YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

!^

r

Morton, Df^niel 0..
Sermon Delivered,
Jacob B, Woodbury.
ijidover, 18r^9.

.at the Funeral of Col.

Ck22.

A51

ft S^^7^^'\'

4-5 7

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Gift of
Edith and Maude Wetmore
in memory of their father
George Peabody Wetmore
B.A. 1867

SERMON

bELIVEREU IN WINCHENDON, FEB. 19, 1839,

FUNERAL OF COL. JACOB B. WOODBURY,

¦WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE

ON SUNDAY THE SEVENTEENH, AGED EIGHTY-TWO :

TO WHICH IS ADDED

A BRIEF ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE.

BY
DANIEL O. MORTON, A. M.
If
PASTOR OF THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN WINCHENDON.

Jpuhlfsjielr iij Hequest.

ANDOVER :
PRINTED BY GOULD, NEWMAN AND SAXTON.
1839.

cte.2..45i

J3 iw.^.

SERMON.

REVELATION 14: 13.
And 1 heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, write, blessed are the
dead, which die in the Lord from henceforth : Yea, saith the Spirit, that they
may rest from their labors ; and their works do follow them.
To explain this passage in its prophetic connection, or to show
to what period or condition of the church it immediately refers,
may be somewhat difficult. On this point wise and good men are
not perfectly agreed. Perhaps the passage was designed to teach,
that the doctrine of purgatory, which during the dark ages was the
dread of good men, and an encouragement to the wicked, would at
the predicted period, the time of reformation from popery, be gen
erally exploded. Then, good people would generally understand
the doctrine of the separate state between death and the resurrec
tion ; that the righteous immediately after death would enter into
rest, and the wicked, without hope of deliverance would sink into
the world of perdition. And the expectation of admission into
heaven immediately after death would greatly encourage and com
fort Christians, in those days of calamity and cruel persecution.
They would not be troubled with fears of punishment, or any evils
to be endured previously to their admission into paradise. Dr.
Scott has the following observation on this passage. " Blessed are
the dead, who die in the Lord from henceforth ;" that is, from this
period believers would generally understand that encouraging truth ;
and not have to encounter the fears of purgatory, or to apprehend
a delay of their felicity, when seized with the agonies of death, or
called to suffer martyrdom, for Christ's sake. And in fact, the
expectation of immediate happiness was the joy and support of those
numbers, who were burned alive, or otherwise cruelly martyred
during those times. But whether we have a correct understanding
of the passage in ils prophetic connection or not, it is certainly true,

that all who die in the Lord are blessed from henceforth, or imme
diately after their death.
" All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable ;"
but " a voice from heaven" denoted that something of vast impor
tance was to be communicated, and from the manner of its intro
duction, there seems to be a singular emphasis in the text. The
" voice" commanded the apostle to write, " blessed are the dead
who die in the Lord from henceforth ;" and to this the Holy Spirit
added by a secret impulse on his mind, " that they may rest from
their labors, and their works do follow them."
And what is it to die in the Lord ? Many no doubt die in sin,
and go frora a state of probation and of hope, to the world of despair.
To die in the Lord is to die in the faith and hope of the Gospel.
Having through the mediation of Jesus Christ, and by the gracious
influences of the Holy Spirit, raade an unreserved surrender of him
self to God, as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, the faithful
disciple is willing to yield up his spirit into the hands of his Re-
deeraer, whenever the time of his departure arrives. He can cheer
fully commit his soul to God, and resign his body to the grave,
there to sleep till the morning of the resurrection, in full assurance
that it will then be raised in the likeness of Christ's glorious body.
An apostle says, " I know in whom 1 have trusted, and that he is
able to keep that which I have committed unto him against tbat
day. I am now ready to be offered, and the tirae of my departure
is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course,
I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give
me at that day : and not to me only, but unto all them that love
his appearing. On another occasion he exclaimed, " O death,
where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? the sting of
death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to
God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Thousands and millions have enjoyed this triumph. They have
left the world rejoicing, leaning on the arm of everlasting love.
" Jesus can make a dyintr bed
Feel soft as downy pillows lue ;
While on his breast, I lean my head,
And brealliu luy lile out sweetly theic."

" Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Bles
sed are the dead, who die in the Lord."
Standing as I now do between the living and the dead, I would,
with divine assistance, give some description of the blessedness of
those " who die in the Lord," and assign the reasons of it.
L They are blessed, because " they rest from their labors."
Life is a series of labors and of toil. The man, who loves God and
his fellow beings, will consider the faithful performance of his duty,
his delight. But this, though it mitigate the hardships of life, does
not annihilate them; nor exclude the idea and the feeling of weari-
soraeness and pain. For the support of life and the maintenance of
families, many are subjected to labors, which, but for the hope of
better days, would be insupportable. Many toil in bondage, and
endure hardships innumerable for unfeeling lords. They are born
in bondage ; they live in bondage ; they die in bondage. The wise
man sums up the uncounted labors, cares and anxieties of life in the
emphatic words, " vanity and vexation of spirit." A full -examina
tion of them would open before us a boundless field ; a field, which
the solemnities of the present occasion, and the brief space of time
allotted, forbid us extensively to survey.
But think one moment of the hardships of the soldier. He is in
a state of perfect vassalage ; he is subject to the will of another, and
goes at his bidding. In the morning he knows not wJiere he shall
rest his head at night. At night he knows not where the rays of
the morning will find him. They may greet hiin in the enemy's
camp, or shine upon his mangled limbs or lifeless corpse. Or the
first moment of his evening slumber may be broken by orders to
fight, or to march he knows not where. And for days and nights
without cessation he may be flying from the face of a victorious en
emy ; marching over mountains and hills ; fording or swimming
rivers ; and pressing his weary way through fields and woods and
swamps ; with no bed but the cold, damp ground ; and no shelter
but the stormy skies ; chilled, hungry, thirsty and in want of all
things. If sick, he is left to the tender mercy of the enemy, or to
live or die as he can. In summer or in winter, you might track him
by his blood-stained steps. Behold him on the field of battle, a
mark for many balls, with ten thousand instruments of death set in
fearful array before him. Who can tell the emotions of his soul in

that fearful hour 1 Have we no sympathy for him ? Who knows
but victory or defeat will send him into eternity, and leave his wife
a widow, and his children fatherless ; or, if he be a youth, bring
down the grey heads of his parents to the grave ? I say nothing now
of the righteousness or unrighteousness of war. But I would speak
with great respect of those venerated fathers, who in the days of the
nation's peril, jeoparded their lives and dearest interests in ber de
fence. Nearly all of them have retired from this theatre of life ;
but they will long be had in grateful remembrance. How severe
are the toils and conflicts of the soldier ; and how poor his earthly
reward !
Now trace the mariner as he wends his way on the stormy deep.
On a given day all was calm and serene ; the heavens were garnish
ed with unwonted brilliancy ; and the sea, reflecting the light and
glory of the firmament, seemed an immeasurable ocean of sparkling
gems. But the scene 'was too bright and lovely to continue. At
night there arose a tremendous storm, and the war of elements was
dreadful ; too mighty for the laboring, groaning ship to endure.
Sails, rigging, masts all torn away, and sent afloat on the wild waste
of waters. Nothing remained of the gallant bark, save her hull ;
and this in the wonderful providence of God was preserved. The
stormy night is past, and the mariners are alive. But what are
their prospects ? The vessel was strained in every joint ; she has
sprung a leak in many places, and the sailors must labor for their
lives to keep her from sinking. They have little food,- and less
sivater. Think of them on board that unmanageable wreck./ How
great their hardships ; how dreadful their forebodings 1 <•' They that
go down to the sea in ships, that do business in the great waters ;
these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For
Hecomraandeth and raiseth up the stormy wind, which lifteth up
the \v«aves thereof. They mount up to the heaven, they go down
again to the depths ; their .soul is melted because of trouble. They
reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their
wits' end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he
bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm,
so that the, waves thereof are still. Then are they glad, because
they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven."
Missionaries sent to pagan countries do, from the nature of their

employment, oftentimes experience great hardships. Literally, like
the soldier, they suffer hunger and thirst, and cold and nakedness,
having no certain dwelling place. And they prove themselves
" the ministers of God in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities,
in troubles, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings," night
and day. Some labor amidst the perpetual snows ; others languish
and die in early manhood in the sultry climate of the torrid zone.
But whenever a good man dies, he rests from his labors ; and where-
ever, thence his spirit takes its upward flight.
" Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord from henceforth :
for they rest from their labors ;" and are welcomed into the celestial
paradise. There, neither the chilling damps and storms of winter,
nor the heat of summer, nor the sickliness of autumnal skies, shall
light upon them. Their labors are finished, their toils and hardships
are ended ; and they shall hunger no more, neither shall they thirst
any more. In heaven, " The wicked cease from troubling, and the
weary are at rest."
II. Those who die in the Lord are blessed, because at death,
they are delivered from all sin and ternptation. Sin is the greatest of
all evils. It has led many a good raan to cry out with the prophet,
" Wo is me, for I am undone ; I am a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips ;" and with an apos
tle, " O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death ? I find then a law, that when I would do good,
evil is present with me." The best of men have most deeply la
mented their remaining sinfulness, their want of entire conformity to
the holy law of God. They have sighed and Inotfrned over a na
ture prone to sin, and over a " heart deceitful above.fill things and
desperately wicked." It will not be known till the- day 6f final ac
count, how many tearsh ave been shed in view of a restless depravity ;
how many struggles and conflicts with sin penitent souls haveibad ;•
and how many heart-felt groans uttered in secret have ascended into
the ear of heaven, over duties not done and sins coramitted. We
must struggle constantly against sin, and all its allurements, or we
shall be overcome. But " blessed are the dead, which die in the
Lord from henceforth," because they are delivered from all sin and
temptation. The last conflict is endured, the battle is fought, and the
victory won. Glory be to God, who makes his children " conquer-

