Norfolk County, Massachusetts - Chapter 37: The Revolution, 1918

Needham Stoughton Walpole Weymouth Wrentham

Norfolk County, as such, did not come into existence until nearly ten years after the close of the Revolution. At the beginning of that war, the territory now comprising the county was all included in the County of Suffolk. The organized towns then within the limits of that territory, and which were afterward taken to form Norfolk County, were as follows : Bellingham, Braintree, Brookline, Cohasset, Dedham, Dorchester, Medfield, Medway, Milton, Needham, Roxbury, Stoughton, Walpole, Weymouth and Wrentham. In 1778, while the war was in progress, the towns of Franklin and Foxboro were incorporated, and Sharon was established in February, 1783, a little more than six months before the final treaty of peace.

Early Conditions In The Colonies

In the very beginning of English settlement in America, it was the radical element that came across the sea to escape the persecutions of the conservatives - that is, of those who were satisfied with conditions in the mother country. Once here, these radicals sought charters which would give them control of their local affairs. The British Government, "to keep them quiet," granted such charters to several of the colonies. This was a mistake if the government expected or intended to retain permanent control over the colonists. In establishing their local governments, the town meeting became a prominent feature. In these town meetings, all voters stood upon a perfect equality, each one being at liberty to speak his sentiments fully and freely upon any question affecting the town's welfare. Herevthe measures of local government came up for consideration and by the expressed will of the majority were enacted into laws. Here were chosen the representatives to the General Court, who received from their constituents detailed instructions as to the course to be pursued and were held to a strict accountability. The members of the General Court were themselves of the same class of men who so boldly and unhesitatingly expressed their opinions in the town meeting. They knew the temper of their constituents, with whom they must associate, while the royal government was far away across the

Atlantic. They realized, too, that any evasion, any shirking of responsibility, would bring them into disfavor with their neighbors. As a rule, however, the representatives in the General Court were actuated by the same spirit as their fellow townsmen who elected them, and were governed by that spirit in the discharge of their official duties.

Thomas Jefferson, writing to Samuel Kercheval under date of July 12, 1816, took occasion to express his opinion of the town meeting as follows : "Those wards, called townships in New England, are the vital principle of their governments, and have proved themselves the wisest invention ever devised by the wit of man for the perfect exercise of self government and for its preservation."

And a more recent writer, James Bryce, in his American Commonwealth, says: "Of the three of four types or systems of local government which I have described, that of the town or township with its popular primary assembly is admittedly the best. It is the cheapest and the most efficient ; it is the most educative to the citizens who bear a part in it. The town meeting has been not only the source, but the school of democracy."

What wonder, then, that under a system of local government of this nature, where free speech was a fundamental, and where "every vote counted one," a spirit of independence should develop that would resist oppression to the last ?

Loyalty Of The Colonists

Notwithstanding the liberality of their charters, the English colonists in America remained loyal to the crown for more than a century and a half before they openly rebelled against the policies of the home government. Even when Sir Edmund Andros arrived in December, 1686, with a commission from King James for the government of the New England colonies (except Connecticut) and began to overturn the established order of things, the people remained loyal, though they entered a vigorous protest against the proceedings of the new governor. Previous to his coming the governor seldom interfered with the management of local matters; now, everything was made subject to the will of the executive, who possessed a power under his commission that was almost absolute. Town meetings except for the election of town officers were abolished. The vote by ballot was rejected. None could leave the country without a special permit. Heavy taxes were levied, which the people generally refused to pay. Writs of habeas corpus were withheld and the laws of England denied to the citizens of the colonies. Oaths were administered upon the Bible, which caused a serious objection on the part of the Puritans. Personal liberty and established customs were disregarded. Indian deeds to the land were pronounced worthless, and old grants must be renewed at high rate of fees ; grants made under the charter being declared void by its forfeiture. All commons and lands reserved for the common people were given to favorites. Finally a petition to the king was prepared and Increase Mather was on his way to England with it, when the rebellion of 1688 broke the power of James and with his power went that of his rulers in the colonies.

The tyrannical methods of Governor Andros marked the beginning of a series of important events that had a significant bearing upon the political fortunes of New England. But after his administration came to its untimely end, the people returned to their allegiance. In April, 1690, at the time of King William's war, the expedition of Sir William Phipps against Port Royal was fitted out in Massachusetts. Later in the same year an expedition was planned against Quebec, in which Sir William Phipps was to command the fleet and Governor Winthrop lead the land forces, but it failed owing to the lateness of the season. In Queen Anne's war (1702-1713), in King George's war (1744-1748), and in the French and Indian war (1756-1763), the colonists fought on the side of England. Says Barber: "The final reduction of Canada in 1760 caused great and universal rejoicing in the colonies and public thanksgivings were appointed."

The Stamp Act

George III began his reign on October 25, 1760. He has been described as "narrow-minded, self-willed, jealous of his royal prerogatives, envious of others' greatness and resentful of all difference from his wishes on any public measure as a personal offense to the King."

After the close of the French and Indian war, the British Parliament, urged on by the new king, formed a plan for raising a revenue by taxing the colonies. The first act of this nature was passed and received the royal assent on March 22, 1765. It was known as the "Stamp Act," for the reason that it laid a duty upon all paper, vellum or parchment used in America, and provided that all deeds, contracts, etc., written upon unstamped paper should be null and void. Immediately the storm broke. The Virginia Assembly, then in session, declared its opposition in a series of spirited resolutions; the Sons of Liberty, an organization to resist the act, sprang into existence ; in Boston some of the houses of those who upheld the measure were demolished by an indignant populace; merchants banded themselves together in a pledge to import no more goods from England until the obnoxious law was repealed, and in various other ways the opposition to the act was made manifest.

