"I Got My Chaise, Took My Wife and Children" - A Male Evacuee's Eyewitness Account of April 19, 1775

Over the past few months. The Nerds have discussed five known accounts of civilians, exclusively of women, who came in direct contact with His Majesty’s forces on April 19, 1775.

First up was Lincoln’s Mary Hartwell, who remembered coming in close contact with retreating British forces just as they were about to enter the Bloody Curve. “I saw an occasional horseman dashing by, going up and down, but heard nothing more until I saw them coming back in the afternoon all in confusion, wild with rage and loud with threats. I knew there had been trouble and that it had not resulted favorably for their retreating army. I heard musket shots just below by the old Brooks Tavern and trembled, believing that our folks were killed.”

As they fled the family tavern, Anna Munroe, wife of Lexington’s Sergeant William Munroe, and her 5-year-old daughter Anna nearly collided with the Royal Artillery and Percy's Relief Column. According to her 19th Century account, the child witness recalled she “could remember seeing the men in redcoats coming toward the house and how frightened her mother was when they ran from the house. That was all she could remember, but her mother told her of her very unhappy afternoon. She held Anna by the hand, brother William by her side and baby Sally in her arms . . . She could hear the cannon firing over her head on the hill. She could smell the smoke of the three buildings which the British burned between here and the center of Lexington. And she did not know what was happening to her husband, who was fighting, or what was happening within her house.”

The most notable female non-combatant who came into direct contact with the retreating British column was Hannah Adams of Menotomy. As previously discussed, the Menotomy Fight of April 19, 1775 was a vicious engagement that devolved into a bloody house-to-house and room-to-room fight for survival. Unfortunately, as this fight raged on, Hannah Adams, who had recently given birth and was bedridden, was trapped between Massachusetts militiamen and British regulars.

Like Hannah Adams, Hannah Bradish of Menotomy was also bedridden on April 19, 1775, having given birth to a child eight days earlier. As the regulars entered Menotomy, Hannah slept in bed with her infant. The sound of gunshots woke her up, and she quickly gathered her children and fled to the family kitchen at the back of the house. According to her statement submitted to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress on May 11, 1775, as she and her family hid behind furniture, bullets peppered her house and nearly struck her.

In a 19th Century newspaper interview, Lexington’s Rebekah Fiske described how she came in contact with His Majesty’s troops on more than one occasion and how she and other women and children were forced to flee from their homes to avoid the running fight between Massachusetts provincials and British regulars.

Recently, historian Katie Turner Getty brought to my attention an account of a male civilian, possibly a loyalist, who came in contact with the retreating column. 

 

Photo Credit: Nadia Peatie, MMNHP

As a preliminary matter, if you are not following Katie Turner Getty’s research efforts, you should. While the Nerds tend to focus on the events of April 19th between Lexington and Concord and the impact of the war in Essex County, Katie has taken a deep dive into Menotomy, Cambridge, and Charlestown’s contributions during the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the impact of the Siege of Boston.  

Two weeks ago, Katie and the Nerds attended the Saratoga 250th's "Women in War Symposium" in New York as presenters. During her lecture, Katie mentioned the exploits of Jacob Rogers and how he and his family came in direct contact with the retiring British forces as they tried to flee Charlestown, Massachusetts. Unbeknownst to the Nerds, J.L. Bell of Boston 1775 has also blogged about the incident.

As discussed in previous blog postings, there are numerous examples of Middlesex County men who qualified for service in the militia yet saw little or no combat on April 19th. Many could be classified as "evacuees" because they cared for their wives, mothers or daughters and assisted in helping them escape from the fight. Others did not fight because of “special circumstances”, including temporary injuries that prevented mobilization with the militia, an inability to secure arms and equipment, or the undertaking of specific duties, such as guarding captured British troops.

It appears Rogers fell under the “evacuee” category.

Jacob Rogers was a lieutenant in the Royal Navy. In 1774, he retired from service on board the HMS Halifax and settled, with his family, in Charlestown.

According to an October 1775 petition to the Massachusetts Legislature, Rogers became aware of the British expedition to Concord early in the morning of April 19th. “We were alarmed with various reports concerning the king’s troops, which put everybody in confusion About ten in the morning I met Doctor [Joseph] Warren riding hastily out of town and asked him if the news was true of the men’s being killed at Lexington; he assured me it was. I replied I was very glad our people had not fired first, as it would have given the king’s troops a handle to execute their project of desolation. He rode on.”

As an aside, the Charlestown militia did not mobilize on April 19, 1775. According to Jacob’s account, the reason why is obvious. “In the afternoon Mr. James Russell … received a letter from General [Thomas] Gage, importing that he was informed the people of Charlestown had gone out armed to oppose his majesty's troops, and that if one single man more went out armed, we might expect the most disagreeable consequences.”

As the afternoon wore on, it became clear that His Majesty’s troops were quickly approaching Charlestown. In response, many residents, including Rogers and his family, chose to flee. “A line-of-battle ship lying before the town; a report that Cambridge bridge was taken up … no other retreat but through Charlestown: numbers of men, women, and children, in this confusion, getting out of town. Among the rest, I got my chaise, took my wife and children; and as I live near the school-house, in a back street, drove into the main street, put my children in a cart with others then driving out of town, who were fired at several times on the common, and followed after. Just abreast of Captain Fenton’s, on the neck of land, Mr. David Waitt, leather-dresser, of Charlestown, came riding in full speed from Cambridge, took hold of my reins, and assisted me to turn up on Bunker’s Hill, as he said the troops were then entering the common.”

Shortly after that, it appears Rogers, his family, Mr. Waitt, and another unknown family came in direct contact with the regulars and were fired upon. “I had just reached the summit of the hill, dismounted from the chaise, and tied it fast in my father-in-law’s pasture, when we saw the troops within about forty rods of us, on the hill. One … Hayley, a tailor, now of Cambridge, with his wife, and a gun on his shoulder, going towards them, drew a whole volley of shot on himself and us, that I expected my wife, or one of her sisters, who were with us, to drop every moment.”
 

