A few days were spent in Boston, principally in visiting places of
historical interest,--Christ Church on Salem Street, where as the
Captain told the children, Paul Revere's signal was hung out from
the steeple, in the Revolutionary War, by Captain Pulling, a Boston
merchant; and the Old South Church, about which they had already heard
so much.
"In 1775," the Captain said, as the little group stood gazing about it
in deep interest, "the British soldiers desecrated this place by using
it for cavalry drill, having first torn out the galleries and covered
the floor with earth. It is now no longer used as a church, but, as
you see, is a historical museum. Now we will go to Faneuil Hall,--'the
cradle of liberty.'"
They did so; and next visited the Old State House.
As the Captain told them, the Boston Massacre occurred in the street
before it; and there, during the excitement in regard to the Stamp Act,
the stamped clearances were burned by the mob. From the balcony the
Declaration of Independence was read. Many town-meetings were held
there, and many patriotic speeches made,--among them those of Otis,
who foretold probable war, and urged resistance to tyranny "even unto
blood" if necessary.
"Who was Otis, Papa?" asked Lulu.
"A Boston lawyer of that time, a patriot,--as evidenced by even the
few words of his I have just quoted. He was advocate-general with a
good salary at the time when the revenue officers in Boston took out
search-warrants to look for smuggled goods, and called upon him to
defend their cause; but he at once resigned his office and took the
other side,--that of the merchants of Boston, who were protesting
against the writs. They offered him a large fee, but he refused it,
saying, 'In such a cause I despise all fees.'"
"That case was tried in this old State House; and Otis made a grand
speech of such length that it took him five hours to deliver it."
"What was it all about, Papa?" asked Gracie.
"It was on the question whether Americans were bound to obey laws which
they had no share in making, and all the arguments in the wonderful
speech answered doggedly, 'No.'
"John Adams, who heard the speech, afterward said that on that day 'the
child Independence was born;' and no doubt the argument assisted the
popular leaders very much in furnishing them with weapons for their
work."
"Weapons, Papa?" Grace asked with a puzzled look.
"Yes, daughter; arguments with which to show the people what the
English Government was doing to take away our liberties.
"Otis afterward, when Governor Bernard called upon the General Assembly
of Massachusetts to rescind the resolution it had passed against the
right of the English Parliament to tax the colonies without their
consent,--which they boldly disregarded,--made a powerful speech in
which he said, 'When Lord Hillsborough knows that we will not rescind
_our_ acts, he should apply to Parliament to rescind _theirs_. _Let
Britons rescind their measures, or they are lost forever!_' He went
on speaking in that way for nearly an hour, till even the Sons of
Liberty began to tremble lest he should go too far, and be charged with
treason."
"And did he fight for the country, Papa?" asked Gracie.
"No, poor fellow!" replied the Captain, with a slight sigh; "before
the war had fairly begun he became insane from injuries inflicted by
one Robinson, a commissioner of customs, who, with several army or
navy officers set upon, beat, and otherwise injured him, inflicting a
sword-cut on his head from which he never recovered."
"And he didn't have the pleasure of seeing his country free and
separated from England?" Lulu said, half inquiringly.
"No; he was killed by a stroke of lightning in 1778, which you will
remember was several years before the war was over."
Our little party next visited Lexington and Concord.
"How far must we travel to get there, Papa?" queried Gracie, as they
took their seats in the car.
"Only a few miles to Lexington, and a little farther to reach Concord,"
he answered.
"That won't seem very far by rail," remarked Max; "but it must
have seemed quite a distance to the soldiers who marched there in
Revolutionary times."
"I find we are early," the Captain said, looking at his watch; "and as
we have the car nearly to ourselves, it may be well for us to talk over
what occurred in 1775 at the places we are about to visit. I think it
will make the visit more interesting to you."
"Oh, do tell us the whole story, Papa," requested Gracie, with a look
of pleased anticipation.
The others all joined in her petition, and the Captain good-naturedly
complied.
"Matters had been growing worse and worse between the British
Government and the colonies," he said, "till a struggle seemed almost
inevitable. General Gage discovered that the patriots were privately
conveying arms out of Boston, that some brass cannon and field-pieces
were at Salem; and on a Sunday in February, 1775, he sent some troops
to seize them.
"An express from Marblehead arrived at Salem while the people were in
church, with the news that British troops were landing from a transport
at that place, and were about to march to Salem.
"The congregations were at once dismissed, and, led by Colonel
Pickering, stopped the British at a drawbridge. Pickering succeeded in
effecting a compromise, and the troops marched back again to Marblehead
without having done the errand upon which they had been sent.
