USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lexington > History of the town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1868, Volume I > Part 28
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1 For an account of his character and services, sce Ecclesiastical History, and for an account of his family, see Genealogies of the Lexington Families. [Vol. II. Ed.]
FROM THE PEACE OF 1783 TO THE YEAR 1830 255
"That frail monument shall moulder to the dust, and be mingled with the corporeal of those whose names it is designed to perpetu- ate. But their names shall be remembered and repeated by the last of freedom's race. By their blood they have consecrated this place; and on the wings of their fame have they borne the name of LEX- INGTON through every region of the globe."
During the War of 1812 with Great Britain, party politics ran high in the State. Lexington was strongly Republican. In 1814, the Fourth of July was celebrated in the town with great show and parade. By eleven o'clock, four or five thousand people had assembled. A procession was formed, which moved to the meeting-house, escorted by a detachment of Colonel Loring's Fourth Regiment. The services at the church were as follows: Prayer, by Rev. Edmund Foster; reading of the Declaration of Independence, by General Joseph B. Varnum; Oration, by Hon. Timothy Fuller. The assembly was honored by the presence of General Henry Dearborn, and several other officers of the army under his command. The presence of Hon. Elbridge Gerry, Vice-Pre- sident of the United States, added to the interest of the oc- casion. General Varnum presided at the table. That the ladies might participate in the festivities of the occasion, a spacious marquee was erected on the Green, and a social tea-party was formed. At least a thousand persons partook of the bounties of the table. In the evening a splendid ball was given in the marquee, which was tastefully fitted up for the purpose.
Many distinguished men of the Republican Party, among whom were Hon. Judge Dana, Hon. Benjamin Austin, Hon. George Blake, and Hon. William Eustis, honored the occa- sion by their presence. It was truly a proud day for Lexing- ton. The Orator of the day alludes to Lexington in this thrill- ing strain : "This glorious spot, the hallowed scene of this day's devotion; this happy, favored spot, beheld the first precious, ruddy drops, shed to redeem our country. Yonder sacred pedestal, the faint emblem of our gratitude, declares the names of the first victims of British injustice. But long after that shall have crumbled to dust, the faithful page of history, the hearts of a grateful people shall engrave the deeds, and transmit the glorious record to remotest ages."
But Lexington did not confine her support of the Govern- ment, and of the war in which we were engaged, to mere words. She made provision for the soldiers who might volun-
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teer, or be called out by the National or State Government, voting them five dollars bounty, and a sum which would make up their pay to sixteen dollars a month, including the amount offered by the General Government. 1
The subject of the "Great Bridge" between the towns of Cambridge and Brighton, which had annoyed the people of Lexington for about a century, and which required of them an annual tax for repairs, appeared in 1815 in a form more oppressive. The bridge was rebuilt at a cost of $1727, of which Lexington was required to pay $356.64 - a tax suf- ficiently onerous when it is considered that few if any of the inhabitants of the town ever passed over it.
In 1821, in order to keep up with the times and make a little more noise in the world, the town voted to exchange their church bell for a larger one.
As Lafayette, the distinguished Frenchman, who had served so faithfully in the Revolution, and by military and civil talents had contributed so much towards the establish- ment of our Independence, had consented to become the
1 18 May, 1812. Voted to each Soldier belonging to the Town of Lexington five doll. as a bounty when Mustered who should turn out by order of Government & ten dollars pr. Month in Addition to Goverment pay, while in actual Service.
Voted then to reconsider the last Vote as Above. It was then
Voted to give each detached Soldier belonging to Lexington Six dollars as a bounty when mustered and ten dollars pr. Month while in actual Service in Addi- tion to the pay of Goverment.
Adj. meeting 1 June 1812. Voted to grant the sum of one Hundred & thirty Dol- lars to pay the bounty to the Soldiers and Non Commision Officers. (authority to borrow $130.)
Apr. 12, 1813. Selectmen "reckon" with Nathan Chandler treasurer. We also finde due to Nathan Chandler for money he borrowed June 22d 1812 to pay the detached Soldiers Agreeable to a Vote of the Town. $120-0
June 27 1814. An order to pay Capt. John Parker Seventeen dollars out of the monies Received of the exempt Soldiers belonging to Lex.
15 Aug. 1814. Voted to make up each Soldier belonging to Lexington who has been or may be detached by a late Order of Goverment Sixteen dollars pr. Month while in actual Service. And five dollars as a bounty to each Soldier detached as aforesaid, when he shall march. (Voted to raise $100 to pay the bounty.)