Photo Credit: John Collins

 

Rogers and his family continued to flee, apparently changing course and hiding in different locations to avoid the retreating regulars. Eventually, he and his family took refuge in a home near the Charlestown training field. While there, Rogers noted he found the “house full of women and children, in the greatest terror, afraid to go to their own habitations.”

After dark, the former naval officer and a few other Charlestown men walked about the town to determine if it was safe to return home. According to Rogers, “On our way, met a Mr. Hutchinson, who informed us all was then pretty quiet; that when the soldiers came through the street, the officers desired the women and children to keep in doors for their safety; that they begged for drink, which the people were glad to bring them, for fear of their being ill-treated.”

Sadly, upon returning home, Rogers and his wife received news that His Majesty’s troops had killed his fourteen-year-old brother-in-law as they crossed Charlestown Neck. “On our arrival at home, we found that her brother a youth of fourteen, was shot dead on the neck of land by the soldiers, as he was looking out of a window. I stayed a little while to console them, and went into the main street to see if all was quiet, and found an officer and guard under arms by Mr. David Wood’s, baker, who continued, it seems, all night; from thence, seeing everything quiet, came home and went to bed.”

To add to Roger’s misfortune, he attempted to reclaim his chaise the next day. To his chagrin, he discovered “my cushion stole, and many other things I had in the box.”

In the aftermath of Lexington and Concord, Lieutenant Rogers was quickly suspected of rendering aid to the enemy on April 19th. Of course, Rogers denied providing such assistance and ultimately submitted an account of his actions as detailed above.

Rogers and his family eventually moved to the Stoneham and Reading, Massachusetts areas, where they were treated with open hostility by the local residents. Eventually, he and his family were forced to flee to England.

 

"Plan of Charlestown Peninsula in the State of Massachusetts", c. 1818, Digital Commonwealth

Ms. Turner Getty provided a footnote about Lieutenant Rogers’ fate in a research article for the Journal of the American Revolution. In the aftermath of the American Revolution, he submitted a loyalist claim for compensation and openly proclaimed that he rendered material aid to the British troops in the aftermath of Lexington and Concord. Specifically, he asserted, “gave every relief and assistance in his power…to his Majesties’ troops on their retreat to Charles Town in refreshing the Officers and Men [and] procuring surgeons to dress the wounded.”

"We Support the Site" - Why Criticism of Minute Man National Park's Authenticity Standards Are Misguided

Rarely do the Nerds issue an editorial or commentary on controversial topics or issues within the hobby. Since this blog debuted in 2015, we have only published two editorials. The first was criticizing the awful television production known as “The Sons of Liberty”. The second was criticizing a living history event that made light of the suffering of the wounded and dying in battle.

Today, the Nerds are going against our standard practice and issuing a third editorial. This time we are responding to the criticism of the Battle Road event at Minute Man National Historical Park.

To be fully transparent, our readers should know that the Nerds routinely volunteer our time and effort at Minute Man National Historical Park (MMNHP or the "Park"). We have continuously shared our research findings with the Park. We also contribute to the Battle Road Planning Committee and are members of the site’s Authenticity Committee.

 

 

Over the past two years, we have heard complaints about the new and revised Battle Road tactical demonstrations. Most objections have fallen into one of the following categories:

The Massachusetts provincial forces appear too uniform.

 

The Massachusetts provincial forces appear too clean and wear clothing never worn on April 19, 1775.

 

Many Massachusetts men rushed from their homes into battle. They never intended to travel that far and likely would have returned home after a few hours of fighting. As a result, they never would have fielded with packs and blankets.

 

The guidelines are simply too strict and inflexible. The public doesn’t know any better and many reenactors are being unfairly excluded from participating—a couple of preliminary points in response to these arguments.

First, most objections seem to be coming from the older established units who, for some reason, are resistant to newer research findings. We will be upfront and say we are both surprised and disappointed. Many of these organizations were considered “cutting edge” regarding evolving standards and portrayals during the Bicentennial and 225th celebrations. However, these same units rested on their laurels over the past decade or actively tried to reverse their progress. Honestly, we are curious why!

Second, and more importantly, Minute Man National Park notified all Battle Road participants in 2018 of its intent to revise and upgrade its clothing and equipment standards. The Park also released a timetable for implementing the new standards. Before and during the drafting of the guidelines, every unit that participated in Battle Road was allowed to provide commentary and suggestions.

Very few of those who are currently disparaging the event provided input. Instead, most derided the effort, threatened to boycott, or simply ignored requests for input. A few organizations outright believed, “We’re unit X; they have to accommodate us regardless of whether or not the rules are enforced!”

Predictably, none of these approaches worked well.

From the Nerds' perspective, units that refused or neglected to work with the Park waived their rights to object and are now sitting on the sidelines thanks to their inaction

 With that said, we won’t provide a rundown of documentation countering each argument listed above … we’ve already done that for over the past eight years. There is ample documentation between this blog, Minute Man National Historical Park’s official website, the 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center, RevWar ‘75, and other sites to refute the above mentioned claims.

Similarly, for those who argue the current Battle Road standards defy historical notions and logic, our response is simple… prove the standards wrong. If you claim the material culture of April 19, 1775, is incorrect, it is YOUR responsibility…not ours … to provide documentation supporting your claim.

You cannot simply make a claim, sit back, and demand others disprove your position. Similarly, you cannot ignore requests for documentation. It just doesn’t work that way.

At the end of the day, we respectfully suggest that this all comes down to ego. Participants who object to the new standards are upset because they now have to operate outside their comfort zone or conform to acceptable historical standards.

In short, it comes down to a simple standard recently highlighted by a progressive American Civil War chat board - What should your goals be when you attend a quality living history event at a reputable site? In short, the event is not about YOU…it’s about the objectives and goals of the site.

As a reenactor, you should adhere to two common standards… your personal expectations and the site's expectations.

 

Regarding personal expectations, you must be physically ready for the effort required Your kit must meet site standards, and you be mentally ready to do what is required. This includes knowing the drill, understanding the history behind the event, and being prepared to educate the public on the event's purpose. 

