USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Lexington > History of the town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1868, with a genealogical register of Lexington families > Part 29
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When the result of this election was known, the southern aspirants, without waiting for the development of President Lin- coln's policy, resolved to overthrow the Government which they saw they could no longer control. The policy of the out-going Administration seemed to favor their design. Large quantities of arms and munitions of war had been removed from our north- ern forts and arsenals, and deposited in the southern .States. Our ships of war were mostly dismantled or sent to foreign stations. The leaders at the south availed themselves of these advantages, and strove to set up a slaveholding confederacy on the ruins of our free Republic. One of their number, a leading South Carolinian, declared publicly that the dissolution of the Union was the object at which he had been aiming for twenty years. And Mr. Stevens, the Vice President of the boasted, but short-lived Confederacy, boldly declared that their object was to establish a confederacy whose corner stone should be slavery. His words are : - " The new Constitution has put at rest forever, all agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution. African slavery, as it exists among us, is the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. Our new government is founded, its corner stone rests upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man ; that slavery is his natural and normal condition." Such, in brief, was the object of the rebels, and such the cause of their revolt. And the history of the world does not furnish a more causeless, unjustifiable, or wicked rebellion. It was conceived in a vain ambition, com- menced in the basest perfidy, and prosecuted with savage cruelty. Such will be the verdict of posterity. The object of the leaders of the rebellion was to raise themselves to power by building up a slaveholding oligarchy, as oppressive to the mass of the white population as to the black.
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Many of the heroes of the Revolution had lived to see the fruit of their toils and sacrifices, in the prosperity of their country. They had seen the nation in her rapid march of improvement and civilization, occupying a proud position among the nations of the earth - teaching the votaries of freedom throughout. the civilized world, that liberty was conducive to national prosperity and greatness. But these sainted patriots had passed off the stage, leaving a people enjoying greater blessings than had ever before fallen to the lot of any nation ; and we, their descendants, born to this rich inheritance, had almost forgotten the sacrifices with which this vast patrimony was purchased.
The present generation considered their freedom secure. They saw the nation moving forward with gigantic strides, and our flag respected in every part of the habitable earth ; and knowing we had nothing to fear from any foreign power, and deeming the Union of the States perpetual, they had suffered the idea of mil- itary defence to pass almost into oblivion. They had heard the threats of dissolving the Union, but they regarded them as the idle vaunting of the reckless few, scarcely worthy of a mo- ment's consideration. And when they saw a few factious leaders of a restless and disappointed minority, quitting their seats in Congress for no other conceivable reason, than that they were out-voted at the polls, they could not believe that they would dare to raise a parricidal hand against the country which bore them. Such was the confidence of the great mass of the people in the permanence of the Union, and the love of country which prevailed even at the South, that they could hardly dream of taking up arms against their southern brethren ; fondly believing that decrees of secession, like paper blockades, would prove per- feetly harmless in the end. And it was not till the air rever- berated with the thunders of the artillery opened upon Fort Sumter, that the mass of our people realized that there was any occasion for buckling on their armor in defence of their rights. The same telegram which brought the news of the fall of Sumter, was freighted with a call for seventy-five thousand men. Unpre- pared as they were, the call met a hearty response from the people, which showed that the fire of patriotism, which had been buried among the cares and bustle of business, had not expired. An impulse like that which went out from Lexington in 1775, seized
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FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867.
the public heart, and the whole community resolved that our glo- rious Union should be sustained at every hazard.
Towns vied with each other in their efforts to send men into the field ; and the young men were ready to enroll themselves for the defence of their country. As might be expected in any sudden emergency, when all that we hold dear seemed to be at stake, some of the efforts made in pure patriotism, were not wisely considered, and hence partially failed of their object. But the spectacle was truly grand ; and one which should have taught the rebels the hopelessness of their cause, and the nations of Europe the strength and permanence of our institutions. To sec a people bred to the arts of peace, and actively engaged in business pursuits, start up as one man, and devote all their energies to the preservation of the Union, is a spectacle truly sublime - showing that the present generation are worthy of their patriotic sires, and that the love of liberty which glowed in the breast of our fathers, was not quenched in the bosoms of their sons. This rising of the people displayed in striking con- trast, the baseness of the slavery-loving rebels of the South, and the noble spirit of the free sons of the North.
