On this day 250 years ago in Assonet (now Freetown), Massachusetts, hundreds of Massachusetts militia from Attleborough, Dartmouth and Middleborough commanded by Col. John Daggett raided the home of Loyalist Col. Thomas Gilbert where his company of Loyalist militia was encamped. The Patriots captured 29 Loyalists (but not Gilbert, who was away seeking British troops to reinforce his Loyalist company), 35 muskets, gunpowder and a basket of musket balls, and also freed a British deserter who had been captured by the Loyalists. Some of the Loyalists, including Gilbert’s brother Samuel, were wounded in the assault, but the Patriots suffered no casualties. Thomas Gilbert and some 20 of his followers would seek refuge on a British ship the next day.
And on that day in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Rev. John Winthrop of Harvard College wrote to Richard Price in London that the people of Massachusetts would not surrender “without a struggle.” He said that Massachusetts and the other New England colonies “will form an army which the General will not find it easy to subdue” and that “their ardor is such that it is found difficult to restrain it within due bounds.” So Winthrop was expecting “horrid carnage.”
On this day 250 years ago, Col. John Daggett of the Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Militia led a raid from Attleborough (now Attleboro), Massachusetts to the nearby town of Assonet to seize gunpowder Loyalists had stored there.
On that same Sunday in Boston, during services at the Brattle Street Meeting, Joseph Warren warned Rev. Samuel Cooper, that the British planned to arrest leading Patriots including Cooper. The next day Rev. Cooper and his wife fled Boston.
Source: Philbrick, Nathaniel, Bunker Hill, A City, a Siege, a Revolution, Viking, New York, 2013 at p. 111
Also on that day in Concord, Governor Gage’s spy within the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, Dr. Benjamin Church, wrote Gage that “people without doors are clamorous for immediate commencement of hostilities” but the Congress was not ready to take “decisive measures.”
On this day 250 years ago in Concord, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress called for the establishment of a New England Army, and appointed delegates to travel to New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Connecticut to ask each colony to contribute troops to the army.
And on this day in Boston, Paul Revere set out on a ride to Concord to warn the Massachusetts Provincial Congress that the British Army was coming, and General Gage ordered
Lieut. Graves Commander of his Majesty’s Armed Schooner “Diana” together with a Detachment of His Majesty’s 64th Regiment, . . . to Fort Pownal, with directions to take onboard all the Artillery and spare Arms belonging to, and in Store at said Fort.
The site of Fort Pownall is in present-day Maine at Fort Point State Park.
Also on this day in New Bern, North Carolina, Governor Josiah Martin dissolved the North Carolina Provincial Assembly because the Assembly had adopted the Continental Association issued by the First Continental Congress and elected delegates to the Second Continental Congress, both in direct contradiction of the Governor’s orders. The North Carolina Assembly authorized under British law would never meet again.
On this day 250 years ago in Concord, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress resolved that
This Congress, deeply sensible of the high-handed insult offered the town of Billerica, the colony of the Massachusetts Bay, and this continent in general, in the vile and ignoble assault in the person of Thomas Ditson, by a party of the king’s troops under general Gage’s command, do highly approve of the manly and resolute conduct of the town of Billerica, by their manifesting a due resentment to the general, and demanding a constitutional satisfaction.
Notwithstanding you have not received that satisfaction from the general which you had a just right to expect, yet this Congress humbly hope, under Providence, that the time is fast approaching, when this colony and continent will have justice done them, in a way consistent with the dignity of freemen, on such wicked destroyers of the natural and constitutional rights of Americans.
Also on that day, the British lowered the longboats from the Royal Navy ships in Boston Harbor to the water so that they would be ready to transport troops across the Back Bay to Cambridge. Based on this action and the prior intelligence that British officers had scouted the road to Concord, Joseph Warren and the members of the Boston Committee who were still in town issued orders to Paul Revere to ride to Concord to warn the Congress that the British Army was planning a raid on Concord. However, they misjudged the date and predicted the raid would occur on Sunday, April 9.
On this day 250 years ago in Concord, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress responded to a report from the Bristol County Committee that Col. Thomas Gilbert had begun training a Loyalist militia:
The part acted by Col. Gilbert respecting the common cause of America, since the commencement of its public troubles, . . . leaves no American room to hesitate in pronouncing him an inveterate enemy to his country, to reason, justice, and the common rights of mankind ; and, therefore, whoever has knowingly espoused his cause, or taken up arms for its support, does, in common with himself, deserve to be instantly cut off from the benefit of commerce with, or countenance of, any friend of virtue, America, or the human race.