It remained for Massachusetts to crystallize the general discontent into something like coherent form. That colony sent out a call to the other colonists to send delegates to a convention in New York in October, to determine upon a policy to be followed by all the English colonies affected by the Stamp Act. At the appointed time delegates from nine colonies met and declared in language that could not be misconstrued that the Stamp Act was an infringement upon the rights of freemen. The convention adopted a "declaration of rights and grievances," prepared a petition to the king and a memorial to each house of Parliament asking for the immediate repeal of the act. Through the influence of William Pitt and other friends of the colonists, the act was repealed on March 18, 1766, four days less than one year from the time of its enactment.

The Pillar Of Liberty

On the corner of the Green, at the junction of Court and High streets in the Town of Dedham, is a square block of granite about four feet in height, which was once the 'pedestal of the "Pillar of Liberty," the history of which is told by the inscriptions it bears. On the east side of the stone, next to Court street, is a bronze tablet bearing the legend: "This stone was first placed near this spot July 22, 1766. It supported a wooden column surmounted by a bust of William Pitt. Both column and bust disappeared about the close of the last century. The stone was removed from the opposite corner in 1886."

The opposite corner referred to was the corner of the courthouse lot, where the stone was placed in 1828 by the citizens of the town, being then taken from the corner of the Common, near the place where it stands today. Facing High street is the following inscription carved in the stone, some of the letters blurred by time : "The Pillar of Liberty to the honor of William Pitt, Esqr., and others, Patriots, who saved America from impending slavery and confirmed our most loyal affection to King George III by procuring a repeal of the Stamp Act, 18th March, 1766.

"Erected here July 22, 1766, by Dr. Nathaniel Ames (2nd) Col. Ebenezer Battle, Major Abijah Draper and other patriots friendly to the rights of the Colonies at that day.

On the west side of the stone is the inscription : "The Pillar of Liberty erected by the Sons of Liberty in this vicinity. Laus Deo Regii et Immunitat m autoribusq maxime Patronus Pitt qui Rempub. rursum evulsit faucibus Orei."

The men who erected this monument in the first place, like the wooden column and bust of Pitt, have long since passed from the stage of action. But for more than a century and a half the old stone has stood as an eloquent testimony of the lofty sentiments that animated the patriots of 1766 in so boldly resisting the first attempt at oppression on the part of the British crown.

The Boston Tea Party

As a means of raising revenue, the Stamp Act was a failure, hardly enough being realized to cover the expenses of the attempts at its enforcement. In repealing it the British ministry still insisted upon the right to tax the colonies, and in 1767 the Parliament passed an act laying duties upon glass, painters' colors, paper and tea. The duties were purposely made light, in the hope that the colonists would pay them without protest, but the Stamp Act had concentrated opposition to the principle of "taxation without representation," and no duty, however small, was likely to be paid willingly.

Again the merchants of Massachusetts entered into a compact to import no goods upon which duties were charged. A circular letter was sent to the other colonies, urging similar action, and in nearly every instance it met with friendly support. Colonial assemblies joined in the opposition and sent petitions and remonstrances to the king and to Parliament, which resulted in all the duties being abolished except the tax of three pence a pound on tea. In many of the towns the citizens pledged themselves to use no imported tea until the hated tax was removed. Thus matters stood until December, 1773. Early in that month three vessels laden with tea arrived at Boston. The commanders of these ships were summoned before the citizens' committee, composed of Samuel Adams, Jonathan Williams, John Rowe, William Phillips, John Hancock and John Pitts, and warned not to land any of the tea, but to take their vessels to Griffin's wharf and there await further orders. On the afternoon of the 16th a meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, attended by about two thousand men from all parts of the country about Boston, to determine what course should be pursued relative to sending the tea back to England. A few minutes before six o'clock the captain of one of the vessels appeared in the hall and announced that the governor would not grant a permit for him to take his ship back to England until it was regularly cleared. What followed this announcement is thus told in Snow's History of Boston :

"A violent commotion immediately ensued. A person who was in the gallery, disguised after the manner of the Indians, shouted at this juncture the cry of war; it was answered by about thirty persons, disguised in like manner, at the door. The meeting was dissolved in the twinkling of an eye. The multitude rushed to Griffin's wharf. The disguised Indians went on board the ships laden with the tea. In less than two hours 240 chests and 100 half chests were staved and emptied in to the dock. The affair was conducted without any tumult ; no damage was done to the vessels or to any other effects whatever. This was executed in the presence of several ships of war lying in the harbor, and almost under the guns of the castle, where there was a large body of troops at the command of the commissioners. We are left to conjecture for the reasons why no opposition was made to this bold adventure. The names of the men who dared to engage in it have never been made public."

This affair has become known in history as the "Boston Tea Party." Although, as Snow says, the names of the disguised patriots were never made public, it is known that James Stoddard of Cohasset, a son of Gen. Joseph Palmer of Braintree, and probably others from what is now Norfolk County were among those who emptied the tea into the harbor. "They had the honor of a part in the act which brought the king and Parliament to a decision that America must be subdued by force of arms," and four regiments of British soldiers were ordered to Boston.

The Boston Port Bill

To punish the citizens of Boston for their temerity in destroying the tea, or for their failure to prevent its destruction, Parliament in March, 1774, passed the act known as the "Boston Port Bill," which prohibited all maritime intercourse with that town and removed the custom house and all the public offices to Salem. While the act had the effect of preventing vessels from foreign ports from entering the harbor, it could not keep the small schooners, shallops, fishing smacks, etc., from coming in, and these were kept busy bringing supplies from all the coast towns of New England, the people of which cheerfully sent large donations to the Boston people.

