USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Medford > History of the town of Medford, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement in 1630 to 1855 > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
The government of the country being now administered by President Washington with wisdom, power, and econ- omy, several years of quietness and prosperity gave rest to the public mind. Our town had little else to do than accord with the general acts of Congress. When the Father of his Country chose to decline a third election to the Presidency, the preference of our town for Mr. Adams, as his successor, was unequivocally shown ; and when this patriot stood candidate a second time, and was suc- cessfully opposed by Mr. Jefferson, Medford, Nov. 7, 1796, adhered to the son of Massachusetts, in a unanimous vote of 41, given for Benjamin Hall, as elector.
The death of Gen. Washington in December, 1799, touched every American heart as a family bereavement. Its announcement struck the country as a paralytic shock, and each one felt as if his strength had been suddenly withdrawn. No sooner had the mournful tidings reached Medford, than the inhabitants came together, and Jan. 2, 1800, expressed their sorrow at the sad event; resolving by vote, -
I71
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
" That the town will pay suitable respect to the memory of the late Gen. George Washington ; and that a committee of eleven be chosen to make the proper arrangements."
The following request was made by the committee, in the order of services which was printed and circulated in the town : -
" I. At one o'clock, P.M., the stores and shops of the town to be shut. The bell is to toll from one o'clock till the procession shall arrive at the meeting-house. The inhabitants to assemble at Union Hall, with a black crape or ribbon upon the left arm, above the elbow, as mourning. The scholars of the town school to join the procession in a body. The procession to move at two o'clock, under the direc- tion of the Committee.
" 2. Females, of all ages, are requested to wear black ribbons, and to be seated in the meeting-house before the arrival of the proces- sion
"3. Male strangers are requested to join the procession.
" 4. After the procession is seated, music suited to the occasion.
" 5. Prayer, by the Rev. Dr. Osgood.
" 6. Music.
" 7. Eulogy, by the Hon. John Brooks, Esq.
"8. Music. After which, the bell to toll till sunset."
Every thing was thus done by the town which could express grief at the loss, or respect for the memory, of the venerated chief. Gen. John Brooks, the companion in arms of the illustrious warrior, and one of his favorite friends, was the person, of all others, to deliver the public eulogy ; and it was done on the 13th of January. On that day all business was suspended as on the sacred sab- bath, the shops closed, the flags at half-mast, the meeting- house robed in black, and every inhabitant dressed in mourning apparel ; and these badges were continued for thirty days. In forming the funeral procession, the chil- dren of the town preceded; the military, with muffled drums, were in attendance as an escort; and the officers of the town, the chaplain, and the orator were accom- panied by strangers of distinction. The meeting-house was crowded to its utmost capacity ; and the funeral music and impressive prayers were in proper keeping with the solemnities of the commemoration. The eulogy, pre- pared in a short time, was the outflowing of a warm and afflicted heart. It was written in plain, strong language, and narrated, with lucid order, the prominent facts in Washington's life, and the salient features of his char- acter. It was printed with the following title-page : -
172
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
"An Eulogy on General Washington, delivered before the in- habitants of the town of Medford, agreeably to their vote, and at the request of their Committee, on the 13th of January, 1800. By John Brooks, A.M., M.M.S., and A.A.S. Printed by Samuel Hall, No. 53 Cornhill, Boston."
The Rev. Dr. Osgood preached an appropriate sermon to his people on the great subject; the town voted to print it, and to append to it Washington's " Farewell Address," and then to give a copy to each family. When Feb. 22 arrived, the meeting-house in Medford was open for religious exercises, and the day was kept as sacred.
During the presidential canvass in 1800, party lines be- gan to assume definiteness ; and that great contest of par- ties arose, which, although we are sometimes disposed to resent it as a disturbing influence in our lives, is, after all, the best safeguard of our liberties. In their political action, the people of Medford have, from the organization of the government, been in thorough sympathy with Mas- sachusetts ideas, and with the policy founded upon them. They have always taken an active and intelligent interest in the great questions which have agitated the country ; and, although political feeling has sometimes run high, it has been kept within the bounds of legitimate expression. To the honor of the town it may be said, that during the fiercest contentions of political parties, at their caucuses and at the polls, there have never been instances of vio- lence, menace, or corruption.
I73
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
CHAPTER VI.
MILITARY HISTORY.
THE life of the New-England colonists was beset with dangers, and was disturbed by continually recurring war- fare. They were liable to attacks from the Indians who surrounded them, and, from time to time, were exposed to incursions by the hostile French from the North, sup- ported by their savage allies. They had also to take their part in offensive warfare; and the resources of the col- onists, in men and money, were heavily taxed to raise armies for that purpose.