"Let me see," continued the Captain, meditatively; "I think I can
recall some lines by Trumbull, referring to that incident:--
"'Through Salem straight, without delay,
The bold battalion took its way:
Marched o'er a bridge, in open sight
Of several Yankees arm'd for fight;
Then, without loss of time or men,
Veer'd round for Boston back again,
And found so well their prospects thrive,
That every soul got back alive.'
"It was some two months after this that the battles of Lexington and
Concord took place. On April 18, the patriots learned that the next
day British troops were to visit Concord for the purpose of destroying
some military stores there, and passing through Lexington seize the
persons of John Hancock and Samuel Adams, who were both in that town at
the house of the Rev. Jonas Clark.
"Gage had tried to keep all this a profound secret, but somehow the
patriots had learned what he was attempting, and were making their
preparations accordingly. Warren and his friends had gone, Paul Revere
and William Dawes had just rowed across the river to Charlestown,
taking a message from Warren to Adams and Hancock. They were very near
being captured by the guard at Charlestown, but escaped, and reached
Lexington a little after midnight.
"They went at once to Mr. Clark's house, but found a guard of eight
minute-men placed about it to protect Adams and Hancock.
"These refused to let Revere and Dawes into the house, as orders had
been given not to allow the inmates to be disturbed by noise.
"'Noise!' exclaimed Revere, 'you'll have noise enough before long; the
regulars are coming!'
"They were quickly admitted then, roused Hancock and Adams, and knowing
how unlikely to escape being taken prisoners they were, should they
remain in Lexington, persuaded them to retire to Woburn.
"Then Revere and Dawes pushed on to Concord to give the alarm there.
"By two o'clock in the morning a hundred and thirty of the Lexington
militia were collected at the meeting-house upon the green. The roll
was called; then, as the early morning air was very chilly, they were
dismissed with orders to remain within drum-beat."
"Papa, the British marched very quietly, didn't they?" asked Max.
"Yes, in perfect silence; hoping and believing that none of the
Americans were aware of their movements."
"Ha, ha, how mistaken they were!" laughed Max.
"Yes," his father said, "there were vigilant eyes upon them. As they
passed through West Cambridge they were seen by Lee, Gerry, and
Orne,--members of the Provincial Congress,--and as I have told you,
others learned the secret also.
"As the British neared Lexington their ears were greeted by the sound
of bells and guns, warning them that their expedition was known."
"I s'pose they didn't like that," observed Gracie, "but what did they
do about it, Papa?"
"Colonel Smith dispatched six companies of troops under Major Pitcairn,
with orders to press on to Concord and secure the two bridges. He also
sent a messenger to Boston for reinforcements.
"Pitcairn hastened on toward Lexington, capturing several persons
on his way. One of them--a man named Bowman--escaped, hurried into
Lexington on horseback, and notified Captain Parker, commander of the
minute-men, that the enemy was approaching."
"And did they make a great fuss and wake up all the people, Papa?"
asked Gracie.
"They rang the bells, fired guns, and beat the drum, so that doubtless
everybody was soon aroused.
"It was between four and five in the morning. About one hundred of the
militia were quickly collected on the green; but being raw troops, and
uncertain how large a force was coming against them, they were in some
confusion.
"And indeed it was an overwhelming force they presently saw marching
toward them, their scarlet uniforms gleaming out through the early
morning mist.
"The British halted within a few rods of the meeting-house and loaded
their pieces. But the Americans stood firm and undismayed.
"Their orders were not to pull a trigger till fired upon by the enemy,
and for a moment there was silence and hesitation on both sides;
neither Americans nor British seemed willing to become the aggressors.
"But it was only for a moment; Pitcairn and other officers galloped
forward, waving their swords over their heads, and followed by their
troops in double-quick time.
"'Disperse you villains!' they shouted, 'lay down your arms and
disperse. Why don't you disperse, you rebels? Disperse!' And as the
patriots did not instantly obey the command, Pitcairn wheeled his
horse, waved his sword, and gave orders to press forward and surround
the militia.
"At that instant some random shots were fired by the British, and
promptly returned by the Americans."
"Oh, Papa, was anybody killed?" asked Gracie.
"Not by those shots," replied her father; "but the next minute Pitcairn
drew a pistol and discharged it, at the same time shouting 'Fire!'
"His troops instantly obeyed that order. Four of the patriots were
killed, and the rest dispersed. They were fired upon again while
retreating, and several of them halted and returned the shots, then
concealed themselves behind buildings and stone walls.
"Eight Americans were killed, three British soldiers and Major
Pitcairn's horse were wounded."
"I thought you said only four Americans were shot, Papa," said Gracie,
looking up inquiringly into his face.
"Four by the first discharge of musketry, and as many more while trying
to escape over the fences," he answered.