Nov. 28, 1814. The Selectmen granted an order to pay Mr. John Underwood $29 -0 - being detached soldier by Order of Goverment, this Allowance is Agreeable to a Vote of the Town.
26 Dec. 1814. An Order to pay Mr. Peter Wellington $7 -, viz. five dollars for Nursing and Attendance on Christopher Marsson a Soldier of the U. S. Army taken into said Peters house sick, & died. also, two dollars for bording David Creascy four days a Soldier who helpt take care of said Marsson while he lived.
Orders to pay cease 25 Feb. 1815.
15 Aug. 1814. John Mulliken received "40-cents for aireing the town's stock of Powder." (Ed.)
FROM THE PEACE OF 1783 TO THE YEAR 1830 257
guest of a grateful country during his sojourn in America; and as he would probably desire to visit all the places mem- orable in the great patriotic struggle in which he had so nobly participated, it was natural to suppose that he would delight to visit the spot distinguished as the birthplace of American Liberty. The good people of Lexington, true to the spirit of their fathers, extended to the hero and sage a cordial invitation to visit the place and receive the congratulations of the admiring throng. To enable the whole people to par- ticipate as far as possible in paying a tribute of gratitude and heartfelt admiration, the subject was laid before the inhab- itants in town meeting assembled. On the 30th of August, 1824, it was
"Voted, That the Board of Selectmen, together with Messrs. Abijah Harrington, John Muzzey, Elias Phinney, James Brown, Samuel Downing & Christopher Reed, be a Committee to make arrangements to give General Lafayette a suitable reception in this place.
"Voted that the Committee be authorized to draw upon the Town Treasurer for any sum of money that may be necessary to defray the expense of the preparation to receive the General."
This vote of the town, giving their Committee the power to draw from the Treasury without limitation, shows the state of feeling which pervaded the country at that time. Lafayette was the guest of the nation, and the entire people were dis- posed to show him the greatest possible respect. The recol- lection of his patriotic and valuable services in the field, and the no less valuable services in procuring aid from the French Government, endeared him to every American; and wherever he went he was hailed with joy and admiration. His tour through the country was rapid, and was marked everywhere by the most heartfelt demonstrations of gratitude and admir- ation. Cavalcades moved forward to meet him, cannon an- nounced his approach, bells rang out their merry peals of congratulation and welcome, triumphant arches were thrown across the streets on which he was to pass, flags tastefully en- twined, or thrown openly to the breeze, testified to the uni- versal joy which the community felt. Never did a conqueror, returning from his victorious exploits, receive such heartfelt adulation. The pageantry attending the tour of monarchs through their dominions, escorted and protected by their
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
hireling bands of armed men, of which history furnishes many examples, are mere empty show, ostentatious parade, or feigned adulation at which the heart sickens, when compared with the sincere and voluntary homage paid to this illustrious man by every friend of liberty throughout the land.
On the 2d of September, 1824, Lafayette honored Lexing- ton with his presence. Attended by his voluntary suite, he left Boston for our peaceful village. At the line of the town he was received by a troop of horse and a cavalcade of citizens, who escorted him to the Common. Here was a beautiful arch of evergreen and flowers, with a motto, - "Welcome, Friend of America, to the Birthplace of American Liberty." 1 The Common was tastefully decorated with flags, and a large con- course of people had assembled to do honor to one who had done so much for our country. Among those thus assembled were the children from the schools, and fourteen of the gallant men who had participated in the battle of the 19th of April, 1775. After entering the Common, under the arch before men- tioned, the procession moved to the Monument, where the following patriotic and eloquent speech of welcome was delivered by Major Elias Phinney, of Lexington: -
"GENERAL: - In behalf of the Committee of Arrangements and the Inhabitants of Lexington, allow me to tender you the assurance of their most respectful and cordial welcome to this town. Im- pressed with a sense of the important services you have rendered this country, they meet you on this occasion, and upon this mem- orable spot, with hearts swelling with every emotion which a gen- erous love for your exalted character, and a grateful remembrance of the distinguished lustre of your deeds can inspire.
"On this hallowed ground, consecrated by the blood of the first martyrs to liberty, was kindled that flame which roused the nation to arms, and conducted them through peril and blood to a glorious Independence. Here a small band of patriots hurled the first signal of defiance to a host in arms, and taught the enemies of their country the appalling truth, that Americans dared to die in defence of their rights.