Also on this day in Concord where he was a delegate to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, James Warren wrote to his wife Mercy Otis Warren that “all things wear a warlike appearance here. . . . The people are ready and determine to defend this Country Inch by Inch.”
On this day 250 years ago in New Bern, North Carolina, the Provincial Assembly, which Governor Josiah Martin had declared “the only lawful Representatives of the people of” North Carolina, merges with the Provincial Congress, which Martin had deemed “highly offensive to the King and dishonorable.” The merger made sense to the members of the North Carolina Assembly and the Congress, if not to Governor Martin, since their membership largely overlapped and both bodies had elected the same man — John Harvey — to lead them.
Norton at pp. 327-29.
On that day in Concord, Massachusetts, the Second Provincial Congress adopts “articles, rules, and regulations for the army, that may be raised for the defence and security of our lives, liberties, and estates.” The 52 Articles adopted by the Massachusetts Congress were based on the 1765 British Articles of War.
On the same day in Boston, General Gage requested that Admiral Graves of the Royal Navy prepare ships to ferry soldiers across the Back Bay to Cambridge.
And 250 years ago at Mount Vernon, Virginia, George Washington writes to his old friend and comrade George Mercer, then in London, that
A great number of very good companies were raised in many Counties in this Colony, before it was recommended to them by the Convention, & are now in excellent training; the people being resolved, altho’ they wish for nothing, more ardently, than a happy & lasting reconciliation with the parent State, not to purchase it at the expence of their liberty, & the sacred compacts of Government.
Washington’s letter to Mercer mostly deals with properties that Washington had purchased from Mercer including 1200 acres on Four Mile Run in present-day Arlington that George Mercer had jointly owned with his brother James Mercer. The purchase was very complicated for many reasons including that the brothers were estranged — perhaps because James was an ardent Patriot and George was a Loyalist. James Mercer would go on to serve on the Virginia Committee of Safety, as a delegate to the Continental Congress and as Judge on the Virginia Court of Appeals, throughout the Revolution. George Mercer, on the other hand, would remain in London and never return to Virginia.
Washington’s correspondence indicates, however, that the falling out between the brothers was more personal than political. In the same letter to George Mercer, Washington writes
I could wish most sincerely that the unhappy jealousies which seem to prevail between you, were removed, & the confidence which I believe both of you are entitled to, restored. You do not, if I may be allowed to give my opinion, make proper allowances for the situation of each other. The great distance you are apart—miscarriage of Letters, & various other incidental causes have, I dare say, lead each of you into conjectural mistakes which might be explained at a personal interview, but scarce possible in an epistolary way, after the mind is corroded with unfavourable suspicions.
On the same day Washington writes to a lawyer representing another party in the complicated land transactions:
It gives me much pain to find two Gentln, brothers, who individually stand high in the esteem of their Countrymen, imbibing unfavourable impressions, and, to their joint Friends, mu[tu]ally arraigning the conduct of each other, when I am satisfied that both think themselves right, and that neither hath made proper allowance for the situation of the other. . . . the uneasiness I feel at seeing two Brothers, accustomed to live in perfect amity, now bickering, & accusing each other of hardships occasioned by the other, led me into this digression, for which I ask your pardon.
“From George Washington to George Mercer, 5 April 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-10-02-0251. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 10, 21 March 1774 – 15 June 1775, ed. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995, pp. 326–328.]; “From George Washington to Edward Montagu, 5 April 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/02-10-02-0252. [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Colonial Series, vol. 10, 21 March 1774 – 15 June 1775, ed. W. W. Abbot and Dorothy Twohig. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1995, pp. 328–330.]
At any event, because of the falling out between the Mercer brothers, whether it was tied to their views on the Revolution or only personal, George Washington acquired a large tract of land in present-day Arlington. Every year I lead a tour of George Washington’s property in Arlington for the Arlington Historical Society, and this year it will be on May 10, 2025.
On this day 250 years ago in New Bern, North Carolina, the Province of North Carolina General Assembly is convened by Royal Governor Josiah Martin. Although the General Assembly was the official body recognized by the British Government, it proