USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > The Pilgrims of Boston and their descendants: with an introduction by Hon. Edward Everett, LL. D.; also, inscriptions from the monuments in the Granary burial ground, Tremont street > Part 13
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This eminence has become sacred ground. It contains in its bosom the ashes of the brave who died fighting to defend their altars and their homes.
Within a year after his death, Congress passed the following resolu- tion :
" That a monument be erected to the memory of General Warren, in the town of Boston, with the following inscription : *
* To the lasting honor of the Congress of '76, the above resolution was passed, but after the lapse of three-quarters of a century, we ask, Where is the monument ? A petition is now in preparation, to present to the next Congress, praying them to carry out the patriotic resolve of their predecessors .- ED.
231
WARREN.
IN HONOR OF
JOSEPH WARREN,
MAJOR GENERAL OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY.
HE DEVOTED HIS LIFE TO THE LIBERTIES OF HIS COUNTRY,
AND IN BRAVELY DEFENDING THEM, FELL AN
EARLY VICTIM IN THE
BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, JUNE 17, 1775.
THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, AS AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF HIS SERVICES AND DISTINGUISHED MERIT, HAVE ERECTED THIS
MONUMENT TO HIS MEMORY."
[From Allen's Biographical Dictionary.]
Major-General Joseph Warren, of the American army, the son of a farmer, descended from an ancestor, who was an early settler of Boston. He was born in Roxbury in 1740, and graduated at Harvard College in 1759. Having studied under Dr. Lloyd, he in a few years became one of the most eminent physicians in Boston. But he lived at a period when greater objects claimed his attention. He was a bold politician. From the year 1768, he was a principal member of a secret meeting or caucus in Boston, which had great influence on the concerns of the country. In this assembly the plans of defence were matured. After the destruction of the tea, it was no longer kept secret. He was twice chosen orator on the Anniversary of the Massacre, and his orations breathe the energy of a great and daring mind. It was he, who, on the evening before the Battle of Lexington, obtained information of the intended expedition against Concord, and at ten o'clock at night de- spatched an express to Hancock and Adams, who were at Lexington, to warn them of their danger. He himself on the next day, the memora-
232
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
ble 19th of April, was very active. After the departure of Hancock to Congress, he was chosen President of the Provincial Congress, in his place. Four days previous to the Battle of Bunker or Breed's Hill, he received his commission of Major-General. When the intrenchments were made upon the fatal spot, to encourage the men within the lines, he went down to Cambridge, and joined them as a volunteer on the eventful day of the battle, June 17th. He did wonders in preserving order among the troops. Colonel Prescott commanded the party within the lines, and Colonel Stark the men who were without, behind a rail fence, and did such amazing execution by a well-directed fire. Just as the retreat commenced, a ball struck him on the head, and he died in trenches. A female historian of the war, tells us that he chose to die rather than be taken prisoner. We are at a loss to know how this can be ascertained. We always understood he was killed outright, and had not at his own option any of the circumstances of his death. It is true, however, that at all times he discovered the greatest fortitude and bravery, and as he lived an ornament to his country, his death reflected a lustre upon himself, and the cause he so warmly espoused. No per- son's fall was ever more regretted, and yet no one could help feeling the sentiment, who repeated the line, " Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."
Thus fell at the age of thirty-five, in the flower of manhood, the first victim of rank in the war of the Revolution. In the spring of 1776, when the British troops left Boston, his body was brought from the battle-field, where it had lain undistinguished from his fellow-soldiers, to be entombed in a Boston burial ground. The several lodges of Free Masons preceded, and thousands of his fellow-citizens followed his remains to King's Chapel, where an eloquent orator, a brother-mason, pronounced the funeral eulogy. The exordium addressed to the "Illus- trious Relics," had a very strong effect upon the auditory.
General Warren had been Grand Master of Free Masons in North America for many years, and all the friends of the craft now highly respect his memory. Having said that in private life General Warren was amiable, we repeat it, that in person, mind, and manners, he was
233
WARREN.
equally well accomplished. He gained the love of those who lived with him in habits of intimacy, while the public voice celebrated his virtues. He was candid, generous to a fault, and ready to do kind offices to those who had different sentiments from his own.
There were persons not long since living who recollected his polite attentions, when they were slighted and wounded by others whose minds were less liberal, or more corroded with party spirit.
- Cui pudor et justitiae soror, Incorrupta fides nudaque veritas. Quando ullum invenient parem ? Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit.
