i' °^ /*:^^%\ .^°/^;i>- ./*:^i^'\ ^° -^1 <•-•• V* X'^^'-y %/^^^v v^\-* \\ ^^.^ '^bV^^ fj^^^** ^-^^d^ tc^^'. •^bV^ ^^/35^>^^ -^^.i r^o^ ^^-nK • U ^o ..**\c:«;;;/V /.-j^-lA .-. '-"ao? ». •bt THE LIFE OF ARTEMAS WARD Artemas WXr Al the up^e oi SixJy-Seremi '■y^.'m 4fu /..y^,/ Sy ^,^,^ %-^^^ ^^^^ .^ .^^4/,.We^^.. %aCi. THE LIFE OF ARTEMAS WARD THE FIRST COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION A man "universally esteemed, beloved and confided in by his army and their country." — John Adams, BY CHARLES MARTYN NEW YORK ARTEMAS WARD 1921 £207 WzM3f Copyright, 1921, by Artemas Ward AUG-rZI 0)CI.A622289 w^^T. I CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I The Birth of Artemas Ward. His Boyhood 3 II 1 744-1 763. At Harvard College. The First Years of His Public Career . . 7 III February, 1 763-MAY, 1774. The Stamp Act Brings Ward into Prominence as a "Pa- triot." The Growth of Resistance to the Authority of the English Parlia- ment 30 IV May id, 1774-ApRiL 19, 1775. Moving To- ward Rebellion. Ward Appointed Sec- ond General Officer. The Battle of April 19 S5 v April 20- June 15, 1775. The Siege of Bos- ton. Ward Commander-in-chief of the First Army of the Revolution ... 89 VI June 16-17, 1775. The Battle of Bunker Hill 122 VII Criticisms of the Battle of Bunker Hill . 139 VIII June i8-July 3, 1775. The Siege of Boston after the Battle of Bunker Hill . . 144 IX Criticisms of Ward as Commander-in-chief 154 X July 4, 1775-jANUARY 15, 1776. The Siege OF Boston after Washington's Arrival 165 XI January 16, 1776-MARCH 27, 1776. The Fortification of Dorchester Heights. The Evacuation of Boston . . . .190 vl CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE XII March i8, 1776-MARCH 20, 1777. Ward in Command of the Eastern Department . 216 XIII 1 777-1 783. The Strain of the Long War. The Conclusion of Peace 241 XIV 1784-1787. Shays' Rebellion .... 272 XV 1 787-1 800. Ward as a Federalist in the United States Congress. His Retirement from Public Life. His Death . . . 300 ILLUSTRATIONS Artemas Ward at the age of sixty-seven . . Frontispiece From the portrait by Charles TFillson Peale in Independence Hall. FACING PAGE The questions to be debated by the candidates for the degree of A.M., Harvard College, 175 i . . . 10 Hastings' House (the "Holmes House"), headquarters of General Ward and the Committee of Safety during the first months of the siege of Boston . . 90 Boston and its environs in 1775 (map) .... 92 The first American resolution for the seizure of Dor- chester Neck, May 9, 1775 102 Ward's letter to President Joseph Warren urging the Provincial Congress to action, May 19, 1775 . 108 Ward's commission as Commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts forces 108 The resolution of the Council of War, June 15, 1775, to occupy both Bunker Llill and Dorchester Neck 118 Ward's order for the relief of the Bunker Hill de- tachment 124 Ward's demand that the troops be protected from the weather 146 President Hancock's letter transmitting Ward's com- mission as First Major-General of the continental army 150 Ward's letter accepting his commission as First Major- General of the continental army 150 vili ILLUSTRATIONS FACING PAGE Ward's order for the fortification of Dorchester Heights 202 Colonel Whitcomb's letter telling of the expulsion of the English ships from Boston harbor . . . 226 The Artemas Ward House, Shrewsbury, Mass. . .282 Governor Bowdoin's letter asking Ward's advice on the suppression of Shays' Rebellion 294 The Artemas Ward Memorial Entrance, Mountain View Cemetery, Shrewsbury, Mass 322 PUBLISHER'S PREFACE FROM my childhood I had hoped to write the biography of my great-grandfather, Artemas Ward, the first com- mander-in-chief of the American Revolution, and I have always promised myself that some day I would publish a life story that would give him his rightful place among Revolutionary leaders. I have not been alone in my uneasy conviction that Artemas Ward's memory has been unjustly neglected. Others, though lacking the impulse of relationship, have felt that in the history of the founding of the United States there is a blank that should be filled with the story of his life. Even so long as eighty-one years ago, Emory Wash- burn expressed a hope that some one would "yet" prepare a biography of General Ward that would "do justice to the memory of one of the earliest and bravest of the patriots of the Revolution." If a commonplace biography would have contented me, it could have been produced very easily by interweaving some of the original material in the Artemas Ward Manuscripts with a conventional account of the American Revolution and the establishment of the United States, but I had no desire to write or publish such a biography. To accomplish what I desired involved a great amount of research — it was plainly a labor of years. I continually hoped to be able to set aside all other claims upon my time and to devote my whole attention to the task, but the op- portunity always evaded me, and, finally, I turned to Mr. Charles Martyn and commissioned him to do the research for me. I knew that he would spare no effort in the hunt X PUBLISHER'S PREFACE for original pertinent material, and, further, that there was not the slightest danger that he would gild a point or dodge an issue for the sake of making a palatable story. In giving this commission, my intention had been to write the biography myself on the foundation of the material that Mr. Martyn should gather, but as he progressed and turned up record after record that threw new light on the ancestor whom I so greatly admire, and from these records pre- sented me with a living portrait of Artemas Ward as his contemporaries knew him, I increasingly felt that his memory would be better served If his biography were written by the man who had made so intensive a study of his career. Therefore I finally decided to entrust the entire work to Mr. Martyn, and I feel that this volume Is both my justification and reward. Its accuracy. Its completeness, and its many newly presented points will, I am confident, win for it a permanent place among standard histories. I do not think that any reader will take exception to the statement that no one can obtain a correct understanding of the siege of Boston unless he supplements other authorities with a perusal of the several chapters devoted to it In this biography. Artemas Ward. INTRODUCTION THIS volume, modest though its size, represents a great deal of labor. It has involved a personal scrutiny of the original official records of half a century, and of a great quantity of other material, printed and manuscript, in scores of public and private depositories. Its story is of the high elevation of an eighteenth-century Massachusetts country-township leader. In Artemas Ward it presents a type as clear-cut and distinct as that of the Samuel Adams of the Boston town-meeting and the wealthy Wash- ington of Virginia; and it tells of a life lived in the strength of an unquestioning faith in the Puritan religion, of an in- telligence of high order "directed chiefly to the practical interests of mankind," of a character distinguished by in- dustry, and patience, and forgetfulness of self, by tenacity of conviction and complete integrity. I have worked throughout with the intent to produce a biography faithful to accuracy. I have kept ever in mind the title of historians and students to the full evidence with- out interpolation, omission, or evasion; and I have ruth- lessly discarded pleasing family traditions except when I have found them to be supported by impartial authorities. I gratefully acknowledge the invaluable assistance of many individuals. Chief among them is Mr. Artemas Ward of New York, publisher of the biography, whose whole-hearted cooperation has been extended every step of the way, who stimulated enthusiasm when the task grew wearisome — who never be- grudged expense, and who sturdily agreed with me on an xii INTRODUCTION unswerving policy of tiie truth, — only the truths — and the whole truth. Next came Miss Clara Denny Ward of Shrewsbury, Mass., custodian of the Artemas Ward Manuscripts. It is my one regret that she did not survive to read the story in which she was so keenly interested. Lengthening the list are the other descendants of General Ward who opened family collections for my use, and officers of archives, historical societies, and libraries. A great deal of my material was obtained from the rich store of manuscripts in the Massachusetts Archives. Most of my research there was done while Mr. James J. Tracy was Chief, and he accorded me every possible aid and facility. I found the same earnest effort to be of service when Mr. John H. Edmonds succeeded Mr. Tracy. A special tribute is due to Miss Alice R. Farnum, First Assistant, for much long-continued painstaking investigation. I have frequently delved also in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the American An- tiquarian Society; and Mr. Julius H. Tuttle, librarian of the former, and Mr. Clarence S. Brigham, librarian of the lat- ter, have always met me with most kindly helpfulness. I have, in addition, spent months in the New York Pub- lic Library and have enjoyed the consistent courtesy of its officials; and I have been the recipient of many favors from the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, from the Boston Public Library, and from Mr. William C. Lane, librarian of Harvard College. Finally, I acknowledge my indebtedness to Lord Dart- mouth, great-great-grandson of the Lord Dartmouth of this biography, for generously free access to the famous Dart- mouth Manuscripts; and to Mrs. Harriette M. Forbes for having placed at my service the manuscript of her forthcom- ing Bibliography of Early New England Diaries. For the convenience of students and in support of state- ments, I have given copious references, except that I have INTRODUCTION xiii omitted all references to executive and legislative journals. Every statement made of the proceedings of the Massachu- setts General Court, the Provincial Congresses, the Conti- nental Congress, and the United States Congress has — unless otherwise especially noted — been taken from the official journals, and, being dated, can be found almost as easily without, as with, page numbers. To have given refer- ences for all such statements would have greatly Increased the number of foot-notes, and would have been of only trifling assistance to students. Charles Martyn. ARTEMAS WARD CHAPTER I The Birth of Artemas Ward. His Boyhood MASSACHUSETTS was in the throes of a religious awakening when on Sunday, November 26/ 1727, in the new settlement of Shrewsbury, a boy was born "unto Nahum Ward and Martha, his wife." They christened him "Artemas," having drawn the name from the Bible in the old New England way. This book is his biography. In 1727 we are still but a little way beyond our first century in North America. The English colonies have waxed strong despite their losses and tribulations in conflict with nature, the French, and the Indians; despite their struggles with fiscal problems; de- spite the mixed blessings of the Imperial control of the seven- teenth (and eighteenth) centuries. Their farms and planta- tions are productive, their ships and boats are many, and their commerce has steadily grown. Their dominion comprises, however, a mere ribbon of ter- ritory along the Atlantic seaboard. And if one add to it the French settlements and outposts to the north and west, and the Spanish efforts to the south and southwest, the total thus attained of all the works of European hands and brains on the North American continent is still utterly overshadowed by the immensity of the unconquered spaces — the millions of miles of wild land peopled by savages. The French and English bloodily disputed the ownership of a continent upon whose surface all their forces were but as toy soldiers on a prairie. ^ Shreivsbury Town Meeting Records, I, 300. Not November 27, as generally stated. 4 ARTEMAS WARD This was less than two hundred years ago — yet there are today within the United States a number of cities which have each a greater population than the total, then, of all the white people in North America. The house in which Artemas Ward was born, and in which he grew to manhood, stood back from the Connecticut Road — later known as the Great Country Road (frequently ab- breviated to the Great Road or the Country Road), the Post Road, the County Road, and (now) the State Road — nearly opposite the present Artemas Ward House. It was a square frame structure, with a big stone chimney and home-hewn oaken timbers.^ His father — known generally at that time as "Lieutenant Ward" from his militia rank — was a man of importance in the little group of farmers which constituted the Shrews- bury community. He had been one of the founders of the township — as, early in the history of New England, his grand- father, William Ward, a Puritan exodist, had shared in the founding of Sudbury and Marlboro. He was Shrewsbury's first moderator and its first selectman, and, as years went by, he filled every other town office — sometimes several of them simultaneously. On the incorporation of Worcester County, he became a justice of the peace and was admitted to the bar. Later, he was commissioned as a colonel in the colony service and a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. As a youth he had followed the sea, and as a young man in his early twen- ties he had been master of a merchantman in the West Indian service. Lieutenant Ward's wife, Martha, was a daughter of Cap- tain Daniel How and Elizabeth Kerley. She was his first cousin, once removed: a great-granddaughter of William Ward, the exodist, through his daughter Hannah, and a granddaughter of Abraham How, another of the early "pro- prietors" of Marlboro. 'After the death (1754) of Nahum Ward, the house was sold to Henry Baldwin and achieved local fame as the Baldwin Tavern. HIS BOYHOOD 5 The child life of little Artemas was that of the average eighteenth-century Massachusetts country boy in a family of comfortable circumstances. He was one of six children: four of them older, one of them younger. He attended school dur- ing the short periods that "school kept" in Shrewsbury, and supplemented this instruction by home studies under the / supervision of the minister, the Reverend Job Gushing; he did his share of the farm chores; he got into a moderate amount of boyish mischief. He rode to the neighboring towns on his father's errands : with greatest frequency to the little county- town, Worcester. As his penmanship acquired neatness and steadiness, he helped his father in the filling out of writs and other legal papers — an apprenticeship to the judicial career which later so well became him. And on the Sabbath he sat and stood through the long sermons and long prayers which consumed the greater part of the day. Nor, for their influence on an imaginative young mind, let us forget the evenings of the New England winters as the fam- ily sat within the glow of the big log fire, and Lieutenant Ward (or Colonel Ward, as his father became while Artemas was still a small boy) told of the dangers and adventures and hardships encountered and overcome during the first century of the history of Massachusetts: dwelling much on the early Puritan days, and what had been lost, and what had been saved, of their works and faith; and recounting tales of the French and Indian wars which had blazed and devastated. He told of his grandfather's house in Marlboro, garri- soned as a fort in King Philip's War; and of his uncle, Eleazer, who in the same conflict was killed by Indians on the highway between Marlboro and Sudbury. Of the township of Worcester, only five miles away, twice abandoned because of the redskin danger: Lieutenant Ward was twenty-nine years of age when it was finally resettled in 17 13, and for yet another dozen years It was intermittently in peril of being again blotted out. Of the slaying or capture of his brother Elisha by Indians, and how his mother never gave up hope of 6 ARTEMAS WARD Elisha's return: when she died, eleven years later, her will contained a remembrance for him If he "shall ever come again." Of other relatives and many friends who had lost their lives In frontier skirmishes or along the Indian trail. Thus the boy grew up, the history of an eventful century strong in his ears and mind, and blending therein with the lore of township and provincial politics universally and per- petually discussed by those around him. As he passed Into his teens the development of his charac- ter set him somewhat apart from his brothers, and suggested and justified his father's decision to send him to Harvard College. So to the Reverend Gushing was assigned the duty of preparing him for entrance. For home reading, he had the benefit of his father's library — twoscore books and several dozen pamphlets, chiefly on religious subjects and the law; a very small library by modern standards, but much above the average of the time. CHAPTER II 1744-1763: Age 16-33 Enters Harvard College 1744. Is graduated, A.B., 1748. Goes to Groton to "teach school." Returns to Shrewsbury and opens a general store. Marries Sarah Trowbridge. Elected to various township offices. Commissioned as Justice of the Peace. A.M., 1 75 1. Captain and Major in the county militia. Elected Repre- sentative for Shrewsbury, and repeatedly reelected. Marches on the alarm after the capture of Fort William Henry by the French. Major in a regiment raised for the Ticonderoga campaign. Pro- moted to Lieutenant-Colonel. The Battle of Ticonderoga. Com- missioned as Colonel. Appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Worcester County. Moves his family into the "Old Part" of the present Artemas Ward House. THE full chronicle of the life of Artemas Ward com- mences with his admission to Harvard College In 1744. He was then sixteen years old. Prior to that time, testimony is scant; after It, his footsteps may be clearly followed. The tutor for Ward's class was Thomas Marsh, a gradu- ate of 1 73 1. From 1737 to 1741 he had been college libra- rian and In 1755 he became a Fellow of the Corporation. Marsh, as was then the custom at Harvard, took his class through the entire course from freshman to senior, except- ing divinity, Hebrew, higher mathematics, astronomy, and natural philosophy. It was not until 1767 that the four tutors began to divide the subjects Instead of the pupils they taught. Much time was spent on theology and the classics, and Hebrew was an Important Item of the curriculum. The Professor of Divinity was the Reverend Edward Wigglesworth, of the class of 17 10 and S.T.D. Edinburgh 7 8 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 16-20 University, 1730. Higher mathematics, natural philosophy, and astronomy were taught by Professor John Winthrop, 1732, a man of broad acquirements who became an authority on astronomy and seismology. Hebrew classes were conducted by Judah Monis, a converted Jew of Italian birth who served as a Harvard instructor for nearly forty years. In Ward's day the number of students at Harvard aver- aged about a hundred, against the several thousands of recent years. Customs differed also — the breakfast served at Commons then consisted of bread and a "cue of beer" I Equally dis- tinctive was the "placing" of students by the social rank of their famihes — a custom closely related to the New England practice of "dignifying" the meeting-house. The stations thus assigned held good everywhere within college jurisdic- tion: in chapel, at recitations, at Commons, etc. Of the twenty-nine freshmen of 1744, Ward was "placed" as sev- enth. Ward's record at college is very clean. During his term a number of the students were brought before the faculty on various charges, — for not returning on time at the close of vacations, for drinking liquors, for being absent from Com- mons without leave, and for disorderly conduct of various degrees, — but Ward's name never appears among the delin- quents. In 1747 (November 21), a senior sophlster, he Is second on the list of twenty-two students who volunteered to assist the president of the college in a crusade against "swearing and cursing." Profanity was a common falling of the times. In later years, as justice of the peace. Ward Individually supple- mented this students' crusade by fines freely and frequently laid upon offenders 1 Those twenty-two student volunteers held no conception of profanity as merely "disorderly speech" or "vulgarity." For 1744-1748'] AT HARVARD COLLEGE 9 them, it held its original significance in the fullest force : it was a sinful taking in vain of "the great and holy name of God"; a breach of one of the Commandments on which their forefathers had founded the laws of a new country; a crime against their supreme Sovereign, the dread Ruler of the uni- verse. The Puritan religion had lost its earlier harsh inhu- manity and had dropped much of its bigotry, but it remained a very virile creed, not at all given to euphemistic glossing. Ward was between twenty and twenty-one years of age when he was graduated on July 6, 1748. A great occasion for him and his classmates when they marched, two abreast, to the meeting-house to receive their Bachelor degrees.^ And the little town of Cambridge echoed the thought, for it over- flowed with dignitaries and lesser visitors from far and near. Commencement Day being then the chief of Massachusetts holidays. Four of Ward's classmates were to achieve political promi- nence in the province. Two of them took their stand on the patriot side when the break came; two of them adhered to the tory, or prerogative, party. After graduation Ward went to Groton, Mass., to "teach school." He boarded with the Groton minister, the Reverend Caleb Trowbridge, well known in his own right and with a wife who represented a line of famous Massachusetts theologians: she was a daughter of the Reverend Nehemiah Walter, a grand- daughter of the Reverend Increase Mather, and a great- granddaughter of the Reverend John Cotton. ^ Because no names are attached to the theses by the candidates for the Bachelor's degree, it is impossible to determine which was Ward's, but in 1751 when he came up for his Master's degree he was Affirmat Respondens on the Quaes tio, "An conscientia constituat Identitatem personalem." The defense of theses by A.B. candidates, and of the positions assumed on quaestlones by A.M. candidates, had descended as a custom from previous generations. Each candi- date was supposed to be ready to uphold his proposition or standpoint, but in the course of time it had come about that in most cases the listing was both the beginning and the end of the subject: he was an exceptional candidate who spoke at the commencement exer- cises. Ward was one of the exceptions in 1751 — he was one of the three candidates for the Master's degree who actually defended their standpoints. The other two were Perez Marsh and Thomas Sanders. lo ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 20-23 The Trowbridge house, a square two-story building, then stood on the site of the present High School. Young Ward's room was on the second floor rear, over- looking the meadow which stretched away from the base of the high ground of the house location. Within easy range was a pond which attracted wild ducks on their migrations. The tradition is that the young school-teacher — at a future year to be the first commander-in-chief of the American Revo- lution — used to amuse himself by "potting" ducks from his chamber window. Not all of his spare moments were, however, devoted to duck shooting, or otherwise spent in the privacy of his own room. Some were given to courtship, for it was not long be- fore he found himself attracted to the minister's oldest daugh- ter, Sarah, a young woman of twenty-five years, three years his senior. There remains no description of Sarah Trowbridge as a girl, but as remembered in later life she was a "calm, self- possessed woman." Family tradition has it that she "in- herited some of the firm characteristics of her Mather ances- tors." Her strength of mind was probably pleasing to Artemas Ward, for there was nothing light or frivolous in his composition I With matrimony in prospect Ward resigned his position as schoolmaster and returned to Shrewsbury early in 1750 to establish himself in the house known to tradition both as the Yellow House and the (first) Sumner House, standing westerly of the meeting-house and facing toward the Great Country Road. The boundaries of the property, of inverted-L shape, enclosed about thirty-four acres of farm-land, fronting about five hundred feet on the road.^ ^ The Yellow House and farm were purchased by his father, Colonel Nahum Ward, in three lots on April 4 and 7, 1750: the house, two acres of land, and a barn on the adjoining "meeting-house land," from Moses Hastings ; about nine acres to the west and north of the Hastings plot, from Asa Bowker; and twenty-three acres adjoining the ^^^TT T 10 N E S~' Fro Modulo Difcutiends, SUB REVERENDO D. Cubarto l^olpofee, COLLEGII-HARV ylRDINI, Quod eft, Divina Providentia Cantabrigte Nov-Anglorum, PRESIDE. In Comitiis Publkis a Laurcx MagiftraUs Candidatls, %;>;/. Nonarum ^intilh. M D C C L I. AN Be,,™, fcu Cont^o Bd|^^ dub. tn..^^^^ ^ S H U T C H I N S O N. 11. An . M«atu:a. Cc.i-odun, — atje, Jumt.a^poaj,,.r. ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 3. UI. An ul,a Occupatio Ht Rcipobhcx '- ^enefic.d.s^q^^^^^^ U S L E O N A R D. IV. An Statu. rivU"^ omtur « PaflU. ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^ C A R O L U S C H A U N C Y. V. An omhU monlu ^eo., morakm LcgJ^^^Wi-^- ^^.g^ur- imoTHEUS PAINE. VI. An Confcientia conftituat Identitatem perfonalem. jifirmat Rifpcndens ARTEMAS WARD. VII An Confifcatlo Bononim Parentis ob Crimen befsc Majertratis, Liberos innocentis Damnum injuftc afficiat. Affirmat R,fpcvdi„t JOSEPHUS ADAMS. vm. An origoMaU folvi poRit falvls Dei Attnbutij. ,.„,,^„„.,e r-iicuiwr ^^rmat Rt/pcnJexs JAHAKOBUS GUSHING. IX. An Idea adzquiu juftltdc in Deo, a nobis fomari poflit. ^ ,, ^ ,_,_.„ „ r- r^ r^ v r Nigct Rtfpondens GULIELMUS COOKL. X. An in Amicitii iniquali. fit plus tribuendum et rctribuendum majori, et minus minori. Afirmat Rcfpcndtm JONATHAN SEWALL. XI. An detur Motuj immediate aVentiiculo ad Veficam. „,^ „.„„,,. omviMc; tiigal Rtfpmdcns RICHARDUS PERKINS. XII. An PtxTcientia divina loUat Ujertatera agendi. . . ,, „ „ a r n> iir 1 m Nigiit Rtfpondens GULIELMUS BALDWIN. XIII. An Bellum aliquod fit Juftutn jure Naturae. yifirmat Rifpottdcns PEREZ MARSH. XIV. An Fides data in imperio civili Magiftratum fummum obliget. yiff.rmat RefpofJins THOMAS SANDERS. XV. An Vocatio ad Minifterium in Ecclefiu Sacnim hi? Tcmporibus, fit immcdiata. h'egat Rt[pQndcns SAMUEL ANGIER. I XVI. An Tnnor b Amore neceflaric inCudatur. _„,.,. t, r^ Affirmas Rtfpondcr.s SAMUEL WOODWARD. XVII. An Decreta divina Cnt omnino abfoluta. „ ,- . vr jl^rmat Rffpotdms JOSEPHUS BEAN. XVm. An PoGtura humani Corporis crefla, requirat. Pericardium ct ftpium tranvcrfumcoalticcrr. Srmat Rifpo:,dins JOHANNES RAND. XIX. An Leecs Morales ex relatione entium Neceffario nafcintur. _ „ — Jffim^t Re/pondtm THOMAS HIBBERT. XX. An Fruftum prohibitum. Mortis Alami fuiffe Caiifam Phyficam, probabik fit. Jffinn^! Rrfpo^den JACOBUS HOBBS. XXI. An Deuj ex Scipfo CauCditer, i. t. ut a Cauf.i exiftat. _ „ . , ,- Ncsil Rtfpondem GEORGIUS LESSLIE. HisSuccedit O R ATI O Valediaoria. From an original (9^/^ X IS^^) in Harvard College Library THE QUESTIONS TO BE DEBATED BY THE CANDIDATES FOR THE DEGREE OF A.M., HARVARD COLLEGE, 1751 174S-1751'] BEGINNING OF PUBLIC CAREER 11 The house had a rear lean-to which had been used as a shoemaker's shop, and in this, on April 21, Ward opened a small general store. His stock ranged from dry-goods to rum. Rum, be it remembered, was then an article of thoroughly good standing in New England, and a part of every man's diet, whether preacher or layman; as essential at church-rais- ings and ordinations as on strictly secular occasions. "Tem- perance societies" did not come into being for another half century, and total abstinence and prohibition were still longer delayed. Most of his accounts were with men of Shrewsbury; a few were with residents of neighboring towns. Some of his customers paid in cash. Others by merchan- dise — homespun cloth, "cyder," fish, etc.; or in labor — "mak- ing a saw, staples, etc.," "making a pair of [leather] breeches," "dressing one deer skin," carting, etc. His marriage quickly succeeded the opening of his store. It was solemnized on July 31 at the Trowbridge home In Groton. The following spring (March 4, 1751) the Shrewsbury farmers made him tax assessor — the first of his many civic appointments, and an ofl'ice to which he was reelected a score of times. Three months later (June 22), though only twenty-three years old, he entered upon his long service as justice of the peace — an official of dignity and importance in that genera- tion. It was undoubtedly with much pride that he received his commission issued "By order of the Lieutenant-Governor with the Advice and Consent of the Council" : an imposing document with its round red seal, its conventional "greeting" by "George the Second, By the Grace of God, of Great Bowker plot on the north, from Moses Hastings. The house stood a little to the west of the original structure of the present Sumner House, and nearer the road. Three years later (February 15, 1753), Colonel Ward transferred the property as a gift to Artemas Ward ("in consideration of the love, good will and affection which I have and do bear towards my well beloved son Artemas Ward"). 12 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 24-27 Britain, France, and Ireland, KING, Defender of the Faith, etc.," and its signature by Spencer Phips, Lieutenant-Gov- ernor and Commander-in-chief of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay. The next year (1752) the town clerk's duties were added to his responsibilities, and he was also voted into the full dignity of a selectman: his first of twenty terms as such. These township offices developed and shaped Ward's character and career. Of special influence was the experience gained as one of the selectmen, — the executive officers of the township, — for he thus encountered the many-sided problems of human govern- ment. Improving this experience was that as justice of the peace: both locally and in General Sessions at Worcester. The sit- ting-room of the Yellow House was his home court, and in it he married many couples, tried a large class of minor offend- ers, and balanced the scales of justice between disputant neighbors. By province laws a justice of the peace had wide discre- tion In many cases — up to the point of sentencing a culprit to be whipped or to be put in the stocks. Drunkards, pro- faners of the Sabbath, and peace breakers were among those who could thus be punished. A "profaner of the Sabbath" included any rash or self- indulgent person who essayed to travel on Sunday except on a very real and easily demonstrable emergency. And this law was strictly enforced in Shrewsbury — as, generally, in the other country districts of Massachusetts. Nor did Ward ever relax his early sabbatical vigilance : we find him, a gen- eration later, a man of sixty-one years, a general and a chief justice, standing in the Shrewsbury highway to halt infractors of the Sunday law. That these functions as selectman, justice of the peace, etc., were performed upon a small stage, gave them addi- tional educative value, for the audience sat very close to n 52-17 55\ BEGINNING OF PUBLIC CAREER 13 the actors and was prompt to note and quick to protest any false step or sentiment. Local opinion was very strong. It was Indeed more than that — it was almost omnipotent in local affairs, for the town- meeting appointed all town officials and had the making or approval of all local laws" and orders, subject only to the authority of the General Court ;^ and in town-meeting every inhabitant had an equal voice and spoke his mind — proposing, arguing, and disputing as his interests and sentiments moved him. Ward's repeated reelection as selectman and the con- tinuous acquiescence of the townspeople in his tenure as jus- tice of the peace, testify both to his willingness to assume re- sponsibility and to his intelligent grasp of human relations: to a knowledge of, and respect for, local needs, sentiments, and traditions; and to a reputation for even-handed justice. The cumulative responsibilities undertaken also testify to the industry which distinguished him. The combination of duties, clerical and otherwise, as selectman, town clerk, and assessor, added to those of justice of the peace, with the incidental drawing up of documents, letters, etc., which ac- crued from that office — all imposed upon the conduct of his store — must have made him the busiest young man in Shrews- bury ! On May 7, 1754, his father died, closing a much respected and enterprising life at the age of sixty-nine. His will, after carefully providing for his widow, divided his estate among his four surviving children and his two grandchildren by his eldest son Nahum, who had died In 1738. Artemas and his brother Elisha were named as executors and residuary legatees. On January 28 of the following year (1755), Ward was commissioned major of the Third Regiment of Militia In * "General Court" was the customary abbreviation of "Great and General Court" — the title of the Massachusetts legislature under both the first and second charters. With the adoption of the state constitution, the abbreviation became the title. 14 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 29-30 the counties of Middlesex and Worcester, and captain of the First Company in the town of Shrewsbury. Two years later (May 16, 1757) he was elected for the first of many terms as the township's representative In the General Court, and nine days thereafter he was in the capital for the short spring session. The Boston to which he came as a provincial legislator, had led the continent for more than a century. It was only a little town of about 16,000 inhabitants, but It hummed with trade, and shipping, and shipbuilding. Its social life, too, was varied and attractive, and It treasured no small amount of luxury in the homes of its many well-to-do citizens. It was capable of a substantial brilliancy In display and entertain- ment, and on gala dates, such as the anniversary of the King's birthday, and Accession and Coronation days, it minia- tured London with excellent effect. It was at this time even more than ordinarily full of life and bustle, its normal industry enhanced by the activities of war. The Seven Years' conflict was flaming across the civilized world and, crossing the Atlantic, had locked France and England in the final struggle for supremacy in North America. The Representatives' Chamber in which Ward took his seat under the carved wooden codfish, was on the second floor of the Old State House — the same building which stands today at the head of State Street, though then known as the Court House, or, locally, as the Town House. Ward's assignments during his initial term were confined to committees to consider soldiers' petitions. In the following August came his first call to arms In the excitement which swept Massachusetts on news of the fall of Fort William Henry to the French and their Indian allies — the story made lurid by the Indian atrocities which stained the French victory. There was widespread fear that Montcalm would follow up his success : first with an assault on Fort Edward and then 1 7 57-^ 7 5^] THE TICONDEROGA CAMPAIGN 15 a general eastward invasion. Thousands of militiamen grasped their firelocks and marched west and north toward the fort to meet the enemy. Among them were Major Ward and his companies. Montcalm, however, displayed no intent to attack, and General Webb, commander at Fort Edward, dispatched orders halting all militiamen on their way toward it. So Ward marched his men back to their homes after a very brief absence. And Montcalm, satisfied with his capture of all the supplies at Fort William Henry and his total de- struction of the post, retired to Montreal, releasing his Canadians for the harvest. Ward had thus missed the summer meeting of the legis- lature, but he was promptly on hand for the opening of its third session on November 23, and during the two months following he was again on committees to consider soldiers' petitions, and on others respecting army supply claims and subsistence payments, and town and guardianship detail. He returned to Shrewsbury on January 26, 1758, and shortly after was enlisting men for a regiment to be com- manded by Colonel William Williams in a new and for- midable expedition against the French forces and positions at Ticonderoga and Crown Point — designated by Pitt as part of his threefold plan for the destruction of French power in North America. The Ticonderoga-Crown Point army was to be headed by Abercromby, the King's commander-in-chief on the continent. Ward was commissioned as a major in Williams' regi- ment. He was in Boston again on March 3 for the opening of the last session of the 1757-175 8 legislature. On the fourteenth he was named on a committee to exam- ine a militia act passed January 25, and "Report whether it may not be expedient to suspend the Operation of some Parts thereof for some Time, and to prepare the Draught of a Vote accordingly." The Abercromby campaign would 1 6 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 30 draw so many men away from farms and other callings that public opinion was opposed to the further interruption of es- sential labor by the general assembling of militia companies on "training-days" as required by the act. On March 20 the committee reported a bill which the governor refused to sign. After much effort, a substitute bill came out as Chapter 26, Acts of 1757-1758. Three days later, Ward was back in Shrewsbury to con- tinue his enlistments. The General Court had, on March 17, fixed the rate of pay for privates at £1 165. a month. In addition it resolved that "each able bodied effective Man who shall voluntarily inllst . . . shall be intitled to Thirty Shillings and upon his passing Muster shall receive a good Blanket and Fifty Shillings more for furnishing himself with Cloaths." The Council had, next, on March 25 and 27, "advised and consented" that warrants be made out for the payment of bounties, but the men's receipts show that in his anxiety to fill his companies Ward advanced some of his recruits part of their bounty money without waiting for the warrants. Notice of the Council's action necessitated a return to Boston to draw the first £300 assigned to him. With town, legislative, and military duties thus crowding his hours, Ward had little time to devote to the less congenial vocation of storekeeping, and it is not surprising that his profitable merchandise business rapidly fell away during 1757 and disappeared in May, 1758. Nor did he ever attempt to revive it. This new "general invasion of Canada" had been planned on a large scale, but the preliminary arrangements were faulty. Ward was one of nine officers who in April addressed Governor Pownall stating that they esteemed it "absolutely necessary" to receive a proper equipment of "camp fur- niture" — particularly kettles and haversacks; to increase the pay offered to surgeons so that men of sufficient ability could be obtained; to have an armorer with at least one assistant iys8] THE TICONDEROGA CAMPAIGN 17 for each regiment, as "Upon the Strictest Inquiry we find the Provincial Troops may not depend upon the King's Armorers for the repair of their Arms" ; to obtain an increase in the pay offered to chaplains "in order to engage gentlemen of the best character" ; to have a courier to carry dispatches. It was also desired that particular care be exercised "that in- effective persons may not be suffered to go in the army." April saw Ward for a few days in Boston in his seat as a Representative, but by the end of the month he was back in Shrewsbury to make the final arrangements for his com- panies.* On May i Colonel Williams dispatched orders^ to "The Honble John Wheelwright," Boston, for supplies for his regiment. It included one to deliver "60 Arms 228 Blankets 228 Haversacks To Majr Artemas Ward's Man that 228 Flasks comes with a Team. Shruesberry." 42 kettles 42 axes On May 6 Governor Pownall ordered Colonel Williams to collect his men without delay and to get everything in readi- ness for marching, giving regulations concerning the cartage of supplies and the subsistence of the men en route, etc. Ward was obliged to make three additional journeys to Boston to draw the balance of the £770 12^. bounty money for his men and £440 of "billiting" money — the latter an al- lowance of sixpence a day for each provincial soldier for sub- sistence until his arrival at Northampton, where he would be placed on the commissary of the "regulars." Ward's very moderate expense account for seven round * On April 28 it was ordered in the House "that Capt. Barrett be of the committee appointed the 15th of December last on the petition of Jonathan Stone, and others, in the Room of Major Ward, who is engaged in the intended Expedition against Canada." ^Williams Papers, 172, Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, Mass. 1 8 ARTEMAS WARD [J^e 30 trips to Boston on this business (including three trips for the vacating of the bonds given) was only £8. Then quickly followed orders to march his four companies to Worcester and thence to Northampton to join the balance of the regiment. The military machinery had been cumbrous in getting started and the army equipment was still deficient,*^ but the expedition was at last officially under way. Abercromby had under him the largest army of white men ever to that date gathered in a single command on American soil: a total of more than 15,000 — 9024 provin- cials and 6367 regulars. Among its officers were several who were to be closely associated with Ward in later years: Charles Lee, four years his junior, captain of a company of His Majesty's Grenadiers of the 44th Regiment; and Brig- adier-General Timothy Ruggles, Lieutenant-Colonel John Whitcomb, Major Israel Putnam, and Captain John Stark of the provincial forces. Hope and confidence ran high. Success seemed certain. Newspapers contained rosy reports of what was going to happen at "Ti." Those who knew him, held Abercromby in slight respect, but that mattered little, for next in command was Lord George Howe, beloved and respected by both regulars and provincials — a man of high military a°bility and great personal charm, blessed with a true understanding of both the value and the peculiarities of the colonial troops; a man whose adaptability was such that he not only eagerly absorbed what provincial leaders could teach him, but, in return, after thus learning from them, could devise and impart methods in for- est and back-country travel which improved on his instructors. There is no danger of over-statement in paying tribute to ' There was a "great deficiency in the number of Arms belonging to the Province." It was hoped to complete the equipment of the regiments out of arms "ordered over by the Crown." The latter had, however, not arrived up to May 19 though they were "every day expected from Great Britain." — Governor Pownall to Colonel Williams, May 19, 1758, TF'dUams Papers, 181, Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, Mass. i7SS] THE TICONDEROGA CAMPAIGN 19 Lord Howe. Contemporary evidence is irresistible. Wolfe called him "the noblest Englishman that has appeared in my time, and the best soldier in the British army." Pitt spoke of him as "a character of ancient times; a complete model of military virtue." And in Westminster Abbey stands the monument which Massachusetts Bay erected to his memory. Major Ward set out with his companies on the morning of May 30 and had made the twenty miles to Brookfield be- fore sunset. His transcript of his diary of the expedition has been pre- served.^ It throws no new light on the campaign, but it con- tains much interesting detail. It records June 17 and 18, after the arrival at Fort Edward, the building of a breastwork by his men "on ye west end of ye encampment." On the day following, the visit of Abercromby and his aides-de-camp is noted, and that the general "was pleased with Colo. Williams encampment." We find a similar entry on June 22 : "Ruggles & Williams's Regiment mustered by Brigdr. Genl. Gage who did Colo. Williams ye Honor to say was his Regt. in uniform it wo'd be one of the finest he ever saw."^ June 28, Williams' regiment reached the southern ex- tremity of Lake George and encamped there. July 2, boats were assigned to the provincial troops to be loaded by them with "flour, pork, etc.," for the voyage down Lake George toward Ticonderoga. July 3, succeeding a parade of all the regiments for a general review, Ward was promoted to the rank of lieutenant- colonel. The next day all "ye heavy baggage" was put on board, and the following morning the whole army embarked. 'Owned (1921) by Florence Ward, Shrewsbury, Mass. * Parkman, Montcalm and JFolfe, II, 93, says that the provincials were "uniformed in blue," but Ward's diary is evidence that uniforming did not reach to all the Massachusetts regiments. 20 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 30 "The arrangements were perfect. Each corps marched without confusion to its appointed station on the beach, and the sun was scarcely above the ridge of French Mountain when all were afloat. A spectator watching them from the shore says that when the fleet was three miles on its way, the surface of the lake at that distance was completely hid- den from sight. There were nine hundred bateaux, a hun- dred and thirty-five whaleboats, and a large number of heavy flatboats carrying the artillery. The whole advanced in three divisions, the regulars in the center, and the provincials on the flanks. Each corps had its flags and its music. The day was fair and men and officers were in the highest spirits."^ They rowed northward all that day; and then, as "the Genl gave out orders we sho'd push on,"^*^ all the night fol- lowing also. The "second narrows" was reached at daybreak. A few hours later the entire army had debarked at the north end of the lake and commenced the march through the forest to lay siege to Ticonderoga. Montcalm still held there, though debating hourly whether to make a stand — and if so, on what line; or whether to abandon the fort in the face of the formid- able army coming to its attack. The afternoon brought a calamitous victory to the Eng- lish — the death of Howe^^ in a blind skirmish with a French advance party in the dense thicket. The Frenchmen were routed — with many killed and taken prisoners, but the English army was thrown completely out * Parknian, Montcalm and Tl'olje, II, 92. "Colonel Partridge to his wife, July 12, 1758, Israel Williams Papers, II, 77, Massachusetts Historical Society. '^ The news of the death of Lord Howe was everywhere received as a calamity and aroused much apprehension. "As to the Progress and Effect of these Successes, we must suspend our Accounts 'til further Ncws^ — the losing Lord Howe is paying too dear for the advantages we have yet gain'd for nothing can compensate for so dear a Sacrifice, but the Total Reduction of Canada." — Boston Gazette, July 17, 1758. On his loss, both provincial and regular officers blamed the disasters which followed. With him, declared Thomas Mante, "the soul of General Abercromby's army seemed to expire. From the unhappy moment the general was deprived of his advice, neither order nor discipline was observed, and a strange kind of infatuation usurped the place of resolution." — Parkman, Montcalm and U'oljc, II, 97. lysS] THE TICONDEROGA CAMPAIGN 21 of gear. "All in confusion," wrote Ward. Howe was dead, and Abercromby lost touch with his command. He collected "such parts of it" as were within his reach "and posted them under the trees, where they remained all night under arms."^^ The others, Williams' regiment among them, made their way out of the forest as best they could and "returned to ye place we landed at with 160 prisoners and incamped."^^ The next morning (July 7), still ignorant of the where- abouts of a large part of his force, Abercromby also re- turned to the landing place, there to find it awaiting him.