USA > Massachusetts > The story of western Massachusetts, Volume I > Part 36
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On the 3d they passed through Spencer and Leicester the people of which were of the same mind as those of Brookfield and treated them in a similar manner. After a great deal of discussion with the stubborn colonel, Riedesel finally succeeded after a march of eleven miles, in procuring quarters for his men. On the 4th, a short march brought them to Worcester, "a thriving little city". General Burgoyne, and Phillips, with Brigadier Glover arrived at the same time. Riedesel who in several letters had previously complained to Glover of the conduct of Colonel Reid, took this opportunity for an interview with him, with the result that thereafter the troops were better quartered. After much discussion, the citizens allowed them to occupy. their houses and barns; the battalion of Barner being quartered in a large meeting house. A brigadier and one of his aides lodged with a lady of distinction who had two sons in Howe's, army, and her husband was residing for the time being in England. "She was obliged to pay rent for living in her own beautiful house and
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her furniture had been levied upon by the Committee. In order, also, to makes her life as happy and tranquil as possible, the committee had taken possession of her land and in fact exercised a general supervision over her entire possessions. To prevent, moreover, any- thing from being stolen, the committee had put large locks on the house. The lady, whose condition they pitied from the bottom of their hearts, received them with attention and friendliness. She had
Lieut. David Billings House, Hatfield
been well brought up and her two very handsome daughters seemed to pattern after her. Indeed, they hesitated to receive the many attentions she showered upon them, and insisted upon doing their own cooking. The eldest daughter presented her betrothed to them; a very worthy young man, who in turn introduced them to other reputable young men in the town. These, in former days, had servants to wait upon them, but were now compelled to bow the knee before the gentlemen composing the Committee. In every city, village and county, Congress had appointed Committees who ruled, subject to its approval and saw to it that all its decrees were obeyed. Indomitable zeal in the maintenance of liberty and the execution of the commands were the necessary requisites for membership in this Committee,-a membership which conferred upon one the power to
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rule over his fellow citizens. These gentlemen were in other times plebeians, and Heaven help him who was suspected by them of being a Tory. Many families were then living under this suspicion. At their command, the minister left the altar, and the male members of his congregation grasped the musket and the powder horn".
In this town they received fifteen thalers of paper money, or about ninety shillings in the same currency, for one guinea, although, according to a law passed by Congress, one guinea was supposed to be worth twenty-eight shillings in paper money.
On the 5th of November they tramped through Shrewsbury and Northboro to Marlboro, sixteen miles farther.
On the 6th their way led them to Sudbury, a hamlet in which they found a train of artillery, a magazine and other implements of war. They camped in Westown, thirteen miles distant. At last, on the 7th, they passed the village of Watertown, marched through Cam- bridge, and entered the barracks, with a loss by desertion of over a hundred Germans and many British. Mrs. Winthrop, who saw them enter Cambridge, said,-"On Friday, we heard that the Hessians were to make a procession on the same route that the British had, just before. The sight was truly astonishing. I never had the least idea that the creation even produced such sordid creatures in human figure; poor, dirty, miserable men. Great numbers of women fol- lowed, who seemed to be the beasts of burden having bushel baskets on their backs by which they were bent double. The contents seemed to be pots and kettles, various sorts of furniture, children peeping through gridirons and other utensils, some very young infants who were born on the road, and women barefoot and clothed in rags".
At that time there were in Cambridge a number of bare and treeless hills on which were numerous barracks, built in 1775 for the use of our troops when besieging Boston. Maj. Gen. William Heath, who commanded at Boston, had received instructions to put these barracks in order for the prisoners, notwithstanding which they were in bad condition, being without foundations and built of boards through which the wind and snow penetrated from all sides. They were lighted only by dormer windows and afforded not the slightest protection from the cold. It was impossible to heat them, as all available fuel had been consumed by the American army in 1775, and within a distance of five miles hardly a tree was to be found. The English were quartered in the barracks on Prospect Hill and the Germans in those on Winter Hill. The officers were allowed to quarter themselves wherever they could find board in Cambridge, Medford, Mystic, Charlestown or Watertown, with a parole of about ten miles, but, to preserve order among the troops, certain officers of each regiment lived constantly in the barracks. There the troops were kept, month after month. Congress realized that the terms of the surrender were disadvantageous to the victors, as it was seen that Burgoyne's troops would be used in England for garrison pur- poses, thus relieving enough men to form a fresh army to send to
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America. It was therefore decided to take advantage of all possible technicalities and retain the prisoners indefinitely.