He published an oration in 1772, and another in 1775, commemora- tive of the 5th of March, 1770.
FURTHER NOTICES OF THE WARRENS.
H. J.
JOHANNES WARREN,
BOSTONIENSIS,
TEMPORIBUS SUIS ILLUSTRIS,
NEC POSTERITATI OBLIVISCENDUS.
BELLO CIVILI SEMPER REI PUBLICA DEDITUS,
JUVENTUTEM PATRIÆ SACRAVIT.
MEDICUS INTER PRIMOS,
CHIRURGUS FACILE PRINCEPS,
NOVANGLIÆ
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THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
PRIMAM MEDICINE SCHOLAM,
IPSIUS LABORIBUS FUNDATAM, PER XXX. ANNOS
DOCTRINA SUSTULIT,
ELOQUENTIA ILLUMINAVIT.
QUID VERUM, QUID HONESTUM,
QUID SCIENTIÆ, QUID BONO PUBLICO PROFUTURUM
EXEMPLO DOCUIT,
VITÆ STUDIO PROMOVIT.
ERGA DEUM PIETATE,
ERGA HOMINES BENEVOLENTIA SINCERE IMBUTUS,
SUMMAM SEVERITATEM
SUMMÆ HUMANITATI JUNXIT.
UNIVERSITATIS HARVARDIANÆ PROFESSOR,
SOCIETATIS PHILANTHROPICÆ PRÆSES,
SOCIETATIS MEDICA MASSACHUSETTENSIS PRÆESAS,
NULLUS ILLI DEFUIT HONOS.
VITA PERACTA NON DEEST OMNIUM LUCTUS.
NATUS DIE XXVII. JULII, A. D. MDCCLIII.
OBIIT DIE IV. APRILUS, A. D. MDCCCXV.
John Warren, M. D., a physician, brother of Gen. Joseph Warren, was born in Roxbury, July 27, 1753, graduated at Harvard College
235
WARREN.
1771. Being settled in the practice of physic in Salem, he marched as surgeon to the scene of battle at Lexington. He was soon appointed hospital surgeon. He went with the army to Long Island and New Jersey. In 1777, he was intrusted with the military hospitals of Bos- ton, in which post he remained during the war. In 1780, he gave a course of dissections, and in 1783, he was appointed professor of anat- omy and surgery in the medical school of Cambridge. In 1796, he endorsed the notes of a medical friend, who had purchased lands in Maine, and in consequence of his failure, was obliged to pay for and receive the lands, which caused him immense vexation and great loss of property. For years he was subject to an organic disease of the heart; but he died of an inflammation of the lungs, April 4, 1815, aged 61. His wife was daughter of Governor Collins. His son, Dr. John Collins Warren, succeeded him as professor of surgery and anatomy. Dr. Warren was the most eminent surgeon in New England, unless Dr. Nathan Smith might be considered equally skilful. As an eloquent anatomical lecturer he was unequalled. For industry and temperance he was remarkable. Firmly believing the Christian religion, he was not regardless of its duties. He attended on the Sabbath public worship, and was careful to instruct his family in religious doctrine. He had himself been instructed by a pious mother. At times he was subject to great depression of spirits, the consequence of afflictions, so that he lost the wish to live to old age. He was liberal, generous, charitable in private life, and a disinterested, enlightened friend to his country. He delivered various public orations and addresses.
The personal appearance of Dr. John Warren was most preposses- sing. He was of about middling stature, and well formed; his deport- ment was agreeable, and his manners, formed in a military school, and polished by intercourse with the officers of the French army, were those of an accomplished gentleman. An elevated forehead, black eyes, aquiline nose, and hair turned up from the forehead, gave an air of reflection and dignity, which became a person of his profession and character.
His remains are deposited in a tomb erected for the purpose by his
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THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
family, in the cemetery of St. Paul's Church, in Boston. In the same sepulchre rest the relics of his friend and brother.
. Abraham Warren was of Salem in 1637, perhaps also of Ipswich in 1648, and died about 1654.