^^ His army reunited, the English commander-in-chief took up his plans anew. First to set out was Lieutenant-Colonel Bradstreet with a detachment of redcoats and provincials — Williams' regiment among them. They "marched and took possession of ye mills" — the sawmill at the Falls, an ad- vanced French post which Montcalm had held in strong force until the preceding day. Thence, the Williams, Preble, and Doty regiments, and Partridge's battalion, went forward to " Abercromby's Report to William Pitt, Secretary of State, July 12, 175S, Public Record Office, London, C. O. 5, Volume 50, page 353 (page 259 in British Transcripts in Library of Congress). ^^ Ward's Diary. " Parkman, Montcalm and JFolfe, II, 98, says "the effect of the loss [of Howe] was seen at once. The army was needlessly kept under arms all night in the forest, and in the morning was ordered back to the landing place whence it came." The same state- ments appear in the accounts by Bancroft and others. The impression thus conveyed is inaccurate. The conditions were considerably worse. Instead of merely an army "need- lessly kept under arms all night," it was, as noted above, a disjointed army largely out of touch with its commander-in-chief. A number of regiments were "missing" and Abercromby's aides did not know where to look for them. Contemporary accounts tell the story. Ward's diary entry I have quoted above. See also: the diary of Lemuel Lyon, of Fitch's Connecticut regiment {The Military Journals of Tivo Private Soldiers, 22), July 6 — "at Sondown . . . our men came back again to the Landing place and Lodged their" ; Colonel Partridge's letter, July 12 {Israel TFilUams Papers, II, 77, Massachusetts Historical Society) — "The Regt. got so dispersed we were obliged to retire to open ground to Form anew where we camped" ; and the continuation of Abercromby's report — "The 7th, In the Morning, having yet no Intelligence of the Troops that were missing, (being several Regiments,) not knowing which Way they had gone; Our Intelligence uncertain. Our Guides ignorant, & the Troops with me greatly fatigued, by having been one whole Night on the Water, the following Day constantly on Foot, and the next Night under Arms, added to their being in Want of Provision, having dropped what they had brought with them. In Order to lighten themselves, It was thought most Advlseable to return to the Landing Place, which we accordingly did, anil upon Our Arrival there, about 8 that Morning, found the Remainder of the Army." 22 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 30 "within ^ mile of ye french" and there built a breastwork and encamped. Bradstreet also "rebuilt the bridges destroyed by the retiring enemy, and sent word to his commander that the way was open; on which Abercromby again put his army in motion [and] reached the Falls late in the afternoon." ^^ Montcalm resolves to hold Ticonderoga despite the dan- gers of the position and his lesser numbers, and to make his stand upon the ridge immediately to the west of his stronghold. The decision reached, his Frenchmen ply their axes with furious energy, felling trees by scores, by hundreds, by thousands. The fort stood at the point of a tongue of land — a rocky plateau, with low ground on both sides — washed on the east by the head of Lake Champlain and on the west by the out- let of Lake George. Its new defenses so hurriedly being prepared stretch across the tongue from water to water. The ridge chosen for the main defense crowns the plateau at a distance of about half a mile from the fort, and upon it swiftly rises a mighty log breastwork zigzagging along its entire length. In front of this is set a barrier of heavy boughs interwoven with sharp points bristling everywhere. Again in front, on the descending slope — as also on the low ground to the sides — lie the trees as they fall, crowding each other in a thicket of underbrush: acres of trunks presenting a myriad obstructions : a vast abattis — a position of a thousand man-traps, and every trap a target for the Frenchmen posted behind the zigzag breastwork. On the next day (July 8) Abercromby, misled by his own incompetence and an engineer's faulty report, ordered the taking of the position at the point of the bayonet. Any one of several other methods would have spelled the certain de- feat or capitulation of the French — with, probably, slight English losses. But Abercromby and his officers, possessed " Pirkman. Montcalm and Wglfe, II. 98. lysS] THE TICONDEROGA CAMPAIGN 23 by the devils of unreasoned recklessness and gross Ill-judg- ment, must hurl their men at the French breastwork in a frontal assault. Hurry, hurry — reinforcements are coming to Montcalm! No time to bring up the cannon! Charge with the bayonet! In the van, driving in the French outposts as the army moves forward through the forest, are Rogers' rangers, "Bradstreet's armed boatmen," and a detachment of regulars (Gage's Light Infantry). Next come several thousand provincials, halting just with- in the concealment of the trees and underbrush^® and taking up positions at intervals, extending thus across the tongue from shore to shore — Williams' regiment to the right of the center. Then — the main body of the English regulars. Forming in "columns of attack" they pass between the provincial regiments, march briskly out of the obscurity of the forest, and push forward to the attack. "Across the rough ground, with Its maze of fallen trees whose leaves hung withering In the July sun," the Englishmen "could see the top of the breastwork, but not the men behind it; when, in an instant, all the line was obscured by a gush of smoke, a crash of exploding firearms tore the air, and grape- shot and musket-balls swept the whole space like a tempest; *a damnable fire,' says an oflicer who heard them screaming about his ears. The English had been ordered to carry the works with the bayonet; but their ranks were broken by the obstructions through which they struggled in vain to force their way, and they soon began to fire In turn. The storm raged in full fury for an hour. The assailants pushed close to the breastwork; but there they were stopped by the bristling mass of sharpened branches, which they could not pass under the murderous cross-fires that swept them from front and ^'Colonel Partridge to his wife, July i2, 1758, Israel Wtlllams Papers, II, yy, Massachusetts Historical Society. 24 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 30 flank. At length they fell back, exclaiming that the works were impregnable."^^ Abercromby sent orders to attack again — and again they set themselves to the task. "The scene was frightful: masses of infuriated men who could not go forward and would not go back; straining for an enemy they could not reach, and firing on an enemy they could not see; caught in the entanglement of fallen trees; tripped by briers, stumbling over logs, tearing through boughs; shouting, yelling, cursing, and pelted all the while with bullets that killed them by scores, stretched them on the ground, or hung them on jagged branches in strange attitudes of death." 18 The provincial troops poured from their concealment in the forest and crowded forward to the aid of the redcoats — but without avail, for the flank fires of musketry and grape beat down every approach. Several times the English attacked with the most desperate courage, but their oflicers had set them an impossible task. The last assault was made at about six o'clock: it was as fruitless as those which had preceded it. "From this time till half-past seven a lingering fight was kept up by the rangers and other provincials, firing from the edge of the woods and from behind the stumps, bushes, and fallen trees in front of the lines. Its only objects were to cover their comrades, who were collecting and bringing off the wounded, and to protect the retreat of the regulars, who fell back in disorder to the Falls. As twilight came on the last combatant withdrew, and none were left but the dead. Abercromby had lost in killed, wounded, and missing nineteen hundred and forty-four officers and men."^^ The regulars had suffered the most severely — their dead and wounded reached a full fourth of their entire strength; " Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, II, 105—106. ^^Ibld., 106. ^mid., no. iys8] THE TICONDEROGA CAMPAIGN 25 but the provincial casualties were also considerable, nearly equaling the total of the French losses. Captain Charles Lee was one of the many English officers wounded — a musket-ball passing through his body and break- ing two of his ribs. A start had been made to build breastworks to check the enemy if he should follow up his victory, but Ward's diary tells us that the work was soon abandoned and that the army "shamefully retreated." Williams' regiment fell back only a short distance, how- ever, halting and encamping, together with Partridge's bat- talion, at their "old Breastwork" between the French lines and the mill. The English were still strong in numbers and well able to hold their own even if Montcalm should receive his expected reinforcements, but Abercromby had been completely un- nerved by the losses he had sustained. His rashness "before the fight, was matched by his poltroonery after it."^*' At about midnight Colonel Williams and Colonel Partridge acci- dentally discovered "to our great surprise" that the army was in full flight southward to its boats, and they perforce again set out to follow it.^^ The troops "arrived at ye battoos" in the morning and went on board — then south the length of Lake George, re- turning humbled, disgusted, and defeated to the encamp- ment which they had left a few days earlier full of confidence and national pride. The New England provincials thenceforth referred to Abercromby as "Mrs. Nabbycrombie" ("Nabby" being the familiar of Abigail) . And Charles Lee's sharp tongue speaks of him as "our Booby in Chief." For another three months the southern extremity of Lake George served as the main basis of the army. A camp of ill- ^" Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, II, 114. "Colonel Partridge to his wife, July 12, 1758, Israel Williams Papers, II, yy, Massachusetts Historical Society. 26 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 30-32 fortune, its depleted ranks stricken by fever and dysentery. Sanitary conditions were bad, the food often unwholesome, and hospital supplies frequently lacking. ^^ On September 24 Ward recorded, "This day according to ye returns given in, there are but 1657 R. F. [rank and file] of the Provincials fit for duty." There were, however, occasional bright spots in those dreary months. The camp drew great satisfaction from the victory of Rogers' detachment in a hot skirmish with Marin. Ward wrote, "ye truth is they gave ye Enemy a good drubing this time!" Again, on August 20, glorious news came to headquarters by a letter from Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson of "ye, surrender of Cape Breton that it surrendered ye 26th of July last"; and, later, word of the capture and destruction of Fort Frontenac by Bradstreet and 3000 men, nearly all of them provincials of the Ticonderoga army. Yet more weeks passed, then "Amherst, with five regi- ments, from Louisbourg, came ... to join Abercromby at Lake George, and the two commanders discussed the ques- tion of again attacking Ticonderoga. Both thought the sea- son too late. A fortnight after, a deserter brought news that Montcalm was breaking up his camp."^^ Abercromby followed his example. The regulars were withdrawn and the specially raised provincial regiments were marched homeward and disbanded: Williams' regiment, to- gether with Preble's and Nichols', setting out on October 24. The campaign had ended, and during the following winter "only a few scouting parties kept alive the embers of war on the waters and mountains of Lake George." On his return, Ward made a brief stay in Shrewsbury and ^" "Our sick, destitute of everything proper for them ; an empty medicine-chest ; noth- ing but their dirty blankets for bed and bedding in malignant and slow fevers; Dr. Ashley dead, Dr. Wright gone home low eno', Bille worn off of his legs. Such is our case. ... I have near loo sick." — Colonel Williams, Sept. 4, 1758, Israel IFil- liams Papers, II, 84, Massachusetts Historical Society. ^ Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe, II, 129-130. 775^-/7^0] HIS HEALTH IMPAIRED 27 then proceeded to Boston for the discharge of his bounty and billeting-money bonds. This conckided a campaign of such dangers and difficulties as test not only a man's physical courage, but also his moral fortitude in the face of disease and disorder, and his patience and constancy when suffering from delays bred both by 111 circumstances and by the incompetence of military and civilian superiors. Quick recognition of the excellence of Ward's record dur- ing that trying year is seen in another upward step In military title. In the field he had earned promotion from major to lieutenant-colonel. Within two months of his return he was commissioned as colonel — his command being the Third Middlesex and Worcester County Regiment, In which he had formerly served as captain and major. The TIconderoga expedition had proved little short of an utter failure, but England's honor had been retrieved by Amherst and Wolfe at Loulsburg; and 1759 — the year in which both Montcalm and Wolfe gave their lives for their countries — tendered rich promise that thereafter England was to be overlord in North America. These successes must be permanently secured. And 1760 again saw preparation for the "complete reduction of Canada." The TIconderoga campaign had seriously Impaired Ward's health, and during 1759 he had made no effort to return to service in the field; but he was ready for the call in 1760, was commissioned colonel of a provincial expeditionary regi- ment, and was active In enlisting men to fill Its ranks. His constitution had, however, been more seriously un- dermined than he had supposed, and he was compelled to re- linquish the expeditionary command and to content himself with that of his standing militia regiment and the Inspection of expeditionary enlistments in the post of Commissary of Musters. He Indeed never regained robust health, and cal- culus, his arch-enemy henceforth, plagued him Intermittently all his life. 28 ARTEMAS WARD [^^e 32-35 In civil affairs he steadily gained stature both in county and township. In the latter he had become the accepted leader of the community. To his township offices were added those of town mod- erator (in 1761, and somewhat later for a series of terms) ; church moderator, in 1760, 1761, and 1762, following the death of the Reverend Job Gushing, his old tutor, and until arrangements were completed for the settlement of the Rev- erend Joseph Sumner; and treasurer — commencing with 1760, and thereafter every year except one until the Revolu- tionary War. As Representative he was reelected without intermission, save only the year of the Ticonderoga campaign and 1762 (when no Representative was sent from Shrewsbury), until he entered the Council. And he was on January 21, 1762, appointed a judge of the Worcester County Court of Common Pleas i^^ and commis- sioned as a justice of the peace "of the quorum." In the House, Ward was known to his colleagues as an in- defatigable worker, and we find him, both at this period and in succeeding years, shouldering a great deal of committee work: considering all manner of applications and petitions; preparing currency and tax bills, etc. He also served by House authority as trustee for the Hassanamisco Indians. It was in 1763 (January 12), the year following his ap- pointment as judge of the Court of Common Pleas, that Colonel Ward purchased from his brother Elisha the house opposite the old Nahum Ward home which their father had erected early in the history of Shrewsbury. The sale included seventy acres of land fronting on the Great Country Road.25 Into this house, a frame structure of seven rooms (the "* The chief justice was Brigadier-General Timothy Ruggles. ^ Ward had, on December 28. 1762, sold his home, the Yellow House and farm (page ID, note), to the Reverend Joseph Sumner, the new minister. Mr. Sumner moved in on June 8, 1763. ij6o-i763'\ IS MADE A JUDGE 29 "Old Part" of the present Artemas Ward House), he soon after moved his family (already a typical old-time Massa- chusetts family of six children), and under its roof he held court and dispensed law and order for more than a score of years. CHAPTER III February, iy6^-May, 1774: Age 35-46 Massachusetts after 1763. The Stamp Act dispute arouses Colonel Ward. Governor Bernard cancels his commission. On many committees of political protest. Elected to the Council in a contest with Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. Rejected by Governor Bernard. One of the "Glorious Ninety-Two." Again elected to the Council and again vetoed. A third time elected — and at last grudgingly admitted to the Board. General Charles Lee arrives in New York. The "Tea Party" of 1773 and the Boston Port Act. WITH the signing of the Treaty of Paris, on February 10, 1763, we enter a new era. English arms have driven the French flag from the North American continent. They have triumphed also In Asia. England has won the supremacy of the seas and has become the greatest of colonial powers. The English colonies In North America have Increased from the scant half million whites of Artemas Ward's birth- date, thirty-five years before, to a total of one and a half minion. And many thoughtful minds contemplatively regard the vast undeveloped Indian-peopled regions which the for- tune of war has passed from French to English dominion. The crushing of French sovereignty quickened the hun- dred converging causes which formed the river that within a few short years swept all before It In Its course to the wide seas of American Independence. The outcome might have been long delayed If It had been possible to make the men directing England's policy com- prehend that her North American colonies held In full the 30 1763-17 6 s\ THE STAMP ACT 31 English tradition that the right of self-taxation is the funda- mental of liberty. In 1765 came the historic Stamp Act — both the levying and the expenditure to be under the control of the English Parliament. Every student is familiar with the storm that it raised during its short and impotent life. The whole subject of overseas authority was suddenly and violently illuminated. Here was a clear, clean issue, un- complicated by the generations of mercantile compromises and evasions which befogged the operation of the Naviga- tion and Trade acts. Here was an act, in no way related to the regulation of the commerce of the empire, designed to collect a tax specifically for revenue. The revenue was to be employed to assist in defraying "the necessary expenses of defending, protecting, and securing" the colonies; but this provision did not soften the American attitude toward the two questions: Had Parliament the right to levy the tax? Shall it be paid? The answer to both questions was an em- phatic negative. In Massachusetts, the Stamp Act aroused thousands who had taken only a fitful interest in the Sugar and Molasses disputes, and had not been enduringly stirred even by the "Writs of Assistance." It blew to a white heat the flame relit in the brilliant erratic mind of James Otis,^ at this date still bearing the title of the "great incendiary" of the patriot party. It initiated the political activity of several men who figured prominently in the struggle for independence. Artemas Ward was among those inspired. He had been little affected by the disturbances bred by the Navigation and Trade acts, and had taken no part in either provincial or local quarrels with holders or supporters of the preroga- tive — but the Stamp Act struck fire in him; his activity in patriot circles commences with its date. ^ My reference, except where otherwise noted, is always to James Otis, the son, of Boston, immortalized by his speech against Writs of Assistance; not to James Otis, the father, of Barnstable. 32 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 37 This new strong sentiment rapidly widened the breach separating the two parties which in their later development are best recognized by modern students under the titles of "Loyalist" and "Patriot." In Boston, the loyalists formed a superstructure of wealth and large social importance, centering chiefly around the An- glican church. Within their lines were the governor and his friends and appointees, the higher justices and numerous lawyers, and a fair proportion of the merchants of the town, together with a coterie whose concerns were not materially affected by either party but who gravitated to the loyalist side by the weight of inherited reverence for English institu- tions — or at the less admirable behest of social ambitions and aspirations. Less socially brilliant, but very formidable, was the patriot party. It included many merchants and professional men, most of the clergy excepting those of the Anglican church, and almost the entire body of mechanics. The strongest figure in its councils was Samuel Adams — "master of the town- meeting" and ever ready of tongue and pen. The Boston of Samuel Adams and his clan constituted the head and mouth of the radical patriots, but their weight and strength lay in the country townships. It was fear of the manhood of the country townships which held the loyal- ist officials and partisans in check during the years of wrang- ling which preceded the outbreak of the Revolution. With- out the menace of the rallying of thousands of armed farmers, the Boston patriot leaders would have enjoyed short shrift. This menace outweighed even the guns of the English navy and the bayonets of the regulars. Unanimity was, nevertheless, rare even in the country dis- tricts. Nearly every township held its exceptions. The General Court opened its fall session on September 25 — just thirty days after the sacking of the mansion of Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson by a Stamp Act mob. Dur- ing its very brief duration, Samuel Adams entered it as a iy6s] PROMINENT AS A "PATRIOT" 33 newly enrolled Representative — his first direct participation in the government of the province. Governor Bernard addressed the delegates on the riots and the necessity of submission to the provisions of the Stamp Act. He painted in strong sentences the dangers of refusal to abide by them — the loss of trade by the cessation of navigation, and a general state of outlawry; and argued for the compensation of those who had suffered in the riots. Colonel Ward's stand against imperial taxation had been quickly recognized, and on the following day he was added to the committee which was preparing an answer to the gov- ernor's message. This was Ward's first appointment on a committee of political protest. During the same afternoon came an appointment on an- other committee to deliver the Representatives' reply to the governor's notification that a stamp ship had entered the harbor and his request for assistance in the care and preser- vation of the Stamped Papers that it brought. The Representatives' reply expressed their entire unwiUing- ness to have anything whatever to do with the Stamped Papers. Bernard's retaliation was an excuse-coated order adjourn- ing the General Court to October. Shortly after the adjournment came the Stamp Act con- gress in New York. Its labors resulted in addresses to the King and the two houses of Parliament. Timothy Ruggles, chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas of Worcester County (on whose bench Ward had now sat for three years), served as president of the congress — but the stand he took was strongly prerogative and he refused to sign the addresses adopted. The General Court met again on October 23, and on the following day a House committee which included Samuel Adams and Colonel Ward presented the reply to Bernard which had been held up by the sudden adjournment of the preceding month. The reply respectfully acknowledged the 34 ARTEMAS WARD [J^e 37-38 authority of the English Parliament, though emphasizing its limitations, but its tone toward the governor was of sarcasm and dislike. With this committee appointment began Ward's close political association with Samuel Adams — a bond which held for a quarter of a century. Five days later the House drew up resolves of the "just rights" of the inhabitants of the province — disavowing taxa- tion by Parliament, and declaring that "all acts made, by any Power whatever, other than the General Assembly of this province, imposing Taxes on the Inhabitants are In- fringements of our inherent and unalienable Rights." On November 7, Ward was placed on the committee to draft a letter on the Stamp Act and restrictions of American trade, to be sent to Massachusetts' English Agent. The session terminated on the next day. The winter following saw a flourishing crop of the non- importation resolutions so distasteful to English pocket- books, an unrelenting opposition to the use of the reviled stamps, and a great making of homespun to take the place of imported clothes. The spring records the repeal of the Stamp Act amid re- joicing on both sides of the Atlantic. American patriot leaders looked askance, however, at the accompanying De- claratory Act, which emphatically asserted the "full power and authority" of the King and Parliament "to make laws and statutes ... to bind the colonies and people of Amer- ica .. . in all cases whatsoever." And, further, in Boston, there was little peace within legis- lative walls, for Bernard made the first session of the new General Court lively by quarreling with the Representatives for failing to elect Hutchinson, the Olivers, and Trowbridge to the Council (which omission he had countered by negativ- ing six of the councilors returned). He also made very em- phatic his demand for the compensation of Hutchinson and others who had suffered property losses during the Stamp Act riots. 1765-1766^^ PROMINENT AS A "PATRIOT" 35 The Representatives retorted with objections to his tem- per, expressions, and methods. Ward was a member of the committee appointed, June 27, to reply to Bernard's second message concerning com- pensation. Its answer, delivered on the following day, stated that the House felt that It had done all "that our Most Gracious Sovereign and his Parliament" could "reasonably expect from" It, but that It had appointed a committee to Investigate during the summer recess and would act on Its report during the next session. It concluded by saying : "Your Excellency Is pleased to enforce the Immediate compliance of the House with this requisition, by an argument drawn from a regard to the town of Boston, the reputation of whose In- habitants your Excellency says has already suffered much for having been tame spectators of the violences committed, and that this disgrace would be removed thereby. We see no reason why the reputation of that town should suffer in the opinion of any one, from all the evidence which has fallen under the observation of the House. Nor does it appear to us how a compliance would remove such disgrace. If that town had been so unhappy as to have fallen under It." The same afternoon the House was adjourned without any untoward event. The trend of Ward's political sentiments had not been overlooked by the prerogative party, and Bernard reached the conclusion that he was a dangerous man to hold a colonel's command. His removal quickly followed: his com- mission was canceled within two days of the closing of the spring session. The delivery, on July 7, of the governor's order of re- moval formed a dramatic little scene which was long treas- ured In Shrewsbury. The most circumstantial account handed down to posterity Is that of the Reverend Joseph Sumner,^ for sixty-two years the township's much beloved and Influential preacher. * A. H. Ward, History of the Town of Shre'zvsbury, Mass., 492. ZS ARTEMAS WARD {Age 38-3Q Bernard's message was carried by a mounted officer in full uniform. He found Ward on the common among a number of the townspeople who had come together to tear down the old meeting-house. He delivered his dispatch and then, still seated on his horse, appeared to await a reply. Ward read the letter^ — a short one and to the point, as follows : "Boston, June 30, 1766. To Artemas Ward, Esq., Sir: I am ordered by the Governor to signify to you, that he has thought fit to supersede your commission of Col. in the Regt. of Militia lying in part in the County of Worcester, and partly in the County of Middlesex. And your said com- mission is superseded accordingly. I am, sir, your most obt. and humble servt., John Cotton, Dep'y Sec'y." As Ward finished reading, one of the onlookers asked if the message contained "important news." Whereupon Ward read the letter aloud, and then, turning to the messenger, said, "Give my compliments to the Governor, and say to him, I consider myself twice honored, but more in being superseded, than in having been commissioned, and that I thank him for this," holding up the letter, "since the motive that dictated it is evidence, that I am, what he is not, a friend to my country." The story goes steadily forward during the fall and win- ter sessions. Ward (December 5) voted "Yea" (with Samuel Adams, Otis, Hancock, the Whitcombs, Foster, and other well-known patriots) on the bill which granted com- pensation to the Stamp Act Riot victims but joined with it a "general Pardon, Indemnity and Oblivion to the Offenders." Bernard hesitated to accept this, but finally decided to make the best of it. On January 29, 1767, Ward was with Samuel Adams, 1766-1767^ THE GROWTH OF RESISTANCE 37 Otis, Gushing, and Hawley on a committee to report a reply to Bernard's opening address of the preceding day; and two days later on a new committee to present the answer pre- pared — which referred somewhat sarcastically to the spirit of the address and objected to the uninvited presence of Hutchinson in the Council Chamber during the attendance of the General Court on the governor. February 3, he was with Samuel Adams, Otis, Cushing, Hawley, Dexter, and Sheaffe on a committee to consider the governor's acknowledgment that, through the Council, money had been expended for the maintenance of an artillery company which had arrived in the fall. The reply drawn up by the committee was a strong rebuke to the governor for having taken money from the treasury without the knowledge of the House. Also on February 3, Ward was with Brigadier-General Preble and others on a committee to Inquire into the state of the militia. In June the English Parliament passed the Townshend "Act for granting certain Duties in the British Colonies and Plantations in America, etc." It levied on importations of glass, red lead, white lead, painters' colors, paper (and paste- board, etc.), and tea; and legalized Writs of Assistance. The anticipated revenue was to be applied first to the pay- ment of the colonial civil list. The expressed intent of the Townshend Act to collect a revenue, set it, like the Stamp Act, outside the theory of the earlier Navigation and Trade acts, but as "external" taxation it was hoped that it would be swallowed. A few years earlier it might have gone down without much trouble, but patriot political analysis had progressed and now would not brook any taxes, external or Internal, levied for revenue. Historians note, with varying sentiments, the development and expansion of Massachusetts' views of her relations with England, and of her progressive objections to forms of taxa- tion. But this evolution of claim and assertion, as she 38 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 39-40 struggled to prevent colonial autonomy from being sub- merged by new extensions of imperial control, should not sur- prise the student. Both colonial and English leaders were sailing on seas Imperfectly charted. England herself had not then formulated a clear theory of the constitution of the British Empire. The personal side also made itself strongly felt. Massa- chusetts leaders held themselves fully the equals of English statesmen, and had no inclination to bend the knee to them. The England of George III was feared and respected, but with few exceptions its politics and politicians were, by mod- ern standards, both incompetent and venal. Parliamentary representation, church livings, army and navy commissions, and government appointments were publicly bought, sold, and bartered: were publicly advertised for sale. All branches of the government were saturated with corruption. General conditions were equally bad. Greater wealth than the nation had ever before known had followed the stretch- ing of the empire and the tapping of India, but its possession jostled a great deal of bitter poverty; highwaymen were an expected episode on even the most frequented roads; gross ImmoraUty was rife; rioting was common. It Is not surprising that the leaders of thought In the cleaner, more orderly atmosphere of the colonies — especially the Massachusetts leaders — resisted firmly, and sometimes most acrimoniously, every attempt to bring, or which seemed to threaten to bring them under the thumbs of English office- holders. By natural gifts and inclination, and by the experience of well-tried generations, the people of Massachusetts were fully qualified to govern themselves without any imperial aid, superintendence, or advice. Despite their place upon the calendar of the eighteenth century, instead of the nineteenth or twentieth, they were as competent and full-fledged as are the self-governing, or "responsible government," colonies of the British Empire of today. i767-i768'\ THE GROWTH OF RESISTANCE 39 In practice, though not in formal recognition, they had In- deed traveled a long way toward the status of a self-govern- ing colony, and men of the Samuel Adams type desperately fought every attempt to make them retrace their steps — even If only a short distance and for good Imperial reasons. In the following January (1768) the Massachusetts House met the Townshend revenue act with a petition to the King and addresses to members of the English ministry, re- monstrating against taxation levied by Parliament, and It suc- ceeded this on February 11 with Samuel Adams' "Circular Letter" to the other colonies. Informing them of Its action and suggesting that "all possible care" be taken that the provinces "upon so delicate a point should harmonize with each other." Next one comes to May 25, blographlcally Important as the date of Ward's election to the Council In a contest with Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. The Council at this period, It should be remembered, held a large measure of power, for it shared both in legislation and In executive authority, combining the duties now resting separately on the Senate and Council. Eighteen councilors were to be chosen from within the old Massachusetts Bay Colony. Seventy-one votes were re- quired for election. The first ballot disclosed only seventeen men who had received the requisite number. Hutchin- son had been given sixty-eight — the highest number of those who failed of election. The prerogative party ex- pected to seat him on the next ballot, but Samuel Adams spread the news, freshly arrived, that Hutchinson had re- ceived a grant from the crown — that he had become a gov- ernment "Pensioner," and Otis hurried from member to mem- ber crying for votes for Colonel Ward. The result of their efforts was the Immediate election of Ward to complete the Council roll. Bernard promptly retaliated by vetoing Ward. 40 ARTEMAS WARD \_Age 40 In his letter to ex-Governor Pownall,^ one of several on the subject, Hutchinson describes Ward as "a very sulky fellow, who I thought I could bring over by giving him a commission in the provincial forces after you left the government, but I was mistaken." Telling of Bernard's veto, he adds, "Ward was sacrificed to my manes!" A month later (June 21) Bernard presented the instruc- tions of Lord Hillsborough, England's Colonial Secretary, that he "require of the House of Representatives, in his Majesty's Name, to Rescind the Resolution which gave Birth to the Circular Letter from the Speaker [that of February I I to the other colonies referred to on page 39] and to declare their Disapprobation of, and Dissent to that rash and hasty proceeding." The House came to a vote on the subject June 30. By ninety-two to seventeen it refused to rescind, and was promptly dissolved. The Representatives who thus defied England were ex- tolled throughout the length and breadth of the colonies, and in and out of print, as the "Glorious Ninety-Two." Promi- nent among them was Artemas Ward. The seventeen mem- bers who voted to rescind were led by Timothy Ruggles. Ofl'icial voices were now reiterating demands for troops to hold the people in check. A little later, the report that troops were coming resulted in a Boston town-meeting which re- solved against taxation except by their own Representatives, and against a standing army; voted that all inhabitants, not already provided, should furnish themselves with arms, "as provided by a good & wholesome law of the Province" — giv- ing as excuse the possibility of another English-French war; and invited a general convention of town committees. Ward was on September 20 unanimously chosen Shrews- bury's representative in the "Committee of Convention" — "MS. copy, June 7, 1768, Massachusetts Archives, XXV, 262. 1768] THE GROWTH OF RESISTANCE 41 the title applied to the gathering of town delegates thus called to the capital. The convention held its opening session on September 22, sixty-six towns and several districts being represented in the "upwards of seventy" delegates present. Later arrivals swelled their number until ninety-six towns and eight districts were represented. The delegates' first step was to petition the governor to cause an assembly "to be immediately convened." Bernard refused to receive the petition, denounced the calling of "an assembly of the people by private persons" as a "notorious violation" of the King's authority — "for a meeting of the Deputies of the Towns is an Assembly of the Representatives of the People to all Intents and Purposes; and it is not the calling it a Committee of Convention that will alter the Nature of the Thing," and admonished the delegates "In- stantly" to break up the assembly, or he should be obliged to "assert the Prerogative of the Crown In a more public Man- ner." "The King," he concluded, "is determined to maintain his entire Sovereignty over this Province; and whoever shall persist in usurping any of the Rights of It, will repent of his Rashness." The delegates ignored the demand that they disperse, and on the third day replied to him lengthily and argumentatively. But this communication also Bernard refused to receive. The convention concluded its proceedings on September 26 with a public statement, "unanimously agreed upon," which Is lavish In expressions of loyalty but which repeated the protest of the dissolved House of Representatives against taxation for revenue and against a standing army being maintained in the province."* A squadron from Halifax arrived on the last day of the convention, bringing a detachment of regulars under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Dalrymple. From their * A full account of the proceedings Is in the Boston newspapers of the time. 42 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 40-41 presence and those from Ireland, arriving soon after, sprang a new and very thorny crop of disputes — over their quarters and their supplies, the legality of their presence, etc. — a wordy warfare with many threats exchanged by "lobster backs" and "Sons of Liberty." Officials and their supporters of the prerogative party rejoiced, for they felt that they had achieved the upper hand. The troops garrisoned the capital, ready to uphold them, despite all the patriot protests. But this temporary success served, nevertheless, chiefly to mark the consummation of another grave error of judgment. The use of soldiery to suggest coercion was another defiance of the traditional sen- timents of the race. On through the winter, enlivened in England (now that Boston was possessed by the regulars) with Parliamentary plans to seize the patriot leaders for trial in England. These plans, and variations of them, were duly reported in the col- onies, and with the inflammatory result that might have been expected. Next spring (1769) came the publication of SDme of the letters Bernard had written to England during the preceding year. He had handled American conditions in an uncom- monly adverse spirit and had suggested various changes in the provincial government. The letters excited a great deal of anger throughout the province — somewhat to the perturbation of Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Hutchinson, for he also had been writing in similar strain. Exposure was, however, in his case deferred for sev- eral years. When the General Court convened on May 31, the House addressed the governor requesting the removal of the fleet and soldiers. He retorted that he had no authority over either. On the same day Ward was again elected to the Council, only to be vetoed on the morrow. The House, after much consideration and several reports (Ward was added to the second committee of considera- 1768-17691 THE GROWTH OF RESISTANCE 43 tion), drew up a strong paper disputing Bernard's plea of impotence, and expressing the alarm of the province, if he were correct, at the presence of an army "uncontrollable by any civil authority in the province." Further, it objected to the idea that the regulars were needed, declaring that dis- turbances in Massachusetts had been "greatly misrepre- sented" ; that they were not nearly so bad as many in Great Britain "at the very gates of the palace and even in the Royal Presence." Bernard replied that he could not remove the troops, but could the General Court — and did so, to Cambridge. On June 22 Ward was on the committee appointed to present to the Council the House approval of the "zeal and attention" the preceding Council had displayed in writing to Colonial Secretary Hillsborough to refute the statements in the Bernard (and Gage) letters. The Council's letter of April 15 had complained of the governor's representations, denying their accuracy; and charged him with planning "the Destruction of our Constitution." It had closed with the dec- laration that by the mutual lack of confidence his usefulness as governor had been destroyed. June 27, Ward took part in a vote unanimously approving a petition requesting Bernard's removal. On July 8 and 12 he was with Samuel Adams, Hancock, Otis the father and Otis the son, Hawley, and Colonel Wil- liams, on committees to answer the governor's messages of July 6 and 12. Their reply, unanimously approved by the House, was presented to Bernard on July 15. It refused to appropriate money to defray the expense of quartering the troops, and strongly protested against the governor and Council hav- ing authorized disbursements on that account. It concluded by asserting that "as we cannot, consistently with our honor, or interest, and much less with the duty we owe our con- stituents, so we shall never make provision for the purposes in your several messages above mentioned." 44 ARTEMAS WARD [J^e 41-42 Meantime, the renewal of the taxation controversy had again aroused the South, and also, in this year of 1769, brought George Washington into the arena as the introducer of the articles of association which gave birth to the Virginia non-importation agreement. The numerous violations of non-importation agreements only added to the heat of the conflict. The life of a merchant of the period held a greater possibility of exciting incident than is usually attendant on such a career. The ordinary equation of business uncertainty was liable to be varied at any moment by a customs agent with an omnipotent searching Writ of Assistance or by an equally aggressive patriot com- mittee set in full cry by a report, false or otherwise, of "prohibited" importations. In Boston the community was continually disturbed by many-sided quarrels engaging naval revenue officers,^ sol- diers, citizens, and seamen; the disputes occasionally swelling into violence, as in the assault on Otis and the shooting of the boy Snider, and culminating in the "Boston Massacre" on March 5, 1770. Acute indeed was the crisis following the "Massacre." Crowds of men, of Boston and all the neighboring towns, armed and protesting, filling the streets; other scores and hundreds continuously coming in from the country districts ; the local militia posted everywhere to avert any further clash with the soldiers — Samuel Adams and John Adams and Dr. Joseph Warren, as other prominent citizens, muskets in hand, taking their turns in policing the town both night and day. ' The average layman reading that excise duties were collected by officers of the English navy, pictures the collectors as men of the style of those who now command His Majesty's ships — men of the same type as those in our own navy of today — but "The British naval lieutenant of 1765 was a very rough person. He had often been 'made' by a post- captain who in an emergency did a little press-gang work among merchantmen, and filled up the minor posts on the King's decks from the impressed mates and captains of the mercantile marine. Edward Thompson, in his letters, says that in liis time 'a chaw of tobacco, a rattan and a rope of oaths' constituted the simple qualifications for a lieutenancy in the King's fleet. Lieutenants according to this sample did very little to promote good feeling between Colonial traders and the British Navy." — Belcher's First American Civil War, I, 34-35. iT6g-i77o'\ THE GROWTH OF RESISTANCE 45 The wrath of the people rose steadily higher, and a pitched battle with the soldiers was averted only by the governor and the English commander submitting to Samuel Adams' de- mand that the troops be removed from the town. The following month saw the repeal of the taxation provi- sions of the Townshend revenue act — excepting the duty on tea. Parliament might as well have let the act stand entire, for the exception was eventually to defeat the purpose of the repeal. The new General Court convened on May 30. It for the third time elected Ward to the Council, giving him 115 out of a total of 125 votes. Hutchinson, now acting-governor, had marked him and also Thomas Sanders for slaughter again, but took the advice of his associates and concluded to accept them; partly in gratitude for the election of several "very moderate men," and partly for fear that a new refusal would "increase the bad spirit in the House and through the province."^ Thus we find Colonel Ward at last a Councilor of Massa- chusetts. He takes his seat at the Board with twenty-four other councilors, all of them rather gorgeous in appearance because of their large white wigs and their scarlet-cloth coats — "some of them with gold-laced hats ... on the table before them, or under the table beneath them." Hutchinson is at the head of the table. Prominent on the walls are "glorious portraits of King Charles II and King James II, to which might be added and should be added, little miserable likenesses of Governor Winthrop, Governor Bradstreet, Governor Endicott, and Governor Belcher, hung up in obscure corners."''' Ward's class at Harvard is well represented, for he is joined at the Board by two of his classmates, both there also for the first time: Thomas Sanders of Gloucester — he who was all but vetoed together with Ward, and who had been * MS. copy, June 8, 1770, Massachusetts Archives, XXVI, 500. ' TVorks of John Adams, X, 250, 249—250. 