8
ors, and more than conquerors, through Him who hath loved them,
and died for them." Having trodden sin and satan and every enemy
under their feet, and rested from their labors, the shout of victory
swells and echoes through all the realms of bliss. When a believer
yields up his spirit into the hands of his Redeemer, heaven's ever
lasting gates are opened wide to receive another conqueror. No
matter whence he ascended, whether from the land or the sea, from
a cottage, a dungeon, or a throne, his entrance into glory is hailed
with equal transport. With joy unutterable he is received " into
everlasting habitations." Henceforth neither sin, nor satan, nor
temptation of any kind shall assail him ; and he shall never see, nor
fear even the distant approaches of an enemy.
III. Those who die in the Lord are blessed, because at death
they are delivered from all sorrow and suffering. " Man that is
born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble." Such is the
common lot of the human family, and good men have no promise
of exemption. They have sometimes been more severely afflicted
than others. Our Saviour taught his disciples, that in the world,
they should have tribulation, and that through much tribulation, they
should enter into the kingdom of heaven. In this apostate and
changing world, the sources of suffering and sorrow are innumera
ble. How raany pains of body, how many disappointments, how
many occasions and seasons of perplexity and anguish of mind ?
But I would draw a curtain over this melancholy picture, that we
may behold more distinctly the bright and cheering prospects of the
Christian in death and beyond it. When the believer" puts off the
earthly house of this tabernacle," the garments of mortality, he bids
an eternal farewell to all suffering and sorrow. He will never shed
another tear, heave another sigh, nor feel another pang. " The
righteous is taken away frora the evil to come ; he shall enter into
peace. The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion
with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads ; they shall obtain
joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. What
are these which are arrayed in white robes, and whence came they ?
These are they which have come out of great tribulation, and have
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day
and night in his temple : and he that sitteth on the throne shall

dwell among them. — The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall feed them, and lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall he
no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be
any more pain : for the former things are passed away."
IV. Those who die in the Lord are blessed, because their works
do follow thera. Their sins are all forgiven. None of them will
rise against them in judgment. I would not here discuss the ques--
tion, whether the sins of good men will come to light in the last
day. Perhaps they will as matters of fact. Nothing of the kind,
however, is intimated by our Saviour in the twenty-fifth chapter of
Matthew, which contains the fullest and most particular account of
the proceedings of the final judgraent found in the Bible. If at any
time believers should " forsake God's law, and walk not in his judg
ments ;" if they should " break His statutes, and keep not his
commandments; he will visit their transgressions with a rod, and
their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless his loving kindness he will
not utterly take from them, nor suffer his faithfulness to fail." Iii
this life they are soraetiraes sorely corrected for their sins ; and they
are visited upon their posterity ; they descend in their fearful in
fluences upon thera and others. Still " if we confess our sins, God
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness." As it respects theraselves, tbe sins of the righ
teous are, as though they had never been; they are "forgiven,"
"forgotten," " blotted out," " waslied away in thh blood of the
Lamb." Therefore, none but their good " works will follow them."
These wrought and performed by the gracious assistance of the
Holy Spirit, follow them into the eternal world, as so many faithful
witnesses to the sincerity and excellence of their character. Not
a prayer has been forgotten ; not one penitent tear overiooked ; nor
has one exercise of love to God or man, one act of faith, one feel
ing of uuworthiness and humility, been disregarded. Every word
of friendly advice or warning, every sincere desire for the tempo
ral or eternal well being of their fellow men, every glow of christian
kindness, every holy motive, is noted in the register of heaven.
Every dollar or shilling given with a single eye to the glory of God,
to advance the Redeemer's kingdom among men, is money lodged
at interest in the bank of heaven. Food, raiment, medicine, " a cup
2

10

of cold water, given to a disciple in the name of a disciple," secures
a divine reward. Every act of obedience, great or small, publk: or
private, is chronicled above ; and will be had in everiasting remem
brance. Thus the works of good men follow them to the praise
and glory of God.
They follow them in another sense ; they descend in their benign
influences down the long periods of tirae upon successive genera
tions. One good deed raay give birth to another, and this to a third ;
and thus there may be a progression and accumulation of good down
to the end of time. Nor will the hallowed tendencies then cease ;
they will pass onward into eternity and never die. No being but
Jehovah knows, or can know, the full and final influence of one
good deed. The conversion of one sinner may lead to the conver
sion of several ; and they again may be instrumental of the conver
sion of a greater number ; so tbat the labours of one good man raay,
before the judgment morning, lead to the conversion of thousands
and millions of precious souls ; who but for such efforts and influ
ences would have perished in their sins. " They that be wise, shall
shine as tbe brightness of the firmament ; and they that turn many
to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever."
V. Those who die in the Lord are blessed, because they are
perfected and confirmed in a state of holiness. We have contempla
ted their deliverance from temptation and sorrow, and their glorious
victory over every foe. The crowning excellence of the triumph
is, that it is eternal ; a conquest once for all. The Psalmist said
" then shall I be satisfied, when I awake in thy likeness ;" and good
men will not be satisfied till they awake in the perfect likeness of
their Redeemer. Till then, they will " hunger and thirst after
righteousness ;" and when they are washed frora every defilement
and stain of sin, and conforraed to God in the whole man, " they will
be filled." At death they are perfected in holiness, and confirmed
by the purpose, proraise and grace of God in a state of sinless
obedience. They are assirailated to Christ, and filled with the di
vine fulness. They are one with Christ, as he is one with the
Father. Our Saviour's prayer for his disciples of every age and country
is, " that they all raay be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in
thee, that they also may be one in us. I in them, and thou in me,