In 1630 the first tax levied on the inhabitants of Medford was in the sum of £3, for the payment of two instructors in military tactics, -a prophetic beginning. Every man became by necessity a soldier, and was ex- pected to stand ready for effective service.
The legal equipment of a soldier was as follows : -
" A musket (firelock or matchlock), a pair of bandoleers, a powder- pouch, with bullets, a sword, a belt, a worm, a scourer, a rest, and a knapsack. His pay, 18s. a month, and diet, and pillage; and his town to provide him with a month's provisions; viz., thirty pounds of biscuits, twelve of pork, twenty of beef, and one half-bushel of pease or meal. The leader was to receive 4os. per month. The towns were to bear their share of the loss of arms. A list of the men and their arms was to be handed in to the court."
The bandoleer was a shoulder-belt, used for supporting the gun and other heavy equipments. The firelock had a flint-lock ; the matchlock was discharged by the appli- cation of a lighted match, or fuse.
It will give us some idea of the military habits and customs of the people when we read the following law, passed July 26, 1631, and the records of subsequent regu- lations : -
" Ordered that every first Friday in every month, there shall be a general training of them that inhabit Charlestown, Mistick, and
174
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
the Newtown, at a convenient place about the Indian wigwams; the training to begin at one of the clock in the afternoon."
" March 22, 1631 : General Court. Ordered that every town with- in this jurisdiction shall, before the 5th of April next, take especial care that every person within their town (except magistrates and min- isters), as well servants as others, be furnished with good and suffi- cient arms."
" Aug. 7, 1632 : It is ordered that the captains shall be maintained (on parade days) by their several companies."
" March 4, 1635: It is ordered that from this day forward the captains shall receive maintenance out of the treasury, and not from their companies."
In 1635 the men of Medford, Cambridge, and Charles- town, formed one company.
" Nov. 20, 1637 : It was ordered that training should be kept eight times in a year, at the discretion of the chief officers. Magistrates and teaching elders are allowed each of them a man free from trainings; and the deacons of the several churches are freed in like manner."
At this early period none were allowed to vote for mili- tary officers, except freemen and they "who have taken the oath of residents." Freemen had a right to vote in these elections, although they were not enrolled as mem- bers of the trainband. Officers must be freemen, since none others were eligible to offices in the State.
The captain was required to take oath. The fines gathered were to be expended in buying drum-heads for the company and arms for poor men. Ship-carpenters, fishermen, and millers were excused from training. Mill- ers were excused, because, in tending tide-mills, they were often obliged to be at work through the night.
The regulations of the town were very strict in all mat- ters that related to the public safety ; and we find among the ancient records, the following statements of precau- tionary measures adopted in those times :-
" March 9, 1637: This day certain persons were appointed in Medford, as watchers of the Indians and wild beasts.
" All watchers shall come to the public assemblies with their mus- kets fit for service."
" No person shall travel above one mile from his dwelling-house without some arms, upon pain of 12d. for every default."
In 1637 two hundred men, as soldiers, were to be raised in Massachusetts. The following towns furnished numbers in proportion to their population : Boston, 26;
175
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
Salem, 18; Saugus, 16; Ipswich, 17; Newbury, 8; Rox- bury, 10; Hingham, 6; Medford, 3.
May 14: "Ordered that there shall be a watch of two a night kept in every plantation till the next general court."
June 2, 1641 : "Ordered that all the out-towns shall each of them have a barrel of gunpowder."
Sept. 15, 1641 : On this day began a "muster," which lasted two days; twelve hundred soldiers. And though there was "plenty of wine and strong beer," yet "no man was drunk, no oath was sworn, no quarrel, no hurt done."
Sept. 7, 1643: The General Court thus say : -
"It is agreed that the military commanders shall take order that the companies be trained, and some man, to be appointed by them, in each town, to exercise them."
" Arms must be kept in every family."
These warlike preparations show the dangerous sur- roundings of the early settlers : and they must have con- sidered themselves not only members of the Church militant, but citizens of the State militant. This is still more clearly shown by subsequent orders, among which were the following : -
" May 14, 1645: Ordered that all children within this jurisdiction, from ten to sixteen years of age, shall be instructed by some one of the officers of the band, or some other experienced soldier, whom the chief officer shall appoint upon the usual training-days, in the exer- cise of arms, as, small guns, half-pikes, bows and arrows, according to the discretion of said officer."