46 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 42-45 previously several times vetoed; and George Leonard, from Norton, one of the twenty-three members who had been will- ingly accepted. From this date until the time of the hated "mandamus councilors," Ward was each year reelected to the Board. He was, however, never persona grata to the governor's party because of his known antagonism to any encroachments on American rights. In the background, meantime, hung the strong sentiment that the Stamp Act had raised. The patriot element fluc- tuated in fervor, and non-importation resolutions broke down, but one did not have to go very deep to touch strong resist- ance. No new revenue laws were attempted, but other changes in control were essayed. All of them were perhaps justifiable from the English standpoint, but they looked dan- gerous to those Massachusetts leaders who had sniffed sus- piciously at the Declaratory Act and the exception to the Townshend Act repeal, and they kept the alarm-bells ringing. A brief spell of comparative political peace and then in the fall of 1772 Hutchinson (governor since March of the pre- ceding year) is startled by a new upheaval. It had been set mounting by the report that the judges of the Superior Court were to be carried on the King's payroll in place of their pay- ment by the provincial House of Representatives — thus de- priving the popular branch of the provincial government of its only means of exercising any control over the judiciary; and it brought into life the famous Committees of Correspondence. Hutchinson convened the General Court on January 6, 1773, and in a lengthy speech set forth his views on the relative positions of the American colonies and the English Parliament, and deplored the recent town-meetings through- out the province in which the "supreme authority of Parlia- ment" had been denied. A long argument followed in which both House and Coun- cil took part. 1770-17731 THE GROWTH OF RESISTANCE 47 Ward was on the Council committee appointed to reply to Hutchinson. Its answer, presented January 25, declared that the unrest in the province rose from attempts of Parliament to subject the inhabitants to taxes without their consent; and it cited Magna Charta and other authorities in support of its declaration that Parliament could not constitutionally levy taxes "in any form," direct or indirect, on the people of Massachusetts. Ward was also on the committee which prepared the Council's answer to Hutchinson's reply. The Council's answer recapitulated its statements of Janu- ary 25, again referring to "Magna Charta, and other au- thorities" to prove that the province was not constitutionally subject to parliamentary taxation: "The argument, abridged, stands thus," it said, "that, from those authorities, it appears an essential part of the English constitution, that no tallage, or aid, or tax, shall be laid or levied, without the good will and assent of the freemen of the commonality of the realm. That, from common law, and the province charter, the in- habitants of this province are clearly entitled to all the rights of free and natural subjects, within the realm. That, among those rights, must be included the essential one just men- tioned, concerning aids and taxes; and therefore, that no aids or taxes can be levied on us, constitutionally, without our own consent, signified by our Representatives. From whence, the conclusion is clear, that therefore, the inhabitants of this province are not constitutionally subject to Parliamentary taxation." On March 5 Ward was on the Council committee which presented a message to Hutchinson protesting against the King's order, duly arrived, which made the judges of the Superior Court financially dependent on the crown. The Council declared that "as the Happiness of a Community so much depends on an impartial Administration of Justice" it could not "but be deeply affected by the thought, that by this Innovation in Government, a Foundation may be 48 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 45 laid for rendering the Rights, Liberties and Properties of this People, in Many Respects, precarious and insecure." Next to hand— of slight historical but large temporary Importance — is the publication of the letters written to Thomas Whately of London, ex-member of Parliament, by Governor Hutchinson (when Lieutenant-Governor), Lieu- tenant-Governor Andrew Oliver (when Secretary), and others, which had been sent back across the ocean by Ben- jamin Franklin. Much curiosity and apprehension had been aroused by various rumors disseminated concerning the let- ters, and when they finally appeared in print they were eagerly read by the entire province and denounced from a long list of pulpits.^ It happened that the letters were comparatively innocuous, but the Massachusetts ear was not so tuned as to enjoy the suggestions they contained that there "must be an abridge- ment of English liberties" and that something more than "declaratory acts or resolves" was needed to secure the de- pendence of the colony. If Franklin had obtained some of Hutchinson's other letters — those to Hillsborough and Ber- nard, for example — there would have been still greater heat in the province. Time has mellowed the criticisms of Hutchinson and we of today can generally visualize his viewpoint and appre- ciate both his abilities and the difficulties of his position. But the views he expressed and the advice he gave to English authorities were bitterly resented by his patriot contem- poraries. The new legislative year opened May 26. Ward did not reach Boston until June 15, but he was on the morrow ap- ' The use of these letters is harshly condemned by loyalist writers and is deplored by many others, but there is no need to dodge or gloss over the issue. The alleged exag- geration of the import or design of the letters is a subject that may be debated, or criticized, or deplored (according to the individual viewpoint), but the procuring of them by Franklin and their forwarding to Boston does not call for apology. In those days no one held letters on political subjects as sacred, no matter by whom written or to whom addressed. Everyone in public life in England, from the King down, read and used other people's letters at every opportunity, both during their transit through the mails and after their delivery. ijjS'] THE GROWTH OF RESISTANCE 49 pointed on the Council committee which notified Hutchinson that the House possessed several of his letters and requested him to inform them If he had written any "of the same Tenor with the copies herewith exhibited." Hutchinson asked to see the originals, and, after inspecting them, did not deny their authenticity. A few days later (June 25) the Board passed twelve re- solves condemning the Hutchinson and Oliver letters and a thirteenth requesting the removal of both the governor and lieutenant-governor. But such appeals were doomed to failure, for they could not stem the tide that In English official circles had set against patriot viewpoints, ambitions, and representations. English officialdom was confirmed In Its stand and fed in Its prejudices by the reports and opinions of sincere loyalists such as Hutchinson; by the insincere testimony of place-hunt- ers; and by the venom of mischief-makers. At this session Colonel Ward had the pleasure of sitting In the Council with John Winthrop, his Harvard Instructor in higher mathematics and natural philosophy. In the quarter-century that had elapsed since the day of Ward's graduation, Winthrop had achieved wide recognition as a scientist: Edinburgh had conferred an honorary LL.D. on him and the Royal Society of London had made him a Fellow. General Charles Lee arrived from England in the fall — the same Lee who as a captain of the Royal Grenadiers had fought at Ticonderoga. This is his first visit to America since the close of the French war; but for fame and dis- grace, for adulation and censure. It Is to be his home hence- forth. He is to play a heavy part In the Revolutionary drama. During the ten years which have passed since the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Lee has grown notably In experience and personality. He has won distinction In Portugal, and has held the rank of major-general in the Polish army. so ARTEMAS WARD [J^e 45 English government and army circles know him well — but deny him favor, for his sharp tongue and ready pen have made him many enemies. A peculiar, brilliant man — driven by an abnormal excita- bility and restlessness which have swept him hither and thither, to and fro. Now forty-two years of age; of proved courage both in the field and the duello ; well versed in mili- tary subjects, judged by the standards of the time; and pos- sessed of a comfortable private fortune. A tall, thin man with a huge nose; slovenly in his dress; of erratic disposition and violent temper; intermittently ingratiating, caustic, and arrogant. Lee landed in New York on November 10. For a while the gout kept him inactive, but as soon as his malady had been alleviated he commenced the talking, writing, and visit- ing which so strongly fixed the attention of the colonies upon him. His aggressive espousal of the patriot cause inspired and inspirited all who came in contact with him; and his enthusiasm brought out and developed all that was best and most attractive in his complex character.^ Next one views Boston's defiance of the English attempt to make efficient use of the tea duty — that relic of the Townshend revenue act which had been smouldering now for several years, remaining on the statute books as a levy on all tea brought into the colonies, but actually reaching less than ten per cent, of the large quantity imported. The new plan was to employ the act for the assistance and profit of the English East India Company, the empire's greatest monopoly, and, incidentally, by the same stroke to make tea smuggling unprofitable and customs collections a source of appreciable revenue. * Many modern writers dismiss or disparage Charles Lee's military ability and reputa- tion as largely spurious, but to do so is to affront the judgment and experience of his most famous and most competent contemporaries. After months of close association at the siege of Boston, Washington was still a party to the universal American ad- miration of Lee's abilities (Washington's letter to Lee, March 14, 1776, Lee Papers, I, 358; to John A. Washington, March 31, 1776, Ford's Writings of George Washing- ton, in, 508). 7775] THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEA 51 An interesting story is entwined in this English spinning of the fuse of the American Revolution. Its first and chief point is found in the exigencies of the great corporation licensed to exploit the millions of India but dangerously close to a bankruptcy that might involve imperial credit, for Its finances were interwoven with those of the Eng- lish government and its tentacles stretched through high English circles. Second, is an overstock of tea and other goods bulging Its warehouses. Third, is the possibility of unloading the tea on the American market by offering it at a low price direct to retailers through special agents — the Eng- lish government aiding by the removal of the English cus- toms, leaving only the American import duty. Fourth, is the political error of leaving the American duty payable in the colonies instead of making It payable in England. To Massachusetts the project came to ride upon the storm raised by the judges' salaries and the Hutchinson-Oliver let- ters. It revitalized the taxation controversy and excited the anger of the large patriot following which had declared against taxation for revenue. It alienated tory merchants — and backsliding whig merchants — who had laid In Dutch and other teas, smuggled or otherwise, and who saw their stocks about to drop in value. And it spread wide apprehension among merchants of all political persuasions lest their future trade — not only In tea, but also perhaps in other commodities — be engulfed by monopoly control. "The King meant to try the question with America" — and he got his answer quickly ! The story of the tea-dumping has been told too often to need recapitulation here, but let It not be forgotten that the moral effect on the King's representatives in Massachusetts was greatly enhanced by their knowledge that, in essentials, the big and sometimes noisy following of Samuel Adams was supported by the patriot members of the Council. On the day (Saturday, November 27) preceding the ar- rival of the Dartmouth, the first of the three tea-ships to 52 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 46 enter the harbor, the Council replied to the application of the governor and the tea agents with a refusal to aid the landing or safeguarding of the tea, giving as its reason that to do so would be to assent to the collection of the duty and thus to the principle of taxation by Parliament. Hutchinson deemed the reply so radical that he warned the Council "of the consequences of it; that it would be highly resented in England, and would be urged there, to shew the necessity of a change in their constitution."^*' On the following Monday, while the Dartmouth lay at anchorage and townspeople and visitors filled the Old South Meeting House to hang on the words of Samuel Adams, and Joseph Warren, and Hancock, and other speakers, Hutchinson was renewing his futile debate with the Council in the Court House. The patriot members adhered to their report — "all advice to secure the tea, upon its being landed, being expressly re- fused, because such advice would be a measure for procuring payment of the duty." Thus firmly upholding the hands of the Samuel Adams party were Ward (present at both the meetings mentioned), James Bowdoin, John Winthrop, George Leonard, James Pitts, and Samuel Dexter. Seventeen days later (December 16), in the semi-darkness of the candle-lit meeting-house, Samuel Adams gave the sig- nal: and his historic troop of "Mohawks" descended upon the tea-ships and emptied their proscribed cargoes into the harbor. A pregnant intermission now, while Hutchinson's dis- patches are tossed about on the wintry Atlantic as old- fashioned sailing-vessels tack across the ocean. There was little to be done by either party until the English government disclosed its intent on the receipt of the news. On February i, 1774, Ward was on the committee ap- " Hutchinson, History of Massachusetts Bay, III, 428-429. 777^] THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEA 53 pointed to present the Council's answer to the governor's message of January 26. Hutchinson in his closing paragraph had conveyed "His Majesty's disapprobation of the appointment of Committees of Correspondence." The Council's answer declared that, "so far as this matter relates to the Board," the King's disap- proval could apply only to committees appointed to advise the colony agent in England, but it warmly defended the right to appoint, and the necessity for, such committees. The last days of the session were distinguished by the final chapter of the trouble over the judges' salaries: the House impeachment of Chief Justice Peter Oliver of the Superior Court for accepting his salary from the crown. The Council on March 7 appointed a committee (Ward a member) to wait on the governor with an address, dis- senting from his opinion, expressed to the House, that the process by impeachment and the governor and Council proceeding and determining upon it were unconstitutional; declaring the readiness of the Board "to hear and deter- mine on the Impeachment abovementioned, or to hear and determine on the charge and complaint since exhibited by the House of Representatives on the same subject"; and request- ing that he "with the Council" would appoint a time for the hearing. Realizing that he could not control the Council, Hutchin- son stopped the proceedings by dissolving the House. Tech- nically, he had the last word — but Peter Oliver never again presided in court and the committees of correspondence car- ried on the work, of the assembly. Word of the "Boston Tea Party" reached England before the end of January. Lord North struck back with his bill to close the Port of Boston. The measure traveled rapidly through Parliament. It was not presented until March 18 — but three readings and passage In both Commons and Lords, debates In both Houses, and the affixing of the King's signa- ture were all crowded Into fourteen days. 54 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 46 The act prohibited the shipping or unshipping of any goods at any point within the harbor, excepting only His Majesty's stores, and consignments of food and fuel for the inhabitants of Boston — and these consignments were to be rigidly inspected, and closely limited to "necessary use and sustenance." CHAPTER IV May 10, iyy4-April ig, iJJS' Age 46-4J The closing of the Port of Boston. The Regulating Act, and that for the "Impartial Administration of Justice." Ward a delegate to the Worcester County Convention. The closing of the courts. Ward's old regiment elects him Colonel. A delegate to the First and Second Provincial Congresses. Appointed second general officer of the province. The battle of April 19, 1775, and the land blockade of Boston. ON May 10 two merchantmen brought copies of the Port Act to Boston. Three days later His Majesty's ship Lively beat its way into the harbor and from it landed General "Tom" Gage — for a number of years commander-in-chief of the King's forces in North America, and now also commissioned to succeed Hutchinson as governor of Massachusetts. He had come with instructions to close the harbor of Boston; to transfer the port of entry to Marblehead; to remove the capital to Salem; and to punish the leaders of the opposition to British legislation. He was to be followed by a new influx of redcoats to uphold royal authority. Next morning Paul Revere set out on a big gray horse, riding fast, bound for New York and Philadelphia with Massachusetts' appeal for the support of her sister colonies, and her prayers for joint retaliation by stamping out all trade with Great Britain. Every country town through which he passed, received the word and radiated it for miles around. Other riders, traveling many routes, spread the news still wider; and a hundredfold echoed it and its appeal. The General Court convened on May 25. Gage's Initial 55 56 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 46 speech, delivered on the following day, made no reference to the new conditions except to notify the assembly that by royal order it was after June i to meet in Salem, The Representatives accelerated their proceedings, plan- ning to conclude them before that date and thus avoid, tem- porarily at all events, the change in the seat of government, but Gage upset their calculations by suddenly adjourning them to meet at Salem on June 7. On Wednesday, June i, the closing act went into effect. The King's ships took possession of the harbor and nothing thenceforth could stir upon the face of the water without their permission. A pall of enforced idleness settled upon the town. So large a part of its trade and livelihood had been of and by the sea — both coastwise and ocean-going: ships and shipping, imports and exports, and many subsidiary interests and activ- ities along the docks and in warehouses and shops — that the closing of the port threw hundreds out of employment and brought scores of business houses to an abrupt halt. It would have spelled destitution to many but for donations, in money and kind, by sympathizers throughout the country, brought in by the Roxbury road over Boston Neck — the isthmus con- necting Boston with the mainland. That one road had become the capital's only free line of communication with the conti- nent. On June 9, the third day of the General Court session at Salem, the House and Council delivered their replies to Gage's address of May 26. The House answer consisted largely of objections to moving the seat of government, and was received without protest. But the Council's reply, pre- pared by Ward,^ stirred the governor to great ire. The Council's reply recognized that the position that Gage was assuming had been rendered more difficult by "the pecu- ^ The draft, in Ward's hand, is among the Artemas Ward MSS. (owned by Artemas Ward, New York). The completed reply retained all of the ideas and much of the language. 17741 MOVING TOWARD REBELLION 57 liar circumstances of the times," but it hoped that his ad- ministration, in "principles and general conduct," might be a "happy contrast" to that of his "two immediate predeces- sors," for there was "the greatest reason to apprehend, that from their machinations, both in concert and apart," were "derived the origin and progress of the disunion between Great Britain and the colonies, and the present distressed state of the province." It stated that the people of Massa- chusetts claimed "no more than the rights of Englishmen" — but that they claimed those rights "without diminution or abridgement." Plainly and firmly it continued with the declaration that those rights, as it would be their indispens- able duty, so it should be their constant endeavor, to main- tain, to the utmost of their power — "in perfect consistence, however, with the truest loyalty to the Crown; the just pre- rogatives of which, your Excellency will find this Board ever zealous to support." The committee which presented the reply reported that when the chairman had read so far as that part which ex- pressed a wish that his administration might be "a happy contrast" to that of his two immediate predecessors, the governor told the chairman to stop, declaring that he could not receive an address which reflected so severely on his pre- decessors. He followed this, June 14, by a formal communication de- nouncing the address "as an insult upon his Majesty, and the Lords of the Privy Council" and an affront to himself. Three days later, on June 17, exactly a year before the battle of Bunker Hill, the House appointed delegates to a meeting of "Committees or Delegates" from all the colonies — a "Continental Congress" — to be held in Philadelphia: Samuel Adams, key in pocket, guarding the vote, and warding off the governor's attempt to dissolve the House, by keeping the tories locked in and the governor's messenger locked out. Meanwhile, back in Colonel Ward's home county, the jus- tices of the Court of Common Pleas, with Ward the only 58 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 46 exception, were hastening to place themselves on the tory side — Judge Timothy Ruggles leading them. As also were the justices of the peace attending the Court of General Sessions. Together, they prepared a letter to Gage which arraigned the "inflammatory pieces" of the Boston and Worcester committees as creating "discord and confusion," and promised to do everything in their power "to discounte- nance such proceedings, and to support the execution of the laws, and render your Excellency's administration successful and prosperous." For this production, delivered by Sheriff Chandler on June 21, the early fall was to bring much retributive humiliation. Among the justices of the peace who signed it was Timothy Paine, who as a youth had sat next Ward at Harvard. In the country districts, every tavern served as a political club and all were abuzz with discussion. John Adams, in a reminiscent letter, records one of these familiar debates. "I stopped one night at a tavern in Shrewsbury, about forty miles from Boston, and as I was cold and wet, I sat down at a good fire in the bar-room to dry my great coat and saddle- bags till a fire could be made in my chamber. There presently came in, one after another, half a dozen, or half a score, substantial yeomen of the neighborhood, who, sitting down to the fire after lighting their pipes, began a lively conversa- tion upon politics. As I believed I was unknown to all of them, I sat in total silence to hear them. One said, 'The peo- ple of Boston are distracted.' Another answered, 'No wonder the people of Boston are distracted. Oppression will make wise men mad.' A third said, 'What would you say if a fellow should come to your house and tell you he was come to take a list of your cattle, that Parliament might tax you for them at so much a head? And how should you feel if he was to go and break open your barn, to take down your oxen, horses and sheep?' 'What should I say?' replied the first; 'I would knock him in the head.' 'Well,' said a fourth. 777^] MOVING TOWARD REBELLION 59 'if parliament can take away Mr, Hancock's wharf and Mr, Rowe's wharf, they can take away your barn and my house.' After much more reasoning in this style, a fifth, who had as yet been silent, broke out: 'Well, it is high time for us to rebel; we must rebel sometime or other, and we had better rebel now than at any time to come. If we put it off for ten or twenty years, and let them go on as they have begun, they will get a strong party among us, and plague us a great deal more than they can now.' " ^ The Shrewsbury farmers, envisaging the growth of the tory party, displayed remarkably clear insight. It was but a very little while later that Gage was rejoicing at tory de- velopments. He wrote, July 5, to Lord Dartmouth, Secre- tary of State for the American Department: "There is now an open opposition to the faction, carried on with a warmth and spirit unknown before, which it is highly proper and necessary to cherish, and support by every means; and I hope it will not be long before it produces very salutary effects,"^ Swiftly after the closing of the port came the news of the passing by the English Parliament of "An Act for the Better Regulating the Government of the Province of the Massa- chusetts Bay" and "An Act for the Impartial Administration of Justice," The first law struck at the very heart of the political sys- tem of the province. It prohibited the calling or holding of town-meetings, save by the express permission of the gov- ernor, excepting only annual gatherings confined to the election of town officers and Representatives, It snatched the choice of councilors from the province and vested their naming in the King, It placed the appointment of judges, sheriffs, and other civil officers in the hands of the governor — who was answerable only to the King, It took away the ^ Works of John Adams, IX, 597. * American Archives, 4th, I, 515. So ARTEMAS WARD {Age 46 right to elect jurors and gave their selection to the sheriffs who had thus been made amenable to the governor's fiat. The second law took from the province its right to try for capital offenses either government officials or those act- ing under their orders, and provided that they might be sent to any of the other colonies or to England for trial. The official copies of the acts were not received until August 6 but their general tenor was known and debated early in June, and the threat of coercion was reiterated by each ship which unloaded reinforcements of British regulars. Boston wrote in indignation to the other provinces as well as to the country towns of Massachusetts, and both provinces and country towns echoed her anger in the heightened tone of their letters and resolutions. Many and great were now the grievances. The province could be taxed by men, three thousand miles away, who had never set foot upon Its soil and knew nothing of, or knew badly, its circumstances, needs, and traditions; its customary life as it pulsed in every township, great and small, was to be halted and cribbed by the town-meeting edict; its proper- ties and liberties were to be thenceforth in the hands of judges and juries over whom it had no longer even the shadow of either selection or control; it was to be held impotent to punish official violence; and It must submit, whether or no, to an English army ever in Its midst. With the official copies of the new acts had come a list of "mandamus councilors" (Timothy Ruggles and Timothy Paine among them) — a Council appointed in London, Instead of, as heretofore, one elected by the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The councilors who accepted their appointments speedily became objects of local patriot attention, but It was every- where realized that, unless untoward events should earlier precipitate trouble, the first important test of strength would come when the courts opened their sessions under the new laws. i774\ MOVING TOWARD REBELLION 6i On August 9 there gathered in Worcester its first county convention of committees of correspondence and delegates.^ The fifty-two men who came together in "the house of Mary Sternes [Stearns] inholder"*^ represented twenty-two town- ships. Some towns were represented by single delegates; others by two or more. One town mustered eight, including three captains, a doctor, and a deacon. From Shrewsbury came Colonel Ward, accompanied by Phinehas Heywood, who had succeeded as Representative on Ward's election to the Council. The student finds much interest in the proceedings of these county conventions, for by means of simple "resolutions" they abolished all authorized government and judicature in Massa- chusetts. The general enforcement of their resolutions dem- onstrates the strength of the public patriot opinion of the province. The prohibited town-meetings ruled the townships, and the county conventions directed them to concerted effort. It was the Interlocking framework of the two which gave the Pro- vincial Congress its vigorous life. Not one of Ward's associates of the Worcester County Court of Common Pleas was present at the convention. Timothy Ruggles had broken with his fellow-townsmen and made his way to the capital. The other judges — Thomas Steel and Joseph Wilder — had signed the tory letter to Gage and were also conspicuous by their absence. The lawyers of the county had likewise declared for the crown, following the lead of Jonathan Sewall (another of Ward's college class- mates), now become attorney-general of the province. The convention adopted a letter to the Massachusetts delegates to the Continental Congress, issued a call to the * The journal of the Worcester County convention is In Lincoln's Journals of each Provincial Congress, 627—652. ' This was the King's Arms Tavern, but patriot records balked at thus describing it. The offending sign and title were taken down in July, 1776. A vaudeville house now stretches across the site of the tavern, and the Lincoln House Block (M,ain Street, Maple to Elm) covers its front yard. 62 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 46 towns not represented, and drew up a set of resolutions declaring that the people of Massachusetts owed no obedi- ence to the English Parliament, that they recognized no right but their own to legislate for them, that the charter of the province was the basis of their allegiance to the King of England, and that any attempt to vacate the charter would have a "tendency to dissolve the union between Great Britain and the province." It also "greatly" approved the non-con- sumption agreement as Hkely to convince their "Brethren in Britain, that more is to be gained in the way of justice, from friendship and affection, than by extortion and arbitrary power." Sixteen days later, on a call inspired by the town of Worces- ter, a considerable body of delegates gathered in the capital. They had come from the counties of Worcester, Middle- sex, and Essex, to confer with each other and with the Boston committee of correspondence. They declared that "no power on earth hath a right without the consent of this prov- ince to alter the minutest tittle of its charter"; moved for a Provincial Congress ; urged the obstruction of the courts until such a congress convened, and the boycott of their officers and adherents; and advised the practice of the military art. Partisan feeling mounted high. The Quebec Act height- ened the tension. "Liberty Poles" were erected, and many of the wealthier classes of the country townships fled into Boston. The English ministry were roundly denounced with picturesque epithets. Copies of the Port Act were pub- licly burned.*^ The presence of the garrison calmed the fears of the tories * Burning obnoxious literature was a favorite pastime on both sides of the Atlantic, and was indulged in by both government and objectors. Attempts to thus uphold minis- terial dignity sometimes resulted in ludicrously undignified disturbances. A good example is found in the execution of the House of Commons order of February 27, 1775, that the "Common Hangman" burn a copy of an offending issue of the vituperative little London Crisis in the New Palace Yard, Westminster, and anotlicr copy in front of the Royal Exchange ; and that "the sheriffs of London and Middlesex do attend at the same time and places respectively." At Westminster the copy was successfully burned, but immediately thereafter "a man threw into the fire the Address of both Houses of Parliament to his Majesty, declaring 777-^] MOVING TOWARD REBELLION 63 in Boston — alike those who claimed it as their home and those who had come in from the country — but otherwise life was not entirely pleasant even there for crown adherents. They suffered from the scorn of their patriot neighbors, and, jointly with them, had to bear the many ills which marched step by step with the soldiery of those days. Sickness was rife and dissolute female camp-followers were numerous. The second Worcester County convention — a two-day ses- sion, commencing August 30 — brought together one hundred and thirty members of committees of correspondence and "a number of deputies and gentlemen from several towns." Their first vote after the chaplain had opened the meet- ing with prayer, was, "by reason of the straitness of the place, and the many attending," to adjourn from Mary Stearns' house to the court-house. There, on the following day, they issued a call to the men of the county to be at Worcester on September 6 to prevent the sitting of the Court of Common Pleas and the General Sessions of the Peace under the new laws; recommended the towns and districts of the county to elect delegates to a "gen- eral provincial convention" at Concord on October 1 1 ; and published the means to be taken to spread the alarm in the event of "an invasion, or danger of an invasion" of any town in the county. Men were already thinking in terms of war. Before the meeting of the Continental Congress, before the meeting of the Provincial Congress, the men of Worcester County were thus counseled to be ready to repel an invasion by the enemy. The convention had barely dispersed when the province the Bostonians in actual rebellion ; likewise the Address of the Bishops and Clergy as- sembled in Convocation. The Sheriffs were much hissed for attending, and the populace diverted themselves with throwing the fire i/^^y ^fj'/'f V,^,'V>/>'/ //,vv //i^e/ >.^v7 ^///■■r>r /^,-,-^ //Q>y j>:^ a^j■ ///r ■ VW/?^*^-*''/^-^^ <{viir-, f -/r/// K //rr /////>/ o/>r^ "^/^Z From the original (12^ x 1Sj4), owned by the Massachusetts Historical Society WARD'S COMMISSION AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE MASSACHUSETTS FORCES 7775] THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 109 for some years preceding, the most influential brains of the province had emphasized and enlarged upon the rights of the people, and by their reasoning and protests had highly sharpened the Massachusetts wit and appetite for political controversy and individual independence which had been bred by generations of town-meetings. The result suddenly assumed an alarming aspect. The militiamen encamped in their thousands around Boston found many topics to debate and to discuss, and soon — free of the restraining influences of their home towns — they ex- perienced no difliculty in proving to themselves and to each other that they need obey only what and whom they pleased — for was it not true that there was no longer any law or court or government in Massachusetts? What was this Provincial Congress, and by what author- ity did it or its committees or its appointees presume to dic- tate? True, the delegates, many of them, had been elected in the ordinary manner, but they constituted nevertheless only an irregular assembly which had no place in the charter of the province. The Provincial Congress could recommend, and it could appoint committees and they could recommend; but on what did it, or they, base their right to order? They, the soldiers, knew their duty to their country and were ready to do it — but they did not intend to submit to anybody's arbitrary regulations, nor to be censured or pun- ished for violations of rules to which they had not agreed and which nobody else had a right to make I The variations on the topic were manifold and continuous, and the discussions developed a spirit of active violence that threatened to demolish the already attenuated social fabric. A comfortable measure of prosperity had been widespread throughout the province, — in no part of the world had there been less want, — but inequalities of condition inevitably showed themselves In every township, and, as in all lands and in all ages, there were in every company the discon- tented, the envious, the shiftless, and those of incendiary no ARTE MAS WARD iAge 47 heart. Such men now had a clear field for argument, and they speedily corrupted a large part of the army, the virus , infecting each new corps that came in and spreading far and wide throughout the country as the men went back and forth. The abnormal conditions everywhere besetting, the strange new era into which the colonies had suddenly plunged, and the recourse to arms and bloodshed to resist old and long established authority — these things raised new thoughts and questions of other rights and wrongs: of the respective merits of law and force, and of existing tenures of property and the distribution of property: that for a time swept hundreds of normally steady-going men perilously close to the vortex. Spread before them were all the possessions of the prov- ince, save only those under the protection of the redcoats in Boston: all of the bigger and more prosperous farms which dwarfed their own possessions; all the material wealth in every form that Massachusetts had developed in a hundred and fifty years: and between this wealth and them, no barrier but a very shadow of a government. ^''^ ^ May 4, by the Committee of Safety (Lincoln, Journals of each Provincial Congress) '. "Resolved, . . . that the public good of this colony requires that govern- ment in full form ought to be taken up immediately." May 16, the Provincial Congress to the Continental Congress: "We tremble at having an army, although consisting of our own countrymen, established here, without a civil power to provide for and control it." May 26, Joseph Warren to Samuel Adams: "I see more & more the Necessity of establishing a civil Government here and such a Government as shall be sufficient to control the military Forces, not only of this Colony, but also Such as Shall be sent to us from the other Colonies. The Continent must Strengthen & support with all it's Weight the civil Authority here, otherwise our Soldiery will lose the Ideas of right & wrong, and will plunder instead of protecting, the Inhabitants. This is but too evident already ; & I assure you inter nos, that unless some Authority Sufficient to restrain the Irregularities of this Army, is established, we Shall very soon find ourselves involved in greater Diffi- culties than you can well imagine. . . . Aly great Wish therefore is that wc may restrain everything which tends to weaken the Principles of Right & Wrong, more especially with regard to property. ... I hope Care will be taken by the Continental Congress to apply an immediate Remedy, as the Infection is caught by every new Core that arrives . . . For the Honor of my Country, I wish the Disease may be cured before it is known [to the public] to exist." — Original let- ter, Samuel Adams Papers, New York Public Library; a copy, edited to modern capitalization, spelling, etc., is in Frothingham's Joseph Warren, 495-496. May 2^, in the Provincial Congress — reported by the committee appointed to bring in a resolve for the regular administration of justice: "Whereas, it appears to this Congress, that a want of a due and regular execution 1^7 si THE SIEGE OF BOSTON m It was the good fortune of Massachusetts (and of the Revolution) that the chief command of this restless, seething army was in the hands of a man whom the troops esteemed and respected. Had Ward held less of their respect and affection, the much discussed "disorder" might have become disaster. It had been the sound judgment of the provincial dele- gates which had placed Ward above all of the general offi- cers except Preble. His attributes had not included seniority — for he was the youngest of the general officers who had seen service; but neither was he appointed because of greater possible activity — for by that standard Thomas would have outranked him. His military record, though not from any personal fault, was less brilliant than that of Pomeroy, or Thomas, or Whitcomb. And he had neither wealth nor high position to enhance his standing. But he had been tested and tried in the political storms of many years, and he stood as a recognized champion of the patriot cause and, as such, an inspiring commander for the patriot army. He was not a "regular general," nor blessed with a great political following, but for a full twenty-four years he had been in the closest contact with the typical Massachusetts life: meeting his home neighbors and those of greater dis- tance throughout Worcester County as justice of the peace and judge of the Court of Common Pleas; as selectman and church moderator, as representative and councilor, and as militia officer — and he thoroughly understood the men and their manner of thought. The molding of his character of justice in this colony, has encouraged divers wicked and disorderly persons, not only to commit outrages and trespasses upon private property and private persons, but also to make the most daring attacks upon the constitution, and to unite in their endeavors to disturb the peace, and destroy the happiness and security of their coun- try: and, whereas, this Congress conceive it to be their indispensable duty to take effectual measures to restrain all disorders, and promote the peace and happiness of this colony, by the execution of justice in criminal matters: "Therefore, Resolved, That a court of inquiry be immediately erected, consisting of seven persons, to be chosen by this Congress, whose business it shall be to hear all complaints against any person or persons, for treason against the constitution of their country, or other breaches of the public peace and security." 1 1 2 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 47 and the ripening of his experience during those twenty-four years now stood his country in good stead. Some there were who thought him over-lenient to of- fenders, and that he held the reins too loosely; but when the point was raised, both friend and enemy among the leaders of Massachusetts realized that to put another in his place might overnight destroy the province. It was not pos- sible to enforce rigid discipline, and until a regularly consti- tuted government could be reestablished there was always the danger that the army might get out of hand no matter who was in command, but Ward filled his most difficult post with so substantial a degree of dexterity that even his most bitter detractor — James Warren, of Plymouth — feared the result of making a change and, in the following month, tes- tified "we dare not superceed him here." A severe or arbitrary or unpopular general would have been defied, and the defiance might have kindled the flames of armed anarchy. An ambitious general might have torn authority from the Congress and set up a military standard. Either calamity would have alienated the sympathies of the other colonies and, rousing and confirming their dormant suspicions of Massachusetts, would have destroyed the Revolution in its cradle. And either would have brought a grim aftermath to the patriots of Massachusetts: with confiscation and hang- ings to mark the penalty for unsuccessful rebellion. There were other able men in Massachusetts, with more military experience and, some of them, with stronger ideas of military discipline. But there was none other whom Ward's contemporaries dared to trust at the helm while there threatened a return to elemental passions. Discipline indeed remained lax, and the camp slipshod. How could it be otherwise, with men continually coming and going, shifting and changing like the sands of the sea? It was a loose command, and of a kaleidoscopic army, but nevertheless it achieved Its first main purpose — the siege was maintained, and the enemy kept within the town. 7775] THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 113 The Provincial Congress pressed the Continental Con-i gress for advice on, and continental authority for, the estab- lishment of an orthodox form of provincial government. Because they feared to make the attempt without it, the Massachusetts leaders awaited the sanction or mandate of the "Continent," despite the increasing dangers of the politi- cal situation. But Joseph Warren warned that if a new civil government were not speedily come into, a military govern- ment would of necessity evolve — and every Massachusetts instinct recoiled at the thought of that possibility.^^ The Provincial Congress suggested also the continental adoption and general direction of the Revolutionary ar- mies. In this it was deemed necessary to move with great caution in order to avoid offending the soldiers. It would ^^ There are many examples of the American revolutionists' determination to preclude the possibility of military dictation — -whether by English arms or their own forces. They quickly resented anything that savored of encroachment on civil power. On June 26 the Provincial Congress had: "Resolved, that all the small arms that are or may be procured ... be delivered to the Committee of Safety, at Cambridge, they to give their receipts for the same to the person from whom they receive them ; that the same be delivered out to such officers as shall produce orders therefor from the Hon. General Ward, they giving receipts for the same to the said committee of safety, to be returned in good order, unless lost in service of the colony." On June 28 Ward, acting on this resolution, ordered: "that the commanding officer of each regiment make application to the committee of safety for so many fire-arms as their respective regiments stand in need of; each commanding officer to give his receipt for the fire-arms he may receive, and the committee of safety are hereby ordered to deliver out arms to such commanding officers as make application to them for the same." The words "the committee of safety are hereby ordered" acted like the proverbial red rag on the members of the committee, and they immediately forwarded an indignant protest to the Provincial Congress. They pointed out with much detail that the Provincial Congress resolution did not "impower the General to order them to deliver said arms, but only to order his officers to receive from this Committee such arms as they are ordered by the honorable Congress to deliver on the general's orders to his officers," and they apprehend "that it is of vast importance that no orders are issued by the Military or obeyed by the Civil powers, but only such as are directed by the honorable representative body of the people, from whom all Military & Civil power originates." Again, in Braintree, Mass., Abigail Adams records the town's refusal to permit any soldier to vote. "Newcomb insisted upon it that no man should vote who was in the army. He had no notion of being under the military power; said we might be so situated as to have the greater part of the people engaged in the military, and then all power would be wrested out of the hands of the civil magistrate. He insisted upon its being put to vote, and carried his point immediately." — Letters of Mrs. Adams, I, July 16, 1775- 114 ARTEMAS WARD iAge 47 have been indeed a serious matter if the armed men of the New England provinces had challenged the continental au- thority as at times they threatened the provincial. Dr. Warren wrote Samuel Adams that this was a matter to be handled with "much delicacy," as otherwise, despite even the weight of the united continental authority behind either a committee of war or a new "generalissimo," dangerous dis- sensions might arise in the army, for "our soldiers, I find, will not be brought to obey any person of whom they do not themselves entertain a high opinion." Further heightening the perturbation of the American leaders throughout that feverish month of May were the continued warnings of the British determination to occupy Dorchester Neck and to break through the American lines at Roxbury. To guard against surprise, Thomas kept out- posts near Dorchester Neck by day, and stationed pickets upon it at night — facing them toward both Boston and Castle WiUiam and supporting them with parts of two regiments within easy call. The English movements lent color to the reports, for they included the fortifying of flat-boats and other vessels to cover landing parties, but Gage was not yet ready to try his steel again, and the month closed with exultation over the success- ful issue of a brush which developed from a raid on Hog and Noddle's islands (now Breed's Island and East Boston). The raid had several important results — the destruction of an enemy schooner mounting sixteen pieces of cannon, the bringing of hundreds of sheep into the American camps, and, finally, the influencing in (then) far-off Philadelphia the continental vote for Putnam as major-general — "Old Put" having assumed the command when the affair developed into a land and water engagement between the English on their vessels and on Noddle's Island, and the Americans on Chelsea Neck. Joseph Warren also joined the detachment, serving as a volunteer. The edible outcome proved so satisfactory to the Ameri- 7775] THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 115 can commissary that night visits to Pettlck's (Peddock's) and Deer islands quickly followed and with almost equally profitable returns. Other minor encounters, preceding and following, also served to keep both sides on the alert. But always, incessantly, increasingly imperative was the need for gunpowder. Letter after letter by Ward calls for it. Especially impressive in its extreme earnestness and courageous confidence is the address to the Continental Con- gress that he signed on June 4, together with Joseph Warren (as chairman of the Committee of Safety) and Moses Gill (chairman of the Committee of Supplies). They convinc- ingly set forth the danger to which the province is exposed by the scarcity of ammunition, but they dwell on the bravery of the New England troops, "whom we think we can without boasting declare are ready to encounter every danger for the preservation of the Rights and Liberties of America." They ask only for "arms and ammunition" — feeling that thus supplied, even if otherwise unassisted, they may "with the Common blessing of Providence baffle the designs of the enemy and be greatly instrumental in bringing our present dispute to a happy issue." Two days later, American attention was again directed to Dorchester Neck, and Generals Ward, Thomas, Spencer, and Heath, with a number of other officers, surveyed the heights with a view to their occupation. The English "fired three times at them with their Cannon, but did no harm."