Three other obnoxious measures were passed about this time: 1. The "Massachusetts Bill." which changed the charter of the colony, taking the government from the people and giving it to the king's agents ; 2. The "Transportation Bill," which provided that any citizen of the colonies who might commit murder in resisting the laws should be sent to England for trial ; 3. The "Quebec Act," annexing all the territory north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi rivers to Canada. The effect of these acts was to cement the people of the colonies more closely together in their determination to resist the encroachments of the crown.

The Suffolk Resolves

On May 13, 1774, Thomas Gage arrived in Boston, accompanied by more troops and armed with a commission as Captain-General and Governor, to enforce the laws above mentioned. Events now moved rapidly. Not long after General Gage's arrival, invitations were secretly sent to all the towns in Suffolk County to choose delegates to a meeting to consider the state of the colonies and decide upon some concerted plan of action. The first meeting of these delegates was held at Doty's Tavern, in what is now the Town of Canton, on August 16, 1774. Delegates from every town in the county were present and the meeting has become known as the "Suffolk Congress." A second meeting of the congress was held at Woodward's Tavern in Dedham, September 6, 1774, the day following the assembling of the first Continental Congress at Philadelphia. An adjournment was taken to the 9th, when the delegates again met, this time at the house of Daniel Vose, in the Town of Milton, where the famous "Suffolk Resolves" were unanimously adopted. As these resolves show the all prevailing sentiment of that day, and as they originated in what is now Norfolk County, nearly two years before the Declaration of Independence, they form an important part of the county's history and are here reproduced in full :

"Whereas, the power but not the justice, the vengeance but not the wisdom, of Great Britain, which of old persecuted, scourged and exiled our fugitive parents from their native shores, now pursues us, their guiltless children, with unrelenting severity ; and whereas, this then savage and uncultivated desert was purchased by the toil and treasure, or acquired by the valor and blood of those of our venerable progenitors, who bequeathed to us the dear-bought inheritance, who consigned it to our care and protection - the most sacred obligations are upon us to transmit the glorious purchase, unfettered by power, unclogged with shackles, to our innocent and beloved offspring. On the fortitude, on the wisdom, and on the exertions of this important day is suspended the fate of this New World and of unborn millions. If a boundless extent of continent, swarming with millions, will tamely submit to live, move and have their being at the arbitrary will of a licentious minister, they basely yield to volunteer slavery, and future generations shall load their memories with incessant execrations. On the other hand, if we arrest the hand which would ransack our pockets ; if we disarm the parricide who points the dagger at our bosoms; if we nobly defeat that fatal edict which proclaims a power to frame laws for us in all cases whatsoever, thereby entailing the endless and numberless curses of slavery upon us, our heirs, and their heirs forever ; if we successfully resist that unconstitutional power, whereby our capital is robbed of the means of life ; whereby the streets of Boston are thronged with military executioners; whereby our coasts are lined and our harbors crowded with ships of war; whereby the charter of the colony, that sacred barrier against the encroachments of tyranny, is mutilated, and in effect annihilated ; whereby a murderous law is framed to shelter villains from the hand of justice ; whereby that inalienable and inestimable inheritance, which we derived from nature, the constitution of Britain, which was covenanted to us in the charter of the province, is totally wrecked, annulled and vacated - posterity will acknowledge that virtue which preserved the free and happy; and while we enjoy the rewards and blessings of the faithful, the torrent of panegyric will roll down our reputations to the latest period, where the streams of time shall be absorbed in the abyss of eternity. Therefore we have resolved, and do resolve :

"i. That whereas His Majesty King George the Third is the rightful successor to the throne of Great Britain, and justly entitled to the allegiance of the British realm, and, agreeable to compact of the English colonies in America - therefore we, the heirs and successors of the first planters of the colony, do cheerfully acknowledge the said George the Third to be our rightful sovereign, and that said covenant is the tenure and claim on which are founded our allegiance and submission.

"2. That it is an indispensable duty which we owe to God, our country, ourselves and our posterity, by all lawful ways and means in our power, to maintain, defend and preserve these civil and religious rights and liberties for which many of our fathers fought, bled and died, and to hand them down entire to future generations.

"3. That the late acts of the British Parliament for blocking up the harbor of Boston, and for altering the established form of government in this colony ; and for screening the most flagitious violators of the laws of the province from a legal trial, are gross infractions of those rights to which we are justly entitled by the laws of nature, the British Constitution and the charter of the province.

"4. That no obedience is due from this province to either or any part of the acts above mentioned ; but that they be rejected as the attempts of a wicked administration to enslave America.

"5. That so long as the justices of our superior courts of judicature, court of assize and general gaol delivery, and inferior courts of common pleas in this county are appointed or hold their places by any other tenure than that which the charter and the laws of the province direct, they must be considered as under undue influence and are therefore unconstitutional officers, and as such no regard ought to be paid to them by the people of this country.

"6. That if the justices of the superior court of judicature, court of assize, etc., justices of the court of common pleas, or of the general sessions of the peace, shall sit and act during their present unqualified state, this country will support and bear harmless all sheriffs and their deputies, constables, jurors and other officers who shall refuse to carry into execution the orders of said courts. And as far as is possible to prevent the inconveniences that must attend the suspension of the courts of justice, we do earnestly recommend it to all creditors to exercise all reasonable and generous forbearance to their debtors, and to all debtors to discharge their just debts with all possible speed; and if any disputes concerning debts or trespasses shall arise, which cannot be settled by the parties, we recommend it to them to submit all such cases to arbitration ; and if the parties, or either of them shall refuse to do so, they ought to be considered as cooperating with the enemies of this country.

"7. That it be recommended to the collectors of taxes, constables and all other officers who have public moneys in their hands, to retain the same, and not to make any payment thereof to the province or county treasurers, until the civil government of the province is placed upon a constitutional foundation, or until it shall be otherwise ordered by the proposed Provincial Congress.