1647: " Persons unable to provide arms and equipments for militia duty on account of poverty, if he be single, and under thirty years of age, shall be put to service, and earn them. Musqueteers, among their articles of equipment, are to have two fathoms of match."
"Whoever refuses to do duty, when commanded, shall be fined five shillings."
May 2, 1649: The General Court issue the following :-
"It is ordered that the selectmen of every town within this jurisdic- tion shall, before the 24th of June, which shall be in the year 1650, provide for every fifty soldiers in each town a barrel of good powder, one hundred and fifty pounds of musket bullets, and one-quarter of a hundred of match."
May 26, 1658 : The General Court say, -
" In answer to the request of the inhabitants of Meadford, the Court judgeth it meet to grant their desire; i. e., liberty to list themselves
176
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
in the trainband of Cambridge, and be no longer compelled to travel unto Charlestown."
As several of Mr. Cradock's men were fined at different times for absence from training, we infer that the military exercises required by law were very strictly observed in Medford ; and how it could have been otherwise, after so many special laws and regulations, we do not see. It seemed a first necessity of their forest-life, to protect themselves from the wily Indian and the hungry bear. These military preparations were not suspended for a cen- tury. As late as Aug. 4, 1718, the inhabitants of Medford voted £10 to buy powder for their defence against the Indians.
"Every person enlisting in the troop is required to have a good horse, and be well fitted with saddle, etc .; and, having listed his horse, he shall not put him off without the consent of his captain."
The powder and balls belonging to the town were not deposited always in the same place; and, March 3, 1746, " Voted that Capt. Samuel Brooks shall have the keeping of the town's stock of ammunition."
1668 : This year the Court took a step which was not popular. They resolved to exercise the power which they thought they possessed ; viz., of nominating all the military officers. The taking away of "so considerable a part of their so-long-enjoyed liberty " met with decided opposi- tion ; and, when our Medford company was organized, the town did not allow the Court to nominate the officers.
Up to this time, we hear little of "musters ;" and we presume that large assemblies of soldiers at one place were not common. The military organization must neces- sarily have been very simple and limited at first; and the idea of "divisions," "battalions," "regiments," as with us, must have been of a much later period.
One fact, however, is clear ; and that is, that these habit- ual preparations for defence and war gradually educated the colonists to that personal courage and military skill which rendered them so powerful in their war with Philip, and thus prepared them for achieving the victories of the Revolution.
This deep interest in military affairs made our fore- fathers wakefully anxious on the subject of the election of officers in the trainbands. It was an event in which every person in town, male and female, felt that his or her safety
1
177*
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
might be deeply concerned. The law carefully guarded! the rights of the people in this act ; and, therefore, did not: leave so important a trust to be conferred by the members: of the company alone, but made it the duty of the whole town to choose the three commanding officers. On the first occasion when this power was to be exercised by the whole town, the selectmen issued a warrant for a meet- ing of all the inhabitants who had a right to vote. The warrant was dated May 18, 1781, and was issued "in the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for the pur- pose of choosing militia officers, as set forth in the Militia Act." This was the sole business of the meeting. The result was as follows : -
Caleb Brooks
Captain.
Stephen Hall, 4th
Ist Lieutenant.
Daniel Tufts
2d Lieutenant.
Here appears the great democratic principle of popular election of military leaders, wherein the majority of voters decide the whole case.
It was customary for the newly elected officer not only to "treat the company," but to treat everybody else who repaired to his house at the appointed time. These were deemed the occasions in which freedom was liberally inter- preted. Meat and bread were provided for food; but punch and flip were furnished in such overflowing abun- dance, that some visitors took many more steps in going home than in coming. It was expected, moreover, that the captain would treat his soldiers on parade-days. This. item, added to other necessary expenses, made quite a. draught on the chief officer's purse, as well as time.