On March 18, 1778, Congress gave Burgoyne and his staff per- mission to return to England on parole, provided that 40,000 thalers be paid, which sum was charged for the maintenance of the army up to that time. As no money was to be had, it was paid in pro- visions, Howe sending ships from Rhode Island laden with flour and meat.
The remainder of the prisoners were, however, retained. The days were passed with petty fights and more serious brawls between them and the Americans, whose hatred of each other was intense. As many as possible were induced to desert and join the American army. One day, the entire band of the 62nd Regiment, excepting the master, deserted in a body and was attached to a regiment in Boston. To counteract desertion, in April, 1778, Riedesel agreed with Heath to give the farmers of neighboring villages, men who, while working would be provided with passes and report every Thursday at roll call. In this way the troops could earn something and have a pleasant change. Privates, sergeants, and even some of the ensign standard bearers were allowed to go into the cities and country to earn a living for themselves. Many of them were compelled by necessity to do this and people from places a hundred miles distant came to Boston to hire men. Those having trades did very well and were able to earn money, but those who had no trades were obliged to thresh, chop wood and do other menial offices. It was hard to make the Americans understand that the officers had no professions. They believed that it was from caprice that they would not work at them. Every inhabitant who had a prisoner in his charge, was held respon- sible for him, but this responsibility was often construed to be a duty to entice the prisoner to desert.
The English officers were of a restless disposition and life became irksome without books, newspapers or amusements. Some officers from the west of England introduced the diversion of cock fighting at Watertown. Riedesel, ever thoughtful of the appearance of his men, publicly reprimanded them because they went without their neck and pigtail ties.
Because of fears of their being rescued by British forces, then at Newport, Rhode Island, the English troops were sent in detach- inents to Rutland, Massachusetts, between April and September, 1778. Barracks were built and surrounded by pickets twelve feet high, and here the men were kept, not being allowed amongst the town's people without a pass. One captain went with each regiment and one lieuten- ant with each company, Major Carter of the Artillery being the senior officer. These few obtained quarters in the houses of the villagers, where they had their own horses and servants, but the majority of the officers remained in Cambridge as quarters were scarce in Rutland. Three of these officers lost their hearts and married three damsels named Hall, Stone and McClennathan.
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John Frink, Jonas Howe and Colonel Daniel Clapp were made a committee to build the barracks. The site selected was several. acres in extent, at the junction of the Rutland and Barre Road with the new Boston Road about three hundred and seventy rods west of the church, on land later belonging to Miles Holden and Amy Hunt. They contracted with Captain Thomas Reed, who erected a frame building one hundred and twenty feet long, forty feet wide, two stories high, with twenty-four rooms, each twenty feet square. It was built in a substantial manner, clapboarded, shingled and arranged with bunks. In later years, when the bluildings were torn down, the material was used in the construction of various dwellings, a card factory, a store and a tavern. The last of the old guard house was pulled down in 1888. The only thing now remaining is the old well, seventy-five feet deep with its masonry still in good condition.
A Worcester County bride, enroute to her new home in western New York in 1818, passed through Rutland and wrote her parents that she "saw those ancient barracks, erected in the old war. Ten chimneys and windows on the front side,-very much decayed".
The prisoners were guarded by Captain William Tucker of Charl- ton, and Captain Peter Woodbury of Royalston, with their companies. Two sentinels were at the gate, one at each corner of the stockade, one at the guard house and one at the storehouse at the Dublin Road.