^^ But again the project was deemed too hazardous. Looking next toward the north. Ward on June 12 moved Reed's New Hampshire regiment close in to Charlestown Neck, the short isthmus connecting the Charlestown peninsula with the mainland. Reed's men are stationed on the mainland side of the Neck, with sentries reaching onto °^ Samuel Bixby's Diary, June 6, 1775. — Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, XIV, 286; James Cogswell, aide to General Spencer, June 13, 1775, to Levi Hart. — Winsor, Proofs and Corrections, VI, 130 verso, Massachusetts Historical Society. ii6 ARTEMAS WARD l^ge 47 Bunker Hill. In their rear, at Medford, is Stark's New Hampshire regiment. Then quickly approached a climax to all the threats and counter-threats. The English had received the greater part of the reinforcements for which they had been waiting. Well equipped, well disciplined, well officered, and headed by a galaxy of famous generals, they felt that their turn had come, and they decided that the time was ripe to raise the siege. Their first move was to be — on Sunday, June 18 — the seizure and fortification of Dorchester Neck. This to be succeeded by the occupation of the Charlestown peninsula, for it "was absolutely necessary that we should make our- selves masters of these heights."^" News of the English decision reached the besiegers. A crisis impended. With the English army moving out of the town, no man could certainly foretell the issue if, unchecked, it should push forward over either or both peninsulas to an attack upon the American lines. A successful English on- slaught might break up the only American army and throw the colonies and their cause into confusion and helplessness. For the safety of America the English must be held in Boston. The Committee of Safety, June 15, addressed the Provin- cial Congress, pressing for an immediate augmentation of the army, an immediate remedying of the deficiency in arms, an immediate commissioning of additional officers, and the ordering of all the militiamen in the colony to "hold them- selves in readiness to march on the shortest notice" ; and made the session historic by passing its famous "Bunker Hill" reso- lution : "Whereas, it appears of Importance to the Safety of this Colony, that possession of the Hill, called Bunker's Hill, in Charlestown, be securely kept and defended; and also some '"General Burgoyne to Lord Stanley, June 25, 1775, American Archi-ves, 4th, II, 1094. See also General Howe to General Harvey, and to his brother, Lord Howe, both of June 12, 177s, Proceedings of the Bunker Hill Monument Association, 1907, ill, 115. 7775] THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 117 one hill or hills on Dorchester Neck be likewise Secured. Therefore, Resolved, Unanimously, that it be recommended to the Council of War, that the abovementioned Bunker's Hill be maintained, by sufficient force being posted there; and as the particular situation of Dorchester Neck is un- known to this Committee, they advise that the Council of War take and pursue such steps respecting the Same, as to them shall appear to be for the Security of this Colony." All histories have it that the result of the action of the council of war on this resolution of the Committee of Safety was Ward's order to fortify Bunker Hill — and the resolution and order have been variously interpreted: as a step of almost blind recklessness, a desperate hazard, occa- sioned by the urgent necessity to do something to check the British plans to raise the siege; as a move to offset the British intention to take Dorchester Neck; as an act of de- fiance calculated to bring on a general engagement; as the first step in the contemplated expulsion of the English from Boston. But the determination at which the council of war of June 15 actually arrived was of a character much bolder — no less than a sudden tightening of the lines around the British forces by the simultaneous fortification of both Blinker Hill and Dorchester Neck. Facing the next page (118), there printed for the first time, is a facsimile of the record of this decision in the hand- writing of Ward's secretary. At earlier meetings, Ward and Joseph Warren had op- posed the fortification of Bunker Hill until the American forces could be better equipped. But the English onslaught, long threatened, long deferred, was at last imminent, and resolve ran high to drive boldly forward to block it. The supply of powder was still very low, but the army had been acquiring regimental form as company after com- pany filled up, and it had achieved a little military experience ii8 ARTEMAS WARD l^ge 47 in the skirmishes of the preceding weeks; so now that the Committee of Safety had placed the issue before them, recommending the occupation of Bunker Hill but leaving the matter of Dorchester Neck to their discretion, the council of war with true New England courage unanimously decided on occupying both. The Bunker Hill project alone had seemed rash a month earlier, but now twice as bold a movement was accepted without a dissenting voice, and a joint committee of the coun- cil of war and the Committee of Safety rode at once to Rox- bury to consult with Thomas and his staff. No previous history has told this because there was no record of the resolve to the historian's hand at the time that most histories of the Revolution were written, and when twenty-nine years ago the original manuscript came to light at the sale of the Thomas Raffles Collection, the history of the siege had settled into such a well-defined mold that later historians have overlooked that ancient piece of writing. Even iconoclasts have found opportunity only in new or mul- tiplied criticisms of strategy, tactics, or personaHties.^^ Histories in general state, or leave the impression, that Ward advised against the fortification of Bunker Hill< con- fusing his objections of an earlier date with the council of war of June 15. The resolution of the council of war of June 15 is proof that he approved the project. A council di- vided against Bunker Hill, with the chief character opposed, '* It is possible that some students failed to remember that the title "Dorchester Neck" was at that time applied to the Dorchester peninsula, not (as in the maps found in most histories) to the isthmus connecting it with the mainland. The isthmus, the modern "Washington Village," was then known as the "Little Neck." A "Neck" may be either a peninsula or an isthmus. In some cases, a change in popular usage has shifted a "Neck" title from a peninsula to an isthmus. "Boston Neck" is a good example of such a shift: it had first been employed to signify Boston, the peninsula (the deposition of "John Odlin and others," and the Indian deed of 1685, etc.), but later it came to mean instead the isthmus connecting Boston, the peninsula, with the mainland. "Charlestown Neck" also signified an isthmus. But "Dorchester Neck" was never employed up to the time of Bunker Hill, except to signify the Dorchester peninsula — and it adhered as the official title of the peninsula for another twenty-nine years, when annexation to the City of Boston brought its present title of South Boston. f- /. O A^A^ ^^77^.^;'^ ^J^" > cy^^^T? 77^1^^^^/^^ ,/.. .M. '■£>re.a^'. *y -^ -^c^/ ^^Z ^-^ ■l^<2^»-77^^77'i^e-7nj^;/^ .-^ , y/^/?aV^ v%^ ^i^^Tz^e- ,77T^-7^^i/'ie-t$-7^ "^ c-A. ' Vf^7^ 4 C^ic i.£.-7r <^-^-< ^ >V-e-o-?- ift^^ c/.CY 6; -:/ /•-^^ /* c^>^ ^'-^-yi-y^i''^^'^* •^'?%/ i^-n- I'rom the original (6jLt < "•)4), owned by the Boston Public Library THE RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF WAR, JUNE 15, 1775, TO OCCUPY BOTH BUNKER HILL AND DORCHESTER NECK Read ^rst the center resolution headed "In Committee of Safety." This is a copy, by Ward's secretary, of the Committee of Safety resolution which recommended the fortification of Bunker Hill, but left the matter of Dorchester Neck to the judg- ment of the Council of War. Read next the top section — the resolution of the Council of War to take possession of both Bunker Hill and Dorchester Neck. Read last the bottom of the manuscript — the record of the committees appointed to go to Roxbury to consult with General Thomas and his officers. It is possible that the manuscript should be read straight down from top to bottom, thus giving the Council of War credit also for initiating the resolution, but the form of the resolution, considered with the minutes of the Committee of Safety, makes it almost certain that the above sequence is correct. ijjS\ THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 119 could not have unanimously agreed to double the risk by tak- ing Dorchester Neck also. Thomas and his Roxbury council evidently voted against the occupation of Dorchester Neck, for again the plan was set aside. One may dream a great variety of dreams as to the result of the simultaneous fortification of Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights by the Americans on the night of June 16. Perhaps, if Thomas had acceded, it would have been June 75 — note the ''immediate^' of the council of war resolution. The Roxbury decision did not, however, dampen the ardor of the headquarters generals. They held to their deter- mination to fortify Bunker Hill, and on the following day (June 16) Ward issued his orders for the movement. Colonel Prescott was given command of the detachment. His force: the greater part of his own, Frye's, and Bridge's regiments; Samuel Gridley's artillery company; and about two hundred of Putnam's Connecticut men — a total of about 1200. His instructions: to proceed that evening to Bunker Hill, build fortifications to be laid out by Colonel Richard Gridley, and defend them until he should be relieved. The cooperation of the right division at Roxbury being im- possible, and the center division at Cambridge being incapable of heavy withdrawals without weakening it to a dangerous degree, the decision to take Bunker Hill was a step bold to the point of rashness. It meant that Ward, with only 5000, or fewer, efiectives,^^ including Putnam's Connecticut men, '^ Ward's center division numbered during the week preceding Bunker Hill about 7500 rank and file, including the Connecticut men and Sargent's small command, but the "fit for duty" proportion at that period — i.e., the regimental strength after deducting the sick and the absent and those necessarily held "on command"— seldom averaged more than two-thirds and generally fell below it. Hence the above estimate of "5000, or fewer, effectives." The main body of the division consisted of sixteen Massachusetts regiments, returning a total strength of 6063 privates in a General Report of June 9 preserved in the Massachusetts Arch'i'ves and printed in Frothingham's Siege of Boston, 118, note. (Frothingham's figure for Gridley's regiment should be corrected to 379 and the "Drum- mers, etc." line to read, "officers, drummers, fifers, &c.") I have found no general report closer to June 17. There are in the Massachusetts Archives, CXLVI, separate returns of several of the regiments dated after June 9 and before June 17, but the net change they effect in the total is not important. I20 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 47 must hold his center secure from attack and support his left while fortifying a dangerously exposed eminence within the range of both the English land and water artillery. At noon, Ward and a number of other officers went out on Charlestown peninsula to reconnolter Bunker Hill and its surroundings.^^ Charlestown peninsula was at that time of the general shape of a conventional isosceles triangle, set a trifle south of southeast from its neck. It was a little more than 1 mile in length, and less than a mile in width at its base, the angles of its base pointing south and east. The Mystic River flowed down its northeast side; a mill- pond and a small bay bounded it on the west. On the south, the passage to the, larger, "back bay" separated it from Boston. The easterly side of the peninsula was laid out chiefly in hay fields and pastures : their strong dividing fences — of stone and timber — were on the following day to prove a serious ob- struction to the English troops. The westerly side was devoted in large part to orchards and gardens. Covering the south point, stood Charlestown itself — save one, the oldest town of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The northerly face of Bunker Hill commenced its rise a little distance south of Charlestown Neck and presented an easy incline of about 350 yards to its smoothly rounded sum- mit, no feet in maximum height and roughly elliptical in form, its long axis extending about 500 yards southeast by east. On both sides (easterly and westerly) it sloped toward the water. Southerly, it was connected by a stretch of high ground with the smaller hill called Breed's Hill. Breed's Hill attained a maximum height of seventy-five feet. Its southerly slope reached to the houses of Charles- town, and its summit, about 600 yards from the shore, looked '° The Narrative of Major Thompson Maxwell, Essex Institute Historical Collections, VII, 107. 7775] THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 121 across a ribbon of water onto the Copp's Hill section of Boston. Easterly of Breed's Hill were clay pits and brick kilns, and both northerly and easterly was a good deal of sloughy ground. The two peninsulas (Charlestown and Boston) faced each other like miming marionettes (see map facing page 92). The water separating them was only about a quarter-mile in width. CHAPTER VI June 16-17, 1775: Age 47 Prescott's detachment for the fortification of Bunker Hill. Arrange- ments for its relief. The change to Breed's Hill. The battle told from headquarters standpoint. The day after the battle — the de- pression in Boston, and the excitement and apprehension in the surrounding towns. The English decision to abandon Boston. A FEW short hours after Ward's return to headquarters from Bunker Hill, Prescott's men paraded on Cam- bridge common. Pens of all kinds — well informed and otherwise — have told of the assembling of the detachment and Its evening march for the Charlestown peninsula : two sergeants with dark lanterns leading the way; then the tali form of Prescott at the head of his men; and, in the rear, the carts loaded with intrenching tools. Instead of recounting the story in the coldness of the printed black and white, let us conjure it up In the warmth of living thought. Let us hope that we all possess sufficient imagination to picture those brave men as they went silently on their way. Uncover and bow your head with reverence as they pass, for on the mor- row many of them will die In the bloodiest of all of the bat- tles of the American Revolution. Prescott's detachment was to be relieved the following evening by a force of about equal strength — the Nixon, Little, and Mansfield regiments, and 200 Connecticut troops. This relief party "with two days provisions and well equipped 7775] THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 123 with arms and ammunition" to be on "parade at five o'clock ready to march." ^ At Ward's headquarters — an evening and a night of ' The relief order, recorded in the orderly book kept by Nathan Stow, sergeant of Abishai Brown's company, Nixon's regiment, is an important addition to the history of the battle, for previous accounts have left the subject of relief or reinforcement vague and contradictory. Frothingham's Siege of Boston, 122, cites Brooks and Swett as authority for the state- ment that "it was understood that reinforcements and refreshments should be sent to Colonel Prescott on the following morning." On a later page (127) — with "Brooks' Statement; Swett's History; Prescott's Memoir" as authorities — it says that Prescott told his men "that he would never consent to their being relieved." Thus it would seem that though reinforcements were expected (in the morning), Prescott did not expect or want relief (in the morning). The two expressions "relief" and "reinforcement" are, however, so loosely used that it is not safe to attach great importance to their comparative mean- ings or positions. At an earlier date (March, 18 18, 256) the Analectic Magazine, in citing "Par- ticulars respecting the action," collected from Brooks and others, had stated that "There was some diversity of opinion as to the course to be pursued and what message should be sent to the commander-in-chief at Cambridge." Relief was urged by some, but Prescott said "No." . . . "It was determined to request the other three companies of Bridge's regiment to be sent as a reinforcement." The "Prescott MS." (Butler's History of Groton, 337; and elsewhere) deposes that General Ward stated "that the party should be relieved the next morning." Also, however, that, next morning, Prescott refused to "request the commander to relieve them"— but said he would send for reinforcements. The "Judge Prescott Account" (Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, XIV, 68; and elsewhere) contains in different form the same ideas: "The officers urged him to send to the Commander-in-chief and request him to relieve them according to his engagement or at least to send a reinforcement. . . . The Colonel at once told them that he would never consent to their being relieved . . . but he would send for reinforcements and provisions." Prescott's own account has nothing on the subject. The Stow record clears away the mist and presents a clearly defined plan — Prescott's detachment to be relieved on the following evening (Saturday, June 17) by a new force of equal strength. Though agreed upon at the time of planning the occupation of Bunker Hill, the re- lief orders were not issued until the following morning, for the enterprise was a close secret. Putnam signed the orders for the Connecticut men. At least two examples survive: one in the orderly book by Moses Fargo, William Coit's company, Connecticut Historical Society Collections, VII, 22 (the hour for the parading of the relief party given as 6, instead of 5 p.m.) ; the other in that of Captain John Chester (?), Massachusetts His- torical Society Proceedings, XIV, 91. Nathan Stow died April 15, 1810, and his wife, Abigail, four days later. His estate descended by inheritance and purchase to two sons, Nathan and Cyrus. Nathan died November 10, 1831, and the homestead and its contents became the property of Cyrus. Cyrus died September 8, 1S76, and his widow, Matilda, March 13, 187S. As they had no children, their family effects were sold at auction. The old papers in the attic were bought by a junkman, and by him sold for a nominal sum to Albert E. Wood, a well-known resident of Concord. Among them Mr. Wood found Sergeant Nathan Stow's Orderly Book. Albert P. Putnam in 1896, and earlier, quoted the June 17 entries in letters to the Danvers (Mass.) Mirror. In 1 901 he reprinted his 1896 letter, with a number of others on the Putnam-Prescott controversy, in a pamphlet "Gen. Israel Putnam and 124 ARTEMAS WARD V^ge 47 anxious thought. Will Prescott succeed in fortifying the hill without arousing the enemy? If attacked before the works are strong enough to shield his men, what will be the fate of his little army? And if the defenses are completed without disturbing the English sentries — what next? What will be the English counter-move? An attack on Prescott's position? A drive at the American center by way of Lech- mere's Point or Willis Creek? Or . . . Dorchester Neck? Will the American occupation of the Charlestown peninsula cause the English to change their plan to seize Dor- chester Neck, or will they carry it out nevertheless, and, thence, try to raise the siege by attacking the Roxbury lines? Meantime happened that midsummer night's madness: — that protracted officers' conference near the foot of Bunker Hill which resulted in as bold a case of gauntlet-throwing as history anywhere relates — the substitution of Breed's Hill for Bunker HUP and Gridley's deliberate marking out of a redoubt on the lower hill directly facing Boston. The fortification of Bunker Hill would have held Charles- the Battle of Bunker Hill." He pointed out the new light shed by the June 17 entries but used them chiefly to aid his claim for Putnam preeminence. The orderly book was published in 1893-4, '" Eben Putnam's Monthly Historical Magazine, Salem, Mass., a periodical devoted principally to genealogy. In a prefatory letter in the issue of March, 1893, A. P. Putnam directed attention to the entries of June 17 with the remark that everything appearing on that day is of interest, but he apparently did not realize their specific importance. The orderly book was evidently unknown to otherwise well-informed writers of histories published several years after A. P. Putnam's use of it. This is probably due to the obscure mediums in which it was given space — a local newspaper; a small pamphlet of reprints from the same paper devoted to the interminable Putnam- Prescott controversy ; and a local genealogical magazine. The original is now in the Public Library, Concord, Mass. ^ The majority weight of circumstantial evidence supports the generally accepted opinion that the fortifying of Bunker Hill was ordered and that the change to Breed's Hill was made after consultation on the ground. Prescott's letter of August 25, 1775, to John Adams (Frothingham, Siege of Boston, 395) speaks of his orders to fortify "Breed's Hill," but this, though followed in Ban- croft's History of the United States, is usually taken as an unintentional mistake. The letter was written many years before Bunker Hill discussions and arguments became popular, and, hence, Prescott may be forgiven for not having employed the care in differ- entiating the two hills that would have been exercised by a writer of later date. Both the "Prescott MS." and the "Judge Prescott Account" have Bunker Hill as the original order, but both also state that the two hills were at that time generally covered by the one name of "Bunker Hill" — the title "Breed's Hill" for the southern elevation being of only local usage. The Committee of Safety report says that Breed's Hill was fortified "by some mistake." ¥1 « h z X u 7775] THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 125 town Neck fairly safe against an enemy attempt to land there to cut off the detachment, for the Neck would have lain between the double protection of Prescott's men on the hill and Reed's regiment on the mainland. Breed's Hill could have been occupied later, if Bunker Hill had proved de- fensible, just as, in the following March, Nook Hill was fortified after Dorchester Heights had been secured. Mov- ing forward to Breed's Hill on that night of June 16 greatly increased the danger of the detachment, for it left an un- occupied commanding height between it and the Neck. The choice is made, however, and picks and spades set immediately to the task — plying hurriedly but most efficiently. Gridley's lines call for a rectangular redoubt about 130 feet square, with projecting angles to the south. The ram- parts to be about six feet high. A few short hours of whispered earnest labor — and then the day breaks. The redoubt is nearly finished! As the English discover it, they rub their eyes In amaze- ment. Yesterday evening, an empty hill; at dawn, a fortified enemy position: and the work done under the very muzzles of their cannon without a sentry having been alarmed. The English ships and forts open fire, but the Americans keep steadily at work. In Cambridge, hard upon the firing of the Lively (the first English ship to bark), Putnam calls at headquarters to consult Ward before riding out to view the result of the night's labors which are to make Prescott's men world-famous. It is still early In the morning when he returns to make his report. He urges the sending of reinforcements.^ Ward orders forward two hundred men of Stark's regiment (on the left at Medford),"* but decides against drawing any more ' Despite this request for additional men, Putnam fully agreed with Ward on the necessity of strongly guarding the Cambridge position against attack. His forenoon instructions to his lieutenant-colonel were not immediately to bring his men onto the peninsula, but to get ready for the later relief decided upon. (See extract from Storrs' diary on page 128, note 10.) * Stark's letter to the President of the New Hampshire Provincial Congress, June 19, 1775. — Neiv Hampshire Provincial Papers, VH, 522. 126 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 47 men from his Cambridge force until able to judge the British intention, for he has long center lines and the military sup- plies of the province to defend, and now fewer than 4000 effective men for the purpose. After the conference with Putnam, Ward leaves head- quarters to see if preparations are under way for the relief detachment.^ At ten o'clock Major Brooks arrives at Cambridge to press for reinforcements, but Ward declines to add to the order just dispatched to Colonel Stark. The Committee of Safety is next to urge additional troops; and Devens, a prominent member, goes to Ward and demands that they be sent. Ward refuses to change the disposition of his forces or to weaken his center by even so much as a corporal's guard until the English plans are shown. ^ ° Colonel Daniel Putnam's Letter, Connecticut Historical Society Collections, I, 240. ' The conventional method of telling the story is to say that at "about 1 1 o'clock" or "later in the morning," Ward ordered forward Reed's and (the main body of) Stark's regiments to reinforce Prescott ; but Reed's and (the main body of) Stark's regiments were not ordered forward until the time of the general "alarm" — between noon and i p.m. The best authority on the movements of Stark's regiment is Stark's letter (already cited — page I25i note 4) to the President of the New Hampshire Provincial Congress, written on the second day after tlie battle while details were fresh in his mind. In it, Stark records Ward's morning instructions to send 200 men to Prcscott's assistance, and the detailing of Lieutenant-Colonel Wyman with a force of that number. He then adds that "about 2 o'clock in the afternoon express orders came for the whole of my regiment to proceed to Charlestown to oppose the enemy who were landing on Charlestown point." This agrees considerably better with the arrival of the regiment on the battlefield than do the conventional accounts. "About 2 o'clock" — between i and 2 o'clock — any time after i o'clock (Dearborn stated that the regi- ment marched at "about I o'clock") — is when one might expect a message to get through to Stark if dispatched when (between 12 and i o'clock) the news was received at Cambridge of the first English landing. Numerous stories of the battle have told (in conjunction with accounts of the supposed "11 o'clock" or "later in the morning" order) that Stark was delayed by the necessity to make up his am- munition and it is assumed that this explains why many of the men marching on the "noon" to "i o'clock" alarm got to the field before he did. The making up of the am- munition is apparently well attested, but it also fits in with the "about 2 o'clock" order, for when, in the morning, Stark found that part of his regiment was ordered into action, it is not unreasonable to presume that he began making preparations against further orders and was ready to march promptly on their receipt. As Reed's and Stark's regiments are always coupled in these orders, and in their movements on June 17, it is probably correct to stale that Reed's regiment also was not ordered forward until the time of the general alarm. Otherwise, because of its proximity to the battleground, its long delay in reaching the field would have required a great deal of explaining. 177 S\ THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 127 Ward has been charged with hesitancy and indecision on the day of the "Battle of Bunker Hill" — the irrevocable title of the action despite the change to Breed's Hill. If those who disagree with his judgment had accused him of being stubborn^ they would have assumed a defensible position. But "hesitating and "indecisive" I — the witnesses prove that such statements are very far from the truth. Ward was again suffering from a severe attack of calculus, and his condition lends an element of the dramatic to his stand on that fateful morning — the "sulky" man whom Hutchinson had tried in vain to bribe, now in a day of sick- ness, as commander of the rebel forces, inflexibly holding to what he believes to be right in the face of entreaty, argu- ments, and demands, and successfully maintaining it in the face of all opposition. In Boston, is much stir and discussion. Short of moving to raise the siege, the English officers have no choice but to dislodge the Americans on Breed's Hill, for another day may see heavier cannon mounted, with Boston as a point- blank target. There is, though, difference of opinion as to the tactics to be employed. General Clinton and other officers want to cut the Americans off by taking them in the rear, but General Gage opposes this. The English officers decide to carry the post by storm — they will "take the bull by the horns" — and "teach the im- pudent Yankees a lesson" 1 Then to Cambridge between twelve and one o'clock^ comes, news of the landing of the British troops on the peninsula 1 The alarm is sounded: bells ring, the drums beat ^ This adjective was applied by one critic— Curtis Guild, Jr., in his address at the 1910 meeting of the Bunker Hill Monument Association. 'Captain Chester (Spencer's regiment) is the authority usually quoted to fix the time that the alarm was given: he says "about i o'clock" and "just after dinner." The testimony of Jesse Smith (Nixon's regiment) was similar to that of Chester. — Froth- ingham, Siege of Boston, 132, note. Lieutenant-Colonel Storrs (Putnam's regiment) says "at noon" (see diary extract, page 128, note 10). Caleb Haskell, fifer in Captain Lunt's company (Little's regiment), states that the army "set out" after news that the "enemy were landing at Charlestown." — Caleb Haskell's Diary. 128 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 47 to arms. The English commander has at last shown his hand — and Ward orders a strong force forward to meet him. All available men of nine Massachusetts regiments, part of Gridley's regiment of artillery, and one of the remaining com- panies of Bridge's regiment set out at once for the battlefield. And an express rider gallops to Charlestown common and thence to Medford to summon Reed's and Stark's New Hampshire men to the fray.^ At the same time Captain Israel Putnam, Jr., brings word from his father, and orders forward his own company and the center contingent of Spencer's men.^*^ Ward's center division is now reduced to the Jonathan Ward and Gardner regiments; rather more than half of Put- nam's Connecticut men; Sargent's small command (posted at Lechmere's Point) ; and two companies of Bridge's regiment. It is guarded on the left by Patterson's regiment, held at the breastwork near Prospect Hill. The Jonathan Ward regiment is marched to Lechmere's Point to join Sargent's men as a vanguard to meet any at- tempt of the British to attack via Willis Creek. ° See foot-note on page 126, note 6. " Frothingham {Siege of Boston, 188) refers to a statement that all of Putnam's regiment was in the action, and also says (132), "General Putnam ordered on the remainder of the Connecticut troops" — giving Chester's letter (July 22, I775! Siege of Boston, 389) as authority. Chester's letter suggests the idea, but the diary of Storrs, lieutenant-colonel of Putnam's regiment, and the casualty list show that the instructions to the Connecticut men were limited as I have given them above. Following is Storrs' entry for June 17 {Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, XIV, 85-86) : "At sun rise this morning a fire began from the ships, but moderate; about 10 went down to Gen. Putnam's post who has the command. Some shot whistled around us. Tarried there a spell and returned to have my company in readiness to relieve them ; one killed and one wounded when I came away." "About 2 o'clock there was a brisk cannonade from the ships on the battery or en- trenchment. At noon orders came to turn out immediately, and that the regulars were landed at sundry places. Went to headquarters for our regimental. Received orders to repair with our regiment to No. i and defend it. No enemy appearing, orders soon came that our people at the entrenchment were retreating and for us to secure the re- treat. I immediately marched for their relief, the regulars did not come of? from Bunker's Hill, but have taken possession of the entrenchments, and our people make a stand on Winter Hill and we immediately went to entrenching; flung up by morn- ing an entrenchment about 100 feet square. Done principally by our regiment under Putnam's directions, had but little sleep the night." 177 S\ THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 129 Gardner's regiment is sent to join Patterson, taking the place of Doolittle's regiment, which is marching to Charles- town. The Putnam men are drawn in toward Cambridge. The two companies of Bridge's regiment are posted for the immediate protection of headquarters. At Roxbury, also, all was activity. The English com- mander might attempt a diversion by a drive from the Boston Neck lines. Every man was ordered to arms, and Colonel Learned marched his regiment to the meeting-house and thence to the burying-yard, which was the alarm-post, and there placed his men in ambush with two field-pieces "placed to give it to them unawares, should the regulars come."^^ At Cambridge, the noise and excitement died down as regiment after regiment passed on. The town, says David Townsend, a young man studying medicine under Joseph Warren, was "quiet as the Sabbath." Breathless tension suc- ceeded the hurry of forming and marching troops. Ameri- can and English forces were for the first time opposed in formal battle. Prescott's men had challenged; Gage had accepted the challenge; and all that Massachusetts stood for was at stake. Ward had done the utmost that lay in his power. His center was carved lean of troops and stripped all but bare of powder. He was again out (presumably on a tour of inspection) when Townsend called at headquarters.^^ The only man there was Dr. Warren, just appointed Massachusetts' second major-general, also indisposed that day and taking a much needed rest. On Townsend's arrival Warren rose and left the house, riding direct to the battlefield on which before the sun set he was to lay down his life. When he reached the re- doubt he cheered Prescott's men — all of them fatigued, some " Samuel Bixby's Diary, Massachusetts Historical Society Prqceedings, XIV, 287. ^ Neiv England Historical and Genealogical Register, XII, 230. 130 ARTEMAS WARD [.Age 47 of them hungry and thirsty ^^ — by telling them that 2000 addi- tional troops would be with them in twenty minutes ; that he had passed them on the way. The English complete their debarkation at Moulton's Point without mishap or interruption, but Howe, who commands them, sees that the American position is stronger than it had appeared and he sends word for additional troops. He awaits their arrival before beginning the attack. Back in Cambridge, when Ward learns that the English troops on the Charlestown peninsula are being reinforced, and that there is consequently little danger of a raid on Cam- bridge via Willis Creek,^^ he orders Sargent and Jonathan Ward^^ also on to Charlestown. " The orders te Prescott's detachment required "provisions for 24 hours," but some — ■ perhaps a considerable number — of the men had failed to husband their supplies. Efforts were made by Devens and others to send fresh supplies, but horses were scarce. A few wagons crossed, but the cannonade frothing over the Neck, though not very danger- ous, was effective in checking vehicular traffic. The want most keenly and most generally felt was for liquid refreshments. This fact has been translated into pathetic accounts of the longing for drinking water: "and, the greatest want of all, tliey lacked the delicious draught of pure, cool water for their labor-worn and heat exhausted frames" (Ellis) ; "during the whole day they received not even a cup of cold water" (Bancroft) ; and, similarly, with variations, many other writers. But what those New England farmers were awaiting was their rum, beer, or cider. If the men had merely wanted 'water, they could have obtained plenty of it from the houses along the main road and from the wells in Charlestown. Charlestown was in their undisputed possession during the entire morning. Contemporary depositions state that some bar- rels of beer were received (Frothingham's Siege of Boston, 133, note; Winsor's Nar- rati-ve and Critical History of America, VI, 137), and in the Boston Public Library is the order signed by Joseph Ward, as secretary, for two barrels of rum "for the Troops at Charlestown." But the quantities that reached the men were not sufficient to meet their needs er desires. " About the same time he also perhaps received word from Colonel Sargent, at Lech- mere's Point, that the schooner Sargent mentioned in his letter of long after had given up the attempt to make a landing by Willis Creek. "A large schooner, with from five to six hundred men, attempted to gain the landing, but the wind against her and the tide turning, she returned. About 4 p.m.. General Ward permitted me to march my regi- ment with one called his own to Charlestown." — Paul Dudley Sargent to S. Swett, De- cember 20, 1825 (Frothingham's Command in the Battle of Bunker Hill, 10). " Washburn's History of Leicester, 304, and A. H. Ward's History of Shreiushury, 55. have the story of the halting of Jonathan Ward's regiment on the mainland side of Charlestown Neck by a horseman who declared (Washburn's Leicester) that "orders had been sent that no more troops should go into action." Part of the Jonathan Ward regiment, nevertheless, in defiance of the order, marched across the Neck and toward the battlefield in time to help cover the retreat from the redoubt. According to tradition the horseman was Benjamin Church, but other circumstances make this doubtful. 7775] THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 131 Shortly after, Gardner, too, sets his regiment in motion, drawn in the same direction. ^^ Meanwhile, what of that first main force dispatched to Prescott's assistance? After leaving Cambridge, there is a great deal of con- fusion, for the men are not yet experienced soldiers. They start out as companies and regiments, but many units lose formation and become inextricably tangled. Some troops fail to cross Charlestown Neck; others halt on Bunker Hill instead of pressing forward. Some do not reach the firing line until the battle is almost over; many do not reach it at all.i7 The American positions are nevertheless fairly well manned by the time the English are ready to attack. And, in one form or another, they all but span the peninsula. The redoubt and its breastwork extension running north- by-east down the hill, are held by Massachusetts men under Prescott's direct command. As also, with one company of New Hampshire men, is the short impromptu line to the right. The breastwork is about 300 feet in length and reaches to a piece of sloughy ground that has been mentioned so often that it has become known as "the Slough." In the redoubt is Dr. Warren. He has set aside his high '" Gardner's instructions had been to assist Patterson in holding the position later known as Fort No. 3, but inactivity within sight of the first pitched battle of the siege galled him because of what he considered a stigma on his reputation — the sud- den dispersal of his command in the battle of April 19. ''Of the nine Massachusetts regiments ordered forward in force between 12 and i o'clock, five (Brewer's, Nixon's, Little's, Doolittle's, Woodbridge's) were represented on the firing line at the time of the first attack — about 3 p.m. The additional com- pany of Bridge's regiment also was there, and one new company of Gridley's artillery. Later in the action, two other regiments were represented on the field — Asa Whitconib's and Gerrish's (the latter by Adjutant Febiger's detachment) ; and Trevett brought on his company of Gridley's artillery in time to do good service. The other regiments and parts of regiments failed to be represented because their commanders misconstrued or disobeyed orders and halted at other points: on the wrong side of the Neck, as Mans- field's regiment. Major Scarborough Gridley's companies of Gridley's regiment, a part of Gerrish's regiment under Captain Mighil, and Scammon's regiment (Scammon's regiment did cross the Neck but not until the fighting was over) ; or on Bunker Hill proper, as part of Gerrish's regiment under Colonel Gerrish. 132 ARTEMAS WARD lAge 47 military appointment and is serving as a volunteer in the ranks. Behind the "rail fence" — that famous hay-stuffed double fence, and its stone wall extension — starting from a point near the base of Bunker Hill and reaching across to the shore of the Mystic River, are Colonels Stark and Reed with their New Hampshire regiments; Captain Knowlton with the original Connecticut detachment, and some Massachusetts men. The weakest point of the line is between the slough and the rail fence. It Is only slightly protected by short stretches of fence or hedge. Part of the time it is defended by the few American cannon brought on. A second line of defense — of earth breastworks — has been commenced on Bunker Hill. The English reinforcements land at about three o'clock. There is no longer any sign of life in the redoubt. The English officers begin to fear that the Americans have re- treated and that there will be no fight. But the Americans are there — coolly awaiting the enemy. Their officers have ordered them to lie low and hold their fire until the English are within sixty yards. The redcoats advance in two divisions — one under Howe to flank the American position by turning or breaking through the rail fence; the other, under Pigot, to storm the redoubt and breastwork. They move slowly, for they are burdened with full knap- sacks, hindered by the field fences, and sweltered by a hot June sun. But they feel unbounded confidence in their strength and expect an easy victory. The English draw near to the American positions. The Americans receive the order to fire ! A sudden hail of bullets stops the English advance and mows down the ranks. A few minutes the redcoats hold firm — then they fall back in full retreat I ijjSl THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 133 The American farmers have won the first round against the famed soldiers of Great Britain! A short breathing space — then the English rally and ad- vance again. Charlestown meantime had been set ablaze, completing an extraordinarily spectacular panorama of war and destruc- tion: An earth-fort set upon a hill; further back, a fragile fence line stretching to the shore. A brilliantly accoutered army ad- vancing over their dead comrades to the assault. Shells and cannon-balls belching from ships and land-batteries; flames coursing the streets of Charlestown and curling up its church spires. Hundreds of spectators on the surrounding hills and the roof-tops of Boston. The English are within thirty yards of the American lines when the militiamen receive the order to fire. Again their bullets tear through the enemy's ranks with terrible effect. The English press forward a few steps in the face of the storm — but it is too deadly — and again they retreat, this time precipitously and In blank disorder. There is a longer interval now, and some on both sides think, and hope, that the fighting is over for the day. Instead, the English general is making new plans. He has learned that it Is not always easy to "take the bull by the horns," and for this third assault he adopts new tactics. He trains his artillery, hitherto misplaced and ill-handled, so that the cannon-balls penetrate the end of the breastwork and scour its length, driving its defenders into the redoubt; then concentrates his attack on the redoubt, telling his men to hold their fire and take the position at the point of the bayonet. As Howe moves his men forward for a third assault, Pres- cott realizes that his position is desperate. His powder is almost exhausted, and cannon-shot come crashing into the redoubt through the north passageway. 134 ARTEMAS WARD iAge 47 But he has no thought except to fight to the last moment! His men reserve their fire until the English are within twenty yards. But this time the enemy push forward with- out returning it — the American fire slackens for want of ammunition and the EngHshmen crowd up to and over the parapet. The Americans fight their way out of the redoubt and through the two divisions closing in on them. The English attempt to flank in force, but are held back by the men at the rail fence and a few gallant companies of late arrivals descending Bunker Hill. The American death toll is heavy here; and — unhappy day for his beloved Massachusetts — Joseph Warren is among those who fall. The Americans retreat over Bunker Hill. On its brow Putnam tries to make another stand — but the projected breastworks are not half built and the position is too exposed, so the retreat continues over Charlestown Neck. The English have won the battle, but they have been so severely handled that Howe fears the risk of following the Americans onto the mainland. Instead, the two shaken armies settle themselves on op- posite sides of the Neck and feverishly begin throwing up protective works : the English on Bunker Hill facing the main- land; the Americans on Prospect and Winter hills. And thus the sun went down on the bullet-riddled fences and the blood-stained fields, and the long summer evening brought to a close the most eventful day in American history. The ofllicers on both sides were glad of the respite from active hostilities, but there was no truce in the hearts of the venturesome of the American rank and file. Darkness had scarcely fallen when a number of them were, as individuals, trying to carry the fight back to the enemy, sniping from the cover of isolated houses and creeping toward the English advance lines on the Neck in search of enemy targets. ^^ " Martin Hunter, later a general of His Majesty's Forces, then ensign of the 52d Regiment of Foot, recorded that attacks on his regiment were made all through the 7775] THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 135 Nor did the coming of darkness bring any pause in the American labor on the new lines — picks and shovels plied unceasingly to make ready for the redcoats if they should follow up their advantage by a night assault. Once only during the night did the work stop — and that when shortly before dawn there came an alarm that the Eng- lish were sallying out from Bunker Hill with artillery and light horse. Every man was ordered to drop his tools and stand to his arms. But the redcoats came not. And within an hour of day- break Ward had strengthened the new Prospect Hill post with a thousand Massachusetts and Connecticut men drawn from the Roxbury division. ^^ The Sunday that dawned saw in the American camps none of the peace-time New England Sabbath calm. Bullets had night. — Moorsom, Historical Record of the 52d Regiment, 9. Hunter had fought in the battle and was on the following day promoted to lieutenant. Lieutenant-Colonel Stephen Kemble (Journal, Kemble Papers, I, 45) also complained that "All this night the Rebels kept a popping fire on our Advanced Posts, from Houses on the opposite side of Charles Town Neck, wounded several Men, and Killed one officer." ^^ Histories give the impression that the works built on Prospect and Winter hills represented, during the first two or three days following, only the labor of the men who had stopped in the vicinity after the retreat from Breed's Hill. The first rein- forcement noted by Frothingham {Siege of Boston, 211) is an order of June 20 for one- half of eight Massachusetts regiments to be drafted daily to relieve the troops on Prospect Hill. But they were strengthened in part much earlier — at least as soon as the very early morning after the battle. General Greene tells of the marching of 1000 men from the Roxbury division on the night of June 17 {Sparks Papers, XLVHI, f. 68 verso. Harvard College Library) ; and Samuel Haws of Joseph Read's regiment records {Military Journals of Tivo Private Soldiers, 58, 59) that his regiment was "or- dered to Cambridge to asist our forces and we reached their about twelve o'clock at night and Lodged in the meting house" — then at daybreak (i8th) marched to Prospect Hill, "expecting to come to an ingagement." Noah Chapin, Jr., ensign of Solomon Willes' company, Spencer's regiment, has much the same story to tell — of marching "in hast" to Prospect Hill, reaching there "a Little after Sun Rise." — Original diary, State Library, Hartford, Conn. About noon, a new "alarm" caused additional reinforcements to be sent to the hill from tlie center division. — Caleb Haskell's Diary, 6. As no engagement developed. Read's men were at "about 4 o'clock" ordered back to Roxbury and "arived their about sunset very weary." The Connecticut contingent was also back in Roxbury "a little before night." On the day following (June 19), one-half (by companies) of seven Massachusetts regiments of the center division and half ef the Connecticut forces were ordered to Pros- pect Hill. — Nathan Stoiv's Orderly Book. These reinforcements were evidently very pleasing to Putnam, for Cook of Tiverton told Stiles {Literary Diary of Ezra Stiles, I, 574) that on June 19 he "saw General Putnam entrenching" on Winter Hill "and in good Spirits being fully reinforced." 