"8. That the persons who have accepted seats at the Council Board by virtue of a mandamus from the King in conformity with the last Act of the British Parliament, entitled 'An Act for the regulating the Government of the Massachusetts Bay,' have acted in direct violation of the duty they owe to the country, and have thereby given great and just offence to this people. Therefore,

"Resolved, That this county do recommend it to all persons who have [been] so highly offending by accepting said department, and have not already publicly resigned their seats in the Council Board, to make public resignation of their places at said Board on or before the twentieth day of this instant September ; and that all persons neglecting so to do shall from and after that day be considered by this county as obstinate and incorrigible enemies of this colony.

"9. That the fortifications begun and now carrying on upon Boston Neck are justly alarming to this country, and give us reason to apprehend some hostile intention against that town, more especially as the commander-in-chief has in a very extraordinary manner removed the powder from the magazine at Charlestown, and has also forbidden the keeper of the magazine at Boston to deliver out to the owners the powder which they lodged in said magazine.

"10. That the late act of Parliament for establishing the Roman Catholic religion and the French laws in that extensive country now called Canada is dangerous to an extreme degree to the Protestant religion, and to the civil rights and liberties of all America ; and therefore as men and Protestant Christians we are indispensably obliged to take all proper measures for our security.

"11. That whereas our enemies have flattered themselves that they shall make an easy prey of this numerous brave and hardy people from an apprehension that they are unacquainted with military discipline, we therefore, for the honor, defence and security of this country and province, advise, as it has been recommended to take away all commissions from the officers of the militia, that those who now hold commissions, Qr such other persons, be elected in each town as officers in the militia, as shall be judged of sufficient capacity for that purpose, and who have evidenced themselves the inflexible friends to the rights of the people ; and that the inhabitants of those towns and districts who are qualified do use their utmost diligence to acquaint themselves with the arts of war as soon as possible, and do for that purpose appear under arms at least once every week.

"12. That during the present hostile appearances on the part of Great Britain, notwithstanding the many insults and impressions which we must sensibly resent, yet, nevertheless, from an affection to His Majesty, which we have at all times evidenced, we are determined to act merely upon the defensive, so long as such conduct may be vindicated by reason and the principles of self-preservation, but no longer.

"13. That as we understand it has been in contemplation to apprehend sundry persons of this country, who have rendered themselves conspicuous in contending for the violated rights and liberties of their countrymen, we do recommend, that should such an audacious measure be put into practice, to seize and keep in safe custody every servant of the present tyrannical and unconstitutional government throughout the country and province, until the persons so apprehended are lib-

"14. That until our rights are fully restored to us, we will to the utmost of our power (and recommend the same to other counties) withhold all commercial intercourse with Great Britain, Ireland and the West Indies, and abstain from the consumption of British merchandise and manufacture, and especially of East India teas and piece goods, with such additions, alterations and exceptions only as the Grand Congress of the colonies may agree to.

"15. That under our present circumstances it is incumbent on us to encourage arts and manufactures amongst us by all means in our power ; and that Joseph Palmer, Esq., of Braintree; Mr. Ebenezer Dorr of Roxbury; Mr. James Bois and Mr. Edward Preston of Milton ; and Mr. Nathaniel Guild of Walpole, be and hereby are appointed a committee to consider of the best ways and means to promote and establish the same, and report to this convention as soon as may be.

"16. That the exigencies of our public affairs demand that a Provincial Congress be called to concert such measures as may be adopted and vigorously executed by the whole people ; and we do recommend it to the several towns in this county to choose members for such a Provincial Congress to be holden in Concord on the second Tuesday of October next ensuing.

"17. That this county confiding in the wisdom and integrity of the Continental Congress now sitting at Philadelphia, will pay all due respect and submission to such measures as may be recommended by them to the colonies, for the restoration and establishment of our just rights, civil and religious, and for renewing that harmony and union between Great Britain and the colonies so earnestly wished for by all good men.

"18. Whereas, the universal uneasiness which prevails among all orders of men, arising from the wicked and oppressive measures of the present administration, may influence some unthinking persons to commit outrage upon private property, we would heartily recommend to all persons of this community not to engage in any riots, routs or licentious attacks upon the properties of any person whatsoever, as being subversive of all order and government, but, by a steady, manly, uniform and persevering opposition to convince our enemies, that in a contest so important, in a cause so solemn, our conduct shall be such as shall merit the approbation of the wise and the admiration of the brave and free of every age and of every country.

"19. That should our enemies by any sudden manoeuvers, render it necessary for us to ask aid and assistance of our brethren in the country, some one of the committee of correspondence, or a select man of such a town, or the town adjoining where such hostilities shall commence, shall despatch couriers with written messages to the select men or committee of correspondence of the several towns in the vicinity, with a written account of such matter, who shall despatch others to committees or select men more remote till proper and sufficient assistance be obtained; and that the expense of said couriers be defrayed by the county until it shall be otherwise ordered by the Provincial Congress.

"Voted that Joseph Warren, Esq., and Dr. Benjamin Church of Boston; Deacon Joseph Palmer and Colonel Ebenezer Thayer of Braintree ; Captain Lemuel Robinson, William Holden, Esq., and Captain John Homans of Dorchester; Capt. William Heath of Roxbury; Colonel William Taylor and Dr. Samuel Gardner of

Milton; Isaac Gardner, Esq., Capt. Benjamin White and Capt. Thomas Aspinwall of Brookline; Nathaniel Sumner, Esq., and Richard Woodward of Dedham - be a committee to wait on His Excellency the Governor, to inform him that this country is alarmed at the fortifications making on Boston Neck, and to remonstrate against the same, and the repeated insults offered by the soldiery to persons passing and repassing into that town; and to confer with him upon those subjects.