Fort Sumter was attacked on the 12th of April, and taken possession of on the 14th. On the 15th of April, 1861, the President issued his proclamation, calling for troops. Several regiments in Massachusetts responded at once to the call. Though Lexington, like most of the country towns, had no organized company, several of our young men volunteered and enlisted in companies out of town which were under marching orders. An effort was made to raise a company in Lexington ; but there being no manufacturing or other business to retain the young men in the place, it was found difficult to obtain a full company in the town, and hence they united with a neighboring town, in the hope of gathering a full company. While this effort was being made, a town meeting was held, at which it was unanimously voted to appropriate the sum of four thousand dol- lars to aid the cause; and a large Committee was chosen to disburse the same, as far as might be necessary, to encourage enlistments, and supply the wants of the families of those who should enter the service, for the period of three months - that being the only term then required. But immediately after this
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appropriation, and before the company was full, the President announced that no more three months' men would be accepted ; but that all volunteers must enlist for three years. In the mean- time the State Legislature assembled and passed an Act confirm- ing contracts already made by towns in aid of enlistments, and virtually prohibiting such appropriations in future. This changed the whole state of affairs ; and the company nearly filled, not choosing to offer themselves for a three years' service, the Com- mittee felt constrained to confine their expenditures to the amount already contracted for. The sum actually expended for clothing, drill-officers, and supplying the families of the soldiers in service, amounted to about six hundred dollars ; and the Committee in their Report submitted to the town, and recorded upon the town book, say : - "In view of the whole subject, the Committee believe that the money by them disbursed, has, under the peculiar and exciting state of things under which they have been called to act, been expended in such a manner as to aid the great cause we all have at heart, by contributing to the comfort of the gallant men who have entered the service, and of the families they have left behind them."
Under the novel state of things which existed at the breaking out of the Rebellion, and with the patriotic enthusiasm of the people, it is not strange that errors were committed, and unwise expenditures made in very many cases ; but the town records of Lexington show, that while she had patriotism enough to make a generous appropriation to encourage men to enter the service, and to provide for the comfort of them and their families, she had at the same time wisdom and prudence sufficient to guide her emotions, and to expend no more than seemed to be con- ducive to those ends.
While some of our neighboring towns, at the commencement of the war, expended thousands of dollars in a way which they themselves at a later period, saw to be fruitless, Lexington can look back upon her early expenditures with a conviction that they were judicious, and that the balance of the appropriation was more wisely and usefully applied at a later period, than it could have been during the first six months of the war.
But the efforts of the town and the liberality of her citizens did not stop here. On the 2d of July, 1862, the people were
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FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867.
called together, "To see what measures the town will adopt in relation to furnishing the town's quota of soldiers, under the call of the President of the United States."
The people having convened, the following preamble and vote were adopted :
" Whereas, the present alarming state of the country requires that large reenforcements should be sent forth without delay, to sustain our gallant soldiers now in the field, and to put down the existing unrighteous rebel- lion ; and as the devoted President of the United States, in the discharge of his official duty, has made an appeal to the patriotisni of the people, and the Governor of the Commonwealth, prompt to every such appeal, has designated the quotas of men required of every town : - And whereas the Town of Lexington was the first to seal her devotion to freedom and equal rights, in 1775, and the blood of her slaughtered citizens eries to us from the ground, to sustain the cause in which they offered themselves a living sacrifice ; and as every citizen is under the most sacred obligations to bear his share, if not of the perils, yet of the burdens and sacrifices of this righteous contest, and is bound to encourage, support, and sustain those who obey their country's eall, and manfully enroll themselves in defence of onr dearest rights and privileges ; - It is therefore, in open Town-meeting legally called for the purpose,
" Voted unanimously, That a bounty of one hundred dollars be offered to each and every patriotic soldier who will volunteer into the service of the United States, for the period of three years, unless sooner discharged, to fill the quota of twenty men required of this town."
