USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Popular history of Boston > Part 8
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The church is a plain structure. Except in the music of
235
Christ Church.
1706.
its chimes, which is particularly joyous on Sabbath mornings and on Christmas Day and at Easter, there is nothing about it to arrest the step of the stranger. But the interior is quaint and remarkable. One seems to pass in a moment from the busy scenes of one generation to the stately and quiet habitudes of an- other as he puts behind him the door.
A choir of chil- dren, composed of about an equal number of boys and girls, was singing in the orchestra, accom- panied by the or- gan, as we en- tered. In front of the orchestra, to which our eye was first directed, CHRIST CHURCH. stand four wooden angels with trumpets, carved after some antique pattern, and highly painted. They were taken by a privateer from a captured vessel bound for Spain, and so found their way to a Protestant church, instead of a Catholic cathedral. The odd chandeliers, to which our eye was next turned, have a similar history.
The pews are straight, stately, and old, and the old pulpit is furnished with a Bible and Prayer-Book, the gift of George II. The communion service was the gift of the same king,
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as that of King's Chapel was the endowment of William and Mary.
The chancel looks more like a faded picture than anything in American decorative art, though the old-time chancel window has been closed. Near it stands the first monument and bust of Washington ever made in this country.
The church has its memorial inscriptions, and, like most churches of colonial date, its tombs. The remains of Major Pitcairn were interred under this church, and are still sup- posed to be there by certain antiquaries, notwithstanding the record on the monument in Westminster Abbey. It is said that the body of Lieutenant Shea, who was also interred under this church, was forwarded to England as that of Pit- cairn, by mistake, the sexton at the time of the removal not being able to identify the remains. It was afterward remem- bered that Shea had worn a plaster on his head, which was the case of the body sent over the sea.
The steeple of Christ Church bears the date of 1723. It is the oldest church in Boston standing on its original ground, and was erected six years before the Old South. Except King's Chapel, it is the only house of worship that remains for the most part unaltered since colonial days. Brattle Street Church has been taken down, and the congregations accus- tomed to worship there erected a new and costly church on the Back Bay, which has lately been sold. King's Chapel has lost much of its old-time expression in the retouches of decorative art. But the removal of business and wealth to the southern portion of the city has proved the protection of this venerable Episcopal edifice, on the same principle that cathedrals and abbeys best preserve their ancient features in ruinous and decaying towns.
At the close of the service, which was after the most sim- ple Episcopal form, we ascended the old tower to the steeple. The church stands on rising ground overlooking the harbor,
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FROM BONNER'S MAP, 1722.
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Christ Church Bells.
1744.
and the tower and steeple, which are one hundred and sev- enty-five feet high, command an extensive view of the city and adjoining towns. It was from this steeple that General Gage witnessed the battle of Bunker Hill and the burning of Charlestown.
The view from the steeple is rich with subjects for histor- ical study. Immediately below and only a few steps from the church is Copp's Hill Burying-ground, where lie the re- mains of Cotton, Increase, and Samuel Mather, of ecclesias- tical fame. The willow that bends over their tomb was cut from a tree which shaded the grave of Napoleon at St. Helena. Here also repose the relics of some of the most respectable colonial families : the Huguenot Sigourneys, Edmund Hatt, the builder of the Constitution, the Mountfort family, claiming descent from the Norman conquest. It was from Copp's Hill that Burgoyne and Clinton directed the fire of the bat- tery which set fire to Charlestown at the battle of Bunker Hill.
The harbor lies below with the navy-yard spired with ships. Beyond flows the Mystic through wooded hills and past steepled towns. Across the long bridge is Bunker Hill Mon- ument. On one hand stretches the city as far as the eye can see ; on the other the inlets to the bay with the continuous dotting of fortifications and islands.
The bells themselves have an historical interest. They were cast in England, and were hung in 1744. They have an aggregate weight of seven thousand two hundred and twenty-two pounds. All of them have inscriptions. On the first two is some account of the church's early history. On the third is the following : -
" We are the first ring of bells cast for the British Empire in North America, A. R. 1744."