Work Of The Towns

At the time of the adoption of these resolves, the organized towns within the present limits of Norfolk County were Bellingham, Braintree, Brookline, Cohasset, Dedham, Medfield, Medway, Milton, Needham, Stoughton, Walpole, Weymouth and Wrentham. The action of the Suffolk Congress in adopting the resolutions encouraged the people in their determination to resist to the utmost further encroachments upon their liberties. Military companies were formed in almost every town. They were known as "Minute Men," because the members pledged themselves to drop their peaceful occupations and take up arms ''at a minute's warning." The time to answer the call came much sooner than many of them anticipated, but not one failed at the crucial moment.

Bellingham began her activities on September 2, 1774, when delegates were chosen to attend the meeting of the Suffolk Congress to be held at Woodward's Tavern in Dedham on the 6th, and voted the sum of five pounds for the purchase of ammunition. On the 30th of the same month Luke Holbrook was chosen as delegate to the Provincial Congress to meet at Concord the following month. On the 19th of December the town voted to appropriate seven pounds more to the ammunition fund and elected Stephen Metcalf the congressional delegate for February. At a town meeting in January, 1775, a motion was made to appropriate a sum of money to "pay those men ready to go at a minute's warning," but it failed to pass. On April 25, 1775, six days after the battle of Lexington, the town voted unanimously in favor of giving a bounty of £1 5s to every member of the "town's share of the 13,600 men to be enlisted, if Congress does not give it." From that time forward Bellingham was represented on the firing line, no fewer than ninety-three of her sons serving in the Continental army.

Braintree was a hotbed of rebellion. There Gen. Joseph Palmer was a leader in the opposition to British oppression. At a meeting held on March 1, 1773, more than two years before the actual beginning of the war, he submitted a series of resolutions, one of which was "That all taxation, by what name soever called, imposed upon us without our consent by any earthly power, is unconstitutional, oppressive, and tend to enslave us."

General Palmer was one of the committee named in the Suffolk Resolves to wait upon the governor and remonstrate against the fortification of Boston Neck. He, with Ebenezer Thayer and Capt. William Penniman, was appointed on the committee of correspondence in August, 1774. The North Precinct (now Ouincy) was full of tories. Near the Church of England the town's supply of powder was stored in a small house built for the purpose. When General Gage, about the 1st of September, 1774, seized the ammunition at Charlestown, the people of Braintree grew alarmed for the safety of their powder. On Sunday evening, September 4, 1774, about two hundred men marched to the powderhouse, loaded the powder into a cart and took it to the South Precinct, where it was concealed until it might be needed.

A town meeting on April 24, 1775, instructed the selectmen "to dismiss Mr. Rice their Cramer Schoolmaster as soon as their present Engagements are expired." The reason for this action was to save the money expended on the school for the purchase of ammunition and the payment of volunteers. Mr. Rice afterward became captain of a company.

On Saturday, June 17, 1775, the day of the battle of Bunker Hill, the roar of cannon from the British men-of-war, as they shelled the breastworks that had been thrown up the night before, could be distinctly heard in Quincy. Mrs. John Adams, accompanied by her son, John Quincy Adams, went to the top of Penn's Hill, hoping to ascertain what was going on in the vicinity of Boston. The great volume of black smoke that arose from burning Charlestown could be plainly seen. A cairn of stones marks the spot where the mother and child sat to watch afar the first great battle of the War for Independence.

In June, 1777, a Braintree town meeting was called "for the purpose of agreeing upon a list of those Persons dwelling in Braintree who are esteamed Inimical to the popular Cause." This was the first pronounced action against the tories of the town. The selectmen presented the names of Rev. Edward Winslow, Maj. Ebenezer Miller, Benjamin Cleverly, Joseph Cleverly, James Apthorp, John Cheesman, William Veazie, Nedabiah Bent and Oliver Gay. To this list the meeting added the names of Henry Cleverly, Joseph Cleverly (2nd), William Veazie, Jr., and Thomas Brackett. Capt. William Penniman was chosen to procure evidence of their disloyalty and lay it before the court. Mr. Winslow followed the British army to New York. The other proscribed citizens, if they still retained their tory views, were careful not to give them voice. Subsequently some property in the town, belonging to non-resident tories, was seized and sold. One piece of this confiscated property was the old Vassall house, which was bought by John Adams, and from which he was buried in 1826.

Says Charles Francis Adams: "Between the years 1775 and 1782, as nearly as can now be estimated, Braintree sent into the field about 550 men, enlisted for periods of six months or over. The number of men, as well as the length of enlistment, varied with the different years. In 1775, for instance, besides the militia to guard the coast, the town sent not less than 150 men, enlisted to the close of the year, into Washington's army about Boston. In 1776 about 120 men were furnished. In 1777 some seventy were enlisted for three years. In no year were less than forty sent, except in 1781, when the enlistment appears to have been for four months only. Under this system the same men in the course of a seven years' war may have enlisted several times. It is therefore impossible even to estimate the portion of Braintree's 650 arms-bearing men who actually served in the Continental army, though it is probably safe to say that the number did not fall below 300."

Brookline placed herself on record as early as December 15, 1767, soon after Parliament levied the tax on tea, a town meeting voted unanimously "That this Town will take all prudent and Legal Measures to promote Industry Occonimy & Manufactures in this Province & in any of the British American Colonys &

The "Superfluities" referred to were the articles subjected to taxation. William Hyslop, Benjamin White, Isaac Gardner, John Goddard and Samuel Aspinwall were chosen as a committee "to prepare a form for subscription against Receiving of those European Superfluities and make report at the Adjournment of this meeting." The report was made on the 29th and a number of the citizens signed the agreement not to use tea until the offensive tax was removed. Between 1772 and 1774 several town meetings passed resolutions and appointed committees to act with the other towns of the province in resistance to British aggression. On November 17, 1774, the "Bill of Rights" submitted by the first Continental Congress to the colonies was passed unanimously, and on May 29, 1775, Capt. Benjamin White was elected delegate to the Provincial Congress to be held at Watertown.