 

If your position is “the public doesn’t know any better,” and you intend to mislead guests, you must step aside and find a new hobby.

 

Regarding the site expectations, please remember their goals and objectives supersede ours. We must, without question, hold our wants, desires, and comforts as subservient to the event organizers' goals and objectives. If the event organizers wish to set high standards, we must strive to support them. A site does not exist to serve us…we support the site.

So in summary…naysayers of Battle Road remember three things: objections, grumblings, and complaining will get you nowhere. Either support progress and evolving standards or step aside. Second, if you object…and we encourage you to do so …be prepared to support your claim with documentation. Finally, our personal needs are subservient to those of the site.

And with that, we hope this will be the last editorial from the Nerds in a long, long time.

 

The views of this editorial reflect those of Historical Nerdery only and do not incorporate or reflect any official position of Minute Man National Historical Park or it's employees.

"I Was Horror-Struck" - Lexington's Rebekah Fiske's Eye Witness Account of April 19, 1775

A couple of months ago, we discussed four known accounts of women who came in direct contact with His Majesty’s forces on April 19, 1775.

Thanks to the research efforts of Minute Man National Historical Park, we now know of a 5th account from a civilian trapped between hostile forces during the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Before we discuss Ms. Rebekah Fiske of Lexington, let’s quickly review the other four accounts.

First up is Lincoln’s Mary Hartwell, who remembered coming in close contact with retreating British forces just as they were about to enter the Bloody Curve. “I saw an occasional horseman dashing by, going up and down, but heard nothing more until I saw them coming back in the afternoon all in confusion, wild with rage and loud with threats. I knew there had been trouble and that it had not resulted favorably for their retreating army. I heard musket shots just below by the old Brooks Tavern and trembled, believing that our folks were killed.”

As they fled the family tavern, Anna Munroe's wife of Lexington’s Sergeant William Munroe and her 5-year-old daughter Anna nearly collided with the Royal Artillery and Percy's Relief Column. According to her 19th Century account, the child witness recalled she “could remember seeing the men in redcoats coming toward the house and how frightened her mother was when they ran from the house. That was all she could remember, but her mother told her of her very unhappy afternoon. She held Anna by the hand, brother William by her side and baby Sally in her arms . . . She could hear the cannon firing over her head on the hill. She could smell the smoke of the three buildings which the British burned between here and the center of Lexington. And she did not know what was happening to her husband, who was fighting, or what was happening within her house.”

Perhaps the most notable female non-combatant who came into direct contact with the retreating British column was Hannah Adams of Menotomy. As previously discussed, the Menotomy Fight of April 19, 1775 was a vicious engagement that devolved into a bloody house-to-house and room-to-room fight for survival. Unfortunately, as this fight raged on, Hannah Adams was trapped between Massachusetts militiamen and British regulars.

Like Hannah Adams, Hannah Bradish of Menotomy was also bedridden on April 19, 1775, having given birth to a child eight days earlier. As the regulars entered Menotomy, Hannah slept in bed with her infant. The fighting noise woke her up, and she quickly gathered her children and fled to the family kitchen at the back of the house.

According to her statement submitted to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress on May 11, 1775, “Hannah Bradish, of that part of Cambridge, called Menotomy, and daughter of timothy Paine, of Worcester, in the county of Worcester, esq. of lawful age, testifies and says, that about five o'clock on Wednesday last, afternoon, being in her bed-chamber, with her infant child, about eight days old, she was surprised by the firing of the king's troops and our people, on their return from Concord. She being weak and unable to go out of her house, in order to secure herself and family, they all retired into the kitchen, in the back part of the house. She soon found the house surrounded with the king's troops; that upon observation made, at least seventy bullets were shot into the front part of the house; several bullets lodged in the kitchen where she was, and one passed through an easy chair she had just gone from. The door of the front part of the house was broken open; she did not see any soldiers in the house, but supposed, by the noise, they were in the front. 

 

Artwork by Don Troiani

Recently Minute Man National Historical Park published an article on Lexington’s Rebekah Fiske. Admittedly, like Hannah Bradish, the Nerds were unaware of this account as well. We apologize, and moving forward, we promise we won’t be distracted by jars of frosting while researching the civilian experience of April 19th.

Rebekah Howe was born in Concord, Massachusetts. On May 14, 1767, she married Benjamin Fiske and moved to his family’s homestead in Lexington, near the Lincoln line. She was twenty-six years old in 1775.

In the early morning of April 19th, word reached the Fiske family that His Majesty’s forces were advancing on Concord. As many of her neighbors fled for safety, Rebekah was in a difficult situation. Her 83-year-old father-in-law, Lieutenant Ebenezer Fiske, was seriously ill and bedridden. At the same time, her husband was also suffering from some unknown impairment and was excused from militia service. As a result, she made the difficult choice of staying in her home.

While there, she heard the echo of gunshots from the Battle of Lexington and, soon thereafter, observed British troops pass her home. According to a 19th century narrative she shared with the Harvard Register, Fiske recalled, “I heard the guns … at about day-break, but being unapprehensive of danger, did not, like most of our neighbors move off for fear of the enemy; especially as my father was confined to his bed of a severe sickness so that in fleeing from the house we must leave him behind, which I could not consent to. Our domestics had already absconded, we knew not whither. I, therefore, and my husband, who on account of a certain indisposition, was incapacitated for military service, remained in the house with our father, while the enemy passed; which they did without offering us any injury. I remember well, their exact order, red coats, glittering arms, and appalling numbers.”

As previous research has suggested, many women and children who fled their homes earlier in the day returned mid-morning. According to Fiske, once word reached their location that the British were marching from Concord back to their location, a panic set in, and many civilians started to flee again.

 

Photo Credit John Collins

 

As the regulars approached, Fiske describes how she, her family, enslaved persons and many of her neighbors made a mad dash across fields to escape the coming firefight. 