136 ARTEMAS WARD lAge 4^ to be "run" and cartridges to be made "in readiness for another battle";^*' and fatigue parties were everywhere busy — adding to the Roxbury and Cambridge defenses, as well as to the rapidly developing lines guarding the mainland side of Charlestown Neck — from this date a separate and im- portant division of the besieging army. It was thought that the enemy would quickly strike afresh to raise the siege. The roads for miles around were again filled with excited travel — but this time it surged in opposing streams, mutually congesting and obstructing: militiamen hurrying toward the American camps, and women and children from the neigh- boring towns fleeing back into the country,^^ whole families loaded into big farm-carts, or on horseback, or afoot. And at Watertown the Provincial Congress ordered that a horse be held constantly ready so that the secretary could at a moment's notice ride away with his records. "It is expected that the English will come out over the Neck to-night," wrote Abigail Adams, "and a dreadful battle must ensue. Almighty God! cover the heads of our countrymen, and be a shield to our dear friends." ^^ But in Boston that Sunday no battle plan was contem- plated. English cannon roared almost continuously — but it was the defensive roar of a sorely wounded lion, purposed to keep his enemy at bay. There was no thought of so soon retrying the issue with the sharpshooting New England reb- els. Gage had driven the Americans from their hastily seized position, and all of the Charlestown peninsula had passed into his hands, but his army had sustained losses so heavy as to lower its morale and to cripple its offensive power. He had removed the immediate menace of Breed's Hill, but he was no nearer freedom of action than before the battle. He had stretched one of the walls of the jail, but the jail still ^^ Caleb Haskell's Diary, 6. ^ James Warren, June l8, 1775, Warren-Adams Letters, I, 59. ^'^ Letters of Mrs. Adams, I, June 18, 1775. 7775] THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 137 held him prisoner, and its bars now loomed before his eyes as murderously secure. The battle just fought had indeed definitely decided the outcome of the siege of Boston. It was the direct and spe- cific cause of the evacuation of the capital. The period of English occupation following June 17 constituted, consciously or otherwise, merely so many months of "marking time." Right up to the last dispatch received prior to the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill, official England had held no in- tention to relinquish Boston. On the contrary, Lord Dart- mouth, writing July i, tells Gage that the King trusts "that we shall soon hear" that the rebels surrounding Boston "have been dispersed, their Works destroyed, and a com- munication opened with the Country." It was further .be- lieved that even if the English force should be deemed in- adequate "to advance further into the country," it was never- theless large enough not only to hold Boston, but also to recover possession of New York, and perhaps, in addition, to seize and maintain a post on Rhode Island. But Gage's report of the battle changed all this, and with- in five weeks of the official acknowledgment of its receipt, Lord Dartmouth received word from the King that he con- sidered it not only advisable but "necessary to abandon Bos- ton before the winter." ^^ ^ The story is easily and clearly read in the correspondence between Lord Dart- mouth and the English commanders in Boston. At the beginning of the year (January 18, 1775), General Gage had written to Lord Dartmouth that "it's the opinion of Most People, if a respectable Force is seen in the Field, the most obnoxious of the Leaders seized, and a Pardon proclaimed for all other's, that Government will come off Victori- ous, and with less Opposition than was expected a few Months ago." — Stevens Trans- cripts, Library of Congress. And Lord Dartmouth on April 15 had said, "It is imagined that by the time this Letter reaches you, the army under your Command will be equal to any operation that may become necessary." — Stevens Transcripts, Library of Congress; Bancroft MSS., England and America, New York Public Library. No doubt then in his mind of the success of the King's army in Boston ! The events of April 19 roused indignation at "the rash and rebellious conduct of the Provincials," but they did not alarm official England. Gage sent his report of the "skirmish" (the report was received in London June 10) and Lord Dartmouth, replying, writes (as quoted above in the main text) that the King trusts "that we shall soon hear" that the rebels surrounding Boston "have been dispersed, their Works de- stroyed, and a communication opened with the Country." He continues, "Whether 138 ARTEMAS WARD [J^e 47 you have found it expedient or not to advance further into the Country will have de- pended upon your own judgement of the utility & propriety of such a plan of operation & upon the advice & opinions of the able Generals by whom you are assisted ; but if from the probability of small advantage on the one hand, & great risk on the other hand, you should have desisted from such an enterprise or should have been of opinion that your Force is inadequate, in that case it is hoped that the defence of Boston, & the possession of the circumjacent posts necessary to that defence may be secured by a part of the Army & another part detached under the command of one of the Majors General to recover possession of New York, which is in every light a post of the greatest importance." Turning next to Rhode Island, Lord Dartmouth says, "It is not wished to encourage ideas of a separation of our Force into small detachments that may hazard the loss of the whole, & therefore I shall only observe that the insular part of the Colony of Rhode Island appears to me to be a post of very great advantage, not only from its situation in general but as it would keep open a communication between Boston & New York, & from which either might in case of exigency receive succour & support." — July i, Stevetis Transcripts, Library of Congress; Bancroft MSS., England and America, New York Public Library. All such dreams faded after the arrival (July 25) of Gage's report of the battle of Bunker Hill. Lord Dartmouth, who had been so confident of the English position in Bos- ton, quickly decided to relinquish it. In a long letter written a few days after the receipt of the report, he notes the possible necessity of quitting Boston and perhaps removing the entire force to Halifax and Quebec (August 2, American Archives, 4th, III, 7) ; and only four weeks later he sends to Howe (about to succeed Gage) the message (given in the concluding sentence of the main text of this chapter) that the King considers it not only advisable but "necessary to abandon Boston before the winter" (September 5, American Archives, 4th, III, 642). Historians have noted the effect of the battle on conditions in Boston, and Gage's — and Howe's — consequent desire to evacuate it ; its effect also on public and official opinion in England and elsewhere in Europe; and further that in November there arrived from England instructions to abandon the town : but the direct connection between the battle itself and the evacuation order has been obscured by the length of time required for sailing vessels to make a complete circuit of correspondence between the English commander-in-chief in Boston and the office of the Secretary of State in London. No wireless — no cable — no steamships then! Many students have failed to realize that Lord Dartmouth's letters of August 2 and September 5 were based on con- ditions of much earlier dates. The report of the battle of June 17 was, as noted above, not received in London until July 25. When Lord Dartmouth prepared his "abandon Boston" letter of September 5, he had in hand only the reports of conditions immediately following the battle. Even at the moment of signing, he was in receipt of no advice of later Boston date than July 26. One sees also occasional reference to the advice of Lord Barrliigton, Secretary of War, so early as November 12, 1774, to Lord Dartmouth, that the troops be withdrawn from Boston as "a place where at present they can do no good, and without intention, may do harm." — Political Life of TFm. Viscount Barrlngton, 140. But this advice can have had little, if any, influence with Lord Dartmouth and his associates, for the general plan advocated was diametrically opposed to the royal and ministerial policy. Bar- rington's idea was to rely exclusively upon the navy to reduce Massachusetts to sub- mission — by cutting off the fisheries, killing commerce, etc. He would have Gage withdraw all troops from the province — first moving them from Boston and then taking them back to England when "a proper juncture shall offer for their return." Barrington's idea of Massachusetts popular sentiment was ludicrously inaccurate. He would have Gage instructed that, on thus removing his troops from Boston, he should remind the people of Massachusetts that it was their own fault that he was abandoning them unprotected to the "tyrannical anarchy" which had come upon them! — that he must leave the colony to be the prey of Its own "present distracted state, until it shall become disposed to co-operate in helping itself to a better." CHAPTER VII Criticisms of the Battle of Bunker Hill IN the preceding chapter I have told the story of the Breed's Hill-Bunker Hill battle from headquarters' stand- point. It reads differently from other accounts because it is based in part on contemporary records hitherto over- looked, but I have been careful to avoid personal bias and have eschewed embellishment and partisan argument. I have no quarrel with those who criticize either the con- ception or the execution of the battle.^ There is room for honest disagreement on both, and hindsight can always find points on which to hang or by which to bolster an argument. * The animadversions of James Warren, of Plymouth, are considered on pages 142, 162—163. See also the reference to Henry Dearborn, of New Hampshire, on page 142. Other criticisms are either milder or in their exaggeration hold an element of humor: Lieutenant Samuel B. Webb could in his Connecticut enthusiasm find no good in any general officer except Putnam! He wrote, June 19, 1775: "For God's sake, to urge Gen. Lee and Col. Washington to join, head-officers is what we stand greatly in need of; ive have no acting- head here but Putnam — he acts nobly in e-verything." This quota- tion is from an extract from an additional leaf of the Chester-Webb letter of June 19, printed in Frothingham's Siege of Boston, 416, Third and later editions. Neither the extract, nor any other part of the additional leaf, is given in Ford's Correspondence and Journals of Samuel B. TFebb. The facsimile in the latter work of the main part of the Chester-Welib account also differs from the copyist's description in tlie Siege of Boston. Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent, in his turn, could see only New Hampshire men ! It was his retrospective opinion that if Ward had "marched the whole of his troops then in Cambridge to Charlestown not one of the enemy would have escaped, but instead of that he only walked Hasting's front yard the whole day." Then, continuing, he bruslied to one side all Massachusetts and Connecticut fighters, to bestow tl)e entire credit of June 17 on Stark's and Reed's New Hampshire men, for "those two regi- ments did all that was done that day, of any consequence." — Letter, December 20, 1825, to S. Swett. Another part of this letter by Sargent is quoted on page 130, note 14. An unsigned report by an English government agent recorded a poor opinion of Ward as expressed by two French officers, then in London after a visit to America, whom he believed to be "in the service of the Rebel Americans." Their statements, though, cannot be taken very seriously, for they include very tall yarns of the devices which the "rebel chiefs" employed "to keep up" the spirit of the Americans, "some of which they themselves were witness to, such as making their own people put on English regi- 139 I40 ARTEMAS WARD iAge47 Some of the questions which have long engaged writers and controversialists can now be laid to rest, settled by the publication of new contemporary evidence and the better consideration of old. Of these are the viewpoints of the American military leaders at Cambridge concerning both the Bunker Hill project and the possibility of occupying Dor- chester Neck; the original plan for the relief of the detach- ment; and lesser items, as the supply of "drinking water." Some others must still remain largely a matter of individual opinion. Questioning the fundamental policy of the expedition, one may ask with much sapience why the Americans thought it necessary to occupy the Charlestown peninsula, when egress from Boston by that route could have been blocked, or checked, with much less risk by works on the mainland side of Charlestown Neck. It was, perhaps, a move foolishly reckless, but it was also a move of high moral courage — and was rewarded by suc- cess far beyond all expectations : beyond, if you will, all merit! It had been projected to prevent the enemy from moving out of Boston onto the mainland, and it resulted in driving them out of Boston into the sea 1 If the battle had not been fought, the English would, as their least exploit — and at little, if any, cost — have taken mentals, & come into Camp in the character of Officers & soldiers deserting from his Majestys troops — & one man personated a Member of Parliament." — Stevens' Fac- similes, XIII, 130X. Another spy said that the American army was incensed against Ward because he "never so much as gave one Written order that day." — Belcher, First American Civil War, I, 208. This idea has found lodgment in the minds of some writers, but (irre- spective of its merits as an indictment if it were accurate) it is not based on either facts or probabilities. Ward's Order Book contains only one order of June 17 — that to Thomas for ordnance to be sent to Cambridge (the separate MS. order is owned by the American Antiquarian Society — United States Revolution, IV, 15), but there can be no reasonable doubt that of the many others given, a number were reduced to writing. Several fugitive examples testify to the probability: two are in the possession of the Boston Public Library, and the copy of the relief order (page 123, note) tells of a third. John Pitts wrote, July 20, 1775, of the confusion and lack of command, but his references apparently apply chiefly to the immediate vicinity of the battlefield, for his specific complaint is that "there were not officers enough to lead the men on." — Frothing- ham. Siege of Boston, 160. 7775] THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 141 possession of Dorchester Neck within the next twenty-four hours. Quickly following would have come their occupation of the Charlestown peninsula.^ And thereafter, even should they have found it impossible to make any further advance, they could have safely and easily maintained the town and harbor as a base for operations against both New England and New York. One comes next to Ward's judgment against large early reinforcement of Prescott's detachment, and his determina- tion to hold his center in full strength until the enemy had displayed his choice of attack. Whether we agree or disagree with him, the contingency upon which he based his judgment was at all events no fallacy, for the letters of General Howe — soon to replace Gage as English commander-in-chief — tell us that Cambridge was the main objective in his plan for raising the slege.^ It was impossible for Ward — or anyone else in the Ameri- can camp — to divine what proportion. If any, of the British strength would be sent over the Charlestown peninsula in the face of the American intrenchments, and what proportion by way of Lechmere's Polnt^ or Willis Creek. An attack by way of Lechmere's Point or Willis Creek was a very real peril. Washington also so regarded it when, nine months later, the American forces undertook the occu- pation of Dorchester Neck. We find him carefully avoiding the danger of unduly weakening his center, though the Amer- ican lines had by that time been greatly strengthened and Lechmere's Point had been converted into a strongly forti- * General Burgoyne to Lord Stanley, American Archives, 4th, II, 1094. * Howe's plan was, first to occupy Dorchester Neck and make an attack upon Rox- bury. Then "to go over with all we can muster" to the Charlestown peninsula and thence "either attack the Rebels at Cambridge; Or perhaps, if the Country admits of it, endeavor to turn that post: ... In either case, I suppose the Rebels will move from Cambridge; And that we shall take and keep possession of it." — General Howe to Lord Howe, June 12, 1775, Proceedings of the Bunker Hill /Monument Association, 1907, 1 15. The same plan, in different words, appears in General Howe's letter to General Harvey, June 12, 1775. Jhid., III. * See the quotation from Colonel Sargent's letter on page 130, note 14. 142 ARTEMAS WARD \_Age 47 fied position, equipped with some of the heavy Ticonderoga guns. I hesitate to refer to James Warren's criticism that Ward "never left his house" all day — repeated with variations forty-three and fifty years later by Dearborn^ and Sargent® — for to me it has always seemed trivial. It has, though, been so widely quoted that it cannot be ignored. One might indeed Indict the sentence itself for malicious intent to deceive. To many readers it has suggested a con- dition which has no foundation in fact. That Ward "never left his house" all day, might or might not signify a measure of the "callous Indifference" with which one hasty writer charged him, even If It meant that he had remained away from his post and stayed home to nurse the sickness which had seized him. But the "house" In which he stayed was both his own army headquarters and also that of the Committee of Safety — the very heart and center of the besieging force. It happens that James Warren's statement was not liter- ally true, for Daniel Putnam and David Townsend, calling at headquarters at different hours, both found Ward out on the military business of the day;'^ but I am quite willing to accept the statement that he was not away from headquar- ters for any considerable length of time on June 17, and I think that It can well be argued that headquarters was the proper and the very best place for him to be on that eventful day. It was essential that some one 'of high authority be there to receive reports and to give orders. There was a deplorable amount of confusion among the troops on the Charlestown peninsula and In the vicinity (ex- cepting always those holding the battle-line), but Ward, nec- essarily remaining in Cambridge until the landing of the English reinforcement had completed the disclosure of his opponent's plan of action, could not have reached the field In ' Dearborn, An Account of the Battle of Bunker Hill. * See page 139, note. ^ See pages 126 and 129. 7775] THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL 143' time to have changed conditions there — even if (which is doubtful) he, or any other man, could have changed them to any great degree. And if he had left headquarters before the English com- mander had displayed his intention, he would have been tak- ing an entirely unjustifiable hazard. All of which seems very plain, yet apparently some of Ward's critics would have liked to see him put the last keg of powder in a coach and drive over to the Charlestown peninsula in order to make a complete show for the spectators in Boston. CHAPTER VIII June i8-Jiily j, 1775'- Age 47 The American camp after the Battle of Bunker Hill. The election of George Washington as Commander-in-chief of the American forces. Artemas Ward commissioned as First Major-General; Charles Lee as Second Major-General. The arrival of Washing- ton and Lee at Cambridge. THE sudden shock of battle and the menace of a re- newed onslaught by the English redcoats had tempo- rarily cleared the surcharged political atmosphere of the camps, but the spirit of insubordination was still rife and for some hectic hours was heightened by poisonous rumors charg- ing treachery at Bunker Hill in some of the officers.^ The accusations were, however, quickly discredited^ and their venom as speedily dissipated, leaving a better feeling In their wake. Further relief proceeded from the handbills sent broad- cast by the Provincial Congress — with the authority, finally received, of the Continental Congress — for the election of representatives to a General Court to function "as near as ^ Diary of Ezekiel Price, June 19, Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, VII, 191. — "An opinion prevails among the Continental Army, that treachery was in some of the Continental Officers. A suspicion also arises among them that sand was mixt with the powder, and that the cartridges and ball being thus sent was with design: all which creates great uneasiness in the camp." Provincial Congress, June 20. — "Ordered, that Colonel Cushing, Major Perley, Colonel Prescott, Colonel Barrett, and Deacon Fisher, be a committee to inquire into the grounds of a report which has prevailed in the army, that there has been treachery in some of the officers ; and that, if they find that such report is without foundation, they bring in a resolve for quieting the minds of the people, in respect thereof." ^ Diary of Ezekiel Price, June 20. — " ... all the reports of treachery were entirely without foundation, and propagated by the enemies to the cause, and weak, discon- tented men, and by some cowards who fled from the engagement and formed these lies to favour their escape from danger." 144 7775] THE SIEGE OF BOSTON 145 may be, to the spirit and substance of the [provincial] char- ter." The spreading of this call for the resumption of provin- cial government had been shortly preceded by the news that Connecticut had formally placed her troops under Ward's command; and was quickly followed by word that the thirteen colonies represented in the Continental Congress had united in action and had adopted both the rebellion and its army; and, next, that Rhode Island had put her troops also under Massachusetts control. These developments set increasingly strong checks upon camp malcontents, for they suggested and signified both a politically united New England and a politically united "Con- tinent" behind those in authority. And, fortunately for Massachusetts and the Revolutionary cause, the flames of anarchy died down and burned themselves out. Indiscipline still flourished, but sedition had passed. A new and confident military ardor also pervaded the ranks as a result of the battle.^ ' Some writers have pictured the American forces as thrown into dismay by the loss of the Charlestown peninsula. To get oneself into the proper frame of mind to believe .this, one must discard the testimony of the men who lived and fought in those days! Both the project and its execution drew a certain quantity of censure, and there was hurry and fear among the non-combatanfs in nearby towns, but the typical American attitude was the very opposite of "dismay": "We remain in good spirits as yet, being well satisfied that where we have lost one they lost three." — Colonel Stariv, June 19, to the President of "the New Hampshire Provincial Congress. Nciu Hampshire Pro'vhiclal Papers, VII, 523. "Our Troops are in exceeding high spirits, & their Resolution increases, they long to speak with them again." — Wm. Williams, June 20. Frothingham, The Battle-Field of Bunker Hill, 42. "The ministerial troops gained the hill, but were victorious losers. A few more such victories, and they are undone." — Wm. Tudor, June 26, to John Adams. Frothingham, Siege of Boston, 396. "I wish we could sell them another hill at the same price. . . . Our people are in good spirits." — General Greene, June 28, to his brother Jacob Greene, Chairman of the Committee of Safety, Warwick, R. I. Johnson, Sketches of the Life of Nathauael Greene, I, 32. "I am glad to hear that the Number of killed & wounded on the side of the Enemy amounts to so many more than 1000. I dare say you would not grudge them every Hill near you upon the same terms." — Samuel Adams to James Warren, July 2. Pro- ceedings of the Bunker Hill Monument Association, 1898, 26. "The Continental army . . . were in higli spirits." — ^Diary of Ezekiel Price, June 20, Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, VII, 191. Letters printed in the newspapers breathe the same spirit. 146 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 47 Other vital problems still remained, however, for the battle had emphasized the need for powder, artillery, tents, clothing, etc. On the day following. Ward wrote to the Committee of Supplies voicing his "immediate want" of "large Ordnance, a Quantity of powder, and small Musket Balls";'* and on June 19 to the Provincial Congress say- ing, "I must earnestly entreat the Congress to furnish the train of artillery with a company of artificers immediately, as the army greatly suffers for want of them. This ought to have been one of the first establishments, and I hope the Congress will not delay the matter a day longer."^ Then again to the Committee of Supplies the very urgent reminder of the need for tents, blankets, etc., reproduced on the page opposite. On the same day (June 24) the Provincial Congress or- dered the dispatch of appeals to Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire for an "immediate augmentation" of their troops. It declared that it had "the best grounds to suppose that, as soon as the enemy have recovered a little breath from their amazing fatigues of the seventeenth of June," and their "surprising losses" should be made up by the arrival of new troops, "which is almost daily taking place," they would make "the utmost efforts" to break the American lines and "strike general terror and amazement into the hearts of the inhabitants of the whole continent." But the English generals never, during all their remaining sojourn in Boston, sufficiently recovered from the "amazing fatigues" engendered by the "seventeenth of June" to feel any desire to again force the American lines I They did, however, hope to consummate their plan for the occupation of Dorchester Neck, and they set Friday or Saturday (June 23 or 24) for the purpose.^ But Ward, *Artcmas TFard MSS. ^American Archives, 4th, II, 1028. ' "I may therefore safely predict, that with our present Force, the 2n(l Divisn from Ireland not being yet arrived, we shall not do more than to possess these Heights [Breed's Hill and Bunker Hill] & the Dorchester-neck, wch Gen. Clinton will take <' u )^ ^7 ^a:.^f^r.'f >'^y ^^y^^4.^//^^^/j/^ ^ ^ ' \ ^^-^^^-.^^ -^-^ -'^-^-^ i^^ ',-e.<2 ^ ..^^J^ ^^^--'^ ^;;>^^-^y^^ .s xS/^), owned by the Massachusetts Historical Society WARD'S ORDER FOR THE FORTIFICATION OF DORCHESTER HEIGHTS 777^] DORCHESTER HEIGHTS 203 reckless of the consumption of powder !^^ And for every Yankee shot or shell, the English returned threefold or four- fold, until it seemed to the terror-stricken inhabitants of Bos- ton "as if heaven and earth were engaged. "^^ To this deafening accompaniment Thomas starts his men forward. In front, is the covering party of eight hundred. Closely following, are the carts with the intrenching tools. Then comes the working party of twelve hundred, Thomas riding with it. Behind, stretches a "mighty train" of 360 carts^^ loaded with the bundles of screwed hay, the chan- deliers, the fascines, and the gabions. And thus "we went over the marsh in fine order and good spirits. "^^ The "Little Neck" traversed, the covering party divides: half quietly make their way to Nook Flill point to keep watch on Boston; half proceed to the point facing Castle Island. A line of sentries connects the two posts and extends also along the south shore. The working detachment and the carts with the intrench- ing tools press steadily on to the "twin hills" — the famous Dorchester Heights of history. The carts with the hay bundles drop them along the cause- way and then turn back for new loads ; those with the fascines, etc., continue out on the peninsula and slowly and laboriously trail the working detachment to the two summits. The fatigue men set to the task, Gridley and Rufus Putnam directing. An hour's labor^^ is sufficient to enclose a fort by ^ The free American bombardment has led numerous authorities to state that powder had become plentiful in the camp. They overlook Washington's "if we had powder" on March 7, 1776, to Joseph Reed. — Ford, Writings of JFashington, III, 462. ^^ Newell's Journal, March 4, 1776, Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 4th, I, 272. Within the American lines, a soldier in the Roxbury division wrote: "It's impossible, I could describe the situation of this town and all about it. This night you could see shells, sometimes 7 at a time in the air, and as to cannon, the continual shaking of the earth by cannonading dried up our wells." — Daniel McCurtin, March 4, 1776, Papers relating chiefly to the Maryland Line, 33. Washington described the cannonading as a "continued roar." ^' Thomas Papers, 1774— 1776, 67, Massachusetts Historical Society, ^'' Asa Waters MS. Account, Stoughton (Mass.) Historical Society. '* Diary, Historical Magazine, VIII, 328. 204 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 48 the use of the chandeliers, fascines, and gabions; then all hands that can be used are put to digging to complete the job. The mildness of the night and its clear moon favor the work. Some histories place Washington on the heights riding the lines all night. He was not there at all. He was where he should have been, at his central headquarters, ready to strike at the enemy from left or center; or to receive them at either point; or to reinforce his right: according to circumstances or as his opponent might move.^'' The relief — 3000 men (2342 rank and file) — came on be- tween three and four o'clock in the morning. They found "two forts in considerable forwardness and sufficient for a defence against small arms and grape shot."^*^ With them came the five companies of riflemen, "[We] went and lay in ambush close by the water side expecting every moment that the Butchers belonging to the Tyrant of Great Britain would be out among us."^^ But the artillery duel held the English attention. Howe had no inkling of the works rapidly taking shape. "The carts were still in motion with materials; some of them have made three or four trips." ^^ Their later trips brought several pieces of artillery. Before daybreak the two main forts had been supple- mented by four smaller auxiliary positions. "A very great work for one Night. "^'^ For a finishing touch, the bristling points of the abattis^^ — war's rough usage of neighboring orchards — are faced with barrels of sand and stones. "They presented only the ap- pearance of strengthening the works; but the real design was, in case the enemy made an attack, to have rolled them down ** His letter to Ward, on the night of March 4, asks "how the works goe on." — Ar- temas Ward MSS. *" Thacher's Military Journal, March 5, 1 776. "Daniel McCurtin's Journal, March 4, 1776, Papers relating chiefly to the Maryland Line, 33. " Thacher's Military Journal, M,arch 5, 1776. '^^Revolutionary Journal of Col. Jeduthan Baldzvin, March 4, 1776. ** Howe's report, American Archives, 4th, IV, 458. ijjbl DORCHESTER HEIGHTS 205 the hills." As "the hills on which they were erected were steep, and clear of trees and bushes . . . They would have descended with such increasing velocity, as must have thrown the assailants into the utmost confusion and have killed and wounded great numbers." ^^ Thus the night passed, its every hour filled with unceasing activity. Then came the dawn — and through its haze the forts loomed before the enemy with a menace that none could mistake. The English generals gazed, astounded, at the threaten- ing lines which had thus magically crowned the heights.^*^ The size and strength of the works amazed them. They "must have been the employment of at least twelve thousand men," declared the English commander.'*'^ There was an Immediate convening of a British council of war. The fortification of the twin hills had been planned only as a first step In the possession of Dorchester Neck — but its possibilities were manifest — the English officers did not have to await the full gestation of the project! Unless the *° Heath's Memoirs, March 4, 1776. The credit for this use of barrels of sand and stones is given by General Heath to William Davis, a Boston merchant. Stedman, the contemporary English historian who is still quoted with respect by modern military critics, considered the plan most effectively practical: "To dislodge the Provincials from their new works . . . was impossible," he wrote, "for the British troops must have ascended an almost perpendicular eminence, on the top of which the Americans had prepared hogsheads chained together in great numbers, and filled with stones, to roll down upon them as they marched up: a curious provision, by which whole columns would have been swept off at once. . . . This would effectually have destroyed all order, and have broken the ranks."— 7//s/orj? 0/ the American War, I, 187—188. In these barrels one finds the genesis of a curious story of later years that at the time of the fortification of Dorchester Heights, barrels were filled with sand and headed up to de- ceive the American troops into the belief that this time they had an unlimited supply of powder with them! (Reference to this story was made by Wm. H. Sumner, ^eiu England Historical and Genealogical Register, XH, 229.) But their real purpose was necessarily known to many, as any delay in their use would have nullified the expected advantage. They are also perhaps the foundation of similar fanciful stories, told ef earlier months of the siege, preserved in Elkanah Watson's Men and Times of the Resolution and Hale's Memories of a Hundred Years, I, 147- ** The forts had been raised, testified an English officer, "with an expedition equal to that of the genii belonging to Aladin's wonderful lamp." — Almon's Rememhrancer, HI, 106. " To Lord Dartmouth, American Archi-ves, 4th, V, 458-459. 2o6 ARTEMAS WARD [^^€48 Americans could be ousted, Boston was no longer a safe berth for either His Majesty's navy or army. Howe still held Lord Dartmouth's instructions to abandon the town, but he was in not much better position to carry them out than he had been four months earlier. His recent prepa- rations availed him little, for he was still short of shipping. A divided removal (which, four months earlier, he had de- clared to be dangerous) was now impossible with the Ameri- cans intrenched on Dorchester Neck. An undivided removal meant, at best, leaving behind great quantities of military and other supplies. And, then, the disgrace 1 Instead of a voluntary evacuation of the town, a flight from it enforced by the muzzles of colonial cannon. Howe's decision was to fight, and the Americans cheerfully made ready to receive him. Washington rode up the hills to view the works, and reminded the men that it was the anni- versary of the "Boston Massacre." And Putnam's division assembled along the Charles River, awaiting the word to man the boats for a spectacular raid upon the town. The English essayed the effect of artillery on the American intrenchments : "They endeavored to Elevate their Cannon so as to reach our works, by sinking the Hinder wheels of the Cannon into the Earth, but after an unsuccessful Fire of about two Hours, they grew weary of it & Desisted."'*^ The Americans intently watch also the other and more threatening English moves — the gathering of the boats, the marching of the companies to the wharves, the emptying of the boats into the transports. It looks as if Howe intends to duphcate Gage's methods at Breed's Hill, and the Ameri- cans laugh and pray that the "Philistines" will give them another such opportunity. As Washington turned his eyes from the Boston shore to scan the American works, built with an expedition that had ** John Sullivan to John Adams, March 15, 1776, Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, XIV, 283. ijt6'\ DORCHESTER HEIGHTS 207 staggered the trained soldiers of Great Britain and manned with those same indomitable New Englanders who had made history at "Lexington and Concord" and again at Bunker Hill — anxious now only that their enemy should "come on" : he himself said, "I never saw spirits higher, or more ardor prevailing . . . our officers and men appeared impatient for the appeal" — he probably felt compunction for the harsh epithets he had applied to the New England troops. The project, the preparation, the command, the engineers, and the work (and the Bunker Hill lesson back of them) were all of New England's sons; and their result was to mean much glory for the Virginian who had aspersed them. The neighboring hills — as also the housetops and wharves of Boston — are crowded with spectators awaiting taut-nerved the commencement of a drama that bids fair to be bloodier even than the carnival of death on Breed's Hill. But Howe remembers too vividly the price to be paid for storming American intrenchments with daylight sighting American muskets. The five regiments filling the transports are to go first to Castle Island. From there, during the night, to be landed on the easterly point of Dorchester Neck; while other regiments, direct from Boston, disembark "on the side next the town." Then, from the two directions, a simultaneous assault upon the works : no pausing to fire this time — but a quick short march and a rapid clambering of the hills — hop- ing that in the uncertain moonlight the rush of English bayonets may offset American marksmanship."*^ But this is unknown to the American commanders and they watch with disappointment the ebbing of the tide which they had thought would bring the foe to them. What is the British intention? That is the question in every one's mind as the afternoon wanes. The redcoats had *^ Hoiuc's Orderly Book, 225; Howe to Lord Dartmouth, American Archives, 4th, V, 459; Diary of a British Officer, Atlantic Monthly, XXXIX, 553; Lieutenant-Colonel Kemble's Journal, Kemhle Papers, I, 71. 2o8 ARTEMAS WARD \_Age 48 not been filled into the transports for nothing. Where is the blow to be struck? There are several possibilities in addition to that of a direct attack upon Dorchester Heights. As one, the enemy may land at some nearby point to the south and attempt to break through the American right from the rear. Washington returned to Cambridge early in the afternoon and from there he wrote to Ward requesting him to send "orders to Braintree, Hingham & that way, that a good lookout be kept there, and if any discoveries respecting 'em can be made, that instant notice thereof be brought to Head- Quarters." He did not "much suspect their going to or land- ing at those places," but he believed that "the utmost vigi- lance & care" were necessary, "as their embarkation certainly is to answer some purpose." Because of the unreliability of night signals, he also re- quested Ward to keep "Two Expresses with Horses in con- stant readiness" to communicate any motions of the enemy which he deemed in any way important, and "the same will be done here.""^^ The English transports went down the bay in the evening, a floating battery towed along to cover their landing; but a March tempest was brewing and it came up with such fury that three of the vessels were driven ashore on Governor's Island. The proposed assault became impossible. "[No] boat cou'd possibly land."^^ In Boston that night the people again cowered in their homes as the wind rocked their walls, broke their windows, and blew down their sheds and fences.^^ "A wind more vio- lent than any thing I ever heard," an English oflicer wrote ^"Washington (by Harrison) to Ward, March 5, 1776. — Original letter owned (1921) by Roxa Dix Southard, Groton, Mass. "Diary of a British Officer, Atlantic Monthly, XXXIX, 553. °" Letters ami Diary of John Roive, 300. "A hurrycane, or terrible sudden storm." — Newell's Journal, Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 4th, I, 272. "In the night was as violent a storm as was ever known." — Dr. John Warren's Journal, John C. Warren's Genealogy of Warren, 94. 777^] DORCHESTER HEIGHTS 209 home. "A violent storm," wrote Washington. "Almost a hurricane," says Heath. The cannonading, too, started afresh, giving promise of war on the morrow. The alarmed residents of Boston were, nevertheless, vastly more comfortable than the Americans upon the Dorchester hills ! There had been no time to set up the barracks which a few days later ameliorated conditions. There was nothing to protect the men from the weather save a few apple trees — "a miserable shelter from storms and March winds." "I never before felt such cold and distress, as I did this night"; "[we were] drenched by the copious rain, exhausted by severe exertion" : such are the comments that have come down to us in the diaries and reminiscences of officers and privates. '''" The wind and sea still ran high in the morning, and the transports were ordered back to Boston. The English had lost what little appetite they had at first felt for assailing the American position. They decided to give up the town, and Halifax was selected as the immediate destination of both the troops and the civilian tories.^^ Despite the earlier rumors that Howe planned to abandon the capital, the crisis which thus confronted them — definite this time, an inexorable fact — came as a crushing blow to the loyalists cooped within it. But the patriots of the beleaguered town rejoiced in great relief. "Blessed be God our redemp- tion draws nigh," cried Deacon Newell. The wind and sea continued rough all Wednesday, but the '^^ Journal of Lieutenant Isaac Bangs, 12, 16; Daniel McCurtin's Journal, Papers relating chiefly to the Maryland Line, 33 ; Diary of Samuel Richards, 26—27. " The decision was not formally reached until Thursday, March 7 (Howe to Lord Dartmouth, American Archives, 4th, V, 458), and Howe in Wednesday's general orders had explained that he desired "the Troops may know that the intended expedition last Night was unavoidably put off by the badness of the weather" — but the intention to evacu- ate the town was of general knowledge on Wednesday, among both army men and civil- ians. — Newell's Journal, Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 4th, I, 272 ; Letters and Diary of John Rotve ; Diary of a British Officer, Atlantic Monthly, XXXIX, 553; letter in Almon's Remembrancer, \\\, 106; letter of Major-General Hugh, Earl Percy, who was to have commanded the English assault, Letters of Hugh, Earl Percy, 66. 2IO ARTEMAS WARD \_Age 48 weather was not severe enough to hinder Thomas In his work. The American fortifications were strengthened, and several additional guns were hauled over the causeway and up the hills — the performance being closely observed by the English officers. On Thursday, the seventh, the three days' emergency mili- tia returned to their homes, and the responsibility of main- taining both the Roxbury lines and the new positions on Dorchester Neck rested almost entirely on Ward's original Roxbury division. Two regiments from the center had joined him early on the fifth, but it was considered unwise to detach any more men from the center or any at all from the left. This double labor involved heavy demands on his men's energy and willingness — many "were obliged to be on Duty two Days & Nights successively"^^ — but they stood the test well. On March 9 a battery was planted to the north of the east point of the peninsula as a special menace to the British ship- ping. Two^*^ attempts were made to fortify Nook Hill also, but they were both frustrated by artillery fire. There was no swerving from the English decision to leave Boston. On the eighth, the very day that a committee of Bos- ton civilians informed Washington of the intended evacuation and of Howe's promise not to harm the town if his troops were not harassed in departing, Howe attempted to stimulate the military spirit of his men by requiring In general orders "The Commanding Officers of Corps to give the strictest Attention to the regularity and Discipline of their respective Corps ... as the Troops may be hourly called upon to ^'Lieutenant Bangs {Journal, 15, 16) wrote feelingly of the "Fatiegues & Hardships that were underwent by that part of the Army which were Stationed at Roxbury from the time of our first building upon the Hill." . . . Because of the lack, at first, of barracks, no regiment could be stationed there as a permanent garrison, and the "25 Hun- dred Men or thereabouts" which "it was absolutely necessary to keep constantly upon the Hills . . . must be drawn from those at Roxbury. This Party together with the Guards at Roxbury kept half of our Men on duty constantly, & many being taken ill about that time, some with what we termed The Hill Fever & others with real Sickness, many Men were obliged to be on Duty two Days & Nights successively." ^ Rc-volutioiiary Journal of Col. Jcduthan Bald-win, March 9 and 12, 1776. 