When the "Lexington Alarm" was sounded through the Massachusetts towns on April 19, 1775, two companies from Brookline responded. One was officered by Capt. Timothy Corey, First Lieut. Thomas Cummings, Second Lieut. Jonas Johnson, and the other by Capt. Thomas White, First Lieut. Caleb Craft, Second Lieut. Daniel White. Lieutenant Craft afterward commanded a company of militia on Dorchester Heights from July 4 to 28, 1778, the company forming part of Colonel Macintosh's regiment. The companies commanded by Captains Pettengill, Childs and Coggswell also contained a number of Brookline men.

Cohasset was some distance from the "seat of war," but the people were just as determined in their course as those who dwelt nearer to Boston. On March 7, 1774, it was voted to build a closet in the meeting house for ammunition. On Christmas day of that year a committee of eleven was chosen as recommended by the Continental Congress. Jesse Stephenson was chairman of the committee. At the same time it was voted to pay the province tax to Henry Gardner instead of Harrison Gray, and to indemnify the selectmen and constables for so doing. On April 28, 1775, an appropriation was made to buy one hundred pounds of gunpowder and five hundred flints.

In actual military service Capt. Job Cushing's Cohasset company was attached to Colonel Revere's regiment; Captain Stowers commanded a company that was engaged in guarding the coast ; Capt. Noah Nichols commanded a company of artillery, nearly all the members of which came from Cohasset; Maj. James Stoddard was one of the "Boston Tea Party," and afterward led the attacking party that captured a British brig becalmed off the Cohasset shore, laden with supplies for the British troops in Boston ; Joseph Bates was in the battle of Bunker Hill and after his ammunition was exhausted was seen throwing stones at the English troops as they swarmed over the breastworks ; and the name of Benjamin Lincoln has been handed down in history as one of the heroes of the Revolution.

Dedham, which then included several of the adjacent towns that have been incorporated since the Revolution, heard the news of the Lexington affair about nine o'clock on the morning of April 19, 1775. The messenger came through Needham and Dover, probably for the reason that the more direct routes were held by the enemy. Six companies of minute men were quickly assembled, to-wit : Capt. Joseph Guild's and Capt. Aaron Fuller's of the First Parish ;

Capt. William Ellis', of the Third Parish; Capt. William Bullard's, from the South Parish (now Norwood) ; Capt. Ebenezer Battle's, from the Fourth Parish (now Dover) ; and a company of seventeen men commanded by Capt. George Gould, with Richard Woodward as lieutenant, went from that part of the town known as Dedham Island, and West Roxbury. After a hurried march Captain Fuller's company and Captain Battle's company met the British as they were retreating toward Boston. In the action which followed, Elias Haven was killed and Israel Everett was wounded. The former belonged to Captain Battle's company and the latter to Captain Fuller's.

During the month following, companies of soldiers from the southerly parts of the province and from Rhode Island were constantly passing through Dedham to join the Continental army about Boston. Toward the end of April some of the provincial cannon were removed to Dedham to be out of reach of the enemy. In May the town voted to raise 120 men, "to be ready to march on an alarm." Committees were appointed to procure guns and ammunition, a night watch was established, and the great gun of King Philip's war was ordered "to be swung." Ebenezer Brackett was detailed to guard the cannon.

On May 27, 1776, six weeks before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, a Dedham town meeting declared that "if the Honourable Congress shall see fit to declare the Colonies Independent of Great Britain the Inhabitants of this town will solemnly engage to Support them in that Measure."

In July, 1776, the town voted a bounty of seven pounds to each soldier in addition to the other wages, and a committee was chosen to provide for soldiers' families needing assistance. In February, 1777, the bounty was increased to twenty-four pounds for each man who would enlist for three years or during the war. In 1778 the First Parish imposed a tax of £4,480 upon the inhabitants for military purposes, and in 1779 another assessment of £8,000 was made "towards defraying the expense of hiring soldiers." Worthington, in his History of Dedham, estimates the annual expenditures of the town during the war at about eight thousand dollars. Thus it will be seen that from start to finish Dedham bore her part, both in men and money.

Medfield's revolutionary activity began with the passage of the Stamp Act in 1765. Seth Clark, then the representative in the General Court, received instructions not to "give acquiescence, or even a willing submission to the acts of Parliament." The instructions close with the injunction to "honor the king, but save the country."

In 1774 the town adopted the agreement and articles of the Continental Congress and ordered the resolutions to be entered on the town records. During the years 1774-75 meetings were held by adjournment from week to week, a committee of correspondence of five members was chosen, one-fourth of the ablebodied men were enrolled as minute men and were paid for the time spent in drilling - three half days each week. When the news of the battle of Lexington reached Medfield, Capt. Sabin Mann and his company of twenty-seven marched to the field and were in service for twelve days. In all, eighty-two Medfield men responded to the Lexington Alarm. Captain Chenery marched for Bunker Hill when it was learned that a battle was on there. He arrived too late to be

Medway was not behind her sister towns in giving expression to sentiments in opposition to the Stamp Act and those other acts of Parliament which followed it. Elisha Adams, the representative, received similar instructions to those sent from Medfield to Seth Clark. In January, 1775, an appropriation of thirty pounds was made "to encourage the enlisting of a number of able-bodied men to the number of one-fourth of the military soldiers to complete and hold themselves in readiness to march at shortest notice."

In this company of minute men Joshua Gould was a lieutenant. A full list of Medway's volunteers cannot be given, but she did her share, both in creating patriotic sentiment and fighting the battles of the colonies.