"Did the British care for having killed those poor men?" she asked,
tears of sympathy shining in her eyes.
"If so they gave no evidence of it," her father replied. "They hurried
on to Concord in high spirits. But the news of their approach had been
communicated, and a formidable body of militia was waiting to receive
them."
"Oh, yes!" said Rosie, "I remember that Dawes and Revere had hurried on
to warn them after doing the Lexington people the same service."
"Yes," the Captain said, "but on the way they were taken prisoners by
some British officers. They had stopped to tell the news to Dr. Samuel
Prescott, who escaped over a wall, they being captured. Prescott made
his way to Concord, reaching there about two o'clock in the morning,
and gave the alarm. Then the bells were rung, and the people armed
themselves, so that before daylight they were ready to receive the
British."
"They knew what the British were after, and made haste to conceal the
stores of powder, shot, and so forth,--didn't they, Papa?" asked Max.
"Yes; the whole male population and some of the women assisted in that
work, and succeeded in concealing them in a safe place in the woods
before the arrival of the British."
"That was good," remarked Gracie. "And didn't the British get anything
at all, Papa?"
"Yes, a little. They knocked off the trunnions of three iron
twenty-four-pound cannon, cut down a liberty-pole, set the Court House
on fire, and burned a few barrels of wooden trenchers and spoons, and
sixteen new carriage-wheels. Also they threw five hundred pounds of
balls into a mill-pond, and broke open about sixty barrels of flour;
but the people succeeded in saving a good deal of that, and Mrs.
Moulton put out the fire in the Court House before much damage was
done."
"But was there no fighting, Papa?" Gracie asked.
"There was fighting," the Captain answered. "While the British were at
the mischief I have been telling you of, the American party was rapidly
increasing by the coming in of minute-men from the neighbouring towns.
They formed into line as fast as they came. There were nearly four
hundred of them.
"From the place where they were forming they could see the fire the
British had started in the centre of the town, and of course the sight
greatly increased their excitement.
"Joseph Hosmer, the adjutant, made a stirring appeal, after a brief
consultation with prominent citizens and members of the Committee of
Safety, who were present, and ready to take part in repelling the
British.
"It was agreed to dislodge them from the North Bridge. Captain Davis
saying, 'I haven't a man that's afraid to go.'
"They wheeled into marching order, and joined by other companies,
pushed forward to the bridge, under the command of Major John Buttrick,
of Concord.
"The British guard were on the west side of the river, but crossed to
the east on seeing the Americans approaching, and began taking up the
planks of the bridge.
"Major Buttrick called to them to stop, and urged his men on to try to
save the bridge.
"The British formed for action as the Americans drew near, and some of
the regulars fired, killing Captain Davis, Abner Hosmer, and wounding
another man.
"Then Buttrick shouted, 'Fire fellow soldiers! for God's sake fire!'
and instantly they gave the British a full volley.
"In a few minutes the British retreated, and the Americans took
possession of the bridge.
"Their volley had killed three British soldiers, two of whom were left
on the ground. The Americans afterward buried them, and we shall find
their graves only a few feet from the monument."
But other passengers had entered the car, and the train was now in
motion.
"There, that must do for the present," the Captain said; "the story
will have to be finished after we leave the train."
Their first halt was at Lexington where they viewed with much interest
the ground where the skirmish took place, the monument commemorating
the devotion of those who fell, and everything to be found that had
any connection with the events which have made the place famous in the
annals of our country.
Evelyn Leland gazed long at the inscription on the monument, then read
aloud,--
"Sacred to the Liberty and the Rights of Mankind!!! The Freedom and
Independence of America--sealed and defended with the blood of her
sons--This Monument is erected by the Inhabitants of Lexington ...
to the memory of their fellow citizens ... the first victims of
the sword of British Tyranny and Oppression, on the morning of the
ever-memorable nineteenth of April, A. D. 1775. The Die was Cast!!!
The blood of these Martyrs in the Cause of God and their Country was
the Cement of the Union of these States, then Colonies, and gave
the Spring to the Spirit, Firmness and Resolution of their Fellow
citizens. They rose as one man to revenge their Brethren's blood and
at the point of the sword to assert and defend their native Rights.
They nobly dared to be Free!!! The contest was long, bloody and
affecting. Righteous Heaven approved the Solemn Appeal; Victory
crowned their Arms, and the Peace, Liberty and Independence of the
United States of America was their glorious Reward. Built in the year
1799."
"You didn't read it all, Eva," said Walter; "you skipped the names."
"Yes," she said, "because I didn't want to take time to read it all;
though I'd be ever so unwilling to rob the poor, dear, brave fellows of
any of the credit that belongs to them."