Congress finally directed that all the troops should be removed to Charlottesville, Virginia. It was arranged to send the baggage of the privates from Newport to Philadelphia by sea and thence to Vir- ginia. Wagons were ordered for the women and children, the wounded and sick being left in the hospital at Cambridge. They were marched to Connecticut and placed under the orders of Governor Trumbull, and in like manner escorted from state to state, each state furnishing escort and wagons, until they reached Virginia.
When these orders were issued, the Massachusetts authorities were immediately apprehensive of some untoward incident. The prisoners would pass through Worcester, where a considerable num- ber of military prisoners were interned, and a concerted uprising was possible. At Brookfield were quantities of quartermaster's sup- plies and much powder. At Springfield, the opportunity for serious mischief was too great to be ignored, and the town was avoided by shunting the forces south on reaching Wilbraham.
On October 28, 1778, General Heath advised the Massachusetts Council :
"I propose to march the British in three divisions; the Germans in two, under proper escorts to Enfield in the state of Connecticut, where I shall deliver them to the order of Governor Trumbull. The British are 2,263, including officers, the German 1,882. Considering the troops are to pass not far distant from our most important maga- zines and also to restrain them from strolling. I propose that the escorts to each division of the British should consist of about one hundred men, for the effecting of which I must request that your
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Honors would detach from the militia in the vicinity of Rutland, two captains, four subalterns and 140 men".
General Heath, on November 1st, wrote to Col. Jacob Gerrish of the Massachusetts Militia, with orders to:
"Make all possible expedition and persue the route given you. You will send orders to the officers commanding at the magazines at Brookfield and Springfield to double their guards and continue to do so until all the divisions have passed over the river".
The first division was composed of the English artillery, grena- diers, light infantry and the 9th Regiment under command of Colonel Hill and the German grenadiers, the dragoons who survived the Battle of Bennington and the Regiment Von Rhetz under Major Von Mengen. The second division was made up of the 20th and 21st English Regiments under Major Foster, the Regiment Von Riedesel, and the Regiment Von Specht under Brigadier General Von Specht. The third was the 24th, 47th and 52nd English Regiments under Brigadier Hamilton; and the Battalion Barner, Regiment Hesse- Hanau and the Hesse-Hanau Artillery under Brigadier Gall. Ham- ilton was in direct command of all the English, and Von Specht of all the German troops. Major Hopkins was commissary and gave uni- versal satisfaction.
The first division left on November 9, 1778, the second on the 10th, and the third on the 11th, keeping one day apart. On the 9th, the first division marched to Sudbury, on the 10th to Marlboro, the 11th to Shrewsbury, on the 12th to Worcester, and on the 13th to Spencer by way of Leicester. The night of the 14th was spent at Brookfield, the 15th at Palmer, the 16th at Wilbraham and the 17th at Enfield, in Connecticut.
A Continental Ferry had been established at Springfield in July, 1778, under Thomas Hunstable, operating three scows and a bateau. On this occasion, these boats were moved down the river to Enfield, where they carried over the river "3,000 men, 150 teams and 100 horses, part of the Convention troops".
The troops reached Suffield on the 18th, Simsbury on the 19th, New Hartford on the 20th, and Norfolk on the 21st. Up to that time the troops were quartered only in barns. Sometimes divisions were miles asunder, as not more than two regiments were in one barn. At Norfolk the march became more difficult; over mountains and through forests. The roads were covered with ice and the cold wind drove the snow and sleet in the faces of the men. They could not reach the towns and camped in the woods.
On the 23rd, after crossing the Housatonic River, they reached Salisbury, and on December 5th, after a hard march, they arrived at Sharon. Here again they were forced to cross high, steep mountains where only two men could walk abreast.
Lieutenant Anbury said that :
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"At a small town we passed through in Connecticut, called Sharon, there is an exceedingly curious mill, invented by one Joel Harvey, and for which he received a present of twenty pounds from the Society of Arts and Sciences. By the turning of one wheel, the whole is set in motion; there are two apartments where the wheat is ground, two others where it is bolted, in a fifth threshed and in a sixth winnowed. In another apartment, hemp and flax are beaten and in an adjoining apartment it is dressed; what adds greatly to the ingenuity of the construction is that either branch may be discon- tinued without impeding the rest.