Under the above vote twenty men, the town's full quota, were enlisted, and the sum of two thousand dollars was paid to the soldiers.
Soon after, a call was made by the President for nine months' men, and the quota of Lexington was thirty-one. The town, at a meeting called for the purpose, on the 29th of August, voted a bounty of two hundred dollars. This quota was promptly filled by enlisting thirty-two men, -five of them for three years. Under this vote the town expended six thousand two hundred dollars.
At a subsequent meeting, the town made ample provision for the support of the soldiers' families beyond what was allowed by the State, and requested the Assessors to abate the poll tax of all soldiers in the service.
In addition to the sum granted by the town from time to time
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to pay the bounty for recruits, individuals subject to military duty, and others not subject to such duty, contributed freely to the same object. All such sums, however, were reimbursed by the town, so that the cost of procuring soldiers, except some incidental expenses, was ultimately paid by the town. Hammon Reed, Esq., Chairman of the Selectmen, in his report in 1866, states the amount paid by the town for procuring soldiers during the rebellion, exclusive of the expenses of town officers, at $25,692. To this amount may safely be added for the sum paid to the families of soldiers, beyond what was reim- bursed by the State, and for other incidental expenses, $1,500- making the gross sum of $27,192. The Selectmen also state that the town had furnished, including re-enlistments, two hun- dred and forty-four soldiers, being nine more than the town's quota.
In addition to this there were two organized sewing societies working for the hospitals, which sent forward a large amount of clothing and stores for the benefit of the sick and wounded. Lexington also furnished one hospital nurse,1 whose services were scarcely surpassed by any of that class of self-sacrificing ladies, who submitted to every hardship, and encountered every danger, to relicve the sufferings of the patriotic defenders of our free institutions. As much true moral courage was required to brave disease in the hospitals, as bullets in the field. Lexington fur- nished two hundred and forty-four soldiers and seamen, being. nine more than her quota, and we believe that none of them brought any dishonor upon the town. And though Lexington at the commencement of the rebellion had no military company, and consequently her citizens could commence with no military prestige, yet their record was creditable to themselves and the place they represented. Two2 of our citizens entered the service as Captains ; one 3 as second Lieutenant, and became a Lieutenant Colonel ; one 4 as a private and became Assistant- Adjutant General with the rank of Captain ; one 5 who went out a non-commissioned officer rose to be Major and Commissary of Subsistence ; one 6 who went out as a private rose to the rank of
1 Mrs. Mary Olnhausen. See Phinney Family.
2 Charles R. Johnson, and William Plumer. 3 John W. Hudson.
4 Charles A. Gould. > Loring W. Muzzey. 6 Jonas F. Capell.
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FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867.
Captain and Major by brevet ; and one 1 who went out as a private rose to the rank of Quartermaster. Several others became warrant officers while in service.
Such in brief is the military record of Lexington during the slaveholders' rebellion - and of this record no intelligent citizen need to be ashamed. Lexington has been true to herself, and true to the great principles of civil liberty. She has contributed her share to sustain those institutions which resulted from the American Revolution, the opening scene of which was performed within her limits by her own citizens.
When the late unholy rebellion was substantially brought to a close by the capture of the rebel armies, and the people of the free States were filled with rejoicing at the glorious event, the nation was suddenly thrown into a state of consternation by the tidings of the assassination of our excellent President, who had, with so much wisdom and patriotism, conducted us successfully through the war ; and as soon as the first feeling of surprise had subsided, the emblems of rejoicing were displaced by the insignia of mourning. The flags which were thrown to the breeze in honor of our victories, were lowered half-mast as a token of the nation's grief; and the loud huzzas that were echoing through the air gave place to sighs and lamentations ; and the thousand bells which were resounding in joy and gladness, ceased their merry peals, that they might toll in unison with the sad laments of the people. Everywhere throughout the free States, a solemn silence reigned, and the whole community felt that the country had met with an irreparable loss. All parties, with one accord, were ready to testify to the worth of the departed states- man, and to do honor to his memory.