Although we have recorded the organization of a mili -. tary corps in 1781, whose officers were chosen by the town, according to the laws then existing, there were sol- diers in Medford from 1630 to that time. What the exact rules and regulations respecting enlistment were in the middle of the seventeenth century, we cannot discover. There were composition companies ; and the associations were often accidental, according to contiguity of place. They in Medford, who were "watchers," were soldiers ; and the annual provision of town powder shows that the ammunition was used. There was a company of militia in Medford before the Revolution ; and, when troublesome times came, they were ready for duty. It was the eighth
178
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
company in the first regiment of the first brigade of the third division. Seth Bullard was captain, William Bur- ibeck first lieutenant, and Ezekiel Plympton second lieu- itenant. It belonged to Col. Thomas Gardner's regiment. IIn 1775 it was commanded by Capt. Isaac Hall. "This «company came out," says the adjutant-general, "on the Igth of April, 1775, and were in service five days, and were undoubtedly in the battles of Lexington and Con- «cord." The names of the men composing the company «on that memorable occasion are all recorded on the mus- ter-roll ; and they were all Medford men, as follows ; -
Isaac Hall, captain; Caleb Brooks, lieutenant; Stephen Hall, ensign ; Thomas Pritchard, Isaac Tufts, and Moses Hall, sergeants ; John Tufts, Gersham Teel, and Jonathan Greenleaf, corporals ; Tim- «Othy Hall, drummer ; William Farning, fifer. Privates as follows : David Vinton, John Bucknam, Isaac Watson, Jonathan Lawrence, Jonathan Davis, Abel Richardson, James Tufts, jun., Samuel Tufts, "3d, Andrew Floyd, Benjamin Floyd, Andrew Blanchard, Samuel Tufts, John Francis, jun., Paul Dexter, John Smith, Abel Butterfield, Josiah Cutter, John Kemp, Eleazer Putnam, James Bucknam, jun., Aaron Crowell, Jonathan Tufts, Benjamin Peirce, Thomas Wakefield, Jona- athan Teel, Aaron Blanchard, Richard Cole, William Binford, Thomas Bradshaw, Daniel Tufts, Peter Tufts, jun., Ebenezer Tufts, Isaac Gooch, Daniel Conery, Richard Paine, William Polly, Peter Conery, David Hadley, Jacob Bedin, Joseph Clefton, Samuel Hadley, jun., Moses Hadley, John Callender, John Clarke, Andrew Bradshaw, Thomas Savels, Francis Hall, and Benjamin Savils.
Here are fifty-nine Medford men in actual service : each man received pay for five days' service, and the State paid them in all £28. 16s. 5d.
Capt. Isaac Hall made a report of his company to the heads of the department, Oct. 6, 1775, then stationed on Prospect Hill. He resigned, before the end of the year, for the purpose of taking command of another company ; and Lieut. Caleb Brooks was chosen captain in his stead, and, as such, made a report, Jan. 3, 1776.
The new corps which Capt. Isaac Hall commanded "was made up of men from Medford, Charlestown, Woburn, Malden, Cambridge, and Stoneham, and were called the eight months' men." They enlisted for that time; and, in addition to their pay, each one was to have a coat at the expiration of his enlistment. Eight of this company be- longed to Medford ; and they were the following: Isaac Hall, captain ; Caleb Brooks, lieutenant. The privates were : Benjamin Floyd, James Wyman, Jonah Cutler, John Smith, William Bucknam, and Joseph Bond. The last
179
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
named was discharged June 7, 1775 ; the rest served out the eight months, and were on the "coat roll," so called, - which fact secured a pension from the United States. Some took money instead of a coat. Some time after- wards, Capt. Hall testified that Samuel Ingalls, one of his company, "has bin imprizoned in Cannedy, and hain't receeved no coat." This company was ordered by Gen. Washington, in March, 1776, to be " marched from Med- ford to the Heights in Dorchester." They were in service only four days.
Besides Col. John Brooks, whose career has already been recorded, several sons of Medford acquitted them- selves with honor in the Revolutionary War.
Col. Ebenezer Francis, son of Ebenezer Francis, was born in Medford, Dec. 22, 1743. Living in Medford till his majority, he was studious to gain knowledge, and suc- ceeded beyond most others. He moved to Beverly, and, in 1766, married Miss Judith Wood, by whom he had four daughters and one son. He was commissioned as captain by the Continental Congress, July 1, 1775; the next year he rose to the rank of colonel, and commanded a regiment on Dorchester Heights from August to December, 1776. Authorized by Congress, he raised the Eleventh Massachu- setts Regiment, and in January, 1777, marched at the head of it to Ticonderoga. Monday, July 7, 1777, a skirmish took place between the Eleventh Massachusetts Regiment and the British, at Hubbardton, near Whitehall, N.Y., in which Col. Francis fell. A private journal of Capt. Green- leaf, now in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, says, -
"Col. Francis first received a ball through his right arm; but still continued at the head of his troops till he received the fatal wound through his body, entering his right breast. He dropped on his face."
His chaplain says : -
" No officer so noticed for his military accomplishments and regu- lar life as he. His conduct in the field is spoken of in the highest terms of applause."