 

"Sometime after, on their arrival at Concord, a report of musketry was once more heard, and in broken and incessant volleys. It was a sound of death to us. All now was trepidation, fever, and rushing to arms; women and children bewildered and scouring across the fields. With much ado we succeeded in yoking our oxen and getting father on his bed into an ox-cart, and thus moving him off as carefully as we could to a neighbor’s house, at some distance from the highway, on which we expected the enemy to return. Before leaving our house, I secured some of the most valuable of my effects, putting my large looking glass between two featherbeds, and fastening all the windows and doors. The house we carried farther to, had been already vacated, and here I was left alone with him. The dreadful sound of approaching guns was still ringing min my ears. Bewildered and affrighted, I betook myself into the house-cellar there to await my fate. Occasionally, I ventured to peep out to discover the approach of the enemy. After remaining some time in this dreadful state of fear and suspense, I at last discovered the enemy coming down a long hill on the highway partly upon a run and in some confusion, being closely beset by ‘our men’ in flank and rear. The terrific array of war soon came fully into view, and as soon passed off again from before my eyes, like a horrid vision, leaving only a cloud of smoke behind and the groans of the dying, who were strewed in its wake.”

Once the retreating army had passed her homestead, Rebekah returned to survey the damage. Upon arrival, she discovered a horrific scene. Not only had her home and surrounding property been vandalized and pillaged (both capital crimes in 18th Century Massachusetts), but she also discovered multiple casualties on the doorstep and inside her home. One of the dying was Acton minute man and school teacher James Haywood, mortally wounded earlier while exchanging musket fire with a British soldier at the Fiske’s water well.

As Rebekah graphically recalled in her 1827 statement “After the rattle of musketry had grown somewhat weaker from distance, and my heart became more relieved of its apprehensions, I resolved to return home. But what an altered scene began to present itself, as I approached the house—garden walls thrown down—my flowers trampled upon—earth and herbage covered with the marks of hurried footsteps. The house had been broken open, and on the door-step—awful spectacle—there lay a British soldier dead, on his face, though yet warm, in his blood, which was still trickling from a bullet-hole through his vitals. His bosom and his pockets were stuffed with my effects, which he had been pillaging, having broken into the house through a window. On entering my front room, I was horror-struck. Three mangled soldiers lay groaning on the floor and weltering in their blood which had gathered in large puddles about them. “Beat out my brains, I beg of you,” cried one of them, a young Briton, who was dreadfully pierced with bullets, through almost every part of his body, “and relieve me from this agony.” You will die soon enough, said I, with a revengeful pique. A grim Irishman, shot through the jaws, lay beside him, who mingled his groans of desperation with curses on the villain who had so horridly wounded him. The third was a young American employing his dying breath in prayer. A bullet had passed through his body, taking off in its course the lower part of his powder-horn. The name of this youthful patriot was J. Haywood of Acton. His father came and carried his body home; it no lies in Acton graveyard. These were the circumstances of his death: being ardent and close in the pursuit, he stopped a moment at our well to slake his thirst. Turning from the well, his eye unexpectedly caught that of the Briton, whom I saw lying dead on the door-step, just coming from the house with his plunder. They were about a rod from each other. The Briton know it was death for him to turn, and the American scorned to shrink. A moment of awful suspense ensued—when both simultaneously levelled their muskets at each other’s heart, fired, and fell on their faces together. My husband drew the two Britons off on a sled, and buried them in one of our pastures, where they now lie, beneath a pine tree which has grown up out of their grave. The Irishman was the only one of the three that survived.”

 

Photo Credit Asher Lurie

Rebekah's father-in-law died December 1775. She remained in Lexington until her husband died in 1785. The next year, she married again and moved to Bedford with her husband, William Merriam.

The Nerds will continue to collect period civilian accounts of April 19th. If you are aware of any depositions, claims or interviews that we overlooked, please do not hesitate to let us know!

"At the Request of the Officers ... I Prayed With Them" - The Role of Ministers on April 19, 1775

Recently, the Nerds received an inquiry from a Ladies Association of Revolutionary America (LARA) member asking about ministers' roles during the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

We did some digging and found several accounts describing various roles that ministers undertook on April 19, 1775 and the days afterward. Please keep in mind this is merely an overview and a deeper dive is certainly needed.

As a preliminary matter, let’s quickly review the role of ministers in 18th Century New England society. The clergy stood at the pinnacle of 18th-century society. Due to their considerable talents and bolstered by the religious doctrines of the 17th and 18th centuries, ministers were considered the essential individual in a community’s social hierarchy. They were viewed as the community’s spiritual and moral leaders, the political commentators, the arbitrators of disputes and, when the town was without a schoolteacher, the educators as well. In short, they played a critical role in 18th Century New England society.

When His Majesty’s troops left Boston and marched towards Concord, a panic spread throughout Middlesex County. How did the spiritual leaders of Massachusetts respond?

In Lexington, the Reverend Jonas Clarke assumed an advisory and leadership role. Throughout the evening of April 18, 1775, he hosted John Hancock and Samuel Adams at his parsonage. When alarm riders Paul Revere and William Dawes arrived to alert the pair that a military expedition was advancing towards Lexington, Clarke immediately assumed a leadership role. According to the minister, he met with the town’s militia officers and men to “consult what might be done for our own and the people's safety; and also, to be ready for whatever service Providence might call us out to upon this alarming occasion, in case--just in case--overt acts of violence or open hostilities should be committed by this mercenary band of armed and blood-thirsty oppressors.”

Once it was determined that Captain John Parker’s company would remain in the vicinity to protect the town, the Reverend Clarke returned home to help his wife and children hide valuables. Afterward, he likely led several Lexington families to an area of safety away from the British line of march.

 

Photo Credit: John Collins

In the aftermath of the Battle of Lexington, Clarke assumed the role of a spiritual leader. According to a 19th-century account from his daughter, the Reverend Clarke“sent Jonas down to Grandfather Cook's to see who was killed and what their condition was and, in the afternoon, Father, Mother with me and the baby went to the Meeting House. There was the eight men that was killed, seven of them my Father's parishioners, one from Woburn, all in Boxes made of four large boards nailed up and, after Pa had prayed, they were put into two horse carts and took into the graveyard where some of the neighbors had made a large trench, as near the woods as possible and there we followed the bodies of those first slain, Father, Mother, I and the baby, there I stood and there I saw them let down into the ground, it was a little rainy but we waited to see them covered up with clods and then for fear the British should find them, my Father thought some of the men had best cut some pine or oak bows and spread them on their place of burial so that it looked like a heap of brush.”