II
that they may be made perfect in one. Father, I will that they
also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where 1 am, that they
may behold my glory, which thou hast given me : — that the love,
wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in thera. and I in them."
This prayer receives an incipient answer in this world, in the obedi
ence and holiness of believers, especially by the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit. But the full and perfect answer is reserved for the
heavenly state. Imraediately after death, they are received into
glory ; become one with Christ, as he is one with the Father ; and
thus are raade perfect in one. This living, vital, eternal union with
God secures beyond the possibility of failure their everlasting perfec
tion in holiness and felicity.
VI. Those " who die in the Lord are blessed from henceforth,"
because they are admitted into the gracious presence of God, and
into the society of the most exalted, holy beings. In this wilder
ness we see God through a glass darkly ; through the vail of creation
and providence, through the medium of writings and ordinances. In
heaven, the righteous see God as he is, in the majesty and grandeur
of his adorable perfections. They see their Redeemer, their elder
brother, sitting in glory at his right hand, " crowned with many
crowns." They see his face and enjoy his smiles without a vail
between. The unclouded glories of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, create eternal noon, and fill all the celestial worshippers with
joy unutterable. The Lord God and the Lamb are the light and
glory of heaven. Into the presence of him whose name is love,
who hath loved us and died for us, and washed us from our sins in
his own blood, each believer is admitted by death. " Oh ! 'tis a
heaven worth dying for, to see my smiling God."
But heaven is peopled with various orders of holy and happy be
ings. " Thousands, thousands, minister unto God ; ten thousand
times ten thousand stand before him." The society of these exalt
ed beings must be very delightful, because tbey are endowed with
very exalted and noble intellectual and moral powers, stand very
high in the scale of being, and especially because they love and
serve God with their utmost ability, and are supremely happy in
the enjoyment of his love. When believers are admitted into heav
en, they corae, in the fullest sense of the words, " not to the mount
that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto black-

12
ness and darkness and tempest ; but they come unto mount Zion,
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and
to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly of
the church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven,
and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made
perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant, and to
the blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than the blood
of Abel."
Angels announced our Saviour's birth, ministered to him in his
temptation in the wilderness, strengthened him in the garden, watch
ed around his cross, guarded his tomb, aided in his resurrection, and
attended hira in his rapturous flight to heaven. A service some
what similar they perform for all his followers. " Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent forth to them, who shall be heirs of salvation ?
The poor man died, and was carried by angels into Abraham's bo
som." When the believer is strugghng with his last enemy, an-
gds wait around hira ; and when " the golden bowl is broken, and
the silver cord of life " loosed," they bear the ransomed spirit home
to God. All heaven hails his safe arrival, and he is welcomed by
his Redeemer and Judge. " Well done, good and faithful servant,
thou hast been faithful over a few things ; I will make thee ruler
over many things; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Well
might an apostle " desire to depart, and be with Christ, which is ikr
better." In view of this subject I would offer a few remarks.
1. The good man possesses great excellence and nobleness of
character. He raay have sorae iraperfections ; and there are spots
in the sun. But like that luminary he scatters light and blessings
around him. His track through this world is luminous, and it de
scends in its hallowed influences through all time. Only the dis
closures of the last great day, and the full light of eternity will show
to the universe the value of one good raan. He renounces all evil ;
he loves God and all his rational creatures. He is a light, an orna
ment in this lower world ; a child of God, the joy and care of
heaven. God loves him and dwells in him by the Holy Spirit ;
and he is a fellow heir with Jesus Christ to infinite glory and
felicity.

13
2. Death does no essential harm to the Christian. " Sin has en
tered into the world, and death by sin : and so death hath passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned." Death is a consequence
of sin, an enemy, which good men, as well as others, of all past ages,
have had to encounter. The Saviour could not be excused from
this conflict. But by dying he has destroyed him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil. Death is now a conquered foe ;
and from the Christian, the sting is taken away. The ancient wor
thies " fell asleep, and were gathered unto their fathers." They
only slept ; their mortal part rested frora the labors and toils of this
transitory life ; their spirits ascended to heaven. Patriarchs and
prophets, apostles, martyrs and followers of the Lamb, who have
gone before us, live in the best sense ; they have only exchanged
the place and the mode of tbeir existence. They live and rejoice
in the great congregation on high ; they have joined the church
triumphant. And they live in those benign and hallowed influences,
which, while on earth, they shed around them ; which have de
scended through succeeding generations down to us, and will con
tinue through all tirae and forever, ':
We naturally feel great solicitude for the b6dy, and instinctively
dread the approaches of death. But when a good man dies, the
body sleeps only for a season, to be reanimated in the faorning of
the resurrection, in the likeness of Christ's glorious body, with strong
immortal powers. Then, united to its kindred spirit, and arrayed
in the garments of salvation, it will shine forth eternally as a re
splendent star. When it pleases God to call him home, death is
unspeakable gain to the believer. Why then should we be unwil
ling that our friends should go before us, after that they by the will
of God have served Him and their generation faithfully ? Why
should we desire a delay of their felicity ? To have their bodies
subjected to more suffering, and their souls to the dangers of this
fascinating, sinful world ? Would we hinder their upward flight,
their departure to God, their exceeding joy ? And if we love God
in sincerity, why should we dread a vanquished enemy, who vainly
attempts to affright us, at the end of our journey ?
" Why should we start and fear to die .'
'What timorous worms we mortals are .'
Death is the gate of endless joy,
^ And yet we dread to enter there."