777^] DORCHESTER HEIGHTS 211 Attack the Enemy in case a proper Opening should offer where the Rebels Least Expect it" ; but, excepting that, his orders, commencing with March 7, were all directed to getting away from Boston as speedily as possible and to at- tempts to maintain discipline amid the hurry and its con- comitant disorder,^^ The English officers were, however, overwhelmed by the multitude of details thrust upon them in the sudden necessity of quickly setting the army and its supplies, and the loyalists and their families and effects, upon the voyage; and their preparations consumed so much time that Washington feared that the delay held some sinister motive — perhaps that Howe "has some design of having a brush before his departure and is only waiting in hopes of find'g us off our Guard"^^ or of "attempting by some bold stroke in some measure to wipe off the ignominy" of his retreat f^ perhaps the expectation of reinforcements sufficiently large to shift the advantage won by the Americans. Howe suffered from similar nervousness concerning the American plans. Flis "preparations to be gone" were, it is ^^ Extracts from Hoivc's Orderly Book: March 7. — "The Regts are to bring immediately all the Barrack furniture, but such as are Judg'd necessary for the Voyage to the Store in Kings Street, . . . Every Regt is to take care of the Hand Carts they have; the Wheels are to be fastened in the Quarters of the several Transports, these being very necessary for a future service, and not easily replaced." "Each Regt to receive 18 Butts of Porter at Cowper's Meeting House, to morrow Morning at 10 O'Clock, to be put on board their respective Transports, & issued to the Troops after they embark." March 10. — "The Commanding Officers of Corps to be responsible to have all their Sick, Convalescents, & Women, on board their respective Transports before Six O'Clock this Evening March 11. — "The Troops to have all their Baggage on board Ship by five O'Clock this Afternoon, if any is found on the Wharfs after six, it will be thrown into the Sea." March 14. — "The Officers & Soldiers on board Ship not to come on Shore on any Account without the General's express Permission." "The Commander in Chief finding notwithstanding the Orders that have been given to forbid Plundering, Houses have been forced open & robbed, he is therefore under a Necessity of declaring to the Troops, that the first Soldier who is caught plundering, will be hanged on the Spot." '^^ March 10, 1776, Washington (by Harrison) to Ward. — Original letter, Artcmas Ward MSS. ''" March 12, 1776, Washington (by Palfrey) to Ward. — Original in the possession (1921) of Ward Dix Kerlin, Camden, N. J. 2 12 ARTEMAS WARD VAge 48 said, "much accelerated by an accidental fire" in the Prospect Hill barracks "which Howe supposed was an alarm to the inhabitants" of the surrounding towns to come in to storm Boston.*"^ On March 13 Washington wrote to Ward that he wished to consult with him, Thomas, and Spencer "upon many mat- ters," and as he did "not think it prudent at this time" that they "should be so far as Cambridge" from their posts, he would come over to Roxbury to meet them/'^ At this council, held in Ward's headquarters the same morning and attended also by Putnam, Heath, Sullivan, Greene, and Gates, it was decided to fortify Nook Hill "at all events" if the English army should not remove on the mor- row; and also to dispatch five regiments and the rifle battalion to New York because of the probability that Howe would make that town his next point of attack. On Saturday night (March 16) the Nook Hill resolution was successfully put into effect and the American officers felt confident that the new array of cannon thus planted at point- blank range would compel Howe's immediate removal. Fortunately for the English commander and his forces — and for the town of Boston — it was not necessary to demon- strate its effectiveness. Howe had completed his arrange- ments. His ships were loaded to their capacity and he had on Saturday morning (7:30 A.M. and later) issued orders for the final embarkation — "the whole Garrison to be under Arms at 4 O'Clock" Sunday morning "to be in readiness to embark when ordered. ""^^ During the night some of the English cannon not taken on board barked noisily at the Americans laboring on Nook ""Edmund Qiiincy to John Hancock, March 25, 1776, Massachusclls Hisloncal Society Proceedings, IV, 27—28. "'Washington (by Moylan) to Ward, March 13, 1776. — Original in the possession (1921) of Ward Dix Kerlin, Camden, N. J. "' Numerous histories aver that it was the fortification of Nook Hill on the night of March 16 that decided Howe to leave Boston early in the morning of March 17. He had, though, as noted above, given his orders for the abandonment of the town a number of hours before the detachment of the party which planted the Nook Hill batteries. 777^] THE EVACUATION OF BOSTON 213 Hill, but they were chiefly old iron guns destined to be spiked, and their seeming ferocity was only a temporary precaution, for by daybreak the abandonment of the capital was well on toward fulfilment — a fleet of boats carrying redcoats and tories out to the waiting vessels. All the early hours of that memorable Sunday morning the final scenes of the evacuation continued without interruption, and about nine o'clock the last boats shoved off from the wharves. Quickly thereafter*^^ Ward entered the town over Boston Neck, riding at the head of five hundred troops under the immediate command of Colonel Learned. At about the same time a detachment of Putnam's men debarked on the west side of the peninsula. The capital of Massachusetts after eleven months' siege thus returned to the control and possession of the provincial patriots. A strangely silent town, though, it appeared to its armed redeemers tramping through its narrow streets. "The enemy had, very properly, forbid the inhabitants to leave their houses during the embarkation, and from this cause or their ignor- ance of his movements, or the timidity produced by their long residence with him, and the fear of reproach from their coun- trymen, the houses . . . continued shut up, and the town presented a frightful solitude in the bosom of a numer- ous population."®^ After a short stay in the delivered capital Ward returned to his headquarters in Roxbury, Putnam being installed in command of the town. A few days later he was succeeded by Greene. Washington did not yet feel sure that the English were "^ "It was almost ii o'clock before the Gates were opened": Jedediah Huntington to Captain Joshua Huntington, March 17, 1776. — Original letter, General Jedediah Hun- tington Letters, Connecticut Historical Society. "Our men . . . about noon . . . took possession of Boston": Reverend David Avery, March 17, 1776 (one of two entries, In different volumes, of that date). — Original diary, Connecticut Historical Society. ^ James Wilkinson, Memoirs of My Oivn Times, I, 33. 2 14 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 48 reconciled to a submissive bloodless abandonment of Boston. The enemy's ships remained in the harbor and gave him "a strong violent presumption" that something was "meditat- ing" and made him "extremely apprehensive" that General Howe had "some scheme in view & designs of taking advan- tage of the hurry, bustle and confusion among our troops which he may immagine his departure to have occasioned." ^^ Again, on March 21, he wrote to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, "For my own part, I cannot but suspect they are waiting for some opportunity to give us a stroke at a moment when they conceive us to be off our guard, in order to retrieve the honor they have lost."*''^ Washington's disquiet was very generally shared. "The enemy have not yet come under sail," wrote Abigail Adams, on Sunday noon, March 17. "I cannot help suspecting some design, which we do not yet comprehend. To what quarter of the world they are bound is wholly unknown; but 'tis gener- ally thought to New York, . . . From Penn's Hill we have a view of the largest fleet ever seen in America. You may count upwards of a hundred and seventy sail. They look like a forest." '^^ The delay concealed no plan of retaliation. The English continued In the roads because some of their ships needed re- pairing. But the Americans did not know this, and on March 25 Washington wrote to Joseph Reed that he was "under more apprehension from them now than ever," and that they might be awaiting the dispersal of the militia at the end of the month as a favorable opportunity "to make a push . . . upon the back of our lines at Roxbury."*^^ None of these things happened, and on March 27 the greater part of the fleet set sail for Halifax. The first chapter of the Revolution thus came to a victor- "^ March 17, 1776, to Ward. — Original letter (by Harrison) in possession (1921) of Francis D. Fisher. ^ Ford, Writings of fFashitigton, III, 485-486. "' Familiar Lcllcrs of John Adams and his Wife, 142. ^^ Ford, Writings of Washington, III, 494. ijj6'\ THE EVACUATION OF BOSTON 215 ious climax, England's plans for the subjugation of Massa- chusetts had utterly failed. The rebellious province had shaken itself free. But what if Washington had had his way, instead of Ward? A boat attack, or a musket assault across the ice, on a town "almost impregnable — every avenue fortified." Quebec on a larger scale ! Suppose the Americans had lost, as at Que- bec? Then — a broken army, accomplishing a miracle if it could even hold the enemy within the town. A great moral loss also, which might have obliterated the effect of Bunker Hill. Instead — the enemy driven out of the province, and the American forces, strength unimpaired, free to march to New York. The evacuation gave great impetus to the theory of inde- pendence. It bred converts even in the middle colonies, where - — eleven months after Lexington and Concord, and nine months after Bunker Hill — the word "Independence," so fraught with decisive finality, was still horrifying to many minds — was still to them much too closely allied with the ogres of treason and rebellion. CHAPTER XII March i8, lyyd-March 20, lyy/ : Age 48-4g Ward assumes the continental command in Boston. Because of ill health, he tenders his resignation. The Continental Congress accepts his resignation, but both Washington and the Congress request him to remain in command. He continues until relieved by Heath on March 20, 1777. GENERAL WARD'S health had declined to a some- what alarming extent during the first months of 1776.^ He had made no complaint while the outcome of the siege of Boston remained In doubt, but after the successful occupation of Dorchester Heights he felt compelled to retire from army life. Dorchester Heights had shifted the principal site of the struggle. The next step was to be a fight to hold New York against the enemy, and he was physically unequal to the responsibilities of his position In a province and under conditions alike unfamiliar to him. He waited until the enemy had evacuated the capital and then he wrote to Washington tendering his resignation, for "to eat the Continental bread & not do the duty Is what I am much averse to."^ He accompanied his letter to the commander-in-chief by one in similar strain to Hancock as President of the Conti- nental Congress.^ On Washington's comments on Ward's resignation rest the ^ "Genl Ward's health being so precarious." — Joseph Ward to John Adams, March 14, 1776, Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, XIV, 282. "March 22, 1776. — Original letter, Library of Congress. ' American Archives, 4th, V, 467. 216 777^] IN THE EASTERN DEPARTMENT 217 conventional stories of the ill feeling between the two men.'* ^WASHINGTON'S COMMENTS ON WARD'S RESIGNATION. To Joseph Reed, April l, 1776: "Nothing of importance has occurred in these parts, since my last, unless it be the resignations of Generals Ward and Fry, and the re- assumption of the former, or retraction, on account as he says, of its being disagreeable to some of the officers. Who those officers are, I have not heard. I have not inquired. When the application to Congress and notice of it to me came to hand, I was disarmed of interposition, because it was put upon the footing of duty or conscience, the General being persuaded that his health would not allow him to take that share of duty that his office required. The officers to whom the resignation is disagreeable, have been able, no doubt, to convince him of his mistake, and that his health will admit him to be alert and active. I shall leave him till he can determine yea or nay, to command in this quarter." — Reed, Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed, I, 179. To Charles Lee, May 9, 1776: "General Ward, upon the evacuation of Boston, and finding that there was a probability of his removing from the smoke of his own chimney, applied to me, and wrote to Congress for leave to resign. A few days afterward, some of the officers, as he says, getting uneasy at the prospect of his leaving them, he applied for his letter of resignation, which had been committed to my care ; but, behold ! it had been carefully forwarded to Congress, and as I have since learnt, judged so reasonable (want of health being the plea) that it was instantly complied with." [This statement is inaccurate, for the letter of resignation referred to — that of March 22 — was never accepted by Congress. It was not until Ward repeated his request for permission to retire tliat Congress, a month later, took action.] — Lee Papers, II, 13—14. WARD CONFRONTED WASHINGTON WITH ONE OF THE ABOVE LET- TERS? Following are the two chief forms of the story (unauthenticated — and, as it applies to Ward, entirely uncharacteristic — hut nevertheless persistently handed down by tradition) that Ward confronted Washington with a letter in which the Virginian had aspersed him: perhaps one of the two quoted above; perhaps a third which I have not come upon. "It is well known that Washington spoke of the resignation of General Ward, after the evacuation of Boston, in a manner approaching contempt. His observations, then confidentially made, about some of the other generals, were not calculated to flatter their amour propre or that of their descendants. It is said that General Ward, learning long afterwards of the remark that had been applied to him, accompanied by a friend, waited on his old chief at New York, and asked him if it was true that he had used such language. The President replied that he did not know, but that he kept copies of his letters, and would take an early opportunity of examining them. Accordingly, at the next session of Congress (of which General Ward was a member), he again called with his friend, and was informed by the President that he had really written as alleged. Ward then said 'Sir, you are no gentleman,' and turning on his heel quitted the room." — S. A. Drake, Historic Fields and Mansions of Middlesex, 260 (also, same page num- ber, in the same work later published as Old Landmarks and Historic Fields of Middle- sex and Historic Mansions and Highiuays around Boston). "Of his [Ward's] bravery there is no question, although Washington accused him of cowardice in leaving the service before Boston. Benjamin Stone, the first preceptor of Leicester Academy, gave me the following account of Ward's misunderstanding with Washington. Soon after the establishment of the Government at New York, Ward, then a member of Congress, came into possession of a letter written by Washington, in which the offensive charge was made. He immediately proceeded to the President's house, placed the paper before him, and asked him if he was the author of it. Wash- ington looked at the letter and made no reply. Ward said, 'I should think that the man who was base enough to write that, would be base enough to deny it,' and abruptly took his leave." [As a tiiinor correction, note that Congress sat in Philadelphia during both of Ward's terms.] — Reminiscences of the Reverend George Allen of Worcester, 42. A LEGEND OF WASHINGTON'S DESIRE TO MAKE AMENDS. The Massachusetts Historical Society possesses a letter from C. Gore to General 2i8 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 48 Washington was apparently glad to receive Ward's resig- nation as first major-general — its acceptance by the Conti- nental Congress would leave only Washington himself as superior in rank to Charles Lee — but he requested him (March 29) to take the command in Boston and, following, the general continental command in Massachusetts after the main army's departure for New York. High and peculiar responsibility would attach to the post, but it did not involve the rigors of a marching campaign, and Ward accepted the charge until some other general could be spared to take it over — continuing to place the public service above all personal consideration. It will be noted that neither Washington nor Ward per- mitted his personal sentiments to affect his sense of duty. Washington did not hesitate to ask, nor Ward to give. Regiment after regiment from the American camps around Boston was now marching toward New York, and on April 4 Washington himself set out. On the same day Ward formally assumed the command in Massachusetts of both the land forces and the heterogene- ous little fleet in the continental pay. The fleet consisted of a few armed schooners, armed whale- boats, and floating batteries, etc. It had no vessels capable of coping with the larger British warships, but its schooners — both alone and in cooperation with privateers — were efl'icient in cutting out enemy supply ships — and, occasionally, trans- ports also. The New England fishermen— their customary livelihood wiped out by war — took with increasing zest to the occupa- Ward's son, Judge Artemas Ward, dated January 22, 18 19. It gives a conversation with Samuel Dexter as authority for the statement that Washington, on his retirement from public life, wrote to Ward denying that he had written "a letter published in the early part of the Revolutionary war, which contained Remarks injurious to the Reputation of General Ward," and expressing "in unequivocal Terms, the highest Regard for the character and Conduct of General Ward, in all the Departments of public Duty in which he had »cted." — Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, XII, 125. I have found neither contradiction nor affirmation of such a letter from Washington. It will be noted that Gore's letter gives a much earlier date for the disclosure of the contents of the Washington letter than do the traditional accounts. 777^] IN THE EASTERN DEPARTMENT 219 tion of privateering. Once essayed — and a prize or two se- cured — they found its hazards and irregularities much more to their taste than the regulations of army life.^ The land forces remaining for the protection of the harbor consisted of only four very lean regiments. Two were sta- tioned in Boston, one on the Charlestown peninsula, and one on Dorchester Neck. A fifth regiment had been left behind by Washington, but this also was weak in numbers — it had fewer than 300 men fit for duty — and was posted at Beverly to guard the prize vessels and their cargoes. Furthermore, southward with Washington had gone the bulk of military stores of every description, and practically all available teams. And the scant military stores that had been left behind lay scattered from Medford to Dorchester. It was thus with but the ill-equipped remnants of an army, garrisoned in a pest-ridden town, that Ward assumed the dan- gerous responsibility of holding the main seaport of New England against the possible return of the enemy's fleet. It was to be supposed that the English commanders would welcome an opportunity to efface the humiliation of having surrendered Boston — and several English ships, including one of fifty guns, remained in the vicinity of Nantasket in the lower harbor. Admiral Shuldham had stationed them there to warn incoming English vessels, but no one in the American councils could divine their orders, nor whether or not they ° In succeeding years, the rich possibilities of a lucky cruise constituted a fruitful cause of desertion from the army. On June 9, 1779, Paul Revere complains to the Council that several of his men "have deserted, and gone in Privateers, and are now upon a Cruise, that one of them has sent in a Valuable Prize. That your [word omitted] has forbid the Agent paying any part of their share to them or Order. He therefore prays that the Honorable Court would take the matter into consideration, and pass such an Act as will hinder them from recovering their Wages or Prize Money. That they may have no inducement to Desert." — Goss, Paul Revere, H, 325. Only four days later. Colonel Shepard wrote: "Desertions have become so frequent as to be really alarming, and threatens the Ruin of the Brigade . . . about Forty Men have deserted from it within a few Months ; eight of whom went off last Night from one Regiment. . . . The Men seem to be chiefly induced to desertion by the Pros- pect of Gain in the Business of Privateering, and I have great Reason to think that, if they are not encouraged to desert by Commanders of Vessels, they are at least secreted by some of them after shipping themselves for a Voyage." — Original letter, Massachusetts Archives, CCI, 1 13. 220 ARTEMAS WARD [^^€48 would be, or expected to be, reinforced. If the English had returned, the American forces would have been hard put to it to prevent their retaking the town. Both military and civilian authorities realized the danger, and Washington refers to it in several letters.*^ The streets of Boston still presented a desolate appear- ance. The anniversary of Lexington and Concord came around and passed; yet, except for the men engaged on the defenses, there seemed scant life in the once busy little capital. The shutters continued up on most of the shops. Open to attack by the enemy, and infected with smallpox, the town offered few inducements for the return of its former inhabi- tants.'^ The conditions to be faced were enough to discourage the strongest. For a sick man, they constituted a cruel burden. Ward's disorder had taken a strong hold on him, but no one of sufficient experience and ability was available to relieve him and he manfully stood it out, although, as he later re- marked, he had "everything to do & nothing to do with."^ There was truly "everything to do." The forts raised by the English army in Boston had been designed against an enemy attacking from the mainland. The protection that Boston needed now was chiefly of forts to defend her from an enemy coming in by the sea. Ward immediately set about preparations for defense. His Order Book shows the close attention he gave the work and his earnest efforts to recover order and safety, meantime in patriotic terms exhorting both officers and men to their highest efforts. He made the most of his small command and by May 4 he could report that "the Forts on Fort Hill "April 29, 1776, to Ward, American Archives, 4th, V, 1 1 24, etc. '"The town yet looks melancholy; but few of the inhabitants being removed back into it, occasioned by its not being sufficiently fortified and garrisoned against any further attempt of the enemy, to which it now lies much exposed. The shops in general remain shut up." — April 19, 1776, Diary of Ezekiel Price, Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, VII, 272. * To the Continental Congress, September 20, 1776. — Copy in Artemas Ward MSS. 777^] IN THE EASTERN DEPARTMENT 221 in Boston, Charlestown Point, and Castle Point, are almost compleated, with a number of heavy cannon mounted in each; a work is in good forwardness on Noddles Island, and a De- tachment of the Army is at work at Castle Island repairing the Batteries there." ^ There were many rumors of British armadas on their way to devour the province. One, apparently well confirmed, was brought by a captain arriving from Europe on May 2.^" It told of the coming of a "fleet of 60 sail of transports" with instructions, if peace could not be arranged, "to risque every thing to Penetrate into the country," and, failing in this, "to burn and Destroy all in their power." Ward urged his men to still greater efforts. He set aside every detail of garrison duty that consumed the time of an able-bodied man and put his entire force — officers and pri- vates alike — to work on the defenses. ^^ Sundays and week- days the work went on unceasingly. Following closely after the report of a fleet from England, was another that the fleet and troops from Halifax were to return "and that they intended to land their Troops below and march to Boston by land while the Men of War made an attack by Water." This news came from a man "who ap- pears to be an honest American" and who had got it from an officer of the big English warship still in the lower harbor. "The same account was given by another man who made his escape from the same Man of War the night before last."^- ° To Washington, American Archives, 4th, V, 1194. "Captain John Lee, arriving at Newbury, May 2, 1776. — Original letter, Richard Derby, Jr., to Ward, Artemas Ward MSS. ^'^ Ward's Order Booh, May 3, 1776 — "every officer, non-commissioned officer and private oflf duty is to turn out to fatigue until further orders." ^" Ward to James Warren, May 6, 1776. — Original letter, Massachusetts Archives, CXCIV, 376. Following is the Ezekiel Price diary entry of the incident, crediting the information to a deserter: "Monday May 6,- — Went to Boston. Examined papers at the custom-house. Reports of the day, — that a deserter came from the man-of-war below, who says that it was the talk among the officers of the ship that the troops and navy which fled from Boston were ordered back to Boston." — Alassachiisetts Historical Society Proceedings, VII, 254. 222 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 48 Both the threats proved to be phantoms — the new enemy fleet came not, and the old enemy fleet remained at its Hali- fax moorings for another month — and then sailed direct for New York; but the danger was real and called for constant vigilance. Not only Boston felt the menace of the English fleets. The inhabitants of other coast positions also earnestly solicited Ward for ordnance and ammunition to protect themselves against British attacks. Busy pens and busy tongues endeavored to widen the estrangement between Ward and Washington. More work had, probably, never been done in the same space of time by so comparatively small a force than on Boston's defenses dur- ing that April of 1776, yet there were found people to com- plain because a few hundred men had not been able to throw up fortifications as fast as six or seven thousand had done when the entire American arm.y was encamped around the city ! Their stories inspired Washington to write to Ward, April 29, complaining that he heard that defense works "go on ex- ceedingly slow." His informants were prejudiced, for on May 13 Washington characterized as "very agreeable" Ward's account (May 4) of what had actually been accomplished. Again, May 2, Washington had written that he had "heard that the regiments stationed on Dorchester Heights and Bun- ker Hill are not employed in carrying on the works for the defence of Boston"; which Ward indignantly denied (May 9) — and requested the name of the author of the statement. We find a much more conciliatory communication from Washing- ton on May 16.^^ The Continental Congress had not acted on Ward's resig- nation, so he wrote again on April 12. He referred to his first letter, which had asked permission to give up his com- mand because of his poor health, and continued: "I must re- " The six letters of this correspondence are in American Archi-vcs, 4th, V, 1124; VI, 436; V, 1194, 1174; VI, 401, 478. 777^] IN THE EASTERN DEPARTMENT 223 new my request for the same reason. I cannot be content to continue in office when I am conscious I am not able to do the duties."^'* Congress heeded this second request and on April 23 ac- cepted his resignation. Hancock, as President, notified Ward in a very cordial letter, declaring that "The Motives which first induced the Congress to appoint you a Major-general in the Continental Service would naturally make them regret your retiring from the Army. But when it is considered that in the course of your duty in that high rank you have acquitted yourself with Honor and Reputation, I am persuaded, the Reluctance they feel at your retiring is much increased," ^^ Hancock's letter reached Ward on May 4 and he imme- diately wrote to Washington, saying that "The sooner I am relieved the more agreeable it will be to me, as my health has declined much this Spring." ^^ The acceptance of his resignation availed Ward nothing, however. No competent general officer could be spared to take his place, and Washington perforce requested him, de- spite his sufferings and general ill-health, to continue in command. The end of May marked a noteworthy advancement of the harbor defenses. A new provincial regiment (Whit- ney's) and Crafts' artillery battalion, together with local volunteers and detachments from nearby towns, had added their labor to such good result that on June 8 Ward felt justi- fied in announcing a Sunday of general rest, "and that the officers lead their men without arms or musick to places of public worship." ^^ Of the routine difficulties of Ward's position, the most ^''American Archives, 4th, V, 872. ^^ Ibid., 1048, dated April 24. The original letter, owned by the Massachusetts His- torical Society, is dated April 26. ^'■Ibid., 1 194. " Ward's Order Book. 224 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 48 vexing was the low state of the continental treasury. Numer- ous letters show the difficulty of obtaining money, both for the troops and for the crews of the continental privateers.^* In pleasurable contrast was the consideration of the prizes made by the privateers. Several were brought in during May and June despite the waiting English ships. The choicest of the prizes was, May 17, that of the Hope from Cork, captured by the schooner Franklin, James Mug- ford, Master, with a cargo of gunpowder and other military stores. Despite increasing domestic production, gunpowder was still a scarce article in the American army and such a cargo was worth its weight in gold. Five hundred barrels were quickly on their way to Norwich, Conn., to be for- warded to Washington at New York, together with two tons of musket balls, five hundred carbines, a thousand spades, etc. Three days later Ward had to write of Mugford's death in a desperate fight with the enemy. "He was run through with a lance while he was cutting off the hands of the Pirates as they were attempting to board" his ship, "and it is said that with his own hands he cut off five pair of theirs." ^^ The English were beaten off; several of their boats were sunk, and a number of their men killed. In a later dispatch Ward gives high credit to the crew, only seven in all, of the little Lady Washington which came to Mugford's aid. "She was attacked by five boats which were supposed to contain near or quite an hundred men, but after repeated efforts to board her they were beaten off by the in- trepidity and exertions of the little Company who gloriously '^ Oil April I I Ward wrote to Washineloii for instructions concerning the pay of the men on board the continental privateers.- — Original letter, Library of Congress. Washing- ton replied, April i8, that their wages ought to be paid out of the sales of the prizes taken, which should give "cash . . . much more than sufficient to answer the demands upon them." — American Archives, 4th, V, 977—978. This decision was reported to Captain Bartlett, agent for the privateers at Beverly, but he retorted, April 26, that though he was "well satisfied that there will be a Sufficiency when the Prizes are Sold, that does not Satisfy the Hungry belly at Present." — Original letter, Artemas Ward MSS. "To Washington, Mty 20, 1776, American Archi'ves, 4th, VI, 532. 777^] IN THE EASTERN DEPARTMENT 225 defended the Lady against the brutal Ravlshers of Lib- erty." ^o On May 30 Ward was again elected to the Council, but the General Court continued to sit at Watertown through the summer and the greater part of the following autumn, and he seldom found it possible to attend the Board there. In June the town and harbor forces were strengthened by the gradual filling up both of Whitney's provincial regiment, already referred to, and a second provincial regiment (Mar- shall's), the raising of which had been authorized early In May. These troops, enlisted to December i, did not come within Ward's command. As provincial regiments on a provincial establishment, they served under the direction of the General Court committee of fortification until August 2 when by Council appointment, Benjamin Lincoln became their general officer. (The committee of fortification had the supervision of the work on the harbor defenses whether done under the continental or provincial command.) The English ships lying in the channels remained, though, a prolific source of anxiety — adding to the general uneasiness which their presence excited, the direct annoyance that they rendered very risky both the Ingress and egress of American coasters. A sudden attack was planned to drive them away. It was completely successful. A detachment of five hun- dred men, under Colonel Asa Whitcomb, duplicated on a small scale the methods of Breed's Hill and Dorchester Heights. An evening trip to Long Island, June 13, landing at about 1 1 P.M. ; a busy night. Intrenching and mounting their cannon and a solitary 13-inch mortar; then, in the early morn- ing of June 14, an abrupt cannonading of the startled enemy. The attack was so unexpected that the Englishmen, with- out waiting to investigate the strength of their assailants, slipped their cables and quitted the harbor with all possible ™ May 27, 1776, to Washington, /American Archi'ves, 4th, VI, 602. 226 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 48 speed; the provincial regiments posted on Pettick's (Ped- dock's) Island and Nantasket Head (Hull) giving them a few parting shots as they passed out. Opposite is a facsimile of Colonel Whitcomb's report to Ward. After the departure of the English ships many in Boston experienced an unwonted feeling of security, and the town be- gan to display some of its old-time activity. The shops opened, and there was much bustle along the docks. June was marked also by the American privateers' success in capturing several transports with Scotch Highlanders sail- ing to reinforce Howe : one transport was taken on the night of the seventh, two on the sixteenth, and one on the eighteenth. "Great numbers of spectators were in the streets" when Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell and the other officers of the second capture "passed up King Street, in their way to Gen- eral Ward's." ^^ It was a grateful sight to Boston eyes, a most welcome manifestation both of the activity of Massa- chusetts' sailors, and of Massachusetts' full possession of Boston harbor. The week of the twenty-second raised hopes of a still big- ger haul, for several privateer captains sent word that they had sighted eleven transports convoyed by a frigate. Ward improvised a squadron of the privateers in the har- bor and at nearby points. It was not large enough to attempt an ocean capture of so many sail, but he laid plans to make reasonably sure of the taking of the entire fleet if it should enter the roads. "Diary of Ezekiel Price, June 17, 1776, Massachusetts Historical Society Proceedings, VII, 258. A little less than a year later, Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell was exchanged for Ethan Allen, who had been taken prisoner by the English in September, 1775. The exchange, as also that of other prisoners, was effected by correspondence between General Ward and the English Major-General Eyre Massey. — Massey to Howe, January 12, 1778, Report on American Manuscripts In the Royal Institution of Great Britain, I, 178. Ward and Massey had thus as opposing generals renewed an acquaintance formed when they had together fought the French at Ticonderoga in 1758: Massey as a major of the British regulars, and Ward as lieutenant-colonel in the provincial forces. ■y^'^^V ^^^V'Wc/ ^-<^<'/^4.^, ^n/7Tr7^E .^1 1786] SHAYS' REBELLION 283 accompanied by the other justices of the Common Pleas, a number of the justices of the Sessions, the clerk, the sheriff, court attendants, and members of the bar. Court-house Hill was thronged with men. On the out- skirts of the crowd stood a sentry, and he challenged the judges as they approached. Ward sharply ordered him to "present arms"; and the man, formerly a subaltern in Ward's own regiment, instinctively obeyed, saluted, and stepped aside to let his old commander pass. With the first honors thus readily won. Ward and the other members of his party re- sumed their progress, and the insurgents, following the ex- ample of the sentry, fell back to left and right and let them through. A curious repetition of that other walk through the ranks of armed men to the same court-house, staged in that same month twelve years before, when Ward, setting himself in opposition to his associates on the bench, had become marked as a leader of the people in the dangerous road to rebellion. Now, as Chief Justice, surrounded by a riotous mob of armed men, he as undauntedly faced them In opposition to their revolt against the authority of the state which he and they together had helped to erect. The judges reached the court-house, but at Its doors they were brought to a sudden stop by a row of men with fixed bayonets. Dr. William J. Delahanty (whose office was across the street), and in the spring of the following year it was again moved — though this time only a few feet — to make room for a brick apartment house, The Trumbull, No. 5 Trumbull Square. In 1899 its owners were about to demolish it in order to use its site for the construc- tion of another apartment house, No. 15 Trumbull Square, adjoining The Trumbull, but Miss Susan Trumbull came to the rescue, purchased it, and with infinite care supervised its taking down and rebuilding, restoring it to dignity as a residence again on its present site at No. 6 Massachusetts Avenue, near the home of the American Antiquarian Society. In tliis restoration, the style and dimensions of the original building were carefully followed, and the old material utilized where possible. The only modifications in exterior appearance are the added porches, side terrace, and rear extension. One cannot speak with the same certainty of the interior divisions because of the many changes that the building, h^s undergone — from court-house to mansion, from mansion to tenement, and back again to mansion, but the court-room (about 31 feet by 18 feet 8 inches), occupy- ing the entire southerly side of the second floor, is said to be an exact reproduction of the days of Shays' Rebellion, and its doors, mantels, and most of the wainscoting are from the original structure. 284 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 58 Ward sternly asked "who commanded the people there; by what authority, and for what purpose, they had met in hostile array?" "[Captain] Wheeler at length replied. After disclaiming the rank of leader, he stated, that they had come to relieve the distresses of the country, by preventing the sittings of courts until they could obtain redress of grievances." Ward answered "that he would satisfy them their com- plaints were without just foundation." He demanded that they "take away their bayonets and give him some position where he could be heard by his fellow citizens, and not by the leaders alone who had deceived and deluded them. . . ." "The insurgent officers, fearful of the effect of his deter- mined manner on the minds of their followers, interrupted. They did not come there, they said, to listen to long speeches, but to resist oppression: they had the power to compel sub- mission: and they demanded, an adjournment without day."^^ Ward peremptorily refused to reply to any proposition thus delivered. They then told him to "fall back." "The drum was beat, and the guard ordered to charge. The soldiers advanced, until the points of their bayonets pressed hard upon his breast," penetrating his robe, but he "stood as immoveable as a statue, without stirring a limb, or yielding an inch."^^ He told the men that he did not fear their bayonets, that "he was in the way of his duty" and that he was determined to do it: they might plunge their bayonets into his heart; that when opposed to his duty his life was of little consequence.^^ His intrepidity prevailed. The men lowered their bay- onets; and Ward turned and addressed the insurgent crowd. Then happened a strange thing — a minor miracle! Ward's public career had brought him many distinctions. ^'^ Lincoln, History of TForcestcr, Mass., First edition, 135-136; 1862 edition, 119. ^^ Ibid., First edition, 136; 1862 edition, 119. ^* Massachusetts Gazette, September 8, 1786; Massachusetts Centiucl, September 9, 1786. iy862 SHAYS' REBELLION 285 He had commanded a regiment, and then an army; had pre- sided as judge and as Chief Justice; had headed the Council of Massachusetts, and served as Speaker of its House of Representatives — but he had never possessed the gift of ready speech. No orator he, but, on the contrary, incHned to stumble in public utterance. But now at this moment — when he saw the fruits of the long labors of a generation of Massachusetts patriots imper- iled by assaults within the temple — the gift which had been denied him as a young man and through his middle age came to him as he stood there, a man close upon his threescore years. In "clear and forcible argument" he pleaded the insurgents' own cause against themselves and opposed their attempts at political self-destruction. He "explained the dangerous ten- dency of their rash measures; admonished them that they were placing in peril the liberty acquired by the efforts and sufferings of years, plunging the country in civil war, and involving themselves and their families in misery; that the measures they had taken must defeat their own wishes; for the government would never yield that to force, which would be readily accorded to respectful representations; and warned them that the majesty of the laws, would be vindicated, and their resistance of its power avenged." ^^ For nearly two hours he spoke, frequently interrupted, but ready with retort and reply. Finally, turning to Captain Wheeler, he told him "that he had better take his men away; that they were waging war, which was treason; and that the consequence would be (here he made a short pause, and then added in a strong voice) the Gallows."^*'' ^"^ ^° Lincoln, History of Worcester, Mass., First edition, 136; 1862 edition, 1 19-120. ^"Massachusetts Centinel, September 9, 1786. '^ George Allen in his "Reminiscences" (Reminiscences of the Reverend George Allen of Worcester, 41—42) endeavored to rob Ward of the credit of his speech on the court- house steps September 5, 17S6. "General Ward of Shrewsbury," he wrote, "frequently visited my father. He had no command of language — was hesitating in his speech. The address to the insurgents in Worcester during Shays's Rebellion, which Lincoln prints in 286 ARTEMAS WARD l^^e 58 Ward made no further attempt to enter the court-house. Instead, as he ceased talking, he stepped down among the insurgents. One of their officers ordered the men to open ranks, and he walked slowly through, followed by the other members of his party, and made his way to the United States Arms tavern. ^^ Court was formally opened in the tavern, and messengers were dispatched calling upon the militia to come in for its protection. Adjournment was then taken until the following morning. The insurgents meantime continued their garrison of the court-house and patroled the town. The following day brought a large addition to their forces, but no aid or protection for the court. Instead of the militia- men, came word that their officers could not marshal them to oppose the insurgents: "for they were too generally in favor of the peoples measures." ^^ To attempt any further court procedure would have been futile. The Court of Common Pleas was adjourned sine die, all cases being continued to the next term ( December 5 ) . The Court of General Sessions was put over to November 21. The insurgents had won their point and prevented the county courts sitting to any effect, but Ward's firm stand for law and order, and his impassioned harangue on the court- house steps, shone as a beacon-light over the troubled seas. The little newspapers of those days all told the story. Its his History as having been made by Ward, is purely fictitious. He was incapable of such an efifort." Allen's contention is upset by the fact that Lincoln based his narration on a contem- porary account — written on the evening of the very day on which Ward made this, the longest speech of his life, and published in the newspapers of the period — Massachusetts Centinel, September 9 ; American Herald, September 1 1 ; Neiv York Packet, September 18; and others. " Also known as "Patch's Tavern." Then a new and pretentious establishment, and the resort of visitors of consequence. Later, under Colonel Sikes (famous as a stage-coach proprietor), it became the center of stage-coach travel to, from, and through Worcester. Its third story was added by Sikes in 18 13. In the generations that have passed since the days of Shays' Rebellion, it has seen numerous changes of ownership, and some in construction, and borne several different names, its last being that of the E.xchange Hotel. It still stands (1921), but uncouth and dilapidated, an eyesore to the neighborhood. ^^Massachusetts Archives, CXC, 233. lySdli SHAYS' REBELLION 287 moral strength persisted and fructified long after Shays had fled and the rebellion had subsided. It still lives as one of the finest traditions of the county. Next to sit in Worcester was the Supreme Judicial Court — the old Superior Court under a new title. The insurgents, ap- prehensive of the result of carrying their opposition too high, kept themselves well in hand and made no attempt to inter- fere with its proceedings. Nor, on their part, did the justices take cognizance of the obstruction of the county court four- teen days earlier. They did, however, affirm judgments against debtors in almost all the cases (more than 250) brought before them on appeal from the county court, and thus turned upon themselves the wrath that had been with- held. From Worcester the justices went to Springfield. Their ar- rival found excitement running high and the insurgents gath- ering to prevent their holding court — the temper of the peo- ple growing steadily more violent from anxiety concerning the court's action on appeals in civil cases and, among the more prominent insurgents, from perturbation lest they be indicted for the blocking of the lower courts, despite the pacific attitude of the justices at their Worcester session. ^° The court opened on September 26 under the protection of several hundred militiamen commanded by General Shepard, but insurgent officers mustered a large enough force to render judicial procedure impossible and the court was adjourned on its third day without any cases coming before it. All eyes were now turned on the legislature, which had convened in special session on September 27. The gravity of the political situation was undeniable, but there was much dif- ference of opinion in the House on the course to be adopted, '"^ Historians give only the second reason — the insurgent leaders' fear of indictment — as the cause of the forcible closing of the Supreme Judicial Court at Springfield. That was a lesser cause. Its chief aim was to prevent the issuance of further judgments and execu- tions, for — as the debtors of Worcester County had discovered — it was largely futile to close the Court of Common Pleas unless the Supreme Judicial Court also was blocked. To obstruct the Supreme Judicial Court with the sole intent of protecting insurgent leaders would have been a poorly considered aim, for they would still remain liable to arrest and imprisonment by the General Court. 288 ARTEMAS WARD [^i^e 58 and insurgent sympathizers were loath to cast their votes for punitive, or even suppressive, measures. Agreement was, nevertheless, finally reached on a number of acts designed both to strengthen the hands of authority and to alleviate some of the grievances complained of. For the first purpose, the General Court effected (October 28) a new law, with very severe penalties, ^^ against the as- sembling of armed persons, or of "riotous" or "tumultuous" assemblies whether armed or not; and (November 10) sus- pended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, at the same time empowering the governor and Council to bring about the arrest and Imprisonment without bail of any one whom they considered dangerous to the commonwealth. For the second purpose, it provided (November 8) for the payment of back taxes in kind; and a week later adopted a measure to lower the cost of many civil cases, passed a new Tender Act, and offered full pardon to those who should desist from illegal activities and take the oath of allegiance. It also (November 14) adopted an address to the people summarizing the state's indebtedness and explaining the ne- cessity of the taxes that had been laid. It demonstrated that some of the grievances complained of were unfounded and that the state officials were by no means overpaid; and it blamed the people for unnecessary extravagance — for wast- ing money on "gewgaws imported from Europe & the more pernicious produce of the West Indies" {i.e., rum, and molasses for conversion Into rum), and for Indulgence "In fantastical and expensive Fashions, and Intemperate living" — but it admitted that "the taxes have indeed been very great." Biblical comparisons, so familiar to the Massa- chusetts of those days, added vividness to the address. Meantime, the successes achieved in the closing of the ^ The full penalty decreed for offenders was that they should forfeit all "lands, tene- ments, goods and chattels" and should further "be whipped thirty-nine stripes on the naked back, at the public whipping-post, and suffer imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months nor less than six months ; and once every three months during the said imprisonment receive the same number of stripes on the naked back, at the public whip- ping-post as aforesaid." 