245 The following extracts are from the diary of Col. Samuel Pierce, of Dorchester : "1763, April 21. I grafted for Mr. Lemuel Robinson [1774]: he and I grafted heads in one day. "1769, Aug. 14. Was a very grand entertainment at Mr Lemuel Robinsons [1774]. All the Sons of Liberty met; there was 124 carriages there.1 Mr Lemuel Robinson [1774] was chosen to represent the town. The officers of this regiment met at Stouton to choose their field the same - Lemuel Robinson [1774], Deacon Gill and Joseph The field officers resigned. They met again and [the same field officers] were rechosen." Joseph Spear, Jr. (1774), cooper, of Boston, son of Joseph and Mary (Collier) Spear, was born April 7, 1722, at Hull, Mass., and he died in Boston in February, 1791. He married, (1) Oct. 25, 1743, Elizabeth Phebe Binney, who died in 1757 or 1758, daughter of John and Hannah (Paine) Binney, of Hull, and, (2) June 14, 1759, Mary Dawson. He was identified with the militia, and became a captain in Col. Craft's regiment. In 1778, Joseph Spear, Jr. (1774), and his brother, Lieut. David (1758), were captured by the British, and were carried to Pembroke, England. They were released Oct. 14, 1780. He never held any town office in Boston. In 1785, he became a member of the Lodge of St. Andrew, A. F. and A. M. In 1788, he was fourth sergeant of the Artillery Company. He resided on Leverett Street, also called Quaker Lane. From 1789 until his decease he was an officer of customs, "a useful member of society and one whose death is lamented by all who were acquainted with him." She died Sept. 12, 1795, John Wise (1774), tailor, of Boston, married Mary. aged thirty-nine years. He was interested in the militia, and was second lieutenant in the Boston regiment in 1779, and captain in 1784. Capt. John Wise (1774) and his wife, after lingering sickness, aged fifty-five and thirty-nine years respectively, died in 1795. They resided in West Boston, near the meeting-house. The record of the Artillery Company for 1774 is as follows:· 1774. April 4th. The Company being under Arms in the field, it was then Voted, That a Committee be appointed to confer with Blanchard [1737] respecting his Bonds due to the Company. Voted, That Col. Jackson [1738], Maj. Dawes [1754], Capt Waters [1747] and Capt Gay [1761] be a committee for the purpose aforesaid. Voted, The Company meet to exercise at Faneuil Hall every Friday evening in the weeks preceding the training in May next, at half past seven o'clock; and any Member being AUTHORITIES: Joseph Spear, Jr. (1774). The entertainment of Aug. 14, 1769, was a celebration of "the Union and Association of the Sons of Liberty in this Province." The "Sons" assembled at Liberty Tree in Boston and thence proceeded to Liberty Tree tavern, known as “Robinson's [1774]" tavern, in Dorchester, where they dined at two o'clock P. M. About three hundred sat absent at that time shall pay a fine of six pence, and if absent the whole evening one shilling; and for neglect of gun & bayonet one shilling for the use of the Company. "Voted, That the Rev. Mr. John Hunt of Boston be desired to preach on the Anniversary Artillery Election of Officers in June next, and the present Commission Officers with the Treasurer be a committee to wait on him and desire the same. "Attest: SAMUEL CONDON, Clerk. "May 2d 1774. Monday, the weather being unsuitable, the Company did not turn out till the Friday following: being then under Arms in the field, the Committee. appointed to wait on the Rev. Mr. John Hunt of Boston, report they had waited on him with the requests of the Company, but that he had declined on account of his health not admitting. Voted, That the same Committee be a Committee to wait on the Rev. Mr John Lathrop and desire him to preach on the Anniversary Artillery Election of Officers in June next. The Treasurer's accounts being read it was Voted That the same be accepted. Voted, The Treasurer pay the present Commission officers thirty pounds, lawful money, towards defraying the expenses of the Election Dinner in June next; and further more that the Company dine with them. Voted, That the Clerk borrow of the Treasurer ten pounds, lawful money, on account of the balance due to him from the Company, and that Mr. Joseph Pierce [1769], & Mr Josiah Waters Jun. [1769] be a Committee to adjust the Clerks accounts and assess the Members of the Company for the balance that may be due him; and that the said Sum of ten pounds be repaid to the Treasurer when received of the Members. Voted, The Company meet to exercise at Faneuil Hall every Friday evening preceding the training in June next precisely at eight o'clock. Fines as Voted April last. Attest: SAMUEL CONDON, Clerk. "June 6th. 1774. The Company being under Arms, in the field, it was then Voted, That the present Commission Officers, with the Treasurer, be a Committee to wait on the Rev. Mr. John Lathrop, and return him the thanks of this Company for his Sermon. preached this day.' Attest SAMUEL CONDON, Clerk." Rev. John Hunt, of Boston, was invited to deliver the Artillery election sermon of 1774, but he declined on account of ill health. He was the son of Capt. John and Esther (Wells) Hunt, and was born in Northampton, Nov. 20, 1744. He graduated at Harvard College in 1764, and taught school in his native town from October, 1765, until March, 1769. In connection with his teaching, he pursued a course of theological studies, and was licensed to preach in 1769. suitable to the occasion was delivered by Rev. John Lathrop. After which they proceeded as usual to Faneuil Hall, where an elegant dinner was provided for the aforesaid gentlemen, and in the evening an entertainment was made by the new elected officers. "The officers of the Company are chosen annually, and it has always been customary for the Governor of the Province to receive the badges of their commission from the old officers and deliver them to the new. As his Excellency, Governor Gage, was at Salem on that day, he authorized Major General Brattle [1729] to act in his stead."