"These hardy and virtuous yeomanry of the country offer you the sincere tribute of their warmest affections. Among them your pres- ence has awakened emotions too powerful for utterance. With the name of Lafayette is associated every comfort which sweetens the fruit of their toil, every charm which crowns the altar of domestic
1 This banner, painted on pure linen, is preserved in the Hancock-Clarke house. Ed.
FROM THE PEACE OF 1783 TO THE YEAR 1830 259
happiness. Under the shadow of that glorious fabric, which your hands have assisted in rearing, they repose in peace and security.
"Permit me, Sir, in common with grateful millions, to express our earnest solicitations that a life which has for so many years been steadfastly devoted to the cause of national liberty - which has so long encountered, without dismay, the frowns of arbitrary power, may be preserved for many years to come, a blessing and an honor to mankind; and when you, Sir, and your brave associates in the war of the Revolution, shall have ceased from your earthly labors, instead of the fathers, may their children rise up to bless your mem- ory, and emulate your virtues."
The General, with great sensibility, expressed his warmest thanks for the flattering attention he had received from the people of Lexington, the satisfaction and pleasure he felt in standing upon the soil consecrated by the blood of patriots to the glorious cause of freedom throughout the world, and the high gratification he experienced in beholding the surviving remnant of that heroic band, which here inaugurated that resistance to tyrants which is obedience to God.
After these ceremonies were over, the General was intro- duced to fourteen of the Spartan band who had rallied under the gallant Parker, on the memorable 19th of April, half a century before, to assert the rights of freemen in the face of a haughty foe. After exchanging cordial greetings with the citizens assembled on the Green, the company partook of a collation prepared for the occasion. Everything went off agreeably, and the day will long be remembered by those who were present.
At a meeting of the inhabitants of Lexington, held Decem- ber 13, 1824, a committee was appointed, consisting of Hon. Nathan Chandler, Rev. Charles Briggs, Elias Phinney, Amos Muzzy, Abijah Harrington, Benjamin O. Wellington, Charles Reed, John Muzzy, and Francis Bowman, Jr., Esquires, to collect and present to the public a statement of such facts relative to the affair at Lexington on the morning of the 19th of April, 1775, as may be supported by undoubted testimony, and which may be calculated to place the transactions of that day, before the public, in their true light.
This measure was adopted in consequence of publications1 which claimed for Concord the leading honors of the 19th of April, 1775. These writers asserted that "at Concord the first
1 By Rev. Ezra Ripley, D.D., and Lemuel Shattuck, Esq. Ed.
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blood was shed between the British and the armed Amer- icans," and "that the first forcible resistance" was made at the North Bridge in Concord. Elias Phinney, Esq., acting for the committee, of which he was a member, prepared and pub- lished in 1825,1 a succinct and well-digested history of the events of that day, so far at least as Lexington was concerned, - showing conclusively that the first blood on both sides was shed at Lexington, and that, though the British at Lexington as at Concord fired first, several of Captain Parker's men returned the fire. These statements were fully substantiated by the affidavits of several persons who were present and acting on that occasion. The pamphlet of Major Phinney, written with ability and candor, went far towards settling that controversy. The lists of the casualties of that day decide most conclusively who were at posts of danger and who were in the forefront of the battle. While Lexington with a single company had ten killed and ten wounded, Concord with two companies had no one killed and only four or five wounded, and one of them a citizen pursuing his ordinary occupation.
Concord, rather unfortunately for her fame, subsequently engaged in a controversy with Acton, relative to the events of that day. Josiah Adams, Esq., a native of Acton, delivered a Centennial Address in his native town in 1835, in which he defended Captain Davis, who fell gallantly leading the col- umn to the Bridge occupied by the British troops; and in doing this he called in question the claims of Concord relative to the honors of the day. This defence of Captain Davis gave offence to the citizens of Concord, and a controversy ensued which drew from Mr. Adams a spicy letter to Lemuel Shat- tuck, Esq., the author of the History of Concord, in which he showed conclusively that to Captain Davis and his Acton company belonged the principal honor of the affair at the North Bridge.2
