saml Norton, Clerk,
William Tidmarsh,
Ezra French, Sergt.,
Caleb Hobart,
Seth Lincoln,
Barnibas Lincoln,
Jesse Waters,
David Beal, Jr.,
Joshua Lincoln,
John Hobart,
Nath1 Stoddard,
Caleb Marsh,
Japeth Hobart,
David Andrews,
Gersham Lincoln,
Joseph Stockbridge,
James Hobart,
John Hobart, Jr.,
Nath1 Lincoln, Jr.,
Daniel Hobart,
Gilbert Hearsey,
Thomas Marsh, Jr.,
Isaiah Lincoln,
Jacob Beal,
Thos Stoddard,
Jacob Whiton.
Captain Cushing was again at Hull for a number of days in the following December, but the roll of the 14th of that month is quite different from those preceding it, and is here given : -
Peter Cushing, Capt., Levi Bates, Lieut., Jerom Stephenson, Lieut.,
Isaac Cushing, Sergt., Noah Stodder,
Elisha Stephenson, 66 Thos Cushing,
Isaiah Hearsey, Jr., 66 Nehemiah Ripley,
John Burbanks,
Thomas King,
Timothy Cushing, Corp.,
Cushing Burr,
Jesse Sprague,
David Burr,
Abel Beal, Lusanus Stephenson,
Nath Bates,
Abner Bates,
Levi Tower, Drum',
John Wilant, Jr.,
Matthew Cushing,
Daniel Nichols, Jr.,
Daniel Souther,
Gershom Wheelwright,
Isaiah Wilder,
Ambross Bates,
Abel Fearing,
Zenas Lincoln,
Benj : Sprague, Jr.,
Jonathan Cushing, Jr.,
David Burr,
Thos Pratt,
David Lane,
Eli Lanc,
Silas Joy, Jr.,
Zebulon Wilcut,
Shubael Fearing,
Ur- Lincoln,
Matthew Hunt,
Lazarus Lincoln,
Samuel Burr, Thos Berry,
Ephraim Lincoln,
Samuel Thaxter,
Samuel Bates, Jr.,
Benj. Joy,
Jonathan Bates,
Ebed Cushing,
John Pritchet,
Joshua Loring,
Job Wilcut,
Abner Bates.
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Military History.
Capt. Peter Cushing resided on East Street ; he was a brother of Capt. Stephen Cushing, also a soldier of the Revolution. Enoch Dunbar was in the Canada expedition in Captain Stephens' com- pany of artillery. Capt. Seth Stowers commanded a company in Col. Josiah Whitney's regiment, and was on duty at Hull in Octo- ber, 1776. His roll was as follows : -
Seth Stowers, Capt., Peter Nichols, 1st Lieut., Elijah Beals, 2
Elijah Lewis,
Sergt., 66
Edmund Hobart, Ezekiel Hersey,
Joseph Wilder,
John Gill, 66
Elisha House,
Benjamin Jacobs,
Joseph Hudson,
David Lincoln,
Corp.,
Gideon Howard,
Stephen Stodder,
Joshua Beal,
Abner Joy, Jedediah Joy,
Abisha Lewis, Drum,
Lot Lincoln, Jr.,
Nath'l Dills, Fifer,
Caleb Leavitt,
Gershom Beals,
Ephraim Lincoln,
Isaac Beals,
Joseph Marble,
John Bray,
Thos Marble,
Elisha Bates,
James Marble,
Cushing Burr,
Jonathan Allen,
Joshua Beals, Jr.,
James Tower,
Elisha Beals,
Elisha Merritt,
Benj. Barnes,
Bela Tower,
Elisha Bates, Jr.,
Stephen Mansfield,
Joseph Beals,
Jesse Tower,
Welcome Beals,
Enoch Stoddar,
Jaraus Beals,
Noah Stoddar,
Timothy Clark,
Daniel Stoddar,
Sherediah Corthell,
Joseph Souther,
Jas Cushing,
Timothy Thayer,
Rob't Gardner,
Isaac Whitten,
Joshua Gardner,
Stephen Whitten,
John Hearsey,
Jesse Humphreys,
Joseph Wilcutt, Thos. Wilcutt.
This company was on duty eight months at Nantasket. Cap- tain Penniman, of Braintree, commanded a company in Colonel Francis' regiment. It was composed of men drafted from Hing- ham, Dorchester, Braintree, Stoughtenham, and Milton.