14
3. This subject is calculated to afford consolation to mourners who
have been bereaved of christian friends. It is designed to comfort
the friends who mourn on the present occasion. They will I trust,
excuse me from raaking formal addresses, as the discourse was pre
pared chiefly for their benefit ; though I would fain hope that it may
prove useful to all who hear me.
May the Lord, in the plenitude of his mercy, support and com
fort the widow in her age and loneliness ; and when she shall have
done and suffered all the will of God, may she join with him, who
so often guided her devotions here below, in singing the song of re
deeming grace in heaven. The Lord bless the children and child
ren's children ; and raay they all have grace and wisdora to iraitate
the virtues of their beloved and honored parent, and follow him in
all things, so far as he followed Christ.
Permit me here to address this whole assembly. Beloved friends ;
the tirae is short. What you do in preparation for death and
heaven, must be done quickly. "The night cometh, when no man
can work." Would you " die the death of the righteous, and have
your last end like his ;" you must live the life of the righteous. Are
you righteous now ? Is your peace made with God ; have you a
treasure in heaven ? " If you die in your sins," where Christ is gone,
you cannot go. " Be ye also ready ; for in such an hour as ye think
not, the Son of Man cometh." Prepare to meet your God.
Here I might conclude ; but it may be interesting to this assem
bly to trace briefly the history of our departed friend.
Col. Jacob B. Woodbury was born in Ipswich, Mass. July 30,
1756. He was the eldest of seven children. He lived and labored
with his father till the commencement of the American Revolution.
It is well known that the first blood shed at Lexington, produced
very great excitement. As soon as the news of invasion reached his
native town, young Woodbury and others started for Lexington ;
but before they arrived, the enemy had fled. Sometime in the
summer of 1775, Mr. Woodbury was engaged in carrying provisions
to the American army at Cambridge. In the ensuing autumn he
enlisted into the Continental army for one year, in the regiment of
Col. Baldwin of Woburn. This division of the army was stationed

15
at Chelsea, where it remained till the British retired from Boston
in March 1776. Soon after, this regiment received orders to march
to the city of New York, where it arrived early in April. At
first the American soldiers were quartered in private houses ; but in
June they went into tents by the side of the North River, a little
distance from the city. Here they remained till the disastrous
batde of Brooklyn, in which the Americans were defeated with great
loss. Mr. Woodbury was taken sick in June, and remained en
camped till the evening previous to the attack of the enemy upon
the city of New York. This evening the commander in chief, satis
fied that an attack was meditated, and would soon be made, gave
direction that the sick and wounded should imraediately repair to
the river in great silence, and that no one should speak a loud word.
Here boats were in readiness to convey them to the Jersey shore.
Mr. Woodbury was of the number of the sick, and of course in
cluded in the order. About five hundred Americans passed over in
safety into the State of New Jersey. Had they waited a few hours
longer, their escape would have been very difficult, if not impossi
ble. For soiDO tirae Mr. Woodbury was lodged in a barn, in the
midst of the dead and the dying. Here were the sick, the dying
and the dead, all lying in the sarae stable. Here was heard the cry
of the expiring soldier, calling in vain for aid ; for so great were the
sufferings of all, that, with few exceptions, each one was intent only
on bis own preservation. Mr. Woodbury remained in New Jersey a
few weeks, when his health being soraewhat improved, he rejoined
his regiment. He was with the army in some of those frequent re
treats, which were consequent upon the capture of New York.
While thus flying before a victorious enemy, the only way in which
tbe Americans could save their provisions was, to roll their barrels
of raeat and flour onward before the army, as fast as they could.
Mr. Woodbury said, he carried his ration of flour in the crown of
his hat. Being but partially recovered from sickness and unfit for
active service, his place was filled by his brother. In feeble health,
but convalescent, he returned to his father's house early in Decem
ber, 1776. He remained at home most of the time for a year.
During the year 1777, when Mr. Woodbury had partial rest from
the toils of war, he had an opportunity of serving his country, or
at least of sharing in her sufferings. The British had sent a party