- Boston Newspaper. 'June 6 [1774], Monday, warm, Artillery Election. Rev. John Lathrop preached a very suitable sermon." Thomas Newell's Journal. Rev. Joseph Sewall, who delivered the Artillery election sermon in 1714, died in 1769. Two years after, Sept. 25, 1771, Rev. John Hunt became his successor, and was ordained on that day. Mr. Hunt was a genial and affectionate man, of winning and persuasive manners. He died, deeply lamented, Dec. 30, 1775, at the age of thirty-one years, after a pastorate of but four years' duration. Rev. John Lathrop, of Boston, delivered the Artillery election sermon of 1774. He was born May 17, 1740, in Norwich, Conn. He graduated at Princeton College in 1763, and pursued the study of medicine. For a short time he was an assistant in Moors' Indian School, then kept at Lebanon. On the death of Rev. Mr. Checkley, who delivered the Artillery election sermon in 1757, Mr. John I athrop was engaged to supply the pulpit. After a trial of several months, the Second Church and Society unanimously invited him to become its pastor. He accepted, and was installed May 18, 1768. He was pastor of the church during the Revolution, when the Old North Meeting-House, erected in 1677, was torn down for fuel by the British. After the Evacuation, the Old North, or Second, Church and the New Brick Church united in public worship, and May 6, 1779, they formed a perpetual union. Mr. Pemberton died Sept. 9, 1779, and Rev. Mr. Lathrop continued as pastor of the new Second Church. His ministry covered the long period of fifty years, and he died Jan. 4, 1816. The sermon, at his interment, was delivered by Rev. Mr. Parkman, of Boston. He was buried in the Granary Burial-Ground. 1775. It was upon March 6, 1775, that Gen. Joseph Warren delivered the oration "to perpetuate the memory of the horrid massacre perpetrated on the evening of the 5th of March, 1770, by a party of soldiers" under Capt. Thomas Preston. Thanks were voted to the orator, and a committee, of which Col. Thomas Marshall (1761) was one, was appointed to wait upon him, and request a copy for the press. Samuel Adams, moderator of the adjourned town meeting, April 3, 1775, being at the Congress then sitting in Concord, Samuel Swift (1746) was chosen moderator pro tempore. From the last-mentioned date until March 29, 1776, nearly one year, no meeting of the inhabitants is recorded, except the inhabitants of Boston were warned to meet March 5, 1776, at the meeting-house in Watertown, to listen to an oration by Rev. Peter Thacher, commemorative of "the horrid massacre of the 5th of March, 1770." Nathaniel Barber, Jr. (1758), was present on that occasion, and was assigned a place on each of the three committees appointed at that meeting. William Copp was the early proprietor of that portion of the hill which has subsequently borne his name. Copp's Hill was at one time in possession of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. In 1775, the Common was occupied by the British troops, and the Artillery Company was refused admittance to perform its usual exercise Rev. John Lathrop. AUTHORITIES: Robbins's Hist. of Second Church; Funeral Sermon, by Rev. Mr. Parkman; Sprague's Annals of American Pulpit. and evolutions. Major Bell, the commander, therefore marched the Company to Copp's Hill, as has been fully related in the sketch of Major Bell (1756).2 In the introduction to the above-mentioned "Letters of John Andrews, Esq., of Boston," there are certain explanatory paragraphs. It was Samuel Breck, Esq., who recognized these letters as productions of his uncle, John Andrews. Mr. Breck adds: "Benjamin Andrews [1754] . . was the elder brother of John. Shortly after this date [April 11, 1776] my uncle Benjamin [1754] was writing in his parlor on some business, preparatory to a journey into the country the next day. His friend, Benjamin Hitchborn, a lawyer of eminence, sat near the chimney, preparing for use a pair of pistols, — without which in those days no one ventured to travel, when, by some awkward turn, the pistol which he held in his hand exploded and killed Andrews [1754] on the spot. The very melancholy event was supposed to be accidental; and Hitchborn, who married his [Mr. Breck's] widowed aunt, took the best possible care of her children by Andrews [1754], whom he educated and established in life with true parental affection." -- Samuel Bixby, a private in Capt. Bolster's company, of Sutton, in Col. Learned's regiment, then encamped before Boston, wrote in his journal: "June 5th [1775] Monday. This day is Artillery Election': but it is not much thought of by the soldiers. About 12 o. c. the