Arthur, of Weymouth, had sons; Arthur, born 1639, and Jacob, born Oct. 26, 1642. Jacob, of Chelmsford, 1666. John, of Watertown, came to New England 1630, freeman 1631, died Dec. 13, 1667. John, of Massachusetts, freeman 1645. Joseph, of Plymouth, 1623. Na- thaniel, of Plymouth, 1644. Peter, of Boston, had sons ; John and Ben- jamin, born in 1661 and 1665. Richard, one of the first Pilgrims at Plymouth, 1620, died 1628. Elizabeth, his widow, died 1673, aged 90. James Warren, a patriot of the Revolution, was descended from the preceding ; was born 1726, graduated at Harvard College 1745. He was for many years an eminent merchant. About 1757, his father died and left him a handsome patrimonial estate which had descended from Richard, of Plymouth. He was appointed High Sheriff as successor to his father. In May, 1766, he was chosen a member of the General Court from Plymouth, and he uniformly supported the rights of the Colony. The government, who knew his abilities and feared his opposi- tion, tried the influence of promises and of threats upon him, but his integrity was not to be corrupted. He was for many years Speaker of the House of Representatives. Preferring an active station, in which he could serve his country, he refused the office of Lieutenant-governor and that of Judge of the Supreme Court, but accepted a seat at the Navy Board. At the close of the war he retired from public employ- ment, to enjoy domestic ease and leisure. He died at Plymouth, Nov. 27, 1808. Amidst his public cares he never neglected the more humble duties of domestic life or the more exalted claims of religion. His wife Mercy, daughter of James Otis, of Barnstable, was born in 1727, and died at Plymouth, in Oct. 1814, aged 87. She published several poems, also a History of the American Revolution, in 3 vols., 1805.
Sir John Borlase Warren, an English admiral, employed in the ex- pedition to Quiberon, destined to assist the Vendeans, was born at the seat of his family at Stapleford, in Nottinghamshire, 1754. After the
237
WARREN.
Vendean expedition he joined the Brest fleet under Lord Bridport, and distinguished himself in 1798 by capturing the French squadron sent to invade Ireland. On the conclusion of peace he became a privy coun- cillor, and was sent as ambassador to Russia. Died 1822.
Sir Peter Warren, vice-admiral of the red, was born in Ireland 1703, and won his laurels by the capture of Louisbourg, and the total defeat of a French squadron sent to recover it, 1745-1747. In the autumn of the last mentioned year his popularity occasioned his return to parliament as member for Westminster. Died 1752.
Charles Warren, an eminent engraver, was a native of London, and for many years held a distinguished rank in his profession. He was the first who effectually removed the difficulties of engraving on steel. Died 1823.
1
-
238
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
GEORGE ANDREWS,
SON OF MR. BENJAMIN AND MRS. HANNAH ANDREWS, AGED 7 YEARS AND 3 MO. DIED FEB'Y 3D, 1757.
HERE LYES BURIED YE BODY OF
ABIGAIL LOWEL,
WIFE TO JOSEPH LOWEL, AGED ABOUT 72 YEARS, . DIED JUNE 27 TH, 1707.
1
HERE LYES INTERED YE BODY OF
JOSEPH LOWEL,
AGED ABOUT 63 YEARS,
DEPARTED THIS LIFE AUGUST YE 18TH, 1705.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF CAPT . O. VINTON, AGED ABOUT 45 YEARS, DIED APRIL YE 10TH, 1726.
239
INSCRIPTIONS.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MRS. ELISABETH MORDEN, AGED 73 YEARS,
DEC'D DECEMBER YE 13TH, 1731.
IN MEMORY OF MR. ALEXANDER MACKAY, JUN'R, SON OF
CAPT. ALEX. & MRS. RUTHEY MACKAY,
WHO DIED NOV. 20TH, 1787, IN THE 16TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
IN MEMORY OF
POLLY BURR MACKAY,
DAUGHT. OF
CAPT. ALEXANDER & MRS. RUTH MACKAY, WHO DIED MAY 27TH, 1783, IN THE 4TH YEAR OF HER AGE.
"LOOK ON THIS BABE & LEARN TO DIE, "HERE YOU MUST LIE AS WELL AS I."
MRS. SUSANAH HEATON.
240
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
COL'L SAMUEL KNOWLES,
OF EASTHAM,
WHO DIED JAN'RY YE 30TH, 1750, IN YE 67TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
HERE LIES THE BODY OF
MRS. ELISABETH KELLY, WIFE OF MR. PATRICK KELLY, AGED 28 YEARS, DIED SEPT. 25, 1758.