1^86^ SHAYS' REBELLION 289 courts, and the government's hesitancy to take effective action, increased the boldness of the Insurgent leaders. While the General Court sat. Insurgent circulars went out (October 23) to the towns of Hampshire County, Instructing them to as- semble their men, to see that they were all "well armed and equipped with sixty rounds each man, and to be ready to turn out at a minute's warning." As the disorders spread they raised two widely differing classes of political extremists : among the propertyless, some who planned for the state's plunge Into the communism of land;^^ and among the well-to-do of Revolutionary patriots, some — shocked into reactionism by the sight of the country floundering in political quagmires — who hoped for a monarchy to set it again on its feet.^^ The Insurgent movement held the attention of the entire nation. It was feared that sinister forces were magnifying the grievances and playing upon the passions of the people. There were many who believed the disturbances In Massa- chusetts (and elsewhere In New England) were encouraged by English emissaries and tory agents, and feared that their growth might disrupt the republic before it was out of Its swaddling clothes. This dangerous possibility was felt in the breasts of those highest in the land. "What is the cause of all these commo- tions?" asked Washington in a letter to Colonel Humphreys. "Do they proceed from licentiousness, British Influence dis- seminated by the tories, or real grievances which admit of redress?" 2^ And Humphreys replied, "From all the information I have been able to obtain ... I should attribute them to all the three causes which you have suggested." ^^ °^ Knox to Washington, October 23, 1786. — Brooks, Henry Knox, 195; Drake, Henry Knox, 92. "' Minot, History of the Insurrections in Massachusetts, First edition, 62—63 ! Second edition, 61-62. ■* October 22, 1786. — Ford, Writings of Washington, XI, 77, note. ^''Marshall, Life of Washington, First American edition, V, 113— 114 (different page numbers in other editions). 290 ARTEMAS WARD [A^e 58-59 As the weeks passed, Washington's suspicions increased. He declared that he felt no doubt that Great Britain was "sowing the seeds of jealousy and discontent among the va- rious tribes of Indians on our frontiers" and that she would "improve every opportunity to foment the spirit of turbulence within the bowels of the United States," ^^ Ward held the same opinion, A few days after the closing of the Worcester Court of Common Pleas he had written to Governor Bowdoin his belief that the disturbances in Hamp- shire and Worcester did not originate in those counties but were "the effects of British emissaries . . . employed , . . to stimulate the unwary to acts of disorder & violence, [and] to poison the minds of others with unreasonable jealousies of their rulers — suggesting they are oppressed by them un- necessarily." "It is my opinion," he continued, "the plan is deeper laid than many are aware of. Why such care in a British Gov- ernor to strengthen the out Posts with such dispatch? Have we not great reason to suppose they are waiting for an op- portunity to take advantage of these States who are at this time as inattentive to their real interest as the beasts that perish, "2^ Some modern writers have minimized the dangers of the uprising, but that is to disregard or contradict the observa- tion and impressions of the best informed of the men who lived through the period. Worcester was on November 21 again occupied by in- surgents — coming from Princeton, Hubbardston, Shrewsbury, and other adjacent towns to prevent the adjourned sitting of the Court of General Sessions. As the government had made no move to back its legislation with force, they easily accomplished their purpose. The capital was, indeed, troubled by reports that the insur- ^" To Knox, December 26, 1786. — Ford, Writings of Washington, XI, 106. "Original letter, September 12, 1786, Charles Roberts Autograph Letter Collection of Ilaverfnrd College. 1786'] SHAYS' REBELLION 291 gents, growing In confidence and strength, planned a march eastward to stop the sitting of the Court of Common Pleas In Cambridge on November 28 — this to be followed by a demonstration in Boston and the coercion of the General Court itself. On the twenty-third an insurgent convention, held in Worcester, published an address calling upon the people to stand together and asserting their right to "examine, censure, and condemn the conduct of their rulers," adding that, as many of the rulers of Massachusetts had been "born to afflu- ence," and "perhaps the whole In easy circumstances," they were not "under advantages of feeling for the less wealthy." The address deprecated the closing of the courts as unwise policy, but this admonition was not taken seriously, for In the following week Insurgents from Hampshire and Worcester counties gathered to prevent the opening of the Court of Common Pleas at Worcester on December 5. Their first rendezvous was at Shrewsbury, and their head- quarters "in the large yard in front of the Baldwin Tavern directly opposite Judge Ward's house." ^^ Later, they cen- tered at other towns nearby. General Warner issued orders to the militia of his division to hold themselves in readiness to march to Worcester, but he found insurgent sympathy so wide-spread that he dis- patched an express to Bowdoin warning him that It might be impossible to muster enough loyal Worcester County militia to be effective, and that to ensure the protection of the court It would "be necessary to send on a formidable force from the Lower Counties and Perhaps some Pieces of Artillery, as I am credibly Informed the Insurgents have obtained some." 29 Bowdoin immediately gave Warner's message to the Coun- cil, but it voted against aiding him with militiamen from the ^^ Elizabeth Ward, Old Times in Shrewsbury, 185. It was in this house, before it became the Baldwin Tavern, that Ward had been brought up (as noted also on page 4). ^December I, 1786. — Original letter, Massachusetts Archives, CLXXXIX, 46. 292 ARTEMAS WARD l^^e sg eastern counties. The councilors feared to detach any men that might be needed for the defense of the capital. Bowdoin returned word to Warner that no reinforcements could be sent, but urged him — and also the sheriff of the county — to every means to prevent interference. On the same day (December 2) he wrote warning Ward that reports had been received In Boston that the insurgent chiefs had decided, "in consultation this or last week, that in case Government took up any of them, they would retaliate on the friends of Government — And that you & Judge Gill were agreed on."^*^ Overnight, the governor and Council decided against any attempt to meet the issue in Worcester. On the third (Sun- day) Bowdoin dispatched another express, countermanding Warner's orders and notifying the judges that the Council advised adjournment to January 23 if they should find them- selves unable to sit without molestation. That same evening a party of insurgents entered Worces- ter and took possession of the court-house, their ranks being strengthened during the night and the day following by the arrival of numerous reinforcements. A violent snowstorm set in Monday evening and raged all next day, but the insurgents continued to gather, numbering five or six hundred by the time appointed for the opening of the court. To have attempted to transact court business would have brought fresh indignities upon the judiciary, but Ward and Samuel Baker — the only two of the four judges who had ar- rived — went through the formality of opening court^^ and then adjourned it by proclamation^^ to January 23. ""Original letter (by John Avery, Jr.), Artemas Ward MSS. " As the United States Arms tavern was in the possession of the insurgents, court was this time opened in the Sun Tavern. The Sun, also known as "Mower's Tavern," had prior to the Revolution been the residence of the loyalist judge John Chandler. It was in 1818 replaced by a new building, known first as the Worcester Hotel, or Hovey's, and later as the United States Hotel. Its site (the southeast corner of Main and M^echanic streets) has for many years been covered by the Walker Building. " The original is among the Artcnias fFard MSS. 1786] SHAYS' REBELLION 293 The judges held the Council's advice to adjourn if oppo- sition was offered to their sitting, but they were able to avoid public acknowledgment of this new interruption of justice by having another reason for adjournment in the absence of the two judges who had been "providentially detained." Ward remained in Worcester Tuesday night, virtually a prisoner, for the insurgents placed a guard around the house where he was staying, but he was permitted to return to Shrewsbury the following day. Meantime, an insurgent council of war declared for a march on Boston to liberate insurgent prisoners as soon as a large enough force had collected. In anticipation of such a move, the governor and Council prepared for the defense of the capital — "guards were mounted at the prison, and at the entrances of the town; and all things seemed to carry the shew of a garrison." Outside the town, Major-General Brooks held "the Middlesex mili- tia contiguous to the road, in readiness for action." ^^ Wednesday morning the insurgents received additional re- inforcements and during the day paraded to meet Shays, who came in from Hampshire County with about 350 men. This was Shays' highest moment. His column of a full thousand men^^ made an imposing appearance marching through the streets. "The companies included many who had learned their tactics from Steuben, and served an apprenticeship of discipline in the ranks of the revolution : war worn veterans, who in a good cause, would have been invincible. The pine tuft supplied the place of plume in their hats. Shays, with his aid, mounted on white horses, led the van. They displayed into line before the Court House, where they were reviewed and inspected." The possession of the town was complete, and Shays took every precaution against surprise. "Chains of sentinels were '^ Minot, History of the Insurrections in Massachusetts, First edition, 88, 87; Second edition, 87, 86. Council Records, December 7, 1786. ^* JForccster Magazine, first week in December, 1 786, says "about 800," — but the next week's continuation of the account has it as 1000. 294 ARTEMAS WARD [^^^ 5P stretched along the streets; planted in every avenue of ap- proach, and on the neighboring hills, examining all who passed. "^^ Fortunately for Massachusetts the excessively severe weather made the roads so nearly impassable that the full insurgent strength could not gather. Short by many hundreds of their expected numbers and unable to bring in sufficient supplies over the snow-choked roads, the plan for a descent upon Boston faded to impossibility. Nor even could Shays subsist his men in Worcester except by levying on the in- habitants — which (to his credit be it told) he did not attempt — so on December 7 he marched a large detachment out of the town and two days later the remainder were temporarily disbanded. On December 14 Bowdoin wrote to Ward advising that the Council would meet on the twentieth, "when the means of effectually suppressing the insurgents will be taken into serious consideration," and asking his suggestions and advice. His letter in facsimile is on the page opposite. Ward, replying, estimated 1500 as the strength that the insurgents would be able to muster at Worcester for the next court sitting — that of the Court of Common Pleas, January 23 — and he strongly advocated the government's putting Into the field a "decided superiority" of numbers as "the most likely way to prevent the shedding of blood." He advised that a force double that of the insurgents be drawn from the "lower counties" — this would "serve as a stimulus to the militia in this county to turn out In support of Government," and would "convince the insurgents that they are not the people, as they affect to call themselves." ^^ On December 26 Shays' men closed the Springfield Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions. The news reached Boston the following Sunday, and coupled with it was word "Lincoln, History of Worcester, Mass., First edition, 146; 1862 edition, 127. ^"Bowdoin and Temple Papers, II, 118. — Massachusetts Historical Society Collections, 7th, VI. ^^ /C^.^f ^1 .:''<' '.,^ t^_ -^- :.,....;!.:. - -^ -^ From the original (7J-8 X 125-^) in the Artemai Ward ^1/SS. GOVERNOR BOWDOIN'S LETTER ASKING WARD'S ADVICE ON THE SUPPRESSION OF SHAYS' REBELLION IJ86-I78^^, SHAYS' REBELLION 295 that the insurgents were already preparing to prevent the sitting of the Worcester court. The Council was at last aroused to the necessity of effective action. On January 4, acting on Ward's advice, an army of 4400 men was ordered raised, and its command was entrusted to General Benjamin Lincoln. 3200 men were to form the army with which Lincoln was to march to Worcester to up- hold the court; 1200 were to rendezvous at Springfield. There was no money in the treasury to supply the troops, but a sufficient fund was quickly raised by loans from private citizens. On January 12 Ward wrote to Bowdoin telling of a con- ference of insurgent officers to be held at Rutland on January 16, and suggested an attempt "to cast the net over them."^''' Bowdoin passed the letter on to Lincoln, but the latter's prepa- rations were not sufficiently advanced to make the plan feasible. Lincoln and his troops reached Worcester on January 22 and were joined there by loyal militia units. They encoun- tered no opposition and the court sat uninterruptedly, for the insurgents had shifted their aim and were gathering their forces for an attempt on the continental arsenal at Spring- field, planning to strike for its capture before the main gov- ernment army could be thrown into the scale against them. The insurgents had suffered from the lack not only of com- petent leaders, but also of firearms and ammunition. Pos- session of the arsenal would greatly increase both their mili- tary strength and their political power. The court completed its labors on Thursday, January 25. On the same day. Shays attempted a descent on the arsenal. He was easily repulsed, but General Shepard was nevertheless much perturbed by the strength of the insurgent bodies en- camped around him. He feared for the safety both of the arsenal and of Springfield itself, and he sent expresses to ^''Worcester, Original Papers, III, 14, American Antiquarian Society. 296 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 59 Worcester calling for help. Lincoln immediately responded, throwing one regiment of foot and a small detachment of cavalry into the arsenal camp on the night of the twenty- sixth,^^ and following them next morning with his full command. Ward, meanwhile, returned to Shrewsbury and thence to Boston. The opening of the General Court had been scheduled for January 31 and Ward was present on that day, but it was February 3 before a quorum gathered. Governor Bowdoin's opening speech urged vigorous action to restore order. And both branches of the legislature promptly responded. "The plans for the session seem to have been prearranged by some guiding minds; for there was a concert of action between the two branches as well as with the Governor, un- known since the outbreak. To Bowdoin's patriotic address, urging a determined suppression of the rebellion, the Senate [February 4] replied by the hand of Samuel Adams, declar- ing a rebellion to exist, and promising to support him in all his measures to restore the supremacy of the law. The House immediately concurred."^® The very day that a state of rebellion was thus declared, the rebellion received its death blow. The insurgents had retreated as Lincoln advanced upon them after reaching Springfield, and soon after had come their dispersal — and the breaking of the backbone of the in- surrection — at Petersham on February 4, following Lincoln's famous pursuit in a forced march of thirty miles through a driving snow-storm. Small bodies of insurgents continued in arms for a while, essaying guerilla tactics, but they were for the most part of the element lawless by nature. Among the people gener- =' Lincoln to Washington, February 22, 1787, Sparks MSS., LVII, f. 10, Harvard College Library. '" Wells, Life of Samuel Adams, III, 236. 775/] SHAYS' REBELLION 297 ally, there was little appetite left for armed protest. "Shays' Rebellion" was no longer a menace to the Institutions of the commonwealth. The strength of the insurgency had, even at its height, rested much less in the half-armed forces which represented it on the march or in the field than in their background of a public sentiment aflame with anger at the legal pitfalls beset- ting scores of communities. And public sentiment, per- ceiving the futility of Insurrection, had withdrawn its sup- port. Hundreds of the men whom circumstances had swept from the well-traveled highway of political protest into the whirlpool of rebellion, were at heart fully loyal to both their state and the Confederacy, and they rejoiced when the re- bellion subsided and their feet were once again on solid ground — though they were perhaps not regretful of their sudden plunge if it should have opened the eyes of their fellows to the needs and grievances of so many of the people of the state. And very soon — so soon indeed that the embers of the in- surrection were barely cold — one sees dissolve the worst fea- tures of the economic and legal tangle which had imperiled the commonwealth. No great constitutional change took place, but several causes united to set its life currents coursing more healthfully. Judges held creditors to some degree in check; and creditors in general had been shocked Into a more careful consideration. Further, in the following November the General Court struck the shackles from propertyless debt- ors by a new law which permitted them to step out of the gloom of the jails Into the sunshine of freedom. The cred- itor could still pursue without restriction for any property that his debtor might have or might acquire, but he could no longer condemn him indefinitely to the dungeon. Then, too, commerce found new outlets — and regained some old ones — and, before long, prosperity, In at least toler- able measure, flowed again through the highways, helping to wipe out both old debts and old grievances. 298 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 59 In national affairs, also, the rebellion had served a purpose as a warning that could not be ignored by any thoughtful man. Despite their handicaps, the insurgents had shaken the government of one of the strongest states in the Con- federacy. And, as Washington testifies, there were "com- bustibles in every state, which a spark might set fire to.""**^ If a new and greater conflagration should break out, where could be found the power to quench the ^mes? There could be little reliance in a national government so weak that — even while recording its belief that its aid was necessary for the support of the government of Massachusetts in order to save the United States from "the calamities of a civil war" — it confessed itself afraid of the "perilous step" of arming its ex-soldiers had it not received assurances that "the money holders in the state of Massachusetts and the other states" would fill the loans to pay the soldiers' wages.^^ It was high time for an abatement of personal jealousies and grudges, of personal absorption in pursuit of gain, of state rivalries and selfishness. Time too for statesmen, hard set on political theories, to learn to bend or shape them to meet the needs of the nation. Old objections to a change in the form of national govern- ment had weakened under the pressure, and every state but Rhode Island was represented in the Constitutional Convention which on September 17, 1787, after four months' labor and debate, adopted the present Constitution of the United States and submitted it for ratification. Then followed a series of stirring — frequently bitter — fac- tional fights within the states. Victory was won by the advo- cates of the constitution, and the young republic thus took another and a firm step forward on the road to its future greatness. It accepted the strong national government of the "Federalists" instead of the League of States of which the "Anti-Federalists" were enamored. *" To Knox, December 26, 1786. — Ford, TFr'itings of TFashhigton, XI, 104. *^ Secret Journals of the Congress of the Confederation, Domcstick Affairs, October 21, 1786, I, 268-270 (1821). z/^;] SHAYS' REBELLION 299 There was much opposition in Massachusetts to the re- strictions and sacrifices of state sovereignty which the Con- stitution embodied — the Worcester County delegates voted forty-three for rejection and only seven for acceptance — but public opinion gradually veered toward it and Massachusetts became the stronghold of the "Federal" party. With that change of heart came Ward's vindication among his townsmen. It had been against an overwhelming major- ity that he had maintained his stand for the political integrity of the commonwealth, but in after years there were many who contritely asked his pardon for the abuse they had poured on him for refusing to join with them In revolt.^^ And the clemency extended to the insurgents, both leaders and rank and file, must have been satisfactory even to Thomas Jefferson, who had expressed hope that no severity would be exercised in punishment. Jefferson believed that an occasional spirit of revolt was beneficial — even if wrongly directed, it was better than none at all! "I like a little rebel- lion now and then," he declared. "It is like a storm In the atmosphere."''^ *^ Silvanus Billings petition, Henry Baldwin acknowledgment, etc. — Artcmas Ward MSS. "To Abigail Adams, February 22, 17S7. — Paul Leicester Ford, IFrlt'ings of Thomas Jefferson, IV, 370. CHAPTER XV 1 7 87-1 8 00: Age 59-72 After Shays' Rebellion to 1800. General Ward as a "Federalist" in the Second and Third United States Congresses. His political views. The break with Samuel Adams. His death. DURING the legislative year commencing May 30, 1787, Ward took no part in the Massachusetts government, but on June 4, 1788, he was elected one of the nine councilors provided by the new state constitution to advise and assist the governor. In December of the same year he was a candidate to rep- resent the Worcester district In the first United States con- gress under the new national constitution. He was handi- capped by the "Insurgent" vote — which was not yet fully reconciled to the part he had taken In opposing the Shays movement — and he ran third In a hotly contested election. The two leading contestants were Colonel Jonathan Grout and Timothy Paine. On the third vote Grout was elected.^ ^ Rice, The Worcester District in Congress, 4. — "Grout, although a lawyer, had sym- pathized with the insurgents, during the Shays Rebellion, and was known as a pro- nounced Antifederalist. Paine had been a tory of the mild stripe in the Revolution but had readily regained the favor of the community in which he lived by his cheerful acquiescence in the new order. He was a man of wealth and influence, and was sup- ported by the Federalists. "Three trials were necessary before a choice was effected. [On the first. Grout re- ceived a plurality.] On the second Paine received a plurality. . . . Artemas Ward appearing as a candidate of some strength, and drawing from both sides. [This is in- accurate, as the Ward vote was approximately the same on each ballot — and was a little higher on the first than on the second and third.] These failures prolonged the contest through the winter, with increasing excitement and ill feeling. The merits and demerits of the candidates were set forth with earnestness in the public print, and dis- cussed in private with acrimony. Paine was denounced as a tory, an aristocrat, and an enemy to the common people. The objections to Grout were, that in education and ability he was Paine's inferior, and that he had large property interests in Vermont and New Hampshire. A third attempt on the 2d of March, 1789, resulted in Grout's elec- tion by a small majority." 300 IJ87-I7gI^, AS A FEDERALIST 301 Time was, however, correcting the vision of the men of Shrewsbury and in the following spring (1789) they elected Ward as Moderator — the chief office of the township; and thereafter twice reelected him. It was in the fall of the same year that Washington as the first President of the United States visited New England: everywhere to be received with the highest respect and great- est acclaim. He arrived in Worcester on the morning of October 23, escorted into the town by a party of prominent citizens. He breakfasted at the United States Arms and then set out again on the road for Boston, passing Ward's house on his way; but Ward was not there to greet him, nor had he taken any part in the Worcester reception — so deep- seated and lasting had proved the estrangement of the two men. Ward spent the greater part of 1789 and 1790 in semi- retirement on his Shrewsbury farm, but in the fall of the latter year he was again a candidate to represent the Worces- ter district in the United States House of Representatives, and again the election was close and hotly contested. Grout ran for reelection, and the fight this time was be- tween him and Ward, a third candidate running well behind both. On the first vote (October 4) neither Ward nor Grout obtained the requisite number (1123) of votes: Ward re- ceiving 798 and Grout 800. In the second contest, Novem- ber 26, Ward made the goal, his vote running up to 1248, and Grout's reaching only 1081. Ward set out for Philadelphia in the following October (1791), traveling this time by stage coach instead of on horseback as eleven years earlier he had ridden to the same town to attend the Continental Congress. He arrived Oc- tober 22,^ two days before the opening of the first session of ^Philadelphia, October 22: " . . . Artemas Ward, Representative in Congress from Massachusetts, is arrived in this city. To that state and to this officer, American liberty is particularly indebted. In that gloomy year, viz 1775, when Boston was in the pos- 302 ARTEMAS WARD [J^e 63 the Second Congress. And he was equally punctual at the other three sessions of his two terms. The United States Congress then was a small assemblage compared with that of today. The total enrolment of Rep- resentatives in the Second Congress was only sixty-nine; and only thirty-eight were present when it was called to order. Ward aligned himself with the "Federalists" (or "Nation- alists," as they had better been called), who supported Wash- ington and Alexander Hamilton and John Adams in their stand for a strong central government exercising the fullest possible power that could be assumed under the Constitution; and many of whom inclined toward a social system akin to that of England. Of opposing views were the "Anti-Federal- ists" : those of states' rights and individualistic views, who ob- jected to the national government's reaching out for power and authority, and who looked askance at the almost regal ceremonials of Washington's administration. Sectionalism and variance of agrarian and commercial interests also pro- vided reasons for cleavage.^ Political parties did not in those first years attain strong cohesion, but the outstanding testimony of the recorded votes of the House of Representatives of the Second Con- gress is that New England, led by Massachusetts, supported Washington's administration in nearly every important vote, and that the South, led by Virginia, opposed it; that New session of a regular and well appointed British force, inimical to liberty, before the other colonies had fully taken the alarm, the sons of Massachusetts dared to assert their rights, and this gentleman was appointed by them to conduct their enterprises. To have men- tioned resistance in the field, would have been acknowledged a proof of temerity, in some parts, at the period to which we allude. But Ward and his followers thought and acted otherwise. Scantily supplied with arms and ammunition, they kept in awe the flower of the British troops. To him therefore and to them the praise of firmness and conduct are due — They gallantly began to effect that revolution, which was afterwards gloriously completed by confederated America, under the auspices of a Washington, to whom the patriotick Ward, in obedience to Congress, resigned the command of the army, and continued to act as first Major General." — Massachusetts Spy, November 3, 1791. " The issue which gave rise to the party names of "Federalist" and "Anti-Federalist" had been banished by the acceptance of the constitution, but the names continued with changed, and changing, significance as party labels. lygi] AS A FEDERALIST 303 England was generally Federal, and that the South was generally Anti-Federal.^ Ward had full confidence in the honesty and intelligence of the people and their ability to decide correctly on subjects familiar to them, but during the years of the Revolutionary War, and those succeeding it, he had witnessed so many in- stances of the populace acting upon subjects of which it had little understanding that he felt that the public weal was best served by a government with balance-wheels set beyond its direct control. As early as March 13, 1781, he had written to Samuel Osgood: "You say that which comports with the general sen- timents of the people is political justice. If you mean to have them first well informed I shall not differ much about the matter; but if you mean the general sentiment of the people made up without due consideration I must beg leave to dissent."^ Again, two years later (April 23, 1783), to Gen- eral Lincoln: "When I see the methods that are taken by some & the inattention of others, to their Rights and Priviledges, I am almost ready to say, that the choice of the first magistrate [i.e., the choice of the governor of the state] ought by no means, be committed to the People at large. I apprehend the inattention of the people is so great that there is danger of their being undone before they are aware of it."*^ Thus feeling and believing. Ward was a whole-souled Fed- eralist. He was proud to belong to the party whose strong constructive work is the most remarkable feature of the first years under the United States Constitution. The Federal policies were to him the true Nezv England Politics (that was his favorite way of referring to them), as Congregationalism ■' An interesting taliulation of a number of the votes of the first four United States congresses is given in Libby's "Political Factions in Washington's Administration," Quar- terly Journal of the University of North Dakota, III, 293— 3 iS. I cannot, though, agree with the deductions that Professor Libby draws. An important inaccuracy in the votes of the Third Congress, Table VI, is corrected on page 311, note 17, of this chapter. ° MS. draft in the possession (1921) of Ward Dix Kerlin, Camden, N. J. ' Original letter, Fogg Collection, Maine Historical Society. 304 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 63-64 was to him the New England Religion. As such he upheld them both in his adjurations to his sons/ Ward was an appointee on numerous military committees. Among them — only eight days after his first attendance — was one (November i, 1791) to prepare and bring in a bill for the establishment of a militia, and competent magazines, ar- senals, and fortifications.^ Faithful attention to duty marked him as in his younger days. On January 23, 1792, he notes, "I have had an ill turn for one day whereby I was prevented from attending my duty in Congress" ; but he proudly adds, "saving that, I have not been absent one hour."^ His body was, however, weaker than his. will, for the fol- lowing month (February 18) he was obliged to write that he had been prevented from attending his "duty in Congress about ten days by reason of Indisposition. I was first taken with the Gravel. As soon as I had got well of that difiiculty, I was taken with the Gout in my feet. Have been much ex- ercised with pain in them. They are now become quite easy but much swollen. I am not able to put on my shoes. I hope by the Blessing of a kind Providence in a few days to be able to attend Congress again."® Four days later (February 22) he wrote, "I am still de- tained from attending Congress on account of the gout. I '' To his youngest son, Henry Dana, then living in Orangeburgh, S. C, Ward wrote, February 25, 1795, "I wish to have you obtain the esteem of the people among whom you dwell ; but to obtain that, I would not have you renounce the New-England Politics nor Religion" ; and again on March 3 of the same year, "I hope you will endeavor to get the good will of the people among whom you reside, but in order to obtain that I hope you will not sacrifice your Political principles, nor your religion, as too many have done. A steady firm adherence to right principles is more likely to raise a man in the opinion of others than shifting & turning about like a wethercock with every breth of wind." The originals of both these letters are in the possession (1921) of Maria Whittelsey Norris, Grand Rapids, Mich. * The membership of the committee is not given in the generally consulted "Annals of Congress" (Gales and Seaton, Debates and Proceedings In the Congress of the United States, 1849), but it may be found in the first (1792) edition of the House Journal, the Gales and Seaton reprint of 1826, and (incorrectly dated October 31) in [John Agg's] History of Congress exhibiting a classification of the proceedings . . . the first term of the Administration of General Washington, 489. • To his son, Thomas Walter Ward. — Original letters, Artemas Ward MSS. ijgi-ijg2-\ AS A FEDERALIST 30S have but little pain, but my left foot, ankle & small of my leg is very much swollen. I can't get on my shoe, and the Streats are so damp & wet that It's not safe to go out unless I could wear my shoe. Hope in a short time to be able to attend my duty in Congress."^ One consolation he found In his sickness was that It af- forded him an excuse for not taking part in the celebration of Washington's birthday. "This day" (February 22), he wrote, "is the President's birthday & there Is a mighty fuss in this City on that account. Being unwell I am excused from taking any part therein, & that gives me no pain, but rather pleasure." Ward supported many Washington policies, but he never attained a personal liking for the Virginian. His Interest in the welfare of his constituents is ever pres- ent. He writes (in his letter of January 23, already quoted) , "there are matters before Congress of very great importance, such as the Indian war,^*^ representation in Congress whether one for every thirty thousand, &c, militia law &c. I wish they may all be determined In such manner as will be most for the benefit of the people at large." He dwelt (February 22) on the danger of too many Rep- resentatives: "I fear the next choice of Representatives for Congress will give too many members for the benefit of the people at large; Congress having determined there shall be one for every thirty thousand persons in the United States, so that Massachusetts will have fifteen members instead of eight. It will make the expence of Government much greater and the business not done any better, and I think the people be in more danger of having their Rights incroached upon; for an Individual in a large assembly will not look upon him- self so much accountable to his constituents for what is done, ^ See note 9 on preceding page. ^'' The intermittent warfare with the Iitdians — chiefly at this period in western Ohio and Indiana (both Indiana and Ohio then being part of the Northwest Territory) — had temporarily assumed a serious aspect by the complete rout of St. Clair's force on November 4, 1791. 3o6 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 64-65 — he will hide himself in the multitude and say I was not pres- ent when this & that thing was transacted. I wish many things were different from what they are at present." He never held a high opinion of the chronic speechmaker. On March i he writes: "There is more business that ought to be done before we rise, than we have hitherto done. There are so many that have so high a favor for speechafying that they hinder business amasingly, and one half of it is nothing to the purpose. If there were fewer speakers & more inde- pendent men we should do much better." He found the life in Philadelphia "Very unpleasant and irksome," and he declared that he wished "never to be re- elected."" March 10, there came up a resolution which reads inter- estingly in the light of the startling events which followed: "Resolved, That this House hath received, with sentiments of high satisfaction, the notification of the King of the French, of his acceptance of the Constitution presented to him in the name of the Nation: And that the President of the United States be requested, in his answer to the said notification, to express the sincere participation of the House in the interests of the French Nation, on this great and important event; "And their wish, that the wisdom and magnanimity dis- played in the formation and acceptance of the Constitution, may be rewarded by the most perfect attainment of its object, the permanent happiness of so great a people." Ward voted for the first section, but against the second. He perhaps did not believe in the "magnanimity" of Louis XVI, and he saw further than some of his colleagues, for it was only five months later that Louis fled to the Assembly for protection, and a mob sacked the Tuileries — young Cap- tain Napoleon Bonaparte being an interested observer; and it was less than a year before he was condemned to the guil- lotine for "conspiracy against the liberty of the nation and criminal attacks upon the safety of the state." " To Thomas Walter Ward. — Original letter, Artemas Ward MSS. 77^2] AS A FEDERALIST 307 A few weeks after the House vote on the congratulatory resolutions to Louis XVI, Congress (May 8) adjourned to November 5, and Ward returned to Shrewsbury. The journey to and from Philadelphia every year by stage over the broken, eroded route of the eighteenth century was a severe strain upon a man of his age and condition. Of that to the second session of the Second Congress he wrote (November 13), "I arrived at this place on the first instant much unwell by the fatiguing journey I had," and again, on December 28, "I have been unwell a great part of the time I have been here, ... I have at times been exercised with excrutiating pain. That is now abated and I hope through Divine goodness I may enjoy better health. "^^ In his letter of November 13, he spoke of the hope of ter- minating the Indian war, "which has cost us millions of dol- lars." The English government was suspected of aiding the Indians with supplies and ammunition, but English traders had become "sick of the war, because the Indians have noth- ing to trade with ; they having spent so much time in Counsels &war." In his letter of December 28, he approvingly noted the reelection of John Adams as Vice-President "by a much greater majority than he was first chosen by, to the great mortification of those who have been endeavouring to prevent his being chosen." Washington had again been unanimously elected President. Ward rejoiced also at the victories of the French revo- lutionists. "I congratulate you," he wrote, "on the success of the French armes against the combined Armies. They have drove them out of France, killed and taken many thou- sands of them with large quantities of Ordnance & Stores and were pursuing them in the beginning of October last, which is the latest accounts we have from France." He added the hope that "the French may have wisdom to make a right improvement of the advantage they have ob- " To Thomas Walter Ward. — Original letters, Artemas TVard MSS. 3o8 ARTEMAS WARD [Affe 63 tained over their enemies," — for on November 13 he had noted "from France they appear to be in a very disagreeable situation, not knowing how to use their rights & turn their rage against their best friends." But no one could yet foresee the distortions and deformi- ties which the European turmoil was to breed in the American body politic 1 Ward had declared himself as opposed to a second term, but he was nevertheless reelected — this time on the first vote and by a handsome majority — to the Third Congress. The Second Congress closed on March 2, 1793, and the Third Congress did not meet until December 2. Between those two dates lies a spectacularly feverish pe- riod of American history, for domestic divergencies split wide open upon the rock of the French Revolution. The upheaval in France had shaken the entire civilized world and the waves rolled high upon the American shore, all but wreck- ing the government with the extreme violence of the emotions it roused. France, in her desperate defiance of the monarchical powers of Europe, claimed the aid of the United States, and thou- sands of Americans — blind to, or disregarding, the vul- nerability of their own so newly established country — were eagerly willing that she should respond immediately and in full to the French demands upon her. By the early summer, sympathy with the French revolution- ists had mounted to the point of passion. "Democratic So- cieties," modeled on the Jacobins Club of Paris, were organ- ized by the extreme "French Party" of the Democratic-Re- publicans — a new name for the Anti-Federalists. Politics boiled as a veritable orgy of factional discord, dissension, and abuse. America's clash would be with England — and this added zest Instead of exciting caution, for the old Revolutionary an- tagonism, continued and nursed by years of unsettled griev- ances, had been heightened by the depredations on American ijgz-ijgs'l AS A FEDERALIST 309 merchantmen which followed England's entry into the Euro- pean conflict. "Ten thousand people in the streets of Phila- delphia, day after day, threatened to drag Washington out of his house, and effect a revolution in the government, or compel it to declare war in favor of the French revolution and against England." ^^ Washington held firm for neutrality. His stand drove the "French Party" to frenzy, but it saved — just barely saved — the country from being drawn into the European maelstrom. The swiftly moving current of events heightened differences of opinion and viewpoint, and strengthened new lines of de- marcation. Ward stood firm with Washington: sheerly op- posite to the sentiments of his old friend Samuel Adams. Ward and Samuel Adams had been drifting apart, and the acrimony over the American policy toward England and France severed the ties of a generation of intimate political fellowship. It was the same practical bent which had directed Ward's support of so many Federal measures that enlisted him also for neutrality. He was thoroughly imbued with the belief that self-gov- ernment is an inherent right, and his sympathies were with all those struggling for political freedom," but it was solely and specifically for the political liberty of his own province of Massachusetts, that, nineteen years before, he had risked life and honor by heading a revolutionary army — not for the gen- eral theory of human rights; and he was not willing to en- danger the triumphant result, an independent American re- " Works 0/ John Adams, X, 47. "On the news of the Polish triumphs of the spring and summer of 1794, he wrote (November 20, 1794) to his daughter Sarah and her husband, Elijah Brigham: "The King of Prussia does not succeed to his wisli against the Poles. He will it is hoped have more to do to suppress the insurrections in his own dominions than he will be able to accomplish. The spirit of liberty appears to be kindling In Europe, & will it is thought burst forth into a mighty flame. Then Emperors & Kings must hide their heads or lose them."— Original letter owned (1921) by the Reverend Francis E. Clark, Boston. (Poland's success was short-lived. She had been crushed at Maciejowice and Praga dur- ing the October preceding the date of Ward's letter.) 3IO ARTEMAS WARD {Age 65-66 public, on so unsatisfactory a hazard as a naval war with Great Britain: neither to aid revolutionary France, nor in retaliation for commercial losses, while there existed the possibility of peaceful adjustment. Samuel Adams, on the other hand, stood as the Massa- chusetts leader of the "Antis," the Democratic-Republicans or "Republicans" — of the sentiment of the Democratic Societies — or the "Jacobins," as they came to be known. The hectic excitement had subsided before the Third Con- gress met — the pro-French exhilaration had been damped both by the fearful epidemic of yellow fever which scourged the capital and by the political excesses of Citizen Genet, the French minister — but there remained the strong rancor against England, and early in 1794 the war spirit began mounting again as Congress and the country dwelt upon the ruin that English activities were bringing upon American maritime commerce. With the world in convulsion, a host of vessels — British, French, and Spanish — and both the English and French Ad- miralties — were preying upon American ships, ^^ but Eng- land's greater fleet gave her more numerous opportunities and much the largest list of victims. English warships and pri- vateers had fallen with overwhelming force upon hundreds of American vessels which had swarmed to the French West Indies to enjoy the advantage of the French Declaration placing American ships trading with French colonies on a full equality with French ships. ^'' Further, England's Impress- ment of American seamen whipped rage to a keener edge. The Democratic-Republicans now found allies among the Federalists, and both Congress and the country began to pre- pare for war. Resolutions passed for coast fortifications, and the purchase of artillery; plans were submitted for the rais- ing of an army; and citizens volunteered for work on the defenses. ^'^ American State Papers, Foreign, I, 424. '"February 19, 1793, American State Papers, Foreign, I, 147. i793-n9i\ AS A FEDERALIST 311 On April 7 there appeared again the favorite weapon of the Revolution — a resolution prohibiting commercial in- tercourse with British subjects- — and it found quick support in both House and Senate. The outlook was even more dangerous than it had been the preceding summer. War with England was being de- manded for the protection of American shipping; yet at that time war could only have meant its annihilation without the possibility of adequate reprisal. Above all else, the new United States required peace: time in which to develop its resources, and tranquillity so that its people might devote themselves to industry instead of to conflict. Measures for military preparation were justifiable — were indeed imperatively demanded by the world turmoil — but the situation was rapidly getting out of hand. Ward voted five times against the resolution prohibiting (or, as finally amended, severely restricting) commercial in- tercourse with British subjects, but united Republican and Fed- eral votes passed it in the House of Representatives. It re- ceived less than majority support on the second reading in the Senate, but only John Adams' vote as president of the Senate stopped Its passing to a third reading and possible acceptance. ^^ " Several histories incorrectly report, or convey an incorrect impression of, this incident of John Adams' vote. They state that the non-intercourse bill was "defeated in the Senate only by the casting vote of Vice-president Adams." — Avery, History of the United States, VII, 127; that "it was lost in the Senate only by the casting of the vote of the vice-president." — Bassett, The Federalist System, 125 (Volume XI of The American Nation), and so forth. The history of the bill in the Senate is, instead, briefly as follows: It was read the first time on April 25 and ordered to a second reading. It was read the second time on April 28 and put to a vote, but was rejected (the leading section by a vote of 14 nays against 11 yeas). Next came the vote on a motion to pass it for a third reading. The loss of the motion meant the loss of the bill ; to carry the motion would give another opportunity to endeavor to carry the bill. Its advocates mustered two addi- tional votes, and one of its opponents failed to vote, thus bringing about the tie of 13 and 13 which was ended by John Adams. Under the circumstances one can only specu- late on the outcome if the bill had passed to a third reading. On page 303, note 4, this chapter, reference is made to a tabulation of votes of the first four United States congresses in Colby's "Political Factions in Washington's Administra- tion." One of the seemingly inevitable inaccuracies of such tabulations unfortunately reversed the record and significance of all the votes on this proposed "Non-intercourse with Great Britain." The Nays are listed as ^»/i-Administration, whereas the opposite 312 ARTEMAS WARD \_Age 66 The need for an understanding with England had become urgent, and Washington, with the consent of the Senate (obtained while the non-intercourse resolution was hatch- ing in the House), sent John Jay across the ocean to negotiate it. The year following was a most difficult and trying period. The harassing of American commerce was maintained to an extent which kept the country in hysterical anger. The Washington-John Adams Federalists held the helm steady awaiting the result of Jay's efforts in England, but under a continuous fire of insult from the "French Party" — which charged toryism and monarchical tendencies, subservience to England and English gold — ignoring the fact that France to the best of her lesser ability was almost equally culpable with her foe across the channel. In Ward's case at all events his stand was not suggested or influenced by any partiality toward England. Despite the excesses and atheism of the French revolutionists, their of- fenses against American commerce, and the political methods of their chief protagonists in this country, his sympathies were still for France in her conflict with England and her other enemies. He was strongly gratified by the defeat of the Duke of York and the other allied commanders at the battle of Tourcoing — "By accounts arrived here," he wrote, "the French still continue to conquer. The Duke of York has met with a sad rebuff. I wish he may meet with more of the like kind."i« The Democratic Societies nevertheless burrowed desper- ately in their efforts further to undermine the Federal Party, and Ward and the other strict Federalists were, using the words of an indignant writer in the Columbian Centinel (Oc- tober 25, 1794), "vilified worse than Robbers and even Dev- is the truth. The error involves between one-fifth and one-sixth of all the Third Congress votes considered. "November 20, 1794, to his daughter Sarah and her husband, Elijah Brigham. This letter is quoted also on page 309, note 14. 