The following are the names of Hingham men who served with it :
Theophilus Wilder, 1st Lieut.,
Laban Tower,
Private,
John Blowson, Sergt.,
Jonathan Gardener, 66
Daniel Wilder, Corp.,
David Prouty, 66
Bela Tower, Fifer,
Jonathan Farer, 66
Wm Gardenner, Private,
Ezekiel Cushing. 66
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History of Hingham.
" A Pay Roll of Capt Joseph Trufant's Company Raised for the Defense of ye Sea Coast within State of ye Massachusetts from the first of December down too the first of January, 1777," contains the following names of Hingham men : -
Thos Bicknell, Sergt., Thos Gill, Private, Sam1 Lazell.
In still another company we find Hingham men serving in the year 1776 ; Capt. Abisha Brown, of Concord, commanded a com- pany in Col. Josiah Whitney's regiment, which served at Hull ; and from a roll of the men in camp there in November we get the following names :-
Nehemiah Sprague,
Samuel Lazell,
Japeth Hobart, Jacob Whiton,
Thomas Wilder,
James Bates.
September 12, a resolve passed the General Court which pro- vided for reinforcing the army at New York, by sending a part of the militia ; and on the 14th the House of Representatives by a resolve concurred in by the Council on the 16th, chose General Lincoln to command the men raised for the purpose.
The town had already sent Lieut. John Burr with fifteen men to Ticonderoga, where they joined a company commanded by Cap- tain Endicott, and now more were to be raised under the resolve of the legislature. During the month, September, Capt. Peter Cushing obtained twenty-three, who were sent to New York, and in December Capt. Job Cushing marched for the same state with thirty-seven men credited to Hingham. It has not been possible to obtain the names of all of the above, but the roll of Capt. Job Cushing's company, augmented to over fifty, is here given. Considerable information about its service is obtainable from a diary kept by Thomas Burr, a lieutenant in the company, who had already served not only in the army of the Revolution, but still earlier in the last French war, in which he had also kept a journal, and recorded many incidents of the service of a Hing- ham company. The roll, which included some Cohasset names, was :
Job Cushing, Capt., Tho® Burr, 1 Lieut.,
Joseph Beal, 2
Isaac Sprague,
Sergt.,
Nathan Gilbert, Corp.,
Jabes Wilder,
Zadock Hersey, Drum.,
Thomas Marsh,
Levi Teakes, Fifer,
Jerom Lincoln,
Jairus Beal, Private,
Caleb Pratt, Corp.,
Gershom Beal, ¥
Caleb Joy, 66
James Bates,
David Beal, 66
Lazarus A. Beal, "
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Military History.
Adna Bates,
Private,
Jared Lane,
Private,
Daniel Cushing,
Henry Lambert,
66
James Chubbuck,
66
Micah Nichols,
Theodore French,
66
Ambrose Nichols,
Thomas Gill,
Luke Orcutt,
66
Samuel Gill,
Ephraim Orcutt,
66
John Gill,
Hezekiah Ripley,
Gideon Howard,
66
James Stodder,
William .Hobart,
Daniel Stodder,
Caleb Hobart,
Jacob Stodder,
Jeremiah Hersey,
66
Isaiah Stodder,
66
Edmund Hobart,
66
Stephen Tower,
66
Japheth Hobart,
66
Peter Tower,
66
John Hunt,
Timothy Thayer,
Benj. Joy,
Benjamin Ward,
Israel Lincoln,
66
Benjamin White,
Beza Lincoln,
66
Levi Tower.
Hawkes Hobart,
Benj. Stetson,
These men were in the army at this time from about December 19, 1776, to April 2, 1777, and perhaps longer. Captain Cush- ing, like Lieutenant Burr, was an experienced officer ; his com- pany marched from Hingham on the former of the above dates, through Abington, and afterwards by way of Pawtucket and Provi- dence, through Rhode Island and Connecticut, their long journey leading them to Hartford and Waterbury among other places. Finally they entered New York, arriving at Westchester Jan- uary 7th. Brief as are the records in Lieutenant Burr's diary, they interest us not a little, for the personal glimpses which are afforded by them of the marches and skirmishes and experiences of our own townsmen.