ELISABETH JOHNSTON,
DAUGT. TO
MR. GEORGE & MRS. EUPHEMA JOHNSTON, DEC'D MAY YE 18TH, 1736, IN YE 19TH YEAR OF HER AGE.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MRS. SUSANNAH GARRETT,
WIFE OF MR. JOHN GARRETT,
AGED 84 YEARS, WHO DYED JULY YE 28TH, 1745.
241
INSCRIPTIONS.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MRS. DEBORAH DRAPER,
WIFE OF MR. JOHN DRAPER, AGED 39 YEARS, DIED DEC'R 9TH, 1736.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MRS. PERSIS DESHON, WIFE TO MR. MOSES DESHON, WHO DEC'D JULY YE 21ST, 1738, AGED 26 YEARS.
HERE LIES THE BODY OF
MRS. ELISABETH WHITWELL,
WIFE TO SAM'L WHITWELL,
.
DEPARTED THIS LIFE APRIL 6TH, 1768, AGED 46 YEARS.
ALSO
MARY,
DAU'R TO MR. SAM'L & MRS. ELIS'TH WHITWELL,
DIED JUNE 12TH, 1754, AGED 2 YEARS & 17 DAYS.
[NOTE. ] This stone stands at the corner of the Franklin Monument.
16
242
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
IN MEMORY OF
MRS. MARGARET HALL,
CONSORT OF THE LATE MR. WILLIAM HALL, WHO DIED FEB'RY 17TH, 1782, AGED 63 YEARS.
HERE LIES BURIED YE BODY OF
MR. WILLIAM HALL,
LEATHER DRESSER,
WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE AUGUST YE 16TH, 1771, 2. 75.
HERE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF
MRS. ANN HALL,
THE WIFE OF MR. WILLIAM HALL,
AGED 45 YEARS, DYED JULY YE 19TH, 1745.
HERE LIES BURIED THE BODY OF
MRS. MARY BALLARD,
WIFE OF MR. DANIEL BALLARD,
DIED SEPT. YE 16TH, 1771, AGED 64 YEARS.
243
INSCRIPTIONS.
HERE LIES THE BODY OF
MRS. DORCAS BALLARD,
DAUGHTER OF
MR. DANIEL & MRS. MARY BALLARD,
DIED DECEM'R YE 7TH, 1768, AGED 26 YEARS.
HERE LYES BURIED YE BODY OF
MR. JOHN HUTCHINS,
WHO DIED JANUARY 23D, 1738,
IN YE 6 6 TH YEAR OF HIS AGE.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF
MRS. SARAH BOYNTON,
THE WIFE OF MR. RICHARD BOYNTON, AGED 36 YEARS,
DIED OCT. 16TH, 1753.
HERE LYES BURIED THE BODY OF
MR. ALEXANDER G * * GONS,
WHO DE'CD MAY THE 25TH, 1730, IN YE 41ST YEAR OF HIS AGE.
HERE LYES YE BODY OF MRS. MARGARET RUSSELL, WIFE TO MR. JOHN RUSSELL, AGED 26 YEARS, DEC'D OCT'R YE 23D, 1732.
RUSSELL.
" TAKE THEM, O DEATH! AND BEAR AWAY WHATEVER THOU CAN'ST CALL THINE OWN!
THINE IMAGE STAMPED UPON THIS CLAY, DOTH GIVE THEE THAT, BUT THAT ALONE!
" TAKE THEM, O GRAVE! AND LET THEM LIE FOLDED UPON THY NARROW SHELVES,
AS GARMENTS BY THE SOUL LAID BY, AND PRECIOUS ONLY TO OURSELVES !
" TAKE THEM, O GREAT ETERNITY ! OUR LITTLE LIFE IS BUT A GUST,
THAT BENDS THE BRANCHES OF THY TREE, AND TRAILS ITS BLOSSOMS IN THE DUST!"
+ *
THE name of RUSSELL has ever been distinguished in the annals of Massachusetts, and has prevailed in all the New England States.
Forty-seven had graduated at the New England Colleges in 1826, of whom thirteen have been Clergymen.
245
RUSSELL.
GEORGE, Hingham, 1636; Scituate between 1636 and 1657, 2 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. IV. 240. The George Russell who was at Boston in 1680, is supposed by Hutchinson to have been a younger brother of the celebrated Lord William Russell, who was beheaded in Lincoln's Inn Fields, 21st July, 1683, Æ. 42.
JAMES, of Charlestown, son of the Hon. Richard Russell, was born 4th October, 1640; admitted Freeman 1668, elected Representative to the "Great and General Court" 1679, assistant from 1680 to 1686, Councillor under the new Charter 1692, was a Judge and Treasurer of Massachusetts. He died April 28, 1709, ÆE. 68. His wife was Maybel, daughter of Governor Haynes.