According to local tradition, Clarke and John Parker then rallied the Lexington men and convinced them to re-enter the fight against His Majesty’s forces.

According to Minute Man National Historical Park, the Reverend William Emerson played an active role in the formation and spiritual guidance of the Concord minute companies. In March, 1775, the minister gave a sermon to the town’s minute companies proclaiming "Arise! my injured countrymen! and plead even with the sword, the firelock and the bayonet, plead with your arms the birthright of Englishmen, the dearly-purchased legacy left you by your never-to-be-forgotten Ancestors..."

On April 19th, Emerson joined the town’s minute companies when they first mustered at approximately one or two in the morning and was with them later that morning as they climbed the "eminence" north of town to watch the British troops approaching. According to family tradition, Emerson then retired to his home to watch over his family. According to other local historians, the minister rejoined the Concord minute companies and fought side by side with them.

When word of the Battle of Lexington reached Needham, Massachusetts, the Reverend Samuel West elected to follow the town’s militia company into battle as its spiritual leader. According to West, ““The news reached us about nine o’clock A.M. The east company in Needham met at my house as part of the Military stores were deposited with me, they there supplied themselves, and by ten o’clock all marched for the place of action with as much spirit and resolution as the most zealous friends of the cause could have wished for. We could easily trace the march of troops from the smoke which arose over them, and could hear from my house the report of the cannon and the Platoons fired by the British. The Needham company was soon on the ground, but unhappily being ignorant of what are called flank-guards they inserted themselves between them and the main body of the British troops. In consequence of which they suffered more severely than their Neighbors who kept to a greater distance.”

Later that evening, the Reverend West received word that several of the men from his community were among the day’s casualties. As a result, he immediately assumed the role of grief counselor and spiritual advisor. “In the evening we had intelligence that several of the Needham inhabitants were among the slain, and the next morning it was confirmed that five had fallen in the action and several others had been wounded. It is remarkable that the five who fell all of them had families, and several of them very numerous families so that there were about forty widows and fatherless children made in consequence of their death … I visited these families immediately, and with a sympathetic sense of their affliction I gave to some the first intelligence they had of the dreadful event, the death of a Husband and a Parent. The very different manner in which the tidings were received, discovered the very different disposition of the suffers. While some were almost frantic in their grief others received the news with profound silence as if in a consternation of grief they were incapable of shedding tears or uttering sighs or groans.”

The Reverend Andrew Elliott remained in Boston on the eve of the Revolution to watch over his remaining congregation. As news trickled about the engagement in Lexington, the minister noted many Bostonians were in an utter state of panic. “Such a Sabbath of melancholy and darkness I never knew … every face gathering paleness – all hurry & confusion – one going this way & another that – others not knowing where to go.” Elliott would be called upon to offer emotional and spiritual support to those who were now trapped behind enemy lines.

 

Photo Credit: John Collins 

In some communities, especially those outside the path of the fight, ministers often remained behind to tend to the flock and provide spiritual encouragement to those provincial units passing through the town en route to Boston.

In the days after Lexington and Concord, Newburyport ministers offered religious guidance to New Hampshire and Maine troops who passed through their community.

In Westborough, the Reverend Ebenezer Parkman offered sermons to those militia and minute companies that passed through his town. According to one passage, Parkman noted “The said Soldiers, having eat Breakfast here, left us; and two more came, viz. Appleton Osgood and Joseph Bowman from the Same Town, and had Breakfast among us. I rode to Northborough. At the Widow Martyns a multitude from South Hadley marching to Cambridge. I gave them (the soldiers) a Serious Exhortation and Caution.”

A few days later, Parkman noted “At the Request of the Officers of the Mansfield and Coventry Companys I prayed with them.”

Several ministers served either as eyewitnesses to the horrors of war and recorded the observations of others. According to the Reverend Parkman, he interviewed a Mr. Thomas Whitney, who had rid down as far as Charleston. He has Seen the Sad Effects of hot Assaults and Skirmishes. The Account that the Roads for a great way were strowed with dead Men, is confirmed.”

The Reverend David McCulure noted as he toured the aftermath of the Menotomy fight ““Dreadful were the vestiges of war on the road. I saw several dead bodies, principally British, on & near the road. They were all naked, having been stripped, principally, by their own soldiers. They lay on their faces. Several were killed who stopped to plunder & were suddenly surprised by our people pressing upon their rear.... The houses on the road of the march of the British, were all perforated with balls, & the windows broken. Horses, cattle & swine lay dead around. Such were the dreadful trophies of war, for about 20 Miles!”

Finally, the Reverend William Gordon, “you would have been shocked at the destruction which has been made by the Regulars, as they are miscalled, had you been present with me to have beheld it. Many houses were plundered of everything valuable that could be taken away, and what could not be carried off was destroyed.”

Obviously the Nerds need to take a closer look at this topic. So, if you have any leads or suggestions we should review, let us know!

“In the Late Action, Many of the Soldiers Lost Their Blankets" - The Use of Blankets by Massachusetts Forces in the Spring of 1775

So today the Nerds want to talk about blankets.

Maybe it’s because we watched too many “Charlie Brown" specials growing up and secretly wished we could be as cool as Linus. Or perhaps we’ve developed a secret love of blankets because we typically hide under a pile of them every time the Bride puts on a Hallmark movie. But we digress…

Recently, there has been a discussion amongst a few research circles as to what extent blankets were part of a militiaman's equipment between the Battles of Lexington and Concord and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Some historians have correctly pointed out that blankets were not listed in Massachusetts militia laws or most of the 1774 and 1775 town resolutions outlining the requisite arms and equipment of minute and militia men should carry when alarmed. 

A few haves highlight the limited accounts and claims for compensation for blankets lost at the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

However, there is other ample evidence that Massachusetts forces carried blankets into the field.