Milton was one of the first towns to go on record in opposition to the Stamp Act. On October 24, 1765, Dr. Samuel Gardner, Benjamin Wadsworth and Jazaniah Tucker were chosen a committee to draw up instructions to Stephen Miller, the town's representative in the General Court. The instructions are too long to be reproduced here, but they voiced in no uncertain language the town's opposition to an act that made the colonists "as distant from the liberty of Englishmen as are the slaves in Turkey." Mr. Miller was also instructed to "discountenance as far as lies in your power the late horrible outrages that have been committed in the town of Boston, and that you use your utmost endeavors that the Offenders may be found out and brought to Justice," etc.

It was in the Town of Milton that the Suffolk Resolves were adopted. In June, 1774, three months before the adoption of the resolves, a town meeting in Milton appointed a committee to "consider and determine upon some proper measures for this town to come into respecting the situation of public affairs." Capt. David Rawson, Ralph Houghton, Amariah Blake, Oliver Vose, Joseph Clapp, Dr. Samuel Gardner and Samuel Henshaw, Jr., constituted the committee. The report - an address to the people and a series of resolutions - was submitted to an adjourned meeting on July 25, 1774, "and was unanimously agreed to." One of the resolutions was : "That we will unite with our Brethren, 'The Sons of Freedom in America,' in any proper Measures that may be adopted to defeat the late Cruel and Oppressive acts of the British Parliament respecting America and this Distressed Province in Particular, to extirpate the idea of Tyranizing which is so fondly Fostered in the bosoms of those in Power and to secure to our selves and to Posterity our invaluable Rights and Priviledges."

In the General Court, in the Suffolk Congress, in the Provincial Congress and on the field, Milton men were to be found doing their full duty, never faltering until the American colonies were forever freed from the British yoke.

In Needham three companies of minute men had been organized prior to the battle of Lexington. They were respectively commanded by Capt. Caleb Kingsbury, Capt. Aaron Smith and Capt. Robert Smith. The first numbered forty men, the second seventy, and the third seventy-five. About eight o'clock on the morning of April 19, 1775, a messenger (tradition says he was bareheaded) rode through Needham on his way to Dover and Dedham, carrying the news of the battle of Lexington. Ephraim Bullard, who kept a tavern on the Sherborn road, went to the top of a hill near by and fired his musket three times as a signal for the minute men to assemble. Fires were made in the house, women assisted in moulding bullets and preparing rations for the men, and as fast as they could be supplied they started for the scene of the conflict.

The Needham companies encountered the British at West Cambridge, and lost no time in getting into action. First Lieut. John Bacon, Amos Mills and Nathaniel Chamberlain, of Captain Kingsbury's company were killed, and Second Lieut. Eleazer Kingsbury was wounded. Capt. Robert Smith's company lost Sergt. Elisha Mills and Jonathan Parker killed, and John Tolman, wounded.

Throughout the war Needham sustained her reputation for patriotism and loyalty to the cause of the colonists. Committees of correspondence and public safety were appointed from time to time, large sums of money for that period were raised to pay troops and provide for soldiers' families, and in every possible way measures were adopted to aid in a successful prosecution of the war. Col. William Mcintosh, a Needham man, was commissioned colonel of the first regiment of militia in the County of Suffolk on February 14, 1776, and served to the close of the conflict. Washington commended him as "a good officer and a brave man."

At the time of the Revolution, Stoughton included the towns of Canton, Sharon and a large part of Foxboro. On September 26, 1774, Thomas Crane was elected representative to the General Court and instructed "to adhere firmly to the Charter of the Province as granted by their Majestys William and Mary & to do no act acknowledging the validity of the act of the British Parliament for altering the Government of Massachusetts Bay."

Two companies of minute men from what is now Sharon responded to the Lexington alarm on April 19, 1775. The first, numbering thirty-two men, was commanded by Capt. Samuel Payson, with Royall Kollock as lieutenant, and the second by Capt. Israel Smith, with Daniel Morse as lieutenant. This company numbered but twenty-two men.

Besides these two companies, seven others from Stoughton answered the call. They were Capt. James Endicott's, eighty-three men ; Capt. William Briggs', forty-one men; Capt. Asahel Smith's, seventy-seven men; Capt. Peter Talbot's, eighty-five men ; Capt. Josiah Pratt's, thirty-three men ; Capt. Edward Savel's, sixty-four men ; and Capt. Ebenezer Tisdale's, thirty-one men, making a total of 469 men that went from Stoughton at the first clash of arms. Captain Savel's company afterward responded to the second call for troops and assisted in the fortification of Dorchester Heights on the night of March 9, 1776, the movement which forced the British to evacuate Boston.

Nor did the activities of Stoughton stop there. On July 8, 1776, a meeting voted "to raise a sum of money to be levied upon polls and estates to give to each man to the number of thirty-eight (the town's assigned quota) that shall enlist in the service of the Northern Department against Quebec, the sum of £6 6s 8d as an addition to their bounty." At the same time fourteen prominent citizens each agreed to pay the poll-tax for two men that would enter the service as aforesaid.

Walpole adopted a series of resolutions in 1773, reported to a town meeting by a committee consisting of Aquilla Robbins, Enoch Ellis, George Payson, Seth Bullard and Samuel Cheney. Just what the text of the resolutions was it is impossible to say, but Henry E. Fales, in his address at the dedication of the town hall in 1881 says "they rang with patriotism and independence." Two com- panies - Capt. Jeremiah Smith's and Capt. Seth Bullard's - a total of 132 minute men, marched from Walpole to Lexington, and in Captain Mann's company of Medfield there were twenty-five Walpole men. Later a Walpole company commanded by Capt. Aaron Guild assisted in fortifying Dorchester Heights. Captain Fisher's company took part in what was known as the Warwick expedition, and there was at least one Walpole man with Washington when he crossed the Delaware - Holland Wood, who served in the artillery. It is said that at the battle of Monmouth his gun fell from its carriage and that with his own unaided strength he replaced it and went on with the fight.