1 This pamphlet, through the efforts of Mr. Charles A. Wellington, was repub- lished in 1875. Ed.
2 Mr. Adams, in his publications, maintains with great force that on the hill where the Provincials were assembled, the Concord companies both ranked the Acton company; that they were paraded on the right near the road leading to the Bridge; that both seniority of rank, and position on the field, would naturally devolve upon the Concord companies the duty of leading the column down the narrow causeway to the Bridge; but that in fact Captain Davis, occupying a central position in the line, wheeled his company out of the line, and marched in front of the Concord companies and at the head of the column, to dislodge the British from the Bridge; and that this must have been done with the approbation of Major Buttrick, who commanded at
FROM THE PEACE OF 1783 TO THE YEAR 1830 261
In 1825, the citizens of Lexington celebrated the Fourth of July in a becoming manner. Rev. Caleb Stetson delivered the Oration, which was replete with patriotic sentiments. After paying a general tribute to the heroic, self-sacrificing spirit of our fathers who achieved our independence, the speaker al- ludes to Lexington in the following peroration: --
"But there are local associations coming home to our hearts- awakening an intense and absorbing interest. We can never forget that in this village, - in the little band that stood in fearless array with the gallant Parker, - the spirit of resistance to British oppres- sion was first roused to action. Here was shed that blood in which the Declaration of our Independence was written."
Alluding to those who fell on the 19th of April, he said: -
"Their memory is the legacy of mankind. It will descend with power and pathos to the bosoms of distant posterity. Yonder Mon- ument is but an inadequate and perishing memorial of their glory - but the seal of immortality is already stamped upon it. We carry forward our vision through the shadowy range of coming genera- tions, and see it grow brighter and brighter in the dimness of the dis- tance. And it shall live in every heart that beats in freedom's cause, when the mausoleums of departed greatness, and the monuments of pride and power shall have mouldered to oblivion."
the time. He also asserts that on the retreat of the British from Concord, the Acton men joined in the pursuit and followed them as far at least as Lexington, where one of their number was killed; but that there is not the least evidence that the Concord companies ever left their own town during that day; that the assertion that the first forcible resistance was made at Concord is untrue; that there was forcible resistance at Lexington several hours before; and that the resistance at Concord was made by the Acton and not by the Concord men. He also confutes the assertion that when they marched down to the Bridge and returned the British fire, they had not heard that the enemy had fired upon Captain Parker's men at Lexington several hours before. Any one who wishes to understand the transaction at Concord, and to honor those to whom honor is due, will do well to read the publications of Mr. Adams. (See an Address delivered at Acton, July 21, 1835, by Josiah Adams: Boston. Printed by J. T. Buckingham, 1835, and an Oration delivered in Acton, Mass., on the 29th of October, 1851, by his Excellency, George S. Boutwell ... it being the Celebra- tion of the Completion of the Granite Monument erected on Acton Common, over the Remains of Captain Isaac Davis, and Privates Abner Hosmer and James Hay- ward. Boston. Bazin & Chandler, Printers, 1852. Also, Letter to Lemuel Shattuck, Esq., of Boston, from Josiah Adams, Esq., of Framingham. Boston. Damrell & Moore, Printers, 1850. Ed.)
CHAPTER XI
FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867
The Nineteenth of April celebrated by the Town - The Remains of the Martyrs of 1775 removed - Controversy relative to the Ministerial Fund-The Town Hall - Kossuth visits Lexington - Death of Jonathan Harrington - Breaking-out of the Rebellion - Lexington sends her Quota of Men - Bounty to the Soldiers.
No one day in the annals of Lexington, save the 19th of April, 1775, stands out so prominent as April 20, 1835. On that day, the remains of those heroes who fell on Lexington Green, in 1775, and who had been interred in the graveyard, were removed and deposited in a vault, prepared for the pur- pose, near the base of the Monument, with appropriate cere- monies, long to be remembered. On the 28th of April, the year preceding, at a legal town meeting, it was
"Voted to have the remains of those who fell on the 19th of Apr. 1775 removed to a place near the monument (with the consent of their friends) and inclosed with the monument by an iron fence or railing."
"Voted, To choose a Committee to carry the foregoing vote into effect."
The following gentlemen were chosen:
Benj: O. Wellington
Nathaniel Mulliken
Charles Reed
William Chandler
Col. Samuel Chandler
Rev. Charles Briggs
Col. Phillip Russell
Elias Phinney, Esq.