So, were blankets carried by Massachusetts forces in the Spring and early Summer of 1775? Before we take a deep dive into the question, let’s take a brief look at how blankets were utilized during the French Wars of the 1740s and 1750s.

Prior to the American Revolution, blankets rarely appeared in militia laws or similar regulations outlining the arms and equipment of Massachusetts provincial troops. Instead, blankets were typically categorized under legislative recruitment bounties. Potential recruits who agreed to enlist for a term of service (typically a year or less), would receive pay, clothing, arms, equipment and ... blankets. 

For example, in 1740, Massachusetts Bay Colony called for the raising of troops to assist in the invasion of Spanish West Indies. As part of its recruitment effort, the colony offered “Five pounds to be pd to each Able bodyed Effective Soldier that shall Enlist himself for that service on or before the first day of March next, and to each of them a good blanket.” 

In October of that same year Massachusetts considered raising troops for a military strike against Canada. As part of its legislative resolution, the government declared “Voted' that there be granted as an Encouragement to a number of good and effective men not exceeding Three Thousand to enlist Voluntiers into His Majestys service in the said Expedition against Canada, as a Bounty, Thirty Pounds in Bills of Credit of the Old Tenour, and a Blanket;, for each man, and a bed for every two men, the money to be paid upon Enlistment and the Blankets & Beds delivered on embarkation.”

In 1745, Massachusetts set its sights on capturing Fortress Louisbourg in Canada. As part of a recruitment effort, the colonial government declared “That His Excellency the Captain General be desired to give forth his proclamation to encourage the Enlistment of Three thousand Voluntiers under such Officers as he shall appoint; that each person so enlisting be allowed Twenty five shillings per month, and that there be delivered to each man a blanket;, that one months pay be advanced, and that' be entitled to all the plunder.”

During the French and Indian War, blankets were again considered part of enlistment bounties. In 1754, Massachusetts was in the midst of preparing for the invasion of Nova Scotia. It recommended that “the Blankets, Knapsacks & Bandileers provided for the Use of the Soldiers in the said Expedition, are many of them almost worn out, by Reason of the Hardness of the Service, praying that those Things may not be charged to the Soldiers but given to them gratis.”

In a 1757 legislative resolution, Massachusetts men who enlisted into a provincial regiment were to receive “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.” In 1759, Massachusetts provincial soldiers were authorized to receive recruitment pay plus a “Blanket, Knapsack, Canteen or Wood Bottle and other Articles in the like.” 

As an aside, blankets for recruits were typically acquired on behalf of the colony through a military contractor who billed the colony for his services. In turn, any expenses incurred were typically reimbursed by His Majesty’s treasury.

 

Understandably, when Massachusetts was on the brink of war with England, the colonial government did not have the luxury of offering blanket bounties in exchange for service in minute and militia companies. Instead, the responsibility shifted to local towns and communities to provide blankets for their men.

There is evidence that Massachusetts towns were encouraging soldiers from their communities to provide their own blankets. For example, in Bridgwater, men were required to field with “a good fire arm, a steel or iron ram rod and a spring for same, a worm, a priming wire and brush, a bayonet fitted to his gun, a scabbard and belt thereof, a cutting sword or tomahawk or hatchet, a . . .cartridge box holding fifteen rounds . . . at least, a hundred buckshot, six flints, one pound of powder, forty leaden balls fitted to the gun, a knapsack and blanket, [and] a canteen or wooden bottle to hold one quart [of water]".

Many towns across the Colony, including Newburyport, Ipswich, Cambridge, Lexington, Haverhill, and Concord, also provided blankets to those poor militia men who could not afford their own. 

The effort to supply Massachusetts men with blankets apparently was quite successful, and, as a result, caught the attention of General Thomas Gage. In a March 4, 1775 report to his superiors, the general noted that "each man is supplied even to a knapsack, canteen and blanket and directed to bring a week’s provisions with him when called to the field."

In the aftermath of the Battles of Lexington and Concord,the expectation that towns would provide blankets to the men of their community was further codified when the Massachusetts Provincial Congress called for the raising of additional troops in support of the Siege of Boston. According to the April 23, 1775 order, “RESOLVED, That the Selectmen of the several Towns and Districts within this Colony, be desired to furnish the Soldiers who shall inlist from their respective Towns and Districts with good and sufficient Blankets, and render their Accounts to the Committee of Supplies, who are hearby directed to draw on the Colony Treasurer for Payment of the same.”

With all that said, did the minute and militia men of 1775 carry blankets?

There is certainly ample evidence militiamen did field with blankets when they mobilized for war between April 19, 1775 and July 1, 1775 . For example, Springfield’s minute company mobilized in response to the Lexington Alarm, the town quickly collected and distributed several blankets to those militiamen too poor to acquire their own. 

A British officer's description of Captain John Parker's Lexington Company included a reference to the company being fully "drawn up in military order, with arms and accoutrement." Some historians have argued this reference when paired with the Reverend Jonas Clarke's subsequent comment that Parker's Company was prepared for "whatever service providence might call us out to" is strong circumstantial evidence that Lexington was fully equipped for a military campaign and was likely carrying blankets at the Battle of Lexington.

There is also a description of a Chelmsford militia company fielding on the town common for inspection in the weeks after Lexington and Concord. All eighty-three men appeared for inspection carrying blankets.

Perhaps the strongest evidence that many minute and militia men fielded with blankets was the Battle of Bunker Hill. Many of the troops who fought that day had been outside of Boston since Lexington and Concord. Two such units were Frye’s and Prescott’s Battalions, both of who arrived to support the siege on April 20th. When American forces were dispatched to the battlefield, they were ordered to bring with them blankets.

As British forces stormed the American redoubt at the height of the bloody engagement,the rebel forces retreated. During the withdrawal, hundreds of blankets were abandoned. In the months after the battle, countless petitions were submitted by soldiers or their families seeking compensation for the lost blankets. 

In fact, so many blankets were lost that Joesph Ward, General Artemas Ward’s secretary, would later bitterly complained to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, “in the late action, many of the soldiers lost their blankets … they are now in a very suffering condition.” 