16
of men to cut timber on the banks of Penobscot river, where tim
ber was abundant and of excellent quality. Massachusetts, first
to breast and brave the storm of revolution, could not witness with
indifference this trespass upon her rights. In order to remove these
intruders, the governraent fitted out some boats and vessels and
manned them with about five hundred men. Mr. Woodbury was
one of this company. They sailed up the Penobscot, and would
doubtless have succeeded in their enterprise ; hut they were follow
ed and attacked by a superior British fleet. Thus situated, their
only chance of safety, was to escape to land. They did not, how
ever, leave their vessels till they had set them on fire, and sent
thera adrift down the river, to salute the vessels of the enemy.
They then bent their way horaeward through the wilderness of
Maine. They suffered greatly for food, and several of the corapany
perished on the way. For five days they saw no human face, save
those of their party. An Indian was their guide the first day ; but
becoming offended in the evening, he absconded, and left them
to grope their way as they could. In addition to the difficulty of
traversing the pathless forest, tbey had great rivers and many streams
to cross. Through the care of a kind and watchful Providence
most of them survived these hardships ; and when they reached
the habitations of their countrymen, they were kindly received, and
their wants liberally supplied.
January 3, 1778, Mr. Woodbury shipped on board a merchant
vessel, bound to Surinam in the West Indies. In five days after
she sailed the vessel was taken by a British ship of war ; and Mr.
Woodbury and four others were put in irons. After two days they
were liberated, and Mr. Woodbury, one of his company, and four
British sailors were put on board the captured vessel, to take her,
in company with the British ship, into the harbor of New York.
Soon a dreadful gale parted them, and the Americans saw the
British ship no more. The gale left the American vessel a com
plete wreck. The captain and mate were washed overboard, and
were lost. In the midst of this dreadful war of the elements, Mr.
Woodbury was at the pump. Seeing a frightful wave approaching,
and knowing that it would da.sh over the vessel, he seized hold of
tbe pump. But his grasp was broken, and he was carried ove
in the wave. In his struggles to save himself he caught hold of i

17
iron strap. It was now evening. Soon after the passing of those
dreadfuljvaves, which had swept three men into the deep, sorae ol
the crew looked over the side of the vessel, as she rolled on a wave
elevating her leeward side, and thought they saw a man. Finding
that Woodbury was missing, they let down a man ; but Woodbury
held on to the iron with a dying grasp, and the man could not break
his hold. They then drew him up, and let down two men, who
succeeded in breaking his hold, and seizing him by the hair of his
head, they brought him safe on board. Mr. Woodbury was appa
rently dead, and it was sorae time before there were any symptora;
of returning hfe ; and from one to two hours before he had a con
scious knowledge of anything. This was a critical, fearful time.
Had he remained a few moments longer, under the buffetings of the
stormy waves, it had been too late. But the Lord had raercy in
store, and therefore saved him, when all hope had nearly fled.
On this wreck the crew remained thirty-seven days ; and their
sufferings were very great. They had no water, except what they
obtained from the clouds, and were almost destitute of food. They
were reduced to a very short allowance, and were in danger of dy
ing of hunger, if indeed their frail, broken vessel might survive the
dangers of the sea. While on the wreck they saw but three sail.
The first was a man of war, probably British, laboring in a tremen
dous gale. As they were gazing upon her, she suddenly disappear
ed, and doubtless sunk with all her crew, which was supposed to
be not less than five hundred men. The second vessel came near
er, to which they made a signal of distress ; but she, having obser
ved it, sailed off and left them, supposing probably that they were
pirates. Their hearts failed them, when they saw this vessel bear
away, and leave them to their woes.
After remaining on the wreck ten or twelve days, the crew had
daily prayers. They felt their need of help from God, and saw
plainly that unless he interposed to deliver them, by some wonder
ful event of providence, they must soon perish. One morning
about sun-rise, when they were on their knees crying to heaven for
deliverance, one of the hands exclaimed, " a sail, a sail 1" Another
replied, " we wont leave our prayers." The vessel was distant and
would have passed them ; but they made every possible signal of
distresn^^Ml Aa#were successful in the effort. Then with joy
3

18
too great for utterance, they gazed upon the noble ship which was
raoving proudly through the waves, and making her way directly
towards them. It was a French man of war, which God, in his
merciful providence, had sent to their relief. This was a won
derful deliverance ; for the French ship was bound to Boston ; but
having encountered a gale, and sustained some loss, the officers fear
ed to venture on tbe American coast in the dead of winter. They,
therefore, turned their course, and steered for the West Indies : and
thus found and relieved this suffering crew. The men on the
wreck knew not a word of the French language ; but these gallant
strangers received, and treated thera with great kindness. In the
language of our departed friend, "they were very brotherly." Mr.
Woodbury and the rest of his corapany were carried to the West
Indies ; and after being taken frora one island to another, he even
tually raade his way to the Araerican continent, and returned home
in safety. He always cherished a grateful recollection of the kind
ness of the French. They did what they could to befriend him.
Mr. Woodbury's religious impressions while on board that wreck
were not like the morning cloud, and early dew ; they were perraa
nent ; the savor of thera continued through life. He had previous
ly had serious impressions, but they were not so definite and abid
ing as those experienced in that season of peril. He thought that
God, for the sake of his beloved Son, did graciously regard his sup
plication, and send him answers of peace. His language was, " He
heard my poor prayer."
In the summer of 1780, he was in the American army at West
Point ; that important fortress being then under the command of
Benedict Arnold. Mr. Woodbury was one of the six or eight
Americans, who were sent by Arnold with a flag of truce, to carry
a message to a British ship. Though these Americans unconscious
ly aided in a treacherous negotiation ; yet they did it with pure
and most patriotic intentions, supposing that they were perform
ing sorae important service for their country. After their return,
Arnold directed that their names should be taken ; for what pur
pose is not known ; but probably with a design to save them from
the general massacre, which he foresaw raight take place, when the
British should come into possession of the fortress. But a paper
certificate would have done these men no good.l^TheuJto-e faith-