Thus he says under date of Jan. 19: "One of our men killed by a cannon ball from the enemy." On the 21st, " Alarmed by the Hessians - they driven back." 23d, " Skirmish - one Lt. and 4 men killed." 27th, " Lay in ambush -our cannon played on Fort Independence." He tells of marches to Tarrytown, where André was subsequently captured, and other places in the vicinity ; and at last, in February, of the entry into Morristown in New Jer- sey. Here were the headquarters of Washington during the win- ter succeeding his brilliant achievements at Trenton and Prince- ton. Here too our old fighting chaplain appears again, and Lieutenant Burr says, under date of February 12: "Sunday Mr. Thaxter preached from Psalms 118-18 & 19 v." March 2d, he held forth to his friends and fellow soldiers from home. March 9th, the diary tells us that there was a " Skirmish between 2000 of the enemy & 1000 of our men - our men beat them back; " and so on. In July Colonel Marshall's and Colonel Whitney's regiments were ordered to Canada. In both there were Hingham men, al-
302
History of Hingham.
though there is such confusion in the rolls as to make it practi- cally impossible to give names and time of service.
The town continued as earnest at home in the support of the patriot cause as it was active in the field. March 18, 1776, Theophilus Cushing, John Fearing, Thomas Loring, Israel Beal, and Peter Hobart were chosen a Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety ; and May 23d, Benjamin Lincoln, Hezekiah Cushing, and Dea. Joshua Hersey were appointed a committee to prepare instructions for the representatives, Enoch Lincoln, Theophilus Cushing, and John Fearing, just chosen. This they did in the following terms : -
To Enoch Lincoln, Theophilus Cushing, and John Fearing :
GENTLEMEN, - Yon are delegated to represent the Town of Hingham in the next General Court to be held in this colony ; and although we entertain the highest sense of your integrity, patriotism, and ability, of which we have given full evidence in appointing you to this weighty trust, yet as matters of the greatest importance relative to the freedom and happiness not only of this but of all of the United Colonies, on which you may wish to have the advice of your constituents, will come before you for your determination - you are instructed and directed at all times to give your vote and interest in support of the present struggle with Great Britain. We ask nothing of her but "Peace, Liberty, and Safety." You will never recede from that claim ; and agreeably to a resolve of the late House of Representatives, in case the honourable Continental Congress declare themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, solemnly to engage in behalf of your constituents, that they will with their lives and fortunes support them in the measure. You will also, as soon as may be, endeavor to procure a more equal representation of this colony in General Assembly ; and that it be by fewer members than at present the several towns have a right to return ; and when this is affected you will give your vote for calling a new house.
BENJAMIN LINCOLN, Town Clerk.
It is impossible not to notice the signature, or to avoid giving a thought to the man who wrote the words, " Benjamin Lincoln, Town Clerk," at the foot of this document. Within a period of a little more than a year he had as colonel of his regiment been hurrying his men to Lexington and to the investiture of Boston ; been chosen by the Council the first of the Committee, upon which were also Major Fuller, of Newton, Mr. Singleton, Mr. Durfee, and Mr. Dexter, to consider the very important matter of providing each of the soldiers composing the army then rapidly gathering around Boston with the coats which had been promised as a bounty to each man upon enlistment, - from which comes the term " Coat Rolls," as applied to the lists of the Massachusetts troops raised to besiege Lord Howe; been sent to Washington by the Council upon the matter of sea-coast defence ; been promoted to be brigadier-general in the colonial establishment ; in May, 1775, served as a member of the Provincial Congress, of which
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Military History.
body he was also secretary, and in July represented the town in the General Court at Watertown, besides being a member of the Committee of Correspondence, - one of the most active patriots of the day, yet finding time to attend faithfully to the humble duties of clerk of his native town. Hingham has ample justifica- tion for her pride in Major-General Benjamin Lincoln, of the Army of the Revolution. Only the briefest sketch of his life can be here given. Born in Hingham, Jan. 24, 1733, he was the son of Colonel Benjamin Lincoln, commander of the third Suffolk regiment and a member of his Majesty's council. At twenty-one years of age young Benjamin was one of the six constables of the town, which office he held two years. In 1755 he became adju- tant of his father's regiment, and in 1757 was chosen town clerk, succeeding his father in that office, who in his turn had, in 1727, succeeded his father, also Benjamin Lincoln. In 1763 Mr. Lincoln became second major of the regiment. In 1766 he was elected one of the selectmen, and held this office during the next five years. He became Lieut .- Colonel in 1772, and was in command of the regiment at the opening of the Revolution. In 1772 he represented the town in the General Court, and was re-elected in 1773 and 1774. As already seen, General Lincoln was one of the earliest and most prominent in opposing the encroachments of the Crown upon the liberties of the people, serving upon the town's Committees of Correspondence, Safety, and Militia. His services in the Provincial Congress and his activity and useful- ness in the opening months of the Revolution have been referred to previously. February 8, 1776, he was commissioned brigadier- general by Massachusetts, and in the May following major-general. During the first year of the war General Lincoln rendered most valuable service to the army as a member of the committee on supplies ; and the miscellaneous papers at the State House afford many instances of most important orders signed by him in that capacity. He planned and commanded the successfully executed movements which finally drove the enemy from Boston harbor in 1776. During the same year he commanded the reinforce- ments of militia sent by the province to Washington. So urgent were the requests of the latter for assistance that every fifth man was ordered to respond, the sea-coast towns being exempted at this time. While in New York, General Lincoln commanded one of the four divisions of the army. Toward the close of the year he was appointed to the command of the militia raised in Massa- chusetts and Connecticut for the defence of Rhode Island. On the 19th February, 1777, Stirling, St. Clair, Lincoln, Mifflin, and Stephen were commissioned major-generals in the Continental service. In the following July General Lincoln was selected by Washington to command the New England militia raised to aid the Northern army operating against Burgoyne. Gaining the rear of the British, Lincoln despatched Colonel Brown to attempt the recapture of Ticonderoga and the posts in the vicinity. The
304
History of Hingham.
expedition accomplished important results. On the 29th September General Lincoln with two thousand men joined the main army under Gates, and October 8 he was severely wounded in the leg during a skirmish. Before returning to Hingham, it became necessary to remove a considerable portion of the main bone, and under the painful operation it is said that he exhibited most un- common patience and fortitude. It was years before recovery from the wound was complete, and it occasioned lameness during the remainder of his life. General Lincoln reported for duty at the headquarters of the army in the following August, to the great gratification of Washington. At the request of the delegates from South Carolina and Georgia he was designated by Congress to take command of the southern department. He arrived in Charleston in December, 1778, and was compelled to form an army and raise supplies. In this he showed unconquerable energy and perseverance. For nearly a year he kept the English under Prevost below the Savannah, and being joined by D'Estaing with the French fleet, he invested Savannah on September 23, 1779. October 9th, the combined forces in three columns and led by D'Estaing and Lincoln in person, made an assault on the enemy's works .. The allies were defeated with great loss; it was here that Count Pulaski was killed, with many other gallant officers. The siege was immediately raised and the French sailed away, leaving Lincoln to contend alone against the vietorious army. A more unfortunate ending to what promised to be a brilliant eam- paign can hardly be conceived. The fault lay with the impatience of the French commander, at the necessarily deliberate approaches which the siege required, and his determination to abandon the attempt unless an immediate assault was undertaken. After the disastrous failure to capture the place, General Lincoln retreated to Charleston, where he passed the winter in vain endeavors to hold an army together and inspire the population with the spirit of patriotism and resistance. By March he had only fourteen hundred men left, while the town and the surrounding country were full of Loyalists. In April Sir Henry Clinton invested Charleston with five thousand men, and on May 11th after a re- sistance of forty days, General Lincoln surrendered with his whole army. His conduet of the campaign has received severe criti- eism ; but whatever its merits or demerits, he lost the confidence of neither the army nor the country, and when in the following spring he again reported for duty, it was to receive from Washing- ton an important command. In July he threatened New York, but finding it impracticable to attack the English there, withdrew under Washington's orders, and with his division marched across New Jersey and into Virginia, where he took part in the siege of Yorktown. On the 6th of October the first parallel was com- meneed by troops commanded by General Lincoln, and on the 19th the garrison surrendered, - Cornwallis' sword being received by Lincoln, who as a special honor from Washington was in charge
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Military History.
of the ceremonies. A few days after Congress appointed General Lincoln Secretary of War, allowing, him to retain his rank in the army. This office he resigned two years later and retired to his home at Hingham, receiving most complimentary resolutions from Congress. In 1784 he was chosen one of the commissioners to make a treaty with the Penobscot Indians. He commanded the militia raised to suppress Shays' rebellion in 1786-1787, and by the exercise of great energy and tact restored order in a very short time. In 1787 he was elected Lieut .- Governor of Massachusetts, was commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com- pany in 1788, and was a member of the convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States. In 1789 Washington ap- pointed him the first collector of the port of Boston, which office he held nearly twenty years. He was also a commissioner to treat with the Creek Indians in 1789, and to effect a treaty of peace with the Western Indians in 1793. General Lincoln was one of the first members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, contributing papers to each. He was also President of the Society of the Cin- cinnati from its organization until his decease. He received the degree of Master of Arts from Harvard University, in 1780.
