In the sketch of the life of James Otis, as presented in
Appleton's "Cyclopedia of American Biography," an interesting
account is given of the part James Otis played in the noted
battle of Bunker Hill, in June, 1775.
The minute men who, hastening to the front, passed by the house
of the sister of James Otis, with whom he was living, at
Watertown, Mass.
At this time he was harmlessly insane, and did not need special
watching.
But, as he saw the patriotic farmers hurrying by and heard of the
rumor of the impending conflict, he was suddenly seized with a
martial spirit. Without saying a word to a single soul, he
slipped away unobserved and hurried on towards Boston. On the
roadside he stopped at a farmhouse and borrowed a musket, there
being nothing seemingly in his manner to suggest mental
derangement. Throwing the musket upon his shoulder he hastened
on, and was soon joined by the minute men coming from various
directions. "Falling in" with them, he took an active part in
that eventful contest until darkness closed in upon the
combatants. Then, wearied beyond description, though he was, he
set out for home after midnight. He afterwards pursued his sad
and aimless life, as though nothing unusual had occurred.