19
ful and true to their country, and so were the whole body of men
in the fort. And however suddenly or unexpectedly they might
have been attacked, they would no doubt have resisted to the ex
tent of their ability ; and had the enemy demanded their arms, they
would have given the Spartan answer, " Come and take them."
But Providence interposed to spare the effusion of blood ; and the
early detection and exposure of Arnold's treachery saved, probably,
the subject of this narrative and many others from an untimely,
dreadful death ; and prevented evils, the greatness and permanency
of which none can estimate. Mr. Woodbury said, that Washing
ton, imraediately on his arrival, commanded that each soldier should
be furnished with forty-eight cartridges ; but two only to a man
having been given out for a long time.
Mr. Woodbury had in all been in the army about three years.
He had done his part toward achieving the independence of his
country ; and the period of his last engagement having expired, he
returned home in the autumn of this year. In Deceraber following
he was raarried to Miss Hannah Roberts. This proved to be a
happy union, and continued alraost sixty years. In May, 1783, he
reraoved with his family to this town. ' The land which he had pur
chased, was an unbroken forest ; and he came to it by the guidance
of marked trees. He bore the burden and heat of the day of sub
duing and bringing under cultivation a new farm.
It is a remark of a judicious writer, speaking of the ancient history
of Israel, that those periods are generally the best and happiest, of
which there is least to record. The remark is equally true of indi
viduals and farailies. Henceforward the life of our departed brother
was of an even tenor, having none of those affecting and painful
vicissitudes, which attended his earlier years. One event, however,
may be deemed an exception, and is worthy of remembrance. A
nuraber of years after his settlement in town, a wolf did considera
ble raischief in Westrainster, Hubbardston, and some other places.
The inhabitants, unwilling that such an enemy should continue his
ravages, or depart with impunity if he would, asserabled in arms
and pursued him. It was in the midst of winter, and the snow
was very deep. Of course both the retreat of the enemy, and
the pursuit wer^ slow. Owing to the great difficulty of travel
ling in th^M|HMw, through fields and woods, many of the pur-

20
suers became exceedingly exhausted, and were obliged to return.
New followers, however, fell in with the wearied band, and tbe
pursuit was continued. On the third day, the wolf came into this
town near Mr. Woodbury's, when those, who still followed, were
exceedingly fatigued. As soon as the alarm was given, he seized
his gun as he had before done in his youth on a greater occasion, and
went in pursuit of the foe. Mr. Woodbury and two neighbors,
one of whom had a large dog, now constituted a new recruit, a re
serve corps ; who henceforth were first and foremost in the conflict.
The wolf had been wounded in one of the hind feet ; and his retreat
was not rapid. They pursued him vigorously, and the dog several
times came in close contact with the wolf At one time they fell
both together over a precipice. They then entered a low ground,
and went into a wood. Mr. Woodbury, judging from the noise of
the dog in what direction they went, took a circuit in hope to meet
his enemy in front, and force hira to a battle. In this he was not
disappointed ; for scarcely had he placed himself in an attitude of
defence, when the wolf met him. He took dehberate aim, and
snapped his gun ; but the powder had become damp and he could
not fire. He tried to make the dog seize the wolf, but in vain ;
the poor creature was faithful, ready to watch and pursue the foe,
but fearful of a close erabrace. Bitter experience had taught him
caution. Aware that something must be done, and done quickly,
Mr. Woodbury rushed upon the wolf, struck him on the bead
with the breech of his gun, and broke it. The blow, however, made
very little impression. He then seized the wolf by the neck, sprung
upon his back, and pressed him down in the snow. This was a
critical situation ; for who could tell, but the wolf raight slip from
under him, and treat liim more rudely than he had treated the wolf.
No time was to be lost ; and Mr. Woodbury cried aloud to his com
panions, who were not far distant, for a knife. One of them took
out his knife ; but being embarrassed was some time in opening it.
This done, with great caution, he reached it to Mr. Woodbury.
He instantly applied it to tbe throat of his enemy, and finished the
work of conquest. This was a hard fought, perilous battle ; and
when it was over, shouts of victory echoed through tbe woods and
snow-fields ; guns were fired ; pieces of tiie aniij^[ sent far and
near ; and the rejoicing was great.