Weymouth took an active part in the events that preceded the Revolution. On October 16, 1765, Maj. James Humphrey, then representative in the General Court received definite instructions as to the course he. was to pursue with regard to the Stamp Act. On September 21, 1768, James Humphrey and Dr. Cotton Tufts were appointed agents to meet in Faneuil Hall in Boston the next day, to consult with agents of other towns upon the state of public affairs. At a town meeting on January 3, 1774, it was decided "by a very great majority not to purchase nor use any of the East India Company's teas of any kind (excepting such as. they might now have on hand) until the act of Parliament laying a duty thereon be repealed." In December, 1774, both precincts accepted the agreement and articles of association recommended by the Continental Congress.

On March 9, 1775, a committee of correspondence, of which Dr. Cotton Tufts was chairman, was chosen to act with similar committees of the neighboring towns. The first meeting of this committee was held at Arnold's Tavern at Weymouth Landing a few days later and from that time to the close of the war rendered efficient service. A company of minute men was organized and on March 13, 1775, it was voted to pay each member of the company a shilling a week for four weeks. On May 2, 1775, it was voted to pay "a pistareen a day for a week to a company of fifteen men for a military guard in the present troublesome times."

Nathaniel Bayley was chosen a delegate on May 24, 1775, to the Provincial Congress to meet at Watertown on the last day of that month, and at the same time the committee on correspondence was directed to ascertain who were in need of arms. The day following this meeting the town accepted the offer of Mr. Polley to allow the town the use of two swivel guns then at Salem, and Doctor Tufts agreed to have them brought to Weymouth.

These active preparations for war were largely due to an event that occurred on May 21, 1775. Three ships and a cutter came out from Boston Harbor and early on that morning dropped anchor in Weymouth Fore River. Alarm bells were rung, the Braintree minute men fell in at the tap of the drum, many of the women and children in the northern part of Weymouth were hurried to places of safety, and general consternation reigned. One report said that 300 men had been landed and were marching on Weymouth Village. Another rumor stated that they were marching against Germantown. As a matter of fact the British consisted of nothing more formidable than a foraging party, but in a little while enough minute men had been assembled to cause them to embark on their vessels and set sail for Boston.

The Declaration of Independence was read from the pulpits of both the Weymouth churches on the first Sunday after it was received, and was spread in full upon the town records. About this time the town took steps to prevent a monopoly in articles of necessity and to fix prices at which such articles should be sold.

Just how much money was raised by taxation in Weymouth for the purpose of buying ammunition and paying bounties to soldiers, would be difficult to state. But from 1775 to 1778 there was scarcely a town meeting in which the question did not come up, and in a majority of instances of this kind appropriations ranging from twenty pounds to one thousand pounds were voted. Among the Weymouth men who served with distinction in the army may be mentioned Capt. Thomas Nash, who served under Washington during the siege of Boston and was officer of the day the night Dorchester Heights were fortified ; Capts. Joseph Trufant, Samuel Ward, Asa White and Lieutenant Gushing, who were with Benedict Arnold in the Canada expedition ; Lieuts. Samuel Kingman, Thomas Vinson, David Joy and Asa Dyer ; and last but not least Gen. Solomon Lovell, who was in command of the Eastern Military District, the headquarters of which were in Boston. General Lovell also commanded a brigade in the Rhode Island campaign of 1778, and was commander of the unfortunate Penobscot expedition in 1779, which failed because of the failure of Commodore Saltonstall to cooperate with his fleet. Saltonstall was afterward cashiered for cowardice and inefficiency.

Wrentham began her revolutionary history at an adjourned town meeting on November 1, 1765, when a protest against the Stamp Act was placed on the records of the town and a copy forwarded to the General Court. It was drawn up by John Goldsberry, Jabez Fisher and Lemuel Kollock. The House of Representai-'-^ Ii.kI und.rr cm ii!<-'-'ii"n ;i bill to grant compensation to the sufferers from the Stamp Act riots in Boston and free and general pardon to the offenders, and the town instructed its representative, Jabez Fisher, to support the measure.

A company of minute men was organized in January, 1775, and it was soon followed by another. The first was commanded by Capt. Oliver Pond ; Wigglesworth Messinger, first lieutenant ; Hezekiah Ware, second lieutenant. The officers of the second company were: Benjamin Hawes, captain; Timothy Guild, second lieutenant (no first lieutenant appears on the muster rolls). Capt. Samuel Cowell raised a company immediately following the Lexington alarm, and from the northerly part of the town went the companies commanded by Capts. Asa Fairbanks, Elijah Pond and David Holbrook. Still another company that was organized in 1775 (Samuel Warner says it marched to Lexington on April 19, 1775) was the one of which Lemuel Kollock was captain; Joseph Everett, first lieutenant; Swift Payson, second lieutenant. Capt. Thomas Bacon also commanded a Wrentham company which left the town on the last day of April, 1775. Captain Hawes afterward was promoted to colonel. In 1778 Lieut. Timothy Morse recruited twenty-four men in a short time in the bar-room of the old Wrentham Tavern for three years' service. Altogether Wrentham has no cause to be ashamed of her Revolutionary record.

Quite a number of the descendants of Revolutionary soldiers still live in Norfolk County. A few years ago the State of Massachusetts caused to be compiled and published complete rosters of the regiments and companies that served in the War for Independence. These volumes are in nearly every public library in the state, and by consulting them a full record of any individual soldier may be obtained. The records for the Norfolk County towns are too voluminous to be included in a work of this character.