Ambrose Morell
The Committee, impressed with the solemnity and impor- tance of the subject, wisely selected the Anniversary of their fall as the day to remove their remains; and as the event was one of historie and national importance, they, with equal wisdom, chose one of the nation's most distinguished orators, Hon. Edward Everett, to deliver an Address on the occasion. The names of the persons whose remains were enclosed in the sarcophagus were, Jonas Parker, Robert Munroe, Samuel Hadley, Jonathan Harrington, Jr., Isaac Muzzy, Caleb Har-
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FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867
rington, and John Brown. These persons belonged to Lexing- ton and were killed in the morning. Three other citizens of Lexington were killed on the return of the British in the after- noon, namely, Jedediah Munroe, John Raymond, and Nathaniel Wyman.
The bodies of the seven individuals belonging to Lexington were, at the time of their death, enclosed in long wooden boxes, made of rough boards, and buried in one common grave in the burying-ground, separate and apart from all other graves.1 A few days prior to the celebration, their remains were disinterred under the direction of the Committee, placed in a wooden coffin, which was enclosed in lead and made air- tight, and the whole in a mahogany sarcophagus, on the sides and ends of which were eight urns, bearing the names and emblematical of the individuals whose remains were con- tained therein. A deposit was made in the sarcophagus of a thick leaden box, hermetically sealed, containing the follow- ing articles: A copy of the History of the Battle of Lexington, by Elias Phinney, Esq., a sketch of the exercises and orders of the day, a copy of the Bunker Hill Aurora, and a copy of the Concord Whig; the names of the President of the United States, of the Lieutenant [Acting] Governor of Massachu- setts, and the clergymen of Lexington. To receive the sar- cophagus, a tomb had been prepared in the rear of the founda- tion of the Monument.
Salutes and minute guns were fired at intervals during the morning, and flags raised in honor of the occasion were wav- ing at half-mast until the close of the funeral services. At an early hour the village was filled with visitors to the number of several thousand, notwithstanding the unpropitious state of the weather. Public and private houses were thrown open and filled with visitors.
1 See letter of Miss Betty Clarke, Proc. Lex. Hist. Soc., Vol. Iv, p. 92: "Father sent Jonas down to Grandfather Cook's to see who was killed and what their condi- tion was and, in the afternoon, (of Apr. 19, 1775,) Father, Mother with me and the Baby went to the Meeting House, there was the eight men that was killed, seven of them my Father's parishioners, one from Woburn, all in Boxes made of four large Boards Nailed up and, after Pa had prayed, they were put into two horse carts and took into the grave yard where your Grandfather and some of the Neighbors had made a large trench, as near the Woods as possible and there we followed the bodies of those first slain, Father, Mother, I and the Baby, there I stood and there I saw them let down into the ground, it was a little rainey but we waited to see them Covered up with the Clods and then for fear the British should find them, my Father thought some of the men had best Cut some pine or oak bows and spread them on their place of burial so that it looked like a heap of Brush." Ed.
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HISTORY OF LEXINGTON
The procession was formed at 11 o'clock, near the Monu- ment House, and moved under a military escort, consisting of the Lexington Artillery and a volunteer company of light in- fantry, commanded respectively by Captain J. F. LeBarron and Captain Billings Smith. The procession moved to the burying-ground, where they received the sarcophagus, the band performing appropriate music during the ceremony. On arriving at the church, the military opened to the right and left, the sarcophagus was placed in the broad aisle, and the procession entered. The pulpit was occupied by the Chaplain and the Reverend Clergy. In front of the pulpit a platform had been raised for the orator; and on each side of him on the platform were seated the survivors of Captain Parker's company, namely, Dr. Joseph Fiske, Daniel Mason, Benjamin Locke, William Munroe, Jonathan Harrington, Ebenezer Simonds, Jonathan Loring, John Hosmer, Isaac Durant, Josiah Reed. Solomon Brown and Ebenezer Parker were absent, one living at a great distance, and the other on account of the infirmities of age. The galleries were occupied exclusively by the ladies. Notwithstanding the unpromising state of the weather the preceding evening and that morning, the church was filled to overflowing, as well as the platform which had been erected round the church; the windows also were filled with hearers.
After an appropriate prayer by Rev. James Walker, Hon. Edward Everett delivered an Address which was listened to in breathless silence for two entire hours. We shall attempt no synopsis of this Address. Nothing short of the whole could give an adequate idea of its power and beauty. It is enough to say that it has been given to the public, and is one of the hap- piest efforts of that distinguished orator, whose words have electrified the country, and whose life, even to the last, was devoted to the great cause of American Independence.
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