How bad was this shortage in the aftermath of the Battle of Bunker Hill?  For the remainder of 1775 and into 1776, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress was continuously begging towns to provide blankets for the troops surrounding Boston. Furthermore, in order to stem the shortage, the Massachusetts legislature revised its militia laws in 1776 to include blankets as a legally required item. By undertaking this action, individual militiamen and their home town now formally bore the responsibility of providing blankets

Two Hannahs, Two Annas and a Mary - Five Massachusetts Women Who Came in Direct Contact With His Majesty's Troops on April 19, 1775

Recently the Nerds were asked to look into an unusual and likely false claim about a group of Native Americans who allegedly trained the minute companies from the Menotomy District of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to conduct underwater warfare operations against His Majesty’s forces. It’s a pretty wild claim and rest assured, we’ll be blogging about that and other fantastically false April 19th facts in 2023.

However, while looking into this matter, we came across yet another petition from a civilian who found herself trapped between hostile forces on April 19, 1775. Before this discovery, we were only aware of three accounts from civilians who found themselves in similar circumstances.

First up is Lincoln’s Mary Hartwell, who remembered coming in close contact with retreating British forces just as they were about to enter the Bloody Curve. “I saw an occasional horseman dashing by, going up and down, but heard nothing more until I saw them coming back in the afternoon all in confusion, wild with rage and loud with threats. I knew there had been trouble and that it had not resulted favorably for their retreating army. I heard musket shots just below by the old Brooks Tavern, and trembled, believing that our folks were killed.”

 

Photo Credit: John Collins

 

Anna Munroe, wife of Lexington’s Sergeant William Munroe, and her 5-year-old daughter Anna nearly the Royal Artillery and Percy's Relief Column as they fled the family tavern. According to her 19th Century account, the child witness recalled she “could remember seeing the men in redcoats coming toward the house and how frightened her mother was when they ran from the house. That was all she could remember, but her mother told her of her very unhappy afternoon. She held Anna by the hand, brother William by her side and baby Sally in her arms . . . She could hear the cannon firing over her head on the hill. She could smell the smoke of the three buildings which the British burned between here and the center of Lexington. And she did not know what was happening to her husband, who was fighting, or what was happening within her house. . . Anna’s mother used to talk to her of what happened on April 19th and she remembered that her mother used to take her on her lap and say: ‘This is my little girl that I was so afraid the Red coats would get.’”

Perhaps the most notable female non-combatant who came into direct contact with the retreating British column was Hannah Adams of Menotomy. As we have previously discussed, the Menotomy Fight of April 19, 1775 was a vicious engagement that devolved into a bloody house-to-house and room-to-room fight for survival. 

 

Unfortunately, as this fight raged on, Hannah Adams found herself trapped between Massachusetts militiamen and British regulars.

Hannah had given birth to a daughter approximately ten days before the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The pregnancy and subsequent delivery were particularly difficult; as a result, she was still bedridden on April 19th. As the British column retreated towards her village, her husband, Deacon Joseph Adams, allegedly panicked, abandoned his wife and family, and hid in a nearby hayloft. Three regulars burst into her bedroom at the height of the Menotomy Fight. One threatened to kill her with his bayonet.

According to Hannah Adams, “[Upon] the return of the Kings Troops from Concord, divers of them entered our house by bursting open the doors, & three of the soldiers, broke into the room, in which I then was, laid on my bed; being Scarcely able to walk, from my bed to the fire, & not having been to my chamber-door, from my being delivered in Child-birth to that time -One of the soldiers, immediately opened my Curtains with his Bayonet, fixed, pointing the same to my breast. I immediately cried out –For the Lords Sake, don’t kill me-He replied Damn you-One that stood, near, Said We will not hurt the Woman if she will go out of the house, for we will surely burn it-I immediately arose, threw, a Blanket, over me, went out & crawled into a Corn House, near the door with my infant in my arms, where I remained until they were gone They immediately Set the house on fire, in which I had left five Children, & no other person,-but the fire was happily extinguished.”

 

Petition of Hannah Adams, Massachusetts Historical Society

 

Adams submitted her account of the encounter to Massachusetts officials, who quickly published it. To say it became a public relations disaster for the Crown in the aftermath of Lexington and Concord is an understatement.

In addition to the account of Hannah Adams, The Nerds recently encountered a description of the Menotomy Fight from a second Hannah - Hannah Bradish of Menotomy. 

How we missed her detailed and graphic account is on us. Bad Nerds … Bad Nerds indeed.

Like Hannah Adams, Hannah Bradish was also bedridden on April 19, 1775, having given birth to a child eight days earlier. Her husband, Ebenezer Bradish Jr., was a tavern keeper and part-time attorney. However, unlike Deacon Adams, it appears Bradish’s husband was with his militia company that day.

As the regulars entered Menotomy, Hannah was asleep in bed with her infant. The noise of the fighting woke her up ad she quickly gathered her children and fled to the family kitchen located at the back of the house.

According to her statement submitted to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress on May 11, 1775, “Hannah Bradish, of that part of Cambridge, called Menotomy, and daughter of timothy Paine, of Worcester, in the county of Worcester, esq. of lawful age, testifies and says, that about five o'clock on Wednesday last, afternoon, being in her bed-chamber, with her infant child, about eight days old, she was surprised by the firing of the king's troops and our people, on their return from Concord. She being weak and unable to go out of her house, in order to secure herself and family, they all retired into the kitchen, in the back part of the house. She soon found the house surrounded with the king's troops; that upon observation made, at least seventy bullets were shot into the front part of the house; several bullets lodged in the kitchen where she was, and one passed through an easy chair she had just gone from. The door of the front part of the house was broken open; she did not see any soldiers in the house, but supposed, by the noise, they were in the front. After the troops had gone off, she missed the following things, which, she verily believes, were taken out of the house by the king's troops, viz: one rich brocade gown, called a negligée, one lutestring gown, one white quilt, one pair of brocade shoes, three shifts, eight white aprons, three caps, one case of ivory knives and forks, and several other small articles.”