At Right, Ely Tavern; At Left, Elijah Blake Home As they stood on Dwight Street, Springfield, just before being demolished in 1894.
"Most of the places you pass through in Connecticut are called townships, as the township of Enfield, Suffield, etc. which are not regular towns as in England, but a number of houses dispersed over a large tract of ground, belonging to one corporation that sends members to the General Assembly of the States. About the center of these townships stands the meeting house or church, with a few houses; sometimes the church stands singly. It is no little mortifi- cation when fatigued, after a long day's journey, on inquiring how far it is to such a town, to be informed that you are there at present ; but on inquiring for the church or a particular tavern, you are informed it is seven or eight miles farther".
Riedesel accompanied the first division from Cambridge to Watertown, then, returning, performed the same service for the second and third divisions. He then returned to Cambridge to arrange for his final departure, buying a new carriage and all things needful. On November 28th he commenced his journey, he and his
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wife in one carriage and the servants and baggage in the other, and with Colonel Troup for his escort. The night of the first day was spent at Worcester. Washington and Lafayette saw the troops at Fishkill, after which Lafayette left for Boston. At New Hartford he met Riedesel and his family, where they had halted for a day. Riedesel had arrived in advance and was occupying the only good tavern in the town. Knowing the Frenchman's love of a good meal, he invited him and his escort to dinner, and an enjoyable time was spent.
Riedesel compared the people of Connecticut with those of Massa- chusetts; much to the disparagement of the latter. He found the people of Massachusetts inclined to commerce, navigation and military arts. Agriculture was poorly attended to; the greater part of the inhabitants in the rural districts keeping store or tavern. They sub- sisted on corn, cabbage, fruit and potatoes, all of which the soil pro- duced without much labor. They did not raise many cattle, but lived on salt pork, the pigs growing up at large in the woods. Many horses were raised, of poor breed. Men and women were well formed and of good growth, but the beauty of the latter was short as they grew old early. The men had a strong passion for drink. The women were well educated and all could write, but the men could not. The women were well dressed every day, even of the lower classes. They loved music, rode well, danced, but never worked. The men did the housework. They had a few good mechanics, especially hatters, tan- ners and saddlers. In their houses they were cleanly.
In Connecticut they were much more industrious. The women dressed more modestly and were good housekeepers. Agriculture flourished and the breeding of cattle was a source of wealth. The use of the weaving loom gave pleasure to the women, even those of high rank. The man of the house was proud to wear cloth that had been made on the farm.
The troops crossed the Hudson at Fishkill and continued to Charlottesville, Virginia, where they arrived in January, 1779. There their life was passed much the same as in Cambridge. Many of the prisoners deserted and many were exchanged. In 1781 the officers were separated from the privates and removed to East Windsor, Connecticut. Finally, at the conclusion of peace with Great Britain, they were allowed to depart, most of the officers having in the mean- time been exchanged.
CHAPTER XXXV
The Continental Armory
G ENERATIONS of artists and writers have labored to create the impression that the American Revolution was won by a handful of farmers who left their plows to rust in the fields while they rode away on the farm-horses and drove the British Army into the
sea. With pencil and pen they have portrayed them in their ragged regimentals, or even coatless and shoeless. Actually, the rebellion was planned and conducted by experienced and competent military specialists, trained by the British themselves. Through the long French and Indian wars, commanders of the colonial troops operated directly under the best that Britain could offer,-Amherst, Wolfe, Townshend, Howe, Forbes, Lawrence, Abercrombie. At Louisbourg, Lake George, Ticonderoga, Montreal, Quebec and elsewhere, the Provincial volunteers fought shoulder to shoulder with British regu- lars. They learned to fight; to transport supplies; to subsist when in the field; to retire in order when fortune went against them, together with all the other arts of war. Washington himself received his baptism of fire under General Braddock at Monongahela in 1755, whence he conducted a masterly retreat after Braddock was killed. That a conflict with the mother country was inevitable, was very gen- erally recognized long before the first clash, and young men hastened to fit themselves for their part in it, amongst them being Henry Knox of Boston, born in 1750 and thus twenty-five years old at the time of the Battle of Lexington. In 1771 he began business on his own account under the name of the London Book Store, opposite Williams' Court in Cornhill. In 1774 he married Lucy Flucker, daughter of Thomas Flucker, Secretary of the Province, a delightful young person with a sense of humor. On the evacuation of Boston, Secretary Flucker returned to England, but long after continued to draw his salary as a royal functionary. In a letter written in 1777, by his daughter Lucy to her husband Henry Knox, she said that "by a letter from Mrs. Tyng, we learn that papa enjoys his £300 a year as secretary of the Province. Droll, is it not?".