A British officer, who was in the battle of Hubbardton, happened to be quartered as a prisoner in Medford. He wrote a history of that battle ; and we make the following extracts, which relate to a Medford mother then living in her house at the West End. The officer says, -
180
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
" A few days since, walking out with some officers, we stopped at a house to purchase vegetables. While the other officers were bargain- ing with the woman of the house, I observed an elderly woman sit- ting by the fire, who was continually eying us, and every now and then shedding a tear. Just as we were quitting the house, she got up, and, bursting into tears, said, 'Gentlemen, will you let a poor dis- tracted woman speak a word to you before you go?' We, as you must naturally imagine, were all astonished ; and, upon inquiring what she wanted, with the most poignant grief, and sobbing as if her heart was on the point of breaking, asked if any of us knew her son, who was killed at the battle of Hubbardton, a Col. Francis. Several of us informed her that we had seen him after he was dead. She then in- quired about his pocket-book, and if any of his papers were safe, as some related to his estates, and if any of the soldiers had got his watch ; if she could but obtain that, in remembrance of her dear, dear son, she should be happy. Capt. Fergurson, of our regiment, who was of the party, told her, as to the colonel's papers and pocket-book, he was fearful lest they were lost or destroyed; but, pulling a watch from his fob, said, 'There, good woman ; if that can make you happy, take it, and God bless you.', We were all much surprised, and un- acquainted that he had made a purchase of it from a drum-boy. On seeing her son's watch, it is impossible to describe the joy and grief that were depicted in her countenance. I never, in all my life, beheld such a strength of passion. She kissed it, looked unutterable grati- tude at Capt. Fergurson, then kissed it again. Her feelings were in- expressible : she knew not how to utter or show them. She would repay his kindness by kindness, but could only sob her thanks. Our feelings were lifted to an inexpressible height: we promised to send after the papers ; and I believe, at that moment, could have hazarded life itself to procure them."
John Francis, a brother of the colonel, born in Med- ford, Sept. 28, 1753, was adjutant in the regiment com- manded by his brother, and fought bravely at Hubbard- ton. He was in several battles during the six years of his service, and at the capture of Burgoyne was wounded. He died July 30, 1822, in the sixty-ninth year of his age, in Beverly, the place of his residence. He was esteemed for his hospitality and cheerfulness.
A gallant action by a Medford sergeant, in the heat of the battle at White Plain, deserves a special record. Francis Tufts saw the standard-bearer fall : he flew to the spot, seized the standard, lifted it in the air, and rushed to the front rank of the line, and there marched forward, calling upon the men to follow. This was seen by Gen. Washington. As soon as victory was won, the general asked Col. Brooks the name of the young man in his regiment who achieved that noble act. He was told; and there, on the stump of a tree, the general immediately wrote his commission of adjutant.
18I
HISTORY OF MEDFORD.
A military manœuvre designed and executed by Capt. Thomas Pritchard of Medford, while in command at New York, deserves honorable mention. The English had taken possession of the city, Sept. 15, 1776, but were greatly annoyed by the American forces in its neighborhood. Capt. Pritchard was personally known to some of the British officers, and he was remarkable for his celerity and skill in the war tactics. One day he had been making ex- plorations with his company, when he came unexpectedly among a large force of British cavalry in a road. The English commander cried out to him, "Well, Pritchard, we've got you at last."-"Not exactly," replied Pritchard ; and he immediately ordered his men to form across the road, and to prepare for a charge. The cavalry stopped. The wind was favorable to carry the smoke of Pritch- ard's fire directly among the enemy. The English com- mander felt that there must be great loss to him if he should open a fire, owing to the narrow defile and the ad- verse wind. He therefore stood still. To retreat, and also to gain time, was Pritchard's policy; and he accom- plished it thus : he walked behind his men, and touched every other one in the whole line, and then ordered those that he touched to retreat backwards twenty steps. They did so, and there halted. This position kept each of his men in a fit order to fire or to charge, as might be neces- sary. As soon as this half had halted, he ordered the re- maining half to retreat slowly in the same way, to pass through the line, and retreat twenty steps behind the front rank. They did so successfully. The cavalry rushed for- ward, but did not fire. Pritchard's men understood the movement, and were not terrified at superior numbers. They continued to retreat in this unassailable and Amer- ican fashion for nearly an hour, when the narrow road ended in a broken, rocky pasture. Now their destruction seemed certain. Capt. Pritchard saw near him a ledge of rocks and a narrow pass. He resolved to get there if he could. But how could it be done? The enemy had now come out, and nearly surrounded him. He formed his men into a hollow square, and ordered them to retreat sideways towards that narrow pass. They did so, each keeping his place, and presenting his bayonet to the foe. They reached the rock, and there they must stop. With their backs to the precipice, and their face to the enemy, they must now surrender or die. They had resolved to try the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.