779^] AS A FEDERALIST 313 lis would be, and charged with crimes that Men are not capable of committing." The conditions were a severe strain upon the general, whose health was again poor, but he stood to his post despite the remonstrances of his family. Henry Dana, writing to his brother Thomas Walter (June 30, 1794), said he feared that their father would "be called to take his seat In Heaven at least four years sooner for his having holden on in Congress." ^^ The summer and fall were further perturbed by the "Whiskey Insurrection"-"^ In western Pennsylvania. The dis- turbances which bear that title arose from efforts to enforce the payment of United States excise fees and the resentment of the inhabitants at government interference with, and taxa- tion of, their whiskey distilling — an Industry of high impor- tance to them because it afforded the easiest and most profit- able method of marketing their surplus corn. Riotous de- fiances of government revenue officers mounted finally to the brink of armed rebellion, with several thousand men gather- ing in opposition to the government. Grave fears were aroused that their action might stimulate uprisings in other parts of the country; and that English agents were respon- sible for the spread of disaffection. The insurrection died down at the (intentionally) leisurely approach of a government army of 15,000 men, but it fed the flames of party animosity. Washington, in a formal message to Congress, November 19, charged the serious character of the disturbances to the Democratic Societies — referring to them by the peculiar euphemism of "certain self- created societies" ; and members of the Democratic Societies retorted that the insurrection had been grossly exaggerated by Alexander Hamilton — the most monarchical of the Fed- " Original letter, Artemas Ward MSS. ^^ At the time also known as "Gallatin's Insurrection" because, until it verged to arms, opposition to the excise had been led by Senator Albert Gallatin, the young Swiss, already well on his way to political leadership and high government position. 314 ARTEMAS WARD ^Age 66-67 eralists — for the express purpose of staging an example and proof of the strength of the authority of the national gov- ernment. In the preparation by the House of Representatives of its address in response to the President's message, Ward voted in the affirmative to so amend a proposed clause as to speci- fically endorse Washington's charge against the "self-created societies." Thus amended, the clause read: "In tracing the origin and progress of the insurrection, we can entertain no doubt that certain self-created societies and combinations of men, careless of consequences and disregarding the truth, by disseminating suspicions, jealousies, and accusations of the government; have had all the agency you ascribe to them, in fomenting this daring outrage against social order and the authority of the laws." Ward voted against the majority which as an afterthought modified the charge by limiting it to "certain self-created so- cieties and combinations of men in the four Western coun- ties of Pennsylvania, and parts adjacent"; and again against the majority by his vote to restore most of the original signifi- cance of the clause by supplementing the limiting sentence with the words "countenanced by self-created societies elsewhere." On yet another vote the entire clause was defeated, and direct reference to "self-created societies" was avoided in the address adopted (November 28), but the record of the de- bate Is valuable as an Indication of the thought and trend of the times. -^ The Third Congress dissolved on March 3, 1795, and General Ward welcomed Its end as the self-appointed termina- tion of his political career. "This day the Session of Con- -' In the Senate, the Federalists defeated an effort to expunge reference to the "self- created societies" in its reply to the President's message. The Senate address declared that "our anxiety arising from the licentious and open resistance to the laws in the West- ern counties of Pennsylvania has been increased by the proceedings of certain self-created societies, relative to the laws and administration of the Government ; proceedings, in our apprehension, founded in political error, calculated, if not intended, to disorganize our Government, and which, by inspiring delusive hopes of support, have been influential in misleading our fellow citizens in the scene of insurrection." i794-i795\ AS A FEDERALIST 315 gress closeth," he wrote to his son Henry Dana, "and this day finisheth my public political life. I shall now return to the private walks of life, and spend the few remaining days of my Pilgrimage ... in solitude; I have spent many of my days, I may say years, in the bustles of this transitory world; I hope not altogether unprofitably to my constituents, myself, & those that shall hereafter come on the stage of life."-- On his way home from Philadelphia he stopped off at Middletown, Conn., to visit his daughter Maria (Tracy). Of his journey he wrote thence, March 17, to his son Thomas Walter, "the travelling is excessive bad, I never saw it worse, nor more dangerous."-^ Only four days after the Third Congress had closed its labors, Jay's treaty with Great Britain was placed in Wash- ington's hands. With the greatest care he guarded it from the public eye and called the Senate in special session. The Senate gathered June 8, debated behind closed doors, and gave their ratification (excepting only one article). It also endeavored to continue Washington's policy of secrecy con- cerning the provisions of the treaty, but its caution was with- out avail, for one Senator rebelled and the full text became public property on July i. The Democratic Societies immediately raised a storm of protest. The treaty was denounced as grossly inadequate, as a proof of the Federal Party's truckling to England, as a betrayal of American rights. There were wild scenes in many places. Alexander Hamilton was stoned by a New York mob. Washington ratified the treaty In August, and then the anti- English wrath turned upon him and he was reviled In terms which he bitterly complained could scarcely be applied "even to a common pick-pocket."^^ "Original letter owned (1921) by Maria Whittelsey Norris, Grand Rapids, IMich. ^Original letter in the possession (1921) of Ward Dix Kerlin, Camden, N. J. -'To Thomas Jefferson, July 6, 1796. — Ford, Writings of Washington, XIII, 231. 3i6 ARTEMAS WARD [Age 68 Abuse and political tirades continued for months, and the uproar intensified Ward's aversion for the Democratic- Republican following. "I hope," he wrote to his son Henry Dana (in South Carolina), "that you will shun the Southern politics as you would the poison of an asp, and indeavour to enlighten the dark minds of your legislators so far as you can with prudence. It's my opinion you may in time do much good in that way. It's through ignorance they do as they at this time do." In the same letter he earnestly defended the treaty. "Let them," he said, "compare the treaty made with Great Brit- ain with the treaties made with other Nations, particularly with that made with France. They will find privileges in the British treaty that are not in the French treaty, particularly the trade to the East Indias. Before the treaty, it was all upon sufferance in the British East Indias, and is now so in the French East Indias. I readily allow there are things in the treaty I could wish were otherwise, but at the same time I must say we had it not in power to have them other- ways. Upon the whole I think we had best be easy with it as it is, it's not to last always. What makes many uneasy with it is they are plague loth to pay the debts they owe to Great Britain." 25 He also noted that the country towns of Massachusetts held themselves steadier than the capital — "those restless mortals in the metropolis have used every art to make the people uneasy in the Country, but have pretty generally failed." His viewpoint was justified by the results. The treaty, despite its defects, proved of substantial value. Trade im- proved and a fair degree of prosperity returned. France, though, was seriously disgruntled by the concord- ance of England and the United States and by the provisions of the treaty. ^Original letter, February i, 1796, owned (1921) by Maria Whittelsey Norris, Grand Rapids, Mich. lygO^ AS A FEDERALIST 317 Increasing age compelled Ward, this time, to adhere to his resolution to retire from the stress of political life, but for another three years he continued to preside as chief justice of the Worcester County Court of Common Pleas. His interest in affairs remained keen and his convictions were by no means softened. By correspondence with Dwight Foster, who had succeeded him as United States Representative, he kept himself in- formed on the political sentiments of the Fourth Congress. On January 15, 1796, shortly after it convened, he wrote asking "for a list of your house, the States they come from, with a mark for Federalists and one for Jacobins if any such there be." Those marked by Foster as Federal were not as numerous as Ward had hoped. Acknowledging the list, he says (March i, 1796), "I wish you had been able to have dotted more of the new members" ; and he adds as postscript, "I hope Congress will do no mischief." He termed "a peculiar smile in Providence" the intercep- tion of a letter written by Joseph Fauchet, French minister to the United States, which, with an earlier communication it dragged into the light, charged that at the time of the "Whiskey Insurrection" Edmund Randolph, Secretary of State — a strong opponent of the treaty with England — had solicited some thousands of dollars of French money on the plea that it was urgently needed to pay the debts of four men whose talents, influence, and energies might avail to fend off civil war in the United States, but who, as debtors, could make no move for fear of being thrown into prison by their English creditors. ^*^ "In my opinion," Ward continued, "it has had a tendency to silence the Jacobins who were forever declaiming against the Federalists, saying they were influenced by British Gold, ~'^ A translation of Citizen Fauchet' s Intercepted Letter No. 10; to tvhich are added Extracts of Nos. 3 and 6, published in Philadelphia, 1795. Fauchet's explanation and qualified retraction appeared shortly after in A Vindication of Mr. Randolph's Resignation [of his office of Secretary of State on being confronted with Fauchet's letter]. The sub- ject is treated at length in Conway's Edmund Randolph. 31 8 ARTEMAS WARD {Age 68-70 Now we may conjecture with a good degree of certainty who would receive foreign bribes."-^ The second presidential term was drawing to a close. Washington declined to be a candidate for a third term, and so in the fall of the year there came the first real presidential contest — John Adams, the Federalist, against Thomas Jeffer- son, chief of the Democratic-Republicans. "There will be a great struggle," writes Ward, October 10. "John Adams will I trust have the votes for President in New England & I trust some more. . . . Some talk of Thos. Pinckney for Vice President. I wish they may be chosen. It is of great importance we should have federal men in those places. "I hope we shall not have in either of those places a person so frenchified as some of the characters to the southward are. It seams some are so attached to the French they would do nothing without their leave. We are an Independant nation & we ought to act independently."-* Ward had the satisfaction of seeing John Adams elected to the presidency, but had to be content with Jefferson for Vice-President. (It will be remembered that in those days prior to the Twelfth Amendment a possible result of the vote of the electoral college was the election of a defeated presidential candidate as vice to his victorious opponent.) A little later, he saw the European conflict again drawing the United States toward war, this time through the depre- dations of French privateers; and it was not long before he was to read the famous X, Y, Z dispatches — the demands of agents of the French Directory for bribes and a large national loan — for "money, a great deal of money" — as the price of peace, and to see the country reverse its pro-French attitude and howl for war with France, using as their slogan Charles Cotesworth Pinckney's "millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute." "Original letter owned (1921) by Charles P. Greenough, Brookline, Mass. "* Original letter owned (1921) by Maria Whittelsey Norris, Grand Rapids, Mich. I7g6-ijg8^ RETIRES FROM PUBLIC LIFE 319 By the summer of 1797 General Ward had begun to feel that his strength was unequal to his judicial duties. On June 12, writing to his daughter Maria and her husband, Dr. Ebenezer Tracy, he says : "the lawyers in the general court are endeavoring to demolish the Courts of Common Pleas in this Commonwealth & to establish a circuit court in lieu thereof, and it is probable they will effect it. It don't affect me much for I shall soon leave that Court and confine myself at home. I am old & infirm, it is time for me to quit the theatre of action, and while I remain here live a domestic life."^^ He sat in court for the last time during the session of December, 1797, and soon after terminated his long career as a judge. ^^ He spent the remaining two years of his life in quiet retire- ment in his home, the now famous old Artemas Ward House. "His grandchildren lived to tell their grandchildren about the handsome old man, with his erect and portly figure set off with his ruffles and shoe-buckles and all the touches of the old time costume — how he would rise from his straight-backed chair and take from a shelf of a tall cupboard in his room, crackers, or raisins or some other dainty (as they were then) and give them as a reward for some little service they had done."^^i His letters show him, in his old age, as in his younger years, full of kindly love for his children and the members of their families — condoling with them in their afflictions, and rejoic- ing in their happiness, always keeping in the foreground the God he had served so conscientiously all his life, and incul- cating the same reliance in, and acceptance of, divine decrees. For himself, he was expecting the end and praying that he might be "prepared." "^ MS. copy, Artemas Ward MSS. ^'' On March 20, 1798, writing to the Tracys, he says, "I have resigned the office of Judge in the Court of Common Pleas, it being too hard service for me to perform under my difficulties. I shall attend these courts no more." — Original letter owned (1921) by Frank C. Whittelsey, Flushing, N. Y. ''^Elizabeth Ward, Old Times in Shrewsbury, 186. 320 ARTEMAS WARD \_Age 70-72 His health became precarious in 1798. On July 18, in a letter to the Tracys, he writes: "I have been much unwell. For four months I have not been one hundred rods from my house: in which time I longed to see you & for your advice. Through Divine goodness I am much better on some accounts, although far from being well. I am an old man upwards of seventy years of age, so that I have no right to expect to injoye perfect ease & comfort. We are told in scripture that threescore and ten years is the age of man; beyond that is grief and pain."^^ There is much the same story in the spring following. On March 6, 1799, again to the Tracys, he wrote: "My health is no better than when you saw me last, I have not been one hundred rods from my own house for more than twelve months. I have just recovered from a verry ill turn. "23 In November he suffered a paralytic stroke and his life was despaired of, "but through divine goodness I was re- stored in a merciful degree." ^^ He was very weak though, unable to dress or undress without aid. His faithful correspondent, Dwight Foster, still kept him Informed on national politics. On December 28 Foster sent him "a List of the two Houses [of the Sixth Congress] marked ... to note the political Character by the Terms Federal, antifederal and doubtful," and wrote him that there was "little doubt" that the Federalists could muster "a respectable majority In the House of Representatives"; and that In the Senate there was "a majority as large, as re- spectable and as decided as there was previous to last March when one third were either re-elected or returned as new members."''^'' ^"Original letter owned (1921) by Frank C. Whittelsey, Flusliing, N. Y. ^■'Original letter owned (1921) by Mary Clap Wooster Chapter, D.A.R., New Haven, Conn. ^'' To the Tracys, June 12, 1800. — Original letter owned (1921) by Frank C. Whittel- sey, Flushing, N. Y. •■'■'■' Original letter, Artemas IVard MSS. lygS-iSoo'^ HIS DEATH 321 The Federal Party was nevertheless nearlng the end of its tenure. On the twentieth of March Ward suffered a second paralytic stroke, but it was lighter than the first and did not immediately affect his general condition to any marked extent. In the fall he failed rapidly, and on Tuesday, October 28, he lay dying. His son Thomas Walter wrote to Maria Tracy, teUing her of the approaching end — "there has been a great alteration In the good old gentleman for the worse. He is past speaking or taking anything unless it be a little water to wet his mouth." For twenty-four hours he had appeared almost unconscious of his surroundings. "I have no doubt he will make a happy change when he changes time for eternity. I shall feel the loss more than any one of my brothers or sisters, for I always have lived with him & it is hard to part with so good a Father, but it is the wish of God & we must not murmur nor complain." He died a little before seven of the evening of that day. He was occasionally "exercised with the same distressing pain" in his last hours that he had been troubled with "for months and years past," but he passed away easily with "scarce a struggle in death." ^" He was buried on the afternoon of the following Friday, October 31 — a "cloudy day with an easterly wind." A long procession of carriages formed his funeral cortege"''' and an impressive address marked the last rites. Thus closed the career of Artemas Ward, one of the worth- iest of Massachusetts' many noble sons. He had played a prominent part in the generation which founded the great republic of the United States. He haci stood In the fore- front of revolution when the challenge was thrown down to '"''Thomas Walter Ward to Maria Tracy, October 28 and November 6, iSoo.— Original letters owned (1921) by Frank C. Whittelsey, Flushing, N. Y. '■'Ruth Henshaw Bascom (original) diary. — Owned (1921) by Caroline Thurston, Leicester, Mass. 322 ARTEMAS WARD \_Age 72 the might of the British Empire, and had held equally reso- lute against the wrath of compatriots when it ran counter to the best interests of the state or nation. His had been a character of strength and stability which could be swayed neither by favor nor by fear; and a life of continuous industry from youth to old age. A character and a life well deserving a high place in the annals of Massachusetts. As he passed on, there closed not only the calendar years of the eighteenth century but also a well defined period of the history of the United States. Washington had died the year before. The Federal Party lost the fourth presidential election and never again achieved importance. A new chap- ter, embodying new thoughts and new conceptions, opened with the nineteenth century and the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. INDEX INDEX Abercromby, James, in command of the Ticonderoga campaign, 15; held in little respect, 18; his army bewildered in the forest, 21; or- ders the assault of Ticonderoga, 22; the battle of Ticonderoga, y 23-25 /Adams, John, his tribute to Ward, 163-164; Federalist, 302; Vice- President, 307; President, 318 Adams, Samuel, "master of the town-meeting," 32; elected Repre- sentative, 32; his close association with Ward, 34. 256; his congrat- ulations to Ward after the battle of Bunker Hill, 163, note; on the committee to visit Hampshire County to inquire into the unrest there, 264-267; his alienation from Ward by differing views on European policies, 309 Arnold, Benedict, organising his de- tachment for the expedition to Quebec, 169-170 . Artemas Ward House, 28-29, 281; view of, facing 282 Baldwin Tavern, 4, note, 291 >/ Bancroft, George, promulgated the theory that Ward was incompe- tent as commander-in-chief, 154; his inaccurate and unjust cita- tions, 154-164 Barrington, Lord, his views and misconceptions, 138, note Belknap, Jeremy, his description of Ward, 182 Bernard, Francis, cancels Ward's commission, 35-36; vetoes Ward as councilor, 39 Boston, in 1757, 14; i" 1765, 32 1 the "Boston Massacre," 44; the destruction of the tea cargoes, 52;^ the Port Act, 53-54; the closing of the port, 55-56; besieged by an army of militiamen, 88; map of, and environs, 1775, facing 92; the change in the English plans caused by the battle of Bunker Hill, 137-138; plans to assault, 171, 181, 194, 199; instructions to abandon, 183'; not enough ships for the operation, 183; suffers from scarcity of supplies, 186, 187; evacuation, 213 Bowdoin, Jamess his contests with Hancock for the governorship, 257, 270; warns Ward of the in- surgents' plan to make him a prisoner, 292; asks Ward's advice on the suppression of Shays' Re- bellion, 294; urges the General Court to effective action, 296 Breed's Hill, description, 120. See also Bunker Hill Brinley Place, 167-168 Bunker Hill, committee report, May 12, 1775, advising its for- tification, 105; set aside, 106; Committee of Safety, June 15, recommends its occupation, 116; the boldness of the project, 119; the order for its fortification, 119; description, 120; order for 5^5 326 INDEX the relief of the occupying detach- ment, 122-124; the substitution of Breed's Hill, 124; the battle, 125- 134; the supply of provisions and drinking water, etc., 130, note; the "Judge Prescott account," 123, note, 124, note; the "Prescott MS.," 123, note, 124, note; criti- cisms of the battle, 139-143; the night and the day after the battle, 135-137; the battle the cause of the evacuation of Boston, 137- 138. See also Charlestown Penin- sula Burgoyne, John, his descent from Canada and capture of Ticonde- roga, 243; his surrender, 248 Charlestown Peninsula, its strategic importance, 92-93 ; the English plan to occupy, 116; its dimen- sions, etc., 120-121. See also Bun- ker Hill Chelsea engagement, 114 Church, Benjamin, his early treach- ery, loi ; his order to Thomas to withdraw his men, 103 ; arrested as a traitor, 180 Circular letter to the other colonies, 39, 40 Committee of Safety, established, 74; resolves to enlist 8000 men, 93; resents an order issued by Ward, 113, note; its Bunker Hill resolution, 116 Committee of Supplies, established, 75 Committees of Correspondence, es- tablished, 46 Connecticut troops in Massachusetts put under Ward, 145 Continental Congress, delegates to, appointed by the Massachusetts House, 57; Ward in the, 255-260 Cornwallis, Charles, surrenders at Yorktown, 261 Dartmouth, Lord, advises the arrest of the Massachusetts patriot lead- ers, 84; sends instructions for the abandonment of Boston, 137-138, 183; resigns as Secretary of State, 184 Day, Luke, 282 Dearborn, Henry, 142 Dearborn House, 168, note de Birniere, Henry, 82, 88 Declaratory Act, 34 Democratic Societies, 308, 310, 312, 313-314 DorchesterNeck(DorchesterHeights, Dorchester Point), its strategic importance, 92-93 ; early reports of the English plan to seize, loi ; American resolution. May 9, 1775, to forestall the enemy, 102; fortification considered impracti- cable by Thomas, 104; neither side attempts the project, 104, 105 ; fortification of the heights again considered and decided against, 106; surveyed in plan for occupation, June 6, 115; the Eng- lish plan to seize, 116; resolution, June 15, of an American council of war to occupy simultaneously with Bunker Hill, 117; its name, 118, note; the English revive their plan to occupy, 146; Ward pre- vents its fulfilment, 146-147; Washington's council of war of July 9 decides not to attempt to take possession, 165; a council of war, November 2, discusses its occupation, 183; winter prepara- tions for its fortification, 191 ; reconnoitered by Washington, Ward, and other officers, 191- 192; British raid on, 192; Wash- INDEX 327 ington's lukewarmness concerning Greene, Nathanael, 135, note, 145, its strategic value, 193; Ward, note, 153, note, 179, note, 182, February 16, 1776, again advo- note, 187, 199, 212, 213, 249 cates its occupation, 194; the reso- Gridley, Richard, marks out a re- lution to take possession of the doubt on Breed's Hill, 124; at the fortification of Dorchester Heights, 203 heights, 195; preparing for their seizure, 195-202; a report that the British were landing men on, 198; the fortification of the heights, 202-205. See also Nook Hill Dwight, Timothy, his tribute to Ward, 271 Ely, Samuel, 262, 264 "Fenno's Orderly Book," 99, note French Revolution, the disturbance it created in the United States, 308 Hamilton, Alexander, 302, 313, 315 Hancock, John, president of the First Provincial Congress, 72; Massachusetts major-general in the second Rhode Inland expedi- tion, 249; his long delay in ac- counting for the funds of Har- vard College, 257; Ward's criti-\^ cism of, 258; his contests with ' Bowdoin for the governorship, 257, 270 Harvard College in 1744, 7-9 _, _, 1 TT 1 • Hastings House, 90, note (jage, 1 nomas, succeeds Hutcnm- son as governor of Massachu- Heath, William, appointed fifth setts, 55 ; refuses to receive the address prepared by Ward, 56- 57 ; rejoices at tory developments, 59; fortifies Boston Neck, 68; worried by the activities of the country townships, 70; counter- mands his summons for a General Massachusetts general officer, 78, 81 ; in the battle of Lexington and Concord, 88 ; appointed fourth continental brigadier-gen- eral, 150, note; succeeds to the command in Boston, 240; tells of a tory plot, 242 Court, 70; his decision to assault Hillsborough, Lord, demands the Breed's Hill, 127; wishes to aban- rescinding of the "Circular Let- don Boston, 169 ter," 40 Gates, Horatio, adjutant-general Holmes House, 90, note of the continental army, 147; j^^^^^ George, in the Ticonderoga agamst a musket attack on Bos- ' campaign, 18; his death, 20 ton, 194; succeeds Schuyler in the north, 246; adulation of, after Burgoyne's surrender, 248, note Germain, Lord, succeeds Lord Dartmouth as Secretary of State, 184 Gerry, Elbridge, cited by Bancroft, 154, 158-161 "Glorious Ninety-Two," the, 40 Howe, William, plan for raising the siege of Boston, 141 ; commander- in-chief, 183; receives word to abandon Boston, 183; unable to act upon it, 183; decides to assault the American fortifications on Dorchester Heights, 206; recon- siders and determines to give up the town, 209 328 INDEX Hutchinson, Thomas, defeated for Lexington and Concord, battle of, the Council by Ward, 39; his references to Ward, 40; his let- ters to England, 42, 48-49; suc- ceeded by Gage, 55 ; report of his flying to France, 178 Impartial Administration of Justice, Act for the, 59-60 Independence, Declaration of, read to the regiments, 228; formally declared in Boston, 229 Jay, John, 233, note, 259; goes to England to negotiate a treaty, 312; "Jay's Treaty," 315 Jefferson, Thomas, his views on re- bellion, 299; Vice-President, 318; President, 322 King's Arms (tavern), 61, note Knox, Henry, 188, 192 Lafayette, Marquis de, 249 Lee, Charles, captain in the Ticon- deroga campaign, 18; wounded in the battle of Ticonderoga, 25 ; re- turns to America as a major- general, 49-50; his military abil- ity, 50 and note; in Philadelphia, 68-69; on a report that he had offered to lead the colonies in re- bellion, 69, note; aids the military organization of Maryland, 79; appointed second major-general of the continental army, 147, 149; the desire for his services, 149, 159; his attitude on the appoint- ments of Washington, Ward, and himself, 149 and note; in charge of the left wing at the siege of Boston, 166; the growth of his military fame, 189, 233; fails to reinforce Washington, 236-237; captured by the English, 237 87 Lincoln, Benjamin, 225, 232, 246, 268, 269, 295, 303 ; suppresses Shays' Rebellion, 296 Loyalists. See Tories Majorbagaduce Peninsula. See Penobscot Massachusetts Constitutional Con- vention, 254, note Minute-men, their organization recommended by the Worcester County convention, 70; the Pro- vincial Congress advice on equip- ment, etc, 78-79; in the battle of Lexington and Concord, 88, note; James Warren wished they had never been organized, 108, note Nantucket Island, 261-262 New Hampshire Grants. See Fer- mont Newport. See Rhode Island Nook Hill, 193, 196, 203; attempts to fortify, 210; fortified, 212 North, Lord, 53, 160, 178 Oliver, Peter, impeached for ac- cepting his salary from the crown, 53 Otis, James, 31, 36, 37, 39, 43, 44 Penobscot, seizure by English, and American expedition against, 251- 253 ; committee of investigation on failure of expedition, 252 ; fear that the English would extend their lines, 267 Pierpont Castle, 167-168 Pitt, William, 15, 19, 21, note. Pitts, John, 140, note Pomeroy, Seth, appointed third Massachusetts general officer, 75, INDEX 329 81 ; appointment as first continen- tal brigadier-general, 150, note Port Act, Boston, 53-56 "Powder Alarm," 64 Preble, Jedediah, appointed first Massachusetts general officer, 75, 81 Prescott, William, given command of the Bunker Hill detachment, 119; in the battle of Bunker Hill, 122-134 Prescott account, Judge, 123, note, 124, note Prescott MS., 123, note, 124, note Privateers, 218, 2ig, note, 224, 226, 230, 310, 318 Prospect Hill, 105, 134, 135 Provincial Congress. First: 71-79; appoints a Committee of Safety and a Committee of Supplies, 75 ; elects general officers, 75, 78. Second: 80-82, 84-86; reelects general officers, 81 ; plans a New England army, 85, 86; declares for the raising of an army of 13,600 men, 95 Putnam, Daniel, letter cited, 126, note Putnam, Israel, major in the Ticon- deroga campaign, 18; urges the fortification of Bunker Hill, 105 ; in the Chelsea engagement, 114; in the battle of Bunker Hill, 125, 128, 129, 134; on Winter Hill, 135, note; appointed fifth conti- nental major-general, 1 50; under Washington, in charge of the cen- ter division, 166; to lead an as- sault on Boston, 199 Putnam, Rufus, 192, 195, note, 203 Raffles Collection, Thomas, 104, note, 118 Reed, James, in the battle of Bunker Hill, 126, note, 128, 132, 139, note Regulating Act, the, 59, 60 Revere, Paul, 55, 87, 219, note, 251, 252 Rhode Island, troops in Massachu- setts put under Ward, 145; Eng- lish seizure of Newport, 235; a proposed expedition against the English, 241-242; the first expedi- tion against Newport, 247; the second expedition against New- port, 248-249; the "Battle of Rhode Island," 249 Riflemen, 170, 179, 204 Ruggles, Timothy, brigadier-gen- eral in the Ticonderoga campaign, 18; chief justice of the Worcester County Court of Common Pleas, 28, note; president of the Stamp Act congress, 33; votes to rescind the "Circular Letter," 40; ap- pointed a "mandamus councilor," 60; organizes a tory Association, 78; commandant of the "Loyal American Associaters," 181 Sargent, Paul Dudley, criticizes Ward, 139, note Schuyler, Philip, fourth continental major-general, 150; New Eng- land's dislike of, 246; succeeded by Gates, 246; in the Continental Congress, 256 "Second Court House," the, 282, note Shays, Daniel, 282, 293, 294, 295 Shays' Rebellion, the growth of un- rest, 260, 262-267, 272-280; "Tender Acts," 264, 288; the prisoners for debt, 276-277, 279, 297 ; open resistance and its de- velopment into rebellion, 281- 296; Ward harangues the insur- gents from the steps of the 330 INDEX Worcester County court-house, 285 ; the insurgents dispersed and the rebellion crushed, 296; the state and national results, 297- 299 Smallpox, 186, 220, 227, 229 Southern fears of New England's domination, 68, 157, note, 182 Spencer, Joseph, in command of a brigade of the right wing, 167; the first Rhode Island expedition, 247 Stamp Act, 31; its repeal, 34; com- pensation to riot victims and par- don to offenders, 36 Stark, John, captain in the Ticon- deroga campaign, 18; at the battle of Bunker Hill, 125, 126 and note, 128, 132, 139, note; after the bat- tle, 145, note; in the Burgoyne campaign, 244, 246 Steuben, William von, 159, 172 Stow's orderly book, Nathan, 123, / note, 135, note ' "Suffolk Resolves," the, 68 Sullivan, John, 169, 199, 212; the second Rhode Island expedition, 248, 249 Sumner House, 10, 28, note Sun Tavern, 292 Tea, taxation of, 37, 45, 50-52; de- struction of the tea cargoes, 52 "Tender Acts," 264, 288 Thomas, John, appointed fourth Massachusetts general officer, 78, 81; takes stand at Roxbury, 92; receives Church's order to with- draw his men, 103; refuses to move them, 103 ; considered the occupation of Dorchester Neck impracticable, 104, 119; appointed first continental brigadier-general, 150, note; in command of a bri- gade of the right wing, 167; heads the detachment to occupy Dor- chester Neck, 198; fortifies Dor- chester Heights, 202-205 Ticonderoga, the campaign of, 1758, 15-27; captured by Burgoyne, 243 Tories, their strength and social importance, 32 ; the growth of a tory party, 59; an "Association" organized, 78; General Court committees to discover plans, 239, 242-243 ; sentiment in Vermont, 239-240 Townsend, David, calls at head- quarters on the day of the battle of Bunker Hill, 129 Townshend Act, 37; repeal of its taxation provisions, excepting tea, 45 Trenton, the effect of the battle of, 238 Trowbridge, Caleb, 9 Trowbridge, Sarah (wife of Arte- mas Ward), lO, 281, note United States Arms (tavern), 286, 292, 301 United States Constitution, 298- 299 Vermont, tory sentiment in, 239- 240 Ward, Artemas, his birth, 3; the house in which he was born, 4; his boyhood, 5-6; he studies under the Reverend Job Cushing, 5 ; the decision to send him to Harvard College, 6; his admission to Har- vard College, 7; is graduated, gi) a school-teacher in Groton, Mass., 9; returns to establish himself in Shrewsbury, 10; makes his home in the Yellow House, 10; opens a general store, 11; his INDEX 331 courtship and marriage, lO, ii;- appointed tax assessor, 11; justice of the peace, 1 1 ; receives the de- gree of A.M., 9. note; town clerk, 12; selectman, 12; executor and residuary legatee of his father's estate, 13; major of a militia reg- iment, 13; Representative, 14; the call to arms on the fall of Fort William Henry, 14; enlist- ing men for the Ticonderoga campaign, 15; gives up storekeep- ing, 16; sets out for Ticonderoga, 19; his diary of the expedition, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26; promoted to lieu- tenant-colonel, 19; colonel of mi-\ litia, 27; colonel of an expedi- tionary regiment, 27; ill health compels his resignation of the expeditionary command, 27; town moderator, 28; church modera- tor, 28; town treasurer, 28; judge of the Worcester County Court of Common Pleas, 28; a justice of the peace "of the quorum," 28; on many legislative committees, 28; sells the Yellow House, 28, note; buys the Artemas Ward House, 28-29; inspired by the protests on the Stamp Act, 31; his first appointment on a com- mittee of political protest, 33; his close political association with Samuel Adams, 34; his commis- sion as militia colonel revoked by Governor Bernard, 35-36 ; elected to the Council in a contest with Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson, 39; vetoed by Governor Bernard, 39; as he appeared to Hutch- inson, and the latter's earlier failure to "bring him over," 40;'\ one of the "Glorious Ninety- ! Two," 40; representative in the "Committee of Convention," 40; again elected to the Council and again vetoed, 42; in a vote ap- proving a petition for the removal of Governor Bernard, 43; again elected to the Council and at last accepted, 45 ; on the committee protesting against the order mak- ing the judges of the Superior Court dependent on crown sup- port, 47; upholds the Samuel \ Adams party in the tea dispute, J 52 ; prepares an address to Gov- ernor Gage, 56; Gage refuses to receive it, 57; a delegate to the Worcester County convention, 61, 63; the closing of the courts, 65-67; his old regiment puts him\ at its head, 70-71; a delegate to j the First and Second Provincial/ Congresses, 72, 80; member of a committee on "the state of the province," 73; appointed second Massachusetts general officer, 75, 81; mentioned in de Berniere's report, 83; ill at the time of the battle of Lexington and Concord, 89; rides to Cambridge to take charge of the army gathering around Boston, 89; as he ap- peared at the siege of Boston, 91 ; writes to the Provincial Congress imploring immediate action, 94; his urgent demands for equip- ment and materials resented by the Committee of Supplies, 98; his careful treatment of the Eng- lish prisoners of war, 99-100; his early views on the fortification of Bunker Hill, 105; urges the Provincial Congress to the imme- diate organization of an army, 107; receives his commission as^ commander-in-chief, 108; faces the danger of anarchy — even his chief detractor testifies "we dare not superceed him here," 108- 112; his need for gunpowder, 115; surveys Dorchester Neck, 115; his council of war resolves 332 INDEX for the simultaneous fortification of Bunker Hill and Dorchester Neck, 117; issues his orders for the fortification of Bunker Hill, 119; reconnoiters Bunker Hill, 120; the day of the battle of Bunker Hill, 125-134; Connecti- cut and Rhode Island troops for- mally put under his command, 145; repeats his need for ordnance and supplies, 146; made first major-general of the continental army, 147, 150; entertains Wash-, ington on his arrival, 152; criti-/ cisms of him as commander-in->( chief, 154-164; in command of 1 the right wing, 166; his headquar-; ters in Roxbury, 167-168; estrangement between Washing- ton and Ward, 174, 222; ap- pointed chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas for Worcester County, 181; Belknap's descrip- tion of, 182; reconnoiters Dor- chester Neck with Washington and other officers, 191-192; op- poses a musket attack on Boston, advocates instead the possession of Dorchester Heights, 194; is- sues his orders for the fortifica- tion of Dorchester Heights, 201 ; enters Boston, 213; because of ill\ health he tenders his resignation^ 216; Washington's comments on\ his resignation, 216-217; Wash- i ington asks him to take the conti- 1 nental command in Boston, he ac- ' cedes, 218; building works for the defense of the harbor, 220-221, 223 ; repeats his desire to resign, 222 ; his resignation accepted but Washington requests him to re- main, 223 ; again elected to the Council, 225 ; Congress requests him to continue in command, 231 ; major-general in a separate de- partment, 231; the Council asks him to command the state troops also, 232; hunting down tory plans, 239; turns the garrison over to Heath, 240; president of the Council, 241 ; chairman of a committee on a proposed Rhode Island expedition, 241-242; re- turns to Shrewsbury for the se- cret committee on tory move- ments, 243 ; president of the court of inquiry on the first Rhode Island expedition, 247; president of the committee of investigation of the failure of the Penobscot expedition, 252 ; elected to the , Continental Congress, 253 ; ar- ; rives in Philadelphia to attend,/ 255; reciprocal esteem of Ward and Samuel Adams as members of Congress, 256; added to the Con- tinental Board of War, 256; on/ the committee of the Treasury Board report, 256; reelected to the Continental Congress, 257; his health very poor, 257; on a committee to try to bring Han- cock to a reckoning of the funds of Harvard College, 257, note; scores Hancock for neglect of state affairs, 258; on the "Grand Committee" of states, 259; re- elected to Congress, but declines, 260; returns to the Massachu- setts House of Representatives, 261 ; elected Massachusetts sena- tor, but declines, 261 ; appointed Judge of Probate of Wills, but refuses to accept, 261 ; on many legislative committees, 261 ; on the committee to visit Hampshire County to inquire into the unrest there, 264-267; the committee thanked by the Hampshire County convention and commended by the legislature, 267; his comment on Washington's letter concerning a proposed movement against Pe- INDEX 333 nobscot, 269; his opinion of Han- cock, 270; Timothy Dwight's tribute, 271; Speaker of the House, 281 ; enlarges his home by the addition of the "New Part," 281; harangues the insurgents of early days in Massachusetts, 5; purchases the Yellow House and surrounding property, lO, note; deeds the Yellow House and farm to Artemas Ward, 11, note; his death, 13 Shays' Rebellion, 285; warned Ward, Captain Nahum (son of Ar- that the insurgents plan to retali- temas Ward), 247 ate on him, 292; Governor Bow- ^^^^^ Thomas Walter (son of Ar- doin writes for his suggestions ^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^46, 281 and advice, 294; candidate for Ti . .• 4. 4.U TT^-.f^A Ward Homestead, bee Artemas Representative to the United States Congress, 300; defeated, ^f ard House 300; again a candidate for Repre- Ward's Order Book, 99, note sentative to the United States "Ward" township, 250 Congress, 301 ; elected, 301 ; aligns himself with the Federal- ists, 302 ; his opinion of the elec- torate, 303 ; supports many Wash- ington policies, 305; his remarks concerning speechmakers, 306; rejoices at the victories of the French revolutionists, 307, 312; reelected to the third United States Congress, 308; supports/ Washington in preventing war with England, 309, 311; European policies separate him and Samuel Adams, 309; his sympathies with Warren, James, wishes the minute- men had never been organized, 108, note; testifies that "we dare not superceed" Ward, 112, 162, note, 163 ; his criticisms of Ward, 142, 162-163; President of the Provincial Congress, 151; cited by Bancroft, 154; his petulancy, 163, note; on a committee to discover tory plans, 239; appointed to the command of the militia ordered to Rhode Island, 244; refuses to go and resigns his commission, 245 all those struggling for political u 1 • «c re 11 c , J . ■ ^ \- ^^ Warren, Joseph, his "Suffolk Re- freedom, 309; terminates his po- » co u- i • t-U litical career, 314; his views of "Southern politics," 316; defends "Jay's Treaty" with Great Brit- ain, 316; ends his long career as a judge, 319; his death, 321 Ward, Joseph, asks for government office and transmits alleged plans of revolutionaries in New Eng- solves," 68 ; his early views on the fortification of Bunker Hill, 105; writes of the peril of anarchy, no, note; in the Chelsea engage- ment, 114; rides to the battle-field of Breed's Hill, 129; his death on Bunker Hill, 134; untrue that he considered Ward inefficient as commander-in-chief, 154-158 land, 90, note; secretary to Ward, ^^^j^.^g^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^j^^ ^^, 90 Ward, Martha (mother of Artemas Ward), 3; her parentage, 4 Ward, Nahum (father of Artemas Ward), 3; a man of importance in his community, 4; his stories of tides for a Virginia non-importa- tion agreement, 44; impresses the Continental Congress, 68; his election as commander-in-chief of the continental army, 147, 148, note; arrives in Cambridge, 151; 334 INDEX eralist, 302 ; unanimously re- elected President, 307; his stand for neutrality in the European conflict, 309; his charge against the Democratic Societies, 313; his policy of secrecy concerning the provisions of "Jay's Treaty," 315; ratifies the treaty, 315; is grossly reviled, 315 dines with Ward, 152; takes com- mand of the army, 152; holds his first formal council of war, 165 ; rendered reckless by inaction, 170; wishes to attack Boston by rowboats, 171; his failure to im- press professional military stand- ards on his army, 172; estrange- ment between Washington and Ward, 174, 222; perplexed byj ^g^t,^ Samuel B., 139, note Howe's movements, 185; unjustly ^,_, . , , .^. . J f • .• •. ^00. 1 i.„ Whiskey Insurrection, 313 criticized for inactivity, 108; luke- ^ > o j warm concerning the occupation Whitcomb, Asa, drives the English of Dorchester Neck, 193, 198; ships from Boston harbor, 225- proposes a musket attack on Bos- 226 ton, 194; the fortification of Dor- Whitcomb, John, lieutenant-colonel Chester Heights, 195-205; his \^ in the Ticonderoga campaign, 18; comments on Ward's resignation, ' sixth Massachusetts general of- 216-217; asks Ward to take the fleer, 81; first Massachusetts command in Boston, 218; requests major-general, 161, note Ward to remain despite the ac- ^j^^^^. ^ju^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ceptance of his resignation by , Congress, 223; feels that "the Worcester County Convention, 61- game is pretty near up," 237; ^^' ^3, 64-67, 69-70. 79-8o; wins at Trenton and again at 'closes the county courts, 65-67 Princeton, 238; forces the surren- der of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Yellow House, 10; presented to 261; asked to drive the English Ward by his father, 11, note; from Penobscot, 268; could not Ward's home court, 12; pur- comply, 268; suspicious of Great chased by the Reverend Joseph Britain's part in Shays' Rebellion, Sumner, 28, note 289-290; as the first President, Yorktown, the surrender of Corn- visits New England, 301 ; Fed- wallis, 261 W 6 5 ^. \' .^^°^ - ^^--0^ :^^1^: ^ov* jp'?'^ •, %^A^ :M^. v./ ••^«jfek'- *• V^ ..IV- ^ aO^ t^l-lCj* V .o«* aO :-f-\o' 4.^*^*:^^%%. .^'.-^ik-^- ^/V^iJ^'V / - AY ^ • • ^ Deacidified using the Bookkeeper procet \ • % Neutralizing Agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: StP 19! 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