On the fourth : -
"God preserve the Church of England."
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Young Folks' History of Boston.
On the seventh this quiet humor : -
" Since generosity has opened our mouths, our tongues shall ring aloud its praise."
These chimes have pealed in sunshine and storm for more than one hundred and thirty years.
" Low at times and loud at times, And changing like a poet's rhymes, Rung the beautiful wild chimes."
They were at first an unwelcome sound in the colonies, for the chimes of motherland had small charms for the practical Puritan ear. They rang through the palmy days of the Eng- lish Georges : they were revolutionary tones, and they have rung through all the republic's years of prosperity and peace. Boston has stretched her limits far beyond their sound. But no new chime rings out so melodiously, and it is well worth a stranger's walk from the Common on a Christmas morning to hear the full, joyous, inspiring tones of Christ Church bells.
We have spoken of the First Church, the Old South Church, and the Old North Church, all of which are associated with interesting historic events. We should add to the list Arling- ton Street Church, which is the successor of the first Presby- terian Church gathered in Boston. It was founded in 1727, and was called Federal Street Church after the Revolution. It was in the second house of worship, erected in 1744, that the convention met that ratified the Constitution of the United States. It became a Unitarian church and changed its loca- tion to Arlington Street. It is one of the most beautiful churches of the city.
" HAIL to the morn, when first they stood On Bunker's height, And, fearless, stemmed the invading flood, And wrote our dearest rights in blood, And mowed in ranks the hireling brood, In desperate fight ! Oh, 'twas a proud, exulting day, For even our fallen fortunes lay In light."
PERCIVAL.
CHAPTER XIII.
BUNKER HILL.
THERE was to be war.
After the shattered British regiments came running back from Concord the whole country became aware that war was at hand ; that the thirteen colonies must unite in it, and that the issue was doubtful.
The British army in Boston was soon reinforced. Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne were the commanders. The farmer- soldiers were on the alert, building rude fortifications at places more or less remote from the town, which was gradually being placed in the condition of siege. On the 15th of June the Committee of Public Safety voted to fortify Bunker Hill.
The work was begun at once, - on the evening of the following day. Fourteen hundred infantry troops and a company of artillery were ordered to parade on Cambridge Common at six o'clock on the evening of the 16th ; twelve hundred met at the time appointed ; they listened to a fervent prayer from the President of Harvard College, and then marched to Charlestown, under Colonel Prescott.
They carried, besides arms, shovels and dark-lanterns.
They marched in silence.
They were ordered to erect earthworks first on Breed's Hill. About midnight the work began under the dim light of the stars.
The workmen were so near the enemy, and the night was so still, that they could hear the sentinel's cry, " All's well,"
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in the sleeping town across the river. By early morning they had raised intrenchments six feet high.
And now the light slowly brightened in the east, and the soldiers began to bestir themselves in the town.
There was a man-of-war lying in the stream, named the Lively.
When the captain of the Lively came upon deck and scanned the pleasant green shore he was greatly astonished at the sight which met his eyes.
" What are the Yankees doing on the hill?" he must have asked excitedly.
" They have built a breastwork," some one undoubtedly answered.
When he was certain that this was the case he did not wait for orders as to what to do.
He at once gave the command, -
" Fire !"
The sound of the guns from the man-of-war threw the town into great alarm. The British hurried to the shore and saw a fortification menacing them across the narrow stream.
The red-coats were at once put in motion. Firing on the new earthworks began from Copp's Hill.
The British held a council of war immediately. It was decided that an attack must be made on the new earthworks as soon as the troops could be set across the stream.
It was a hot morning, but the tired Americans continued their work with the shovels, and at noon, as they saw the preparations of the enemy to cross the stream, they knew that more dangerous implements must shortly be used. They were reinforced, about two o'clock, from the main army which was at Cambridge.
At three o'clock General Howe, at the head of three thou- sand men, was ready for the attack. His troops came gayly marching up the hill.
Armed Transport
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PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL.
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Battle of Bunker Hill.
1775.