The 19th of April, a day dear to every citizen of Lexington, was set apart for the funeral solemnities at Washington ; and the people throughout the country were invited to observe the day in some appropriate manner. The people of Lexington asseni- bled at the church of the first parish, which was suitably draped with the insignia of mourning, and appropriate services were performed in the presence of a large and sympathizing assembly. Rev. L. J. Livermore, assisted by Rev. Mr. Savage, conducted
1 George E. Muzzey.
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the devotional exercises ; Rev. William T. Stowe delivered an appropriate address ; Charles Hudson, from acquaintance with the deceased, spoke of his personal character and moral worth ; and further remarks were made by Rev. Caleb Stetson. The occasion was one of peculiar interest, and the assembly retired with a full sense of the nation's loss.
We cannot close this part of our history without recognizing the hand of God in the trying scenes through which we have passed. Not only the result of the rebellion, but the means employed, show an over-ruling Providence. Slavery, the foul blot upon our national character, had become so interwoven into the texture of southern society, and had so far demoralized the southern heart, that nothing but some great convulsion in the social system could wipe out the stain. Under God this crying evil has been the great instrument of eradicating itself. Slavery, by hardening the heart of the masters, and filling them with a haughty, vain ambition, led them to attempt the overthrow of our free institutions, that they might raise themselves to power, and rule with despotic sway over a confederacy whose corner stone was African servitude. This wicked attempt to degrade and debase four millions of God's creatures - this treacherous effort to overthrow the Government they had sworn to support, and on whose bounty many of them had fattened, showed that the measure of their iniquity was full, and that they were ripe for an overthrow. They waged a cruel war that they might extend and perpetuate slavery, and thereby keep themselves in power. But, short-sighted mortals ! your vain attempts to attain an unholy end by treacherous means, have proved your ruin ! He that rules in the armies of heaven has overruled your ambition for good, and made your attempt to sustain slavery the means of its overthrow !
Whoever reads the history of this rebellion aright, will see an all-wise Providence restraining the ambitious designs of unprincipled men, and turning their base instrumentalities against them. Their bloody massacre at Fort Pillow, by which they fondly hoped to dissuade the blacks from entering the army - their more than savage cruelty at Belle Isle and Ander- sonville, by which they hoped to thin the ranks of the Union
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FROM THE YEAR 1830 TO 1867.
armies by starving their prisoners to death, or so reducing them to skeletons, that they would be unfit for service if exchanged, only aroused the indignation of the lovers of our free institu- tions, and called our brave men to the field. Yes, the innocent blood wickedly shed at Fort Pillow, cried from the ground against them ; and the feeble moans of our starving prisoners in those wretched pens, under the very eyes of the rebel govern- ment, were heard on high, and drew down the withering frowns of the Righteous Ruler of the universe.
On the other hand the Lord raised up a man to guide the nation through this fiery trial, and bring this war to a happy termination. In ABRAHAM LINCOLN we had the statesman, the patriot, and the Christian ruler, that the crisis demanded - a man of the people, who knew their wants, feelings, and senti- ments, and who was ready at all times to carry out their views, agreeably to the genius and spirit of our admirable form of government. Had he been a modern Cæsar, or a second Crom- well, guided by his own personal ambition, we might have had more sanguinary battles, and perhaps more brilliant victories. But we should have had a divided North, and probably we should have found it more difficult to dispose of our Chief, after the war was over, than we did to dispose of the rebels while the war was raging. Or had he been a narrow, conceited man, who obstinately disregarded the popular will, and vainly supposed that he showed his greatness by denouncing and attempting to baffle the co-ordinate branches of the government, we might have been at the present day in the midst of a desperate struggle, the scorn and jest of the civilized world.