This is the outline of a life which for honorable, untiring useful- ness has few equals. We long to fill in the details ; to picture the young general of forty-three in command of one of Wash- ington's divisions, - the great commander himself but a little older ; to tell of his sending the blankets from his own home to cover his suffering men in the field ; to recall the spirit and fire with which he inspired the militia, and led it to the victory at Saratoga ; to follow him while he toils in the swamps of the Caro- linas with his handful of men; and finally, to witness his triumph at Yorktown. We would like, too, to see this pure, brave man in the quiet and sweetness of his home-life, among the friends with whom he had served in the field, and among whom he loved to mingle in the happy peace that followed. For the details of all this and much more, there is not room. General Lincoln was of middle height, erect, broad-chested, and muscular, with the air of a soldier. He was conspicuous for his frankness, integrity, pru- dence, inflexibility, and strong common-sense. He was cool in deliberation, and prompt in execution. His private life was with- out a stain, and no profane word passed his lips. He was one of the organizers of the Third Congregational (Unitarian) Society, and until his death among its most active members. There was no room in General Lincoln's character for that smallness of mind which sneers at religious belief in others, or boasts its ab- sence in one's self. In this as in all else he was as sincere as modest. Never cowardly in disavowal of the great faith he had, and unwilling to permit his convictions to appear in doubt, he was also considerate and liberal regarding the opinions and beliefs of others. Benjamin Lincoln died May 9, 1810, and he lacked
VOL. I .- 20
306
History of Hingham.
BENJAMIN LINCOLN
SAJOR-DERERAL IN THE ARMY OF THE REVOLUTION BORN JANUARY 24 1733.
DIED MAY 9. 1810!
GENERAL LINCOLN'S MONUMENT.
neither honor nor love in his own town and among his own neigh- bors.) Not far from the first settlers' monument in the old fort, in the quiet part of the cemetery overlooking the town, where great pines sing a lullaby, and where all around are the bones and the tombs of those he knew and loved, lie the mortal remains of this soldier of the Revolution. A stone, plain and massive, of white marble, and worthy of the man, marks the spot. On one side are the words :
BENJAMIN LINCOLN MAJOR-GENERAL IN THE ARMY OF THE REVOLUTION BORN JANUARY 24, 1733 DIED MAY 9, 1810
And on the other :
ERECTED BY HIS DESCENDANTS 1852
Here on each Memorial Day the beautiful colors of the nation which he did so much to found, blend with the sweet flowers strewn in honor and memory by the brave men of a later time ; and they who bring the laurel and the myrtle for the young lives given to their country in 1861 do not forget nor pass by the hero who made possible the later sacrifice.
With the war the town's expenditures increased at a rate that must have seemed appalling to the conservative citizens, habitu-
307
Military History.
ally economical, and critical of every outlay; yet they were bravely met, and generous sums were voted for the care of the soldiers' families, in addition to the other large amounts required. Here are some of the items for this year : -
At the several meetings (of the town) in July Sept. Nov' & Dec" [1776] the Town Voted to Raise £615 14s 8d for the Soldiers who were employed in the Continental Service & raised by the Town of Hingham.
To Hawks Fearing Transporting Cannon to Hull 0-8- To Do. for Transporting Baggage for Capt. Peter Cushings 3-2-
Capt Pyam Cushings & Capt. Thos Hearseys Company
To 15 Soldiers that were hired to go with Lieut. John Burr to Ticonderoga 1-9-5
To 23 men that were hir'd to go to New York in Sept. Last with Capt. Peter Cushing 98-2-8
To 37 men that were hir'd to go to York in Dec. Last with Capt. Job Cushing 316-1-4
By order of the selectmen Caleb Loring furnished supplies to a company or companies from Scituate and Pembroke while at Hingham, and his bill, accompanied by a certificate from Benja- min Cushing and Joseph Andrews, we find to have been allowed by the State.
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