An artillery company, commonly known as "the train", had been organized in Boston in 1763 by Captain David Mason. Its command passed in 1768 to Lieutenant Adino Paddock, an excellent drill-master
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who received instruction from the officers of a company of British artillery which, having reached Boston en route to Quebec, too late in the winter to finish the journey, remained in quarters at Castle William, Boston, until the following May.
At the age of eighteen Knox joined this company and in Febru- ary, 1775, the Committee of Safety instructed Dr. Joseph Warren to ascertain how many of Paddock's men "could be depended upon to form an artillery company when the Constitutional Army of the Province should take the field, and that without loss of time". The reply to Warren's inquiry is not available but the rosters of the army of the Revolution include the names of a large majority of Paddock's men. Paddock himself remained in Boston, an active Tory, until its evacuation by the royal troops, when he sailed away with them to Halifax.
Meanwhile, an offshoot from Paddock's company was formed in 1772 by the organization of another militia troop, known as the "Boston Grenadier Corps", commanded by Captain Joseph Peirce. Knox, then twenty-two years old, was one of the founders of the new company and its second in command.
Eventually there came the Battle of Lexington, Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston and the taking command of the army by Wash- ington at Cambridge, who expressed admiration for the fortifications, in the construction of which Knox had an important share, though the young man remained in the volunteer service, desiring and seeking no commission. Writing to Governor Trumbull on November 2, 1775, Washington complained of the lack of trained officers for the engi- neer corps and said that "most of the works thrown up for the defense of the encampments had been planned by a few of the prin- cipal officers of the army, assisted by Mr. Knox". To Congress, the Commander-in-chief wrote,-"The council of officers are unanimously of the opinion that the command of the artillery should no longer continue in Colonel Gridley, and, knowing no person better qualified to supply his place, or whose appointment will give more general satisfaction, I have taken the liberty of recommending Henry Knox to the consideration of Congress".
Richard Gridley, formerly a captain in the Paddock artillery organization and a veteran of the French and Indian wars, was then, by reason of age and infirmities, incapacitated for active service. Next in rank to Gridley was David Mason, who offered to serve as lieutenant colonel of the new artillery branch if Knox might be com- missioned colonel, with the result that the latter received the appoint- ment by commission dated November 12, 1775, and David Mason was made second lieutenant colonel.
In the meantime Knox had proceeded with the expedition to secure from Ticonderoga, the siege guns so badly needed at Cam- bridge, and, while en route. he wrote from New York to Washington, recommending the establishment of a foundry for the casting of brass and iron cannon "where it could be expeditiously and cheaply done".
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From time to time Knox repeated his recommendations and on September 27, 1776, he wrote from Head Quarters at Harlem Heights :
"The following hints for the improvement of the artillery of the United States is humbly submitted to the Committee of the hon- orable Congress now in camp".
"That there be one or more capital laboratories erected at a dis- tance from the seat of war, in which shall be prepared large quantities of ordnance stores of every species and denomination. That at the same place a sufficient number of able artificers be employed to make carriages for cannon, of all sorts and sizes, ammunition wagons, tumbrils, harness &c, &c".
"That as contiguous as possible to this place a foundry for casting brass cannon, mortars and howitzers be established upon a large scale".
"The following brass field pieces are wanting and as there is a considerable quantity of copper collected, it is to be wished that the founder might be employed immediately,-viz, eighteen six pounders and eighteen three pounders".
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