But, by the mercy of God, we were blessed with a truly republican President, who knew the nature of our institutions, and fully realized that he must obey the public will. While he felt it his duty to lead and direct public opinion, as far as practi- cable, he was fully sensible that any attempt to resist it, or to go far in advance of it, would be fruitless. This fact is fully sus- tained by his course in relation to the abolition of slavery. He knew the antagonism between freedom and slavery ; he knew that when the exigency should arise, he had the power by the law of nations, to proclaim the slaves free. But as the whole matter lay in his discretion, he did not think it wise to take this
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step till the publie mind was educated up to this point ; so that when such a measure should be adopted, it would be fully sus- tained both at home and abroad. He consequently apprised the public in advance, that at the expiration of one hundred days, unless the rebels should lay down their arms and submit to the laws of the Union, he should, in virtue of the war power, pro- claim "liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that were bound."
By this prudent delay, this educating the people up to his position, he was able to issue that immortal Emancipation Proclamation, with the approbation of the community. In this manner he brought about this mighty change without any con- vulsion in the public mind. This great fountain of iniquity was broken up without producing a ripple upon the surface of public sentiment. In taking this bold and important step, he carefully studied public opinion and the indications of divine Providence. On being urged by an ardent friend in the early part of the war to abolish slavery, he made this characteristic reply : " I have considered this subject prayerfully, and find that while you and I have been in a hurry to abolish slavery, the Lord is not ; and I think it wise to wait his time."
President Lincoln acted so wisely, and so in accordance with the spirit of our institutions, that we have, in a manner, the endorsement of the Supreme Ruler upon our form of govern- ment. If we were asked, who put down the rebellion, we could answer in the very language of the Preamble of the Constitu- tion, "We, the people of the United States." The people have put down the rebellion agrecably to the genius of our govern- ment, by the agent of our own choice, the heaven-appointed Lincoln. Nor does this detract from the worth of the man or the value of his services. On the contrary, it shows that his talents, his integrity, his abiding trust in an over-ruling Provi- denee, exactly fitted him for the crisis, and so enabled him to work out a mighty deliverance for his people.
The American people with one accord have denominated GEORGE WASHINGTON, the " Father of his Country," and admiring nations have confirmed the designation. And the future historian, when he narrates the events of the late rebellion, will place ABRAHAM LINCOLN in the same galaxy of illustrious
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FROM THIE YEAR 1830 TO 1867.
men with Washington ; and as the former is the acknowledged " FATHER," so the latter will be the admitted " SAVIOUR OF HIS COUNTRY." The names of Washington and Lincoln will go down to posterity, and their memories will be cherished by every lover of freedom and equal rights. Washington, in pure patriotism, and with Christian fortitude, labored to resist the encroachments of foreign tyrants, and to build up free institu- tions in his native land ; Lincoln, with like patriotism and forti- tude, labored to repel the assaults of domestic traitors, and to defend these institutions, so that the land of his birth might enjoy the blessings of perpetual and universal freedom. And though Lincoln, by the order of Providence, had no opportunity to participate in the important work of organizing our civil insti- tutions, he enjoyed the privilege of blotting out the only foul stain which deformed the work of our fathers. Lincoln's Proc- lamation of Emancipation, which burst the bands of slavery, and set four millions of human beings free, reflects the highest honor upon his character, and will mark an epoch in the world's history as important as that of Magna Charta or the Declaration of Independence.
CHAPTER XII.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, FROM 1692 TO THE DEATII OF MR. HANCOCK.
The Incorporation of the Precinct - The Establishment of the Gospel Ministry - The Gathering of a Church, and the Ordination of their First Minister - The Death of Mr. Estabrook, and the Settlement of Mr. Hancock - Settle- ment and Death of his Son Ebenezer -The Services, Character and Death of Mr. Hancock - His Publications.
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