The colonial troops were short of ammunition. They were, however, well officered. General Putnam was there ; General Warren ; the brave General Stark.
" Aim low," was the order given, "and do not fire until you see the whites of the enemies' eyes."
The required distance was at last reached by the enemy. The provincials fired with awful effect. The red-coats reeled back in confusion.
The provincials shouted, and thought the battle already won.
General Howe rallied his forces, and again the men faced the levelled muskets.
The scene now became fearful indeed. Charlestown had been set on fire in two places, and whole streets were in flames. The cannon on Copp's Hill in Boston were throwing their heavy iron balls across the river, and the guns of the ships-of-war were as active in the stream.
Amid the roar and smoke the British army advanced, with less confidence than before. Again came a raking fire from the provincials ; nothing could stand before it, every bullet seemed to meet its mark. The enemy reeled back again, filled with terror, leaving on the hillside the bodies of the slain.
The British officers swore. They even pricked their men with their swords. They knew not what to do.
General Clinton crossed over from Boston, bringing rein- forcements. General Howe resolved to change his plan of attack.
Now there was terror in the provincial ranks, not on account of any lack of bravery, but because the ammunition was nearly spent.
" Do not fire a musket until the British are within twenty yards," said General Prescott.
At that distance the provincials poured a deadly volley
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Young Folks' History of Boston.
into the ranks of the enemy ; the latter wavered, but only for a moment. The Red-coats came rushing forward again ; the ammunition of the Provincials was gone ; the battle was lost.
The Provincials retreated under the enemy's fire ; at this point the brave Warren fell. The survivors returned to Cam- bridge, and the British held the hill.
Night came, and the shadows fell on homes filled with anxiety, on the wounded in their sufferings, and on the dead whom the green earth was soon to cover. There was small joy in the Province House that night, for victory had cost the British too great a flow of blood. There was despon- dency and distress in Cambridge. The Provincials, after the work of the day, there slept their troubled sleep. Merciful night ! It was the saddest that Boston ever had known, or has ever unto this time seen, - that night of the 17th of June.
The Americans had one hundred and fifteen killed and three hundred wounded. The British more than two hun- dred killed, and more than eight hundred wounded. Such was the British victory at Bunker Hill.
THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL.
" HUMBLE the lot, yet his the race, When Liberty sent forth her cry, Who thronged in conflict's deadliest place, To fight, - to bleed, - to die ! Who cumbered Bunker's height of red, By hope through weary years were led, And witnessed Yorktown's sun Blaze on a nation's banner spread, A nation's freedom won."
A. B. STREET.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE SIEGE OF BOSTON.
THE whole country was now alarmed.
A congress of the colonies was held at Philadelphia ; it resolved to raise an army of twenty thousand men, and George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief.
On the 2d of June Washington arrived at Watertown, and was welcomed by the Committee of Public Safety. On the following morning he rode in a phaeton drawn by two horses to Cambridge.
His arrival at Cambridge is thus described in a private letter written at the time : -
" Just before the chief came into town," says the writer, " the soldiers stationed here in Cambridge were drawn up in a straight line on the Common. It was a very quaint sight to behold some seven or eight thousand militia vieing with each other in the want of waistcoats and of shoes and stock- ings. As you must imagine, there is a chance here for tailors and cobblers.
"The line extended from the elm-tree opposite Deacon Moore's house " [the present site of the Shepard Church], "which you must not have forgotten, on account of the crow's nest, directly eastward. . . . Since the fight in Charles- town, the men look more timid than formerly, and some, indeed, are quite out of courage. The officers exercise small control over the soldiery, and the want of discipline is very plain to perceive.
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" Towards mid-day the chief, riding in a carriage pulled by two horses, and escorted by some of the Safety Commit- tee, came in sight. The road was crowded with bystanders, and the ovation which Washington received must have been gratifying to him.
" As he rode along, he never so much as looked to the
THE WASHINGTON ELM.
right or to the left, but kept his head erect, his eyes forward, with a demeanor somewhat grave and lofty. In no whit did he manifest a familiar air, which conduct some people mis- took for haughtiness, which I do not admit.