21
Putnam shot a wolf in his den ; and our ancestors killed many
wild animals ; but so far as my knowledge extends, our departed
brother was the first man, who literally seized a wolf by his ears,
and killed him with a penknife. But his physical strength was
great, and his courage was equal to his strength.
Mr. Woodbury was a kind friend and neighbor, a worthy and
respected citizen. It is not known that he had any enemies. He
felt duly interested in the important affairs of the town, and was oc
casionally elected to its offices.
He had been a soldier in his youth, had been trained in the school
of Washington, and had seen hard service. With such experience,
he was promoted in the military line, and sustained the office of
Colonel of a regiment for several years to very good acceptance.
Still he was a man of peace, and was uniformly conciliatory in his
intercourse with his fellow men. He had imbibed none of those
false notions of honor, which are too often found in military men.
He was truly a patriot ; and this noble trait of character he evinced,
not in making speeches, but by a uniforra, consistent course of con
duct. Having suffered much in the service of his country, he
greatly rejoiced in her prosperity.
In his uniform, persevering industry for nearly three fourths of a
century in the laudable employment of a farmer, he set an example
of no ordinary value. For whatever improvements there raay be
in the arts and sciences, and in the conveniences of domestic life,
no service is raore honorable than husbandry ; and scarcely any so
essential to our welfare. Who can live without the fruits of the
earth ? And how can they be obtained without the sweat of
the brow ?
Soon after their settlement in town, Mr. and Mrs. Woodbury
made a public profession of religion. They were blessed with nine
children, and according to a custom which we believe to be of Di
vine authority they did, in successive years, dedicate their " house
hold" to God in the ordinance of baptism. Mr. Woodbury was
greatly blessed in his family. He found Jehovah to be a God to
him and to his children after hira. Two of his children, who lived
to be beads of families, died before him, and several of his grand
children. ButJie lived to see six children hopefully pious, making
publicmJUHBK their faith in Christ ; and two of them ministers

22
of the Gospel. It was a source of great comfort to him to have two
sons, who were accounted worthy, by the great Head of the church,
to be messengers of grace to guilty men. One of them, Rev. Silas
Woodbury of Kalamazoo, Michigan, visited his beloved and venera
ble father a few months before his decease. This visit was render
ed peculiarly solemn, by the strong impression, that it would be the
last. Our aged friend had the happiness of knowing that six of bis
grandchildren had become enlisted disciples of tbe Son of Man.
Some of the deceased grandchildren were also, in the judgment of
charity, hopefully pious. Thus did our departed brother live to see
his children, and children's children walking in the truth, and peace
upon Israel. In the early years of his manhood, storms and tem
pests attended him, but he lived long and saw good days. His final
sickness was a fever ; " and the time drew near that he must die."
The visits which I made at his bedside, during a few of the last months
of his life, were interesting to me. So were all my interviews with
him ; but these are distinguished from others, because they were the
last. At one of these visits he related to me, with great accuracy,
about one half of the foregoing narrative. Sometiraes his mind was
a little wandering, but for tbe most part he appeared quite rational.
At one time he said, " I have been a long journey of eighty-three
years, but I shall soon get home." He appeared to be entirely re
conciled to the will of God ; nor did he at any time manifest any
fear of death. He seemed conscious of un worthiness ; and affirmed
repeatedly that he put his whole trust in tbe Lord Jesus Christ for
forgiveness and salvation. A day or two before his death, he said,
" I can safely say, I am at peace with all men, and at peace with
God." The last day, three or four hours before his departure, he
said to his son and a young man standing by, " I want you all to
look on me, and see me die ; see what I ara going through, and what
you will have to go through soon." They with others did look on,
and see his tranquil end. He died most calmly without a struggle
or a groan ; and, like the ancient patriarchs, " fell asleep and was
gathered unto his fathers."
Our departed brother was a kind and amiable husband, an affec
tionate and judicious father ; and these important and sacred rela
tions he honored during a long life. True, thejmodest virtues,
which adorn and bless domestic life, do not atti^^HlA^if the

23
multitude, and may be unnoticed or forgotten. But they are among
the richest, choicest virtues of this lower worid. The man who
blesses society at its fountain head, does not live in vain.
Col. Woodbury was evidently a man of candor and good judg
ment ; and these, united with the friendliness of his disposition, pro
cured him the confidence and good will of his fellow men.
But religion was his brightest ornament. About sixty years he
was evidently a man of prayer. And during half a century he
openly avowed his attachment to the Saviour. He was a peace
maker in the church ; a consistent professor of religion. He felt a
deep interest in sustaining the institutions of religion at home, and
was ready to give his proportion to aid in the advancement of the
Redeemer's kingdom throughout the world. By divine grace as
sisting him he was enabled in some good degree to let his light
shine before men.
It has not been my design nor expectation to present the full or
complete character of our deceased brother ; but chiefly to narrate
sorae of the most important events of his life ; that we raight see
the way in which the Lord led him all his life long, and magnify the
grace of God manifested in him, and to hira ; and that, so far as he
walked in the footsteps of his Lord and Master, we might profit by
his example. And now to him from whom cometh down " every
good and perfect gift ;" from whom " all holy desires, all good coun
sels, and just works do proceed," be glory and praise forever.
Amen.

- f

^^4 J'' %

' % ." - I, i