JOHN, of Charlestown and Boston, finally settled in Boston, where he became the first Minister of the Baptist Church, July 28, 1679. He died December 24, 1680. According to Benedict, the Russells of Pro- vidence and its vicinity are descended from him.
JOHN, of Woburn, may be the one admitted Freeman in 1644. He is styled in Woburn records, "The Anabaptist," and died June 1, 1676.
JOHN, of Cambridge, 1636, may be the one called sen. and admitted Freeman in 1681.
JOHN, of Roxbury, was admitted Freeman in 1654.
JOHN, of New Haven, died 1681. Dodd. 146, 162.
JOHN, Minister of Wethersfield, Conn., graduated at Harvard Col- lege, 1645. [W. Winthrop] removed to Hadley, Mass., in 1659, and was there installed. He died November 10, 1692. It was in his house in Hadley, that Whalley and Goffe, two of the Judges who sentenced Charles I. to death, were for a long time concealed, and where they are supposed to have died.
A PHILLIP RUSSELL, was of Hadley, in 1664.
JONATHAN, Minister of Barnstable, son of the preceding, graduated at Harvard College 1675, was ordained September 19, 1683. He died February 21, 1711, ÆE. 56. His son JONATHAN, who graduated at Yale College 1708, succeeded his father in the ministry, October 29, 1712.
JOHN RUSSELL, graduated at Harvard 1704, was a Physician of Barn- stable, was probably another son.
246
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
LOTHROP and JOHN RUSSELL, who graduated at Harvard College in 1743 and 1751, were of Barnstable
NOADIAH, was a Minister in Middletown, Conn. He graduated at Har- vard in 1681, was ordained in Oct. 24, 1688, and died Dec. 3,1713, Æ. 55. He was a schoolmaster in Ipswich before he settled in Middletown.
RALPH, of New Haven, died 1679. Dodd, 146, 162.
RICHARD, of Charlestown, came from Herefordshire, England, with Maud his wife, about 1640. He was elected a representative in 1642, twelve years, and Speaker of the House in 1654, 1656, and 1658; mem- ber of the ancient and honorable Artillery Company in 1644; assistant from 1659 to 1675, sixteen years, and many years Treasurer of the colony. He died May 14, 1676, ÆE. 65.
Hon. CHAMBERS RUSSELL, Judge of the Supreme Court of Massachu- setts, son of Hon. Daniel Russell, was one of his descendants. He gra- duated at Harvard, 1731, and died November 24, 1767, ÆE. 54.
Hon. THOMAS RUSSELL, of Boston, who died 1796, was also a de- scendant.
ROBERT, of Andover, died 1710, Æ. 80, having five sons.
SAMUEL, Minister of Branford, Conn., son of Rev. John Russell, of Hadley, graduated at Harvard College 1681, was ordained in March, 1687, and died June 25, 1731, ÆE. 71.
WILLIAM, of Cambridge, 1645, who, with his wife Martha, was mem- ber of the Church in 1658. His sons were Joseph, born in England ; Benjamin ; John, born 1645; Philip; William; Jason, born 1658; Jesse, born 1660.
THOMAS RUSSELL, of Boston, was a member of the Convention of Massachusetts in 1788, to ratify the Constitution of the United States. Many of the name have held offices of honor and trust under the State and United States governments. Among those of the present century, we cannot pass by one who has filled a large space in society, and whose remains repose in this "garden of the dead." We allude to the late Hon. Benjamin Russell, Editor of the Columbian Centinel, Boston, which he commenced March 24, 1784, and continued its proprietor and editor until November, 1828. He was born September 1761. His
247
RUSSELL.
father was John Russell, a descendant from the Rev. John Russell, who was born in England, came to Massachusetts when quite young, and was afterwards pastor of the first Baptist Church in Boston.
BENJAMIN was also related on the maternal side, to Ezekiel Cheever, celebrated as a master of the Boston Latin School, and to the Rev. Jeremy Belknap, the accomplished historian of New Hampshire, and the author of " American Biography." His father was a mason by trade, and died in 1778.