" Having advanced near by, the chief mounted a horse, received his sword, - it may have been his own, - and rode up and down the line, followed by the under officers. There
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Bunker Hill.
Charlestown.
Breed's Hill.
VIEW FROM BEACON HILL, LOSTON.
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Washington takes Command.
1775.
was the greatest eagerness to see him and to hear the reading of the commission. Washington, by his looks, appeared to esteem the army."
Washington took command of the army under the Old Elm on Cambridge Green. It was a king among trees then, full of foliage in the glowing midsummer weather. It stands on crutches by the wayside to-day, a monarch discrowned, but beautiful in age. No one knows how many winters have whitened it, and how many summers have clothed it with green. Beneath its propped-up boughs is a granite tablet that reads, -
UNDER THIS TREE WASHINGTON FIRST TOOK COMMAND OF THE AMERICAN ARMY, JULY 3, 1775.
Washington's headquarters were at first in the old buff- colored, gambrel-roofed house which may still be seen just east of the Common. In this house Oliver Wendell Holmes was born, and here he wrote " Old Ironsides." Washing- ton's permanent headquarters was the house now occupied by Henry W. Longfellow, a short distance from Harvard Square.
After the battle of Bunker Hill, General Putnam fortified Prospect Hill, and covered the town of Cambridge from an advance by the enemy. Works had been thrown up on Winter Hill ; these were strengthened. All the roads leading out of Boston were seized and guarded. The British took possession of Dorchester Heights, and strengthened their position on Bunker Hill.
Quiet reigned in the hostile camps. But Boston was invested by the Provincials.
July passed with little action in the field by either army.
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Young Folks' History of Boston.
In August a reinforcement of fourteen hundred riflemen, chiefly backwoodsmen of the Shenandoah Valley, arrived in the American camp. In September Washington received about three tons of gunpowder from Rhode Island.
Winter came, a severe one to the Provincials, a terrible one to the British in the invested city. Food there became
THE HOLMES HOUSE.
scarce and dear ; luxuries there were none ; complaining was everywhere heard. To make the supplies last as long as possible General Howe sent seven hundred of the poorest inhabitants out of the town. To provide fuel he caused houses to be demolished.
Washington, knowing the distress within the town, now began to plan an assault upon it. It was decided at a council
LEFT WING
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Long Wharf
Bird I
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PLAN OF THE INVESTMENT OF BOSTON.
1
1776.
Seizure of Dorchester Heights.
26I
of war to make an attempt to seize Dorchester Heights, and thus to bring the enemy directly under the American guns.
The first thing to be done was to deceive the British in regard to the point it was intended to attack. With this object, Washington ordered his troops to bombard the town from various hills on the west. This attack began on March 2. It continued for three nights, and the British were com- pletely deceived by it, and the Heights were left unpro- tected.
While they were watching the bombardment in the west, preparations were rapidly made in the south to advance upon the Heights.
On the night of the 4th of March, a strong detachment, under General Thomas, set out from Roxbury. It was a hazy but not very cold winter's night. There was little or no snow on the ground, which was, however, frozen hard.
First went eight hundred picked patriots, who acted as a covering party. Following these were carts with intrenching tools, such as pickaxes and spades ; then came twelve hun- dred men, as a working party, to throw up breastworks ; then rumbled along two hundred carts, with fascines (fagots for building ramparts) and bundles of hay.
They moved very silently and cautiously ; meanwhile they could hear the roar of the cannon in the west, where the bombardment to distract the attention of the British was going forward. At last they ascended the Heights, creeping up its sides. The carts were arranged in convenient spots, and the working party took their tools, while the others kept guard at various points on the hill. Then a scene similar to that on Bunker Hill took place. The task was yet more difficult, for it was winter, and the ground was hard.
The men worked diligently, plying their tools, and piling up the hay and fagots, until a long, broad breastwork gradu- ally rose on the crest of the Heights.