Photo Credit: John Collins

 

Of course, the sheer number of bullet strikes into Bradish’s home is corroborated by the Revered David McClure. On April 20, 1775, the minister visited Menotomy and was horrified at the extent of damage he witnessed. “Dreadful were the vestiges of war on the road. I saw several dead bodies, principally British, on & near the road. They were all naked, having been stripped, principally, by their own soldiers. They lay on their faces. Several were killed who stopped to plunder & were suddenly surprised by our people pressing upon their rear…. The houses on the road of the march of the British, were all perforated with balls, & the windows broken. Horses, cattle & swine lay dead around. Such were the dreadful trophies of war, for about 20 miles!”

"Drinking a Number of Loyal and Patriotic Toasts" - What Did Massachusetts Minute and Militia Companies Do Once the Drills Ended?

With the debut of Christmas Hell 2022 … aka the arrival of the latest Hallmark Christmas specials … the Nerds realized we had to keep busy or risk being forced to watch Winnie Cooper’s latest effort to wed a royal fop from some unknown fairy tale country.

So with that said, the Nerds decided to take a fresh look at the military activities of Massachusetts minute and militia companies on the eve of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. As we reviewed period accounts and documentation, we had to ask ourselves, “what the heck happened when the drills ended for the day? Were there any social gatherings?”

As many historians have previously noted, once the French threat in North America was suppressed in 1763, Massachusetts militia rarely assembled to drill and, as a result, were of little military value. By the eve of the Boston Tea Party, a militia muster was not viewed as a military gathering but rather as a sort of town holiday offering an opportunity for families and friends to socialize. 

 

However, by 1774, many American colonists were gravely concerned that an immoral British government, having exhausted opportunities for plunder and profit in England and Ireland, was now seeking a dispute with the American colonies as an excuse to enslave and deprive them of their wealth and liberties. In response, the people of Massachusetts saw the coming conflict with England as inevitable and, thus, approached military preparations with a sense of importance and urgency.

Yet, despite the looming threat of war, many militia companies still found time after hosting drills to host social gatherings and celebrations.

In 1774, Newburyport’s Marine Society, a charitable organization composed of merchants, ship owners and captains, formed an independent military company known as the “Independent Marines”. On September 21, 1774, the unit assembled for a drill. According to the September 21st edition of the Essex Journal and Merrimack Packet, “Wednesday last the independent military society in this town met at the town-house compleat in arms and ammunition : After having been reviewed by their officers chosen by the society, they performed the manual exercise and filings, after which they marched to the Mason's arms tavern, and there performed the evolutions; and from thence marched to Mr. William Tell's (a gentleman that has always not only talked, but acted upon the genuine principles of patriotism), who had prepared an elegant entertainment for the society; after spending a few very agreeable hours with a number of gentlemen (whom Mr. 'Feel had invited) in conversation, repast, and drinking a number of loyal and patriotic toasts, the society again rally, march to the town-house, and after firing three vollies lodged their arms. All was conducted with the greatest order and good humour.”

Approximately a month later, the Newburyport Company of Artillery assembled to drill. Once finished, “they then marched to General Wolf’s tavern where an elegant supper was provided at the expense of the company, and a few agreeable hours were spent with drinking forty-five loyal and patriotic toasts.”

A January 5, 1775 account in the Essex Journal and Merrimack Packet reported that the minute company of Lunenburgh (MA) spent the morning drilling and then “marched to a public house where the officers had prepared an elegant dinner for the company.”

Period accounts from Andover, Methuen, Boxford, and Haverhill also describe militia, minute and independent companies assembling to drill, and perform a variety of military maneuvers before retiring to their respective “public house” for meals and libations.

The diary of the Reverend Ebenezer Parkman of Westborough, Massachusetts, highlights several instances of militia, minute and alarm list companies socializing after the completion of military exercises.

On March 8, 1775, the minister recalled, “I rode to Shrewsbury to Mr. Sumners Lecture to the Minute-Men under the Command of Capt. Job Cushing. Dined at Mr. Sumners.”

A month later, Parkman noted, “This Day was designed to be Lecture Day at Southborough and Mr. Fitch to preach to the Minute Men. Our Minute Men were invited, and Mr. Barnabas Newton and Joseph Harrington joining together propose to give them an early Dinner.” Unfortunately, the event was canceled due to inclement weather.

Parkman notes that two days before the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Westborough minute company was invited to drill with the Brookfield minute company. Afterward, “[the] Minute Men were entertained at Mr. Barnabas Newtons. By his Invitation I was there with them.”

Accounts of social gatherings were not limited to Provincial accounts. As Head Interpretive Ranger Jim Hollister noted "Ensign DeBerniere’s account from March of 1775 mentions watching a militia company at drill while he and Capt. Brown were sitting in a tavern adjacent to the training field. He said that after their exercise they filed into the tavern and drank until 9:00 then went home 'full of pot valour.'" 

Historian John Mills also chipped in and shared Ensign DeBerniere's full account. "We arrived at Buckminster's tavern [still there near the old training field which now has Blacksmith Minuteman statue in Framingham, MA] about six o'clock that evening. The company of militia were exercising near the house, and an hour after they came and performed they came and performed their feats before the windows of the rooms we were in; we did not feel easy at seeing such a number so very near to us; however, they did not know who we were, and took little or notice of us. After they had done their exercise, one of their commanders spoke a very eloquent speech. recommending patience, coolness and bravery (which indeed they very much wanted); particularly told them they would always conquer if they did not break; and recommended them to charge us cooly, and wait for our fire, and everything would succeed with them - quotes Caesar and Pompey, brigadiers Putnam and Ward and all such great men; put them in mind of Cape Breton, and all the battles they had gained for his majesty in the last war, and observed that the regulars must have been ruined but for them. After so learned and spirited harangue, he dismissed the parade, and the whole company came into the house and drank until nine o'clock, and the returned to their respective homes full of pot-valor."

The Nerds will continue to look for period accounts of militia and minute companies socializing after military drills. If you’re aware of any other accounts, be sure to let us know!