When quite a child, Russell was noted for a remarkably retentive memory, and more than ordinary facility in learning the tasks prescribed by his teacher. He was placed at the public school taught by " Master Carter." Nothing was then taught in the common schools of Boston but the simplest elements of education, reading, writing, and arithmetic. While yet a school-boy he was in the habit of visiting the printing office of Isaiah Thomas, where he acquired considerable facility in setting types, and where, probably, he learned quite as much as at school .*
On the morning of the memorable 19th of April, 1775, it became known throughout the town that a detachment of British troops had crossed the ferry the night before, and were on their march to Concord, intending to destroy the stores at that place. About eight o'clock,
* Among many anecdotes of him, the following was related by himself. "It was part of my duty as an assistant in the domestic affairs of the family, to have the care of the cow. One evening, after it was quite dark, I was driving the cow to her pas- turage,-the Common. Passing by the burial-ground, adjoining the Stone Chapel, I saw several lights that appeared to be springing from the earth, among the graves, and im- mediately sinking again to the ground. To my young imagination, they could be nothing but ghosts.
" I left the cow to find her way to the Common, and ran home at my utmost speed. Having told my father the cause of my fright, he took me to the spot where the sup- posed ghosts were still leaping and playing their pranks. My hair rose on end, and seemed to lift my hat from my head. I trembled so that I could scarcely walk. When, lo ! there was the sexton, throwing out as he was digging fragments of decayed coffins. The phosphorus in the decayed wood blending with the peculiar state of the atmos- phere, presented the appearance that had completely unstrung my nerves, and terrified me beyond description. I was never afterwards troubled with the fear of ghosts."
248
THE GRANARY BURIAL GROUND.
another detachment, under Lord Percy, had paraded in Tremont street, and were immediately in motion towards Roxbury. The whole town was in agitation. As soon as the customary morning prayer had been offered in the school (the school-house was near the head of School street), Master Carter said, " Boys, the war's begun, and you may run."
Russell, with several other boys, near his age, followed the detach- ment through Roxbury and Brookline to Cambridge. The troops went on to Concord. The boys spent the day at play on the Cambridge Com- mon, intending to follow the soldiers into Boston on their return. The bridge over Charles River, in Cambridge, was taken up, or impassable, during the day, and when the British army returned from their expedi- tion about dusk, there was no way of getting into Boston but by the ferry. The boys from Boston attempted to follow them, but found it impracticable, and they were thus shut out from their homes.
All intercourse between Boston and the country was prohibited by orders of the British commander, and his orders were rigidly enforced. Russell and his companions were unprovided with the means of subsist- ence, and had no resource but to solicit food and shelter, which were pro- vided for them by the selectmen and other citizens of Cambridge. The militia of New England soon began to assemble, and several of these vagrant lads attached themselves to the officers,-not enlisting, but as waiters, or errand-boys. In this way Russell hung around the army for more than three months, having no intercourse with his parents. From the sum- mit of Prospect-Hill he saw the memorable contest of the SEVENTEENTH OF JUNE, on Bunker (Breed's) Hill, and the conflagration which laid in ashes the beautiful village of Charlestown. He used frequently to de- scribe, with a distinctness for which he was remarkable, the movements of the troops from Cambridge across the narrow neck of land which they had to pass in order to reach the scene of action, exposed to the raking fire of a British sloop-of-war,-the undaunted activity of PUTNAM and other officers, passing from one regiment to another, endeavoring to en- courage the troops to firmness and perseverance, and the retreat of the patriot army to Bunker Hill, after the bloody conflict.
About the beginning of August, Russell was passing from Cambridge
249
RUSSELL.
in company with two or three soldiers, to General Putnam's encampment on Prospect Hill, when he saw his father in a chaise ; until that moment his father had not seen him since the 19th of April. The meeting was doubtless a joyful one to both parties ; but the pleasure was manifested inrather a singular mode.
Russell used frequently to say, "My father jumped from the chaise and gave me the most severe flogging I ever had." Young Russell was then taken to Worcester, and put as an apprentice to Isaiah Thomas. When the declaration of Independence was received in Worcester, young Russell and a few other young men, found themselves (after celebrating the event at a public house the previous night) enlisted as soldiers in the Continental army; he was however discharged, as being a minor. In 1780, Mr. Thomas was drafted as a " Continental soldier," and was obliged to join the army, or find a substitute ; Russell took the place of his employer, joined the army at West Point, and was present at the execution of Major Andre. He was one of the guard that attended him to the place of execution. After his six months' service expired he was honorably discharged, and returned to Worcester, where he finished his apprenticeship.
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