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With the early dawn of morning, the British in Boston saw, with amazement and dismay, what had been done in the night. There was a sort of fog, which made the breast- works seem even greater and more formidable than they really were.
All the hills around were soon covered with spectators. General Howe at once saw the great advantage which the possession of Dorchester Heights gave to the patriots. From them, Washington's guns and mortars commanded the town, and might besiege it with far better pros- pects of success.
The British General decided to lose no time in trying to re-take the Heights. He chose two thousand of his best troops, and em- barked them on vessels, with the object of land- ing them below the for- tified eminence.
No sooner had they PINE-TREE FLAG. got on board, however, than a great tempest of wind and furious rain arose. The ships were driven into port again, amid much danger of being lost. Thus the patriot cause was served by the elements, just as it was years after at Yorktown, where another storm prevented the escape of Cornwallis and his army.
There was now but one thing for the British to do, and that was to abandon Boston. General Howe was afraid that an assault would be made before he could get his troops away ; so he sent a message to Washington, threatening to
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WASHINGTON'S TREASURE-CHEST.
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Evacuation of Boston.
1776.
burn the town if such an assault was made. Meanwhile the patriots went on strengthening and extending their works on and around Dorchester Heights; and on the morning of March 17, Howe was more than ever alarmed to see that breastworks had been raised over night on Nook's Hill, a place completely commanding the Neck and the southern end of Boston.
He at once called a council of war, in which it was resolved to evacuate Boston without delay. The British soldiers set to plundering the linen and woollen shops. They hastily spiked their cannons and mortars, which they could not carry away with them, and demolished Castle William.
The ships in the port were made ready for departure. All through the night of the 17th the good people of Boston saw strange movements going on. Troops were marching silently through the streets toward the wharves. On the wharves all was hurry and bustle.
Besides the soldiers, very many citizens and their families were busily preparing to embark. These were the "Tories," - those who took the part of the British in the war, and who feared to remain behind among the indignant patriots.
It was still dark - not quite four o'clock in the morning - when the signal was given for the ships to move away from the docks ; and slowly and mournfully this fleet, laden with Red-coats, rode out of Boston harbor, to enter it no more.
When the morning light came the citizens who crowded the streets, with joyful faces, found their beloved town freed from the soldiers of King George.
Already Washington had learned what was going forward, and the rear-guard of Howe had scarcely set foot on board ship before the patriot advance-guard, with the general-in- chief at its head, marched into the town, amid shouts and cheers of eager welcome.
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The capture of Boston was hailed throughout the colonies with much rejoicing. Congress thanked Washington, and ordered a medal to be struck in honor of the event. The Massachusetts Legislature passed an address to the com- mander, in which it was said, " May you still go on, approved by Heaven, revered by all good men, and dreaded by those tyrants who claim their fellow-men as their property."
THE SAD KING.
We are accustomed to find the name of George III. asso- ciated with the word " tyrant" in the early history of our country. When the writer was a boy he was taught that King George was a very bad man, and he looked upon him as a Henry VIII. or James II.
The king made many stupid political mistakes, or left his ministry to make them; but in his private life George III., a name in the days of our fathers always spoken with hate, was one of the purest, kindest, and the best of English kings.
His was a sad life, with all of its power and splendor.
Let me tell you some stories of it, and you will regret that so good and so sorely afflicted a king should have been led to treat his American colonies with injustice.
The discipline of insanity has refined many rough natures and quickened many cold hearts that otherwise might have passed as misanthropes in the world. Among these may fairly be classed George III. "Few princes," says Lord Brougham, " have been more exemplary in their domestic habits or in the offices of private friendship. But the instant his prerogative was concerned, or his bigotry interfered with, or his will thwarted, the most bitter animosity, the most cal- culating coldness of heart, took possession of his breast and swayed it by turns." This disposition made him unpopular
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The Sad King.
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at times, and but for a correcting providence - the chastise- ment of his constantly threatening affliction - might have lost him his throne. His frequent mental distresses made him humble, and kept his heart open to the unfortunate and the poor. Like Lear, he could look upon the meanest of his subjects and say, -
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