regulars fired from the fortifications; and they fired from the Castle at a party of our men on shore digging clams but did no damage. Our men picked up one of the balls, a 24 pounder, and carried it to the General, who gave them two gallons of rum. A party of our men out towards Noddles Island captured a barge and four men belonging to a man of war and carried it ashore at Cambridge; and this day brought the barge to Roxbury in a cart, with the sails up and three men in it. It was marched round the meeting house, while the engineer fired the cannon for joy." The record of the Artillery Company for 1775 is as follows: "April 3d, 1775. The Company being under Arms, it was then Voted, That the Rev. Mr. William Gordon of Roxbury be desired to preach on the anniversary Artillery Election of Officers in June next, and the present Commission Officers, with the Treasurer, be a committee to wait on him and request the same. Voted, That the Company meet to exercise at Faneuil Hall every Tuesday evening preceding the training in May next, precisely at half past seven o'clock, on penalty of six pence for non merly us'd to. Their fifes and drums, when near the hill, alarmed the Lively, which lays near the ferry; and when they had got upon the hill, in sight of the ship, the Boatswain's whistle call'd all hands upon deck, the marines with their firelocks were fix'd upon the quarter, the ports opened with a spring upon their cables, the round tops manned, and a boat manned and sent out upon each side to reconnoitre. Such was the terror they were in, from the appearance of about fifty pompions in arms. At about five o'clock they remarched into King street, where they perform'd their evolutions with the greatest propriety and exactness; much more so, in my opinion, than any performances of the troops since they've been here." From Letters of John Andrews, Esq., of Boston, compiled and edited by Mr. Winthrop Sargent. attendance at roll-call, and one shilling if absent the whole evening, and any Member appearing without his firelock & bayonett shall pay a fine of one shilling. "Attest: SAMUEL CONDON, Clerk." The "Loyal Address from the Gentlemen and Principal Inhabitants of Boston to Gov. Gage, on his departure for England, Oct. 6, 1775," was signed by ninety-seven persons, of whom the following-named were members of the Artillery Company : William Brattle (1729), Martin Gay (1761), John Gore (1743), John Joy (1755), Adino Paddock (1762). The editor of the "Memorial History of Boston," in Vol. III., pages 175-177, gives the names of five hundred and thirty-four loyalists who resided in Boston or its vicinity. Among them are found the following names of members of the Artillery Company : William Brattle (1729), James Butler (1739), Hopestill Capen (1763), Josiah Edson, Jr. (1747), Martin Gay (1761), John Gore (1743), William Heath (1754), John Joy (1755), Edward Lyde (1758), William Murray (1758), Adino Paddock (1762), Benjamin Phillips (1755), Moses Pitcher (1760), Isaac Royall (1750), Job Wheelwright (1759). In contradistinction to the above lists of "addressers" and "loyalists," the great majority, probably more than nine tenths, of the active membership of the Artillery Company at the beginning of the Revolutionary War were loyal to the cause of the colonies, and, without exception, were more or less active in the stirring events of those days. Some members were alert at home, answering alarm calls, guarding the harbor and coasts, collecting materials for the war; while others enlisted for the war, and, on land or sea, bore their share of the privations and sacrifices necessitated by the sanguinary struggle. Their training in the military art previous to the war prepared them to command, hence the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company was represented by commissioned officers on every battle-field where the banner of Massachusetts waved. Having assisted to drive the British from Massachusetts Bay, they hastened to other American colonies to drive the British thence. They endured the sorrows of the midwinter camp; they shared in the successes at Saratoga and Yorktown. The loyalty, sacrifice, and service of members of the Artillery Company in the War of the Revolution give an immortal lustre to those pages in its history. George William Curtis, in his oration at Concord in 1873, said, "Such was the opening battle of the Revolution, a conflict which, so far as we can see, saved civil liberty in two hemispheres, saved England as well as America, and whose magnificent results shine through the world as the beacon light of free popular government. And who won this victory? The minute-men and militia, who, in the history of our English race, have been always the vanguard of freedom. The minute-man of the American Revolution! - who was he? He was the husband and father, who, bred to love liberty and to know that lawful liberty is the sole guaranty of peace and progress, left the plow in the furrow and the hammer on the bench, and, kissing wife and children, marched to die or to be free. He was the son and lover, the plain, shy youth of the singing-school and the village choir, whose heart beat to arms for his country, and who felt, though he could not say, with the old English cavalier, "I could not love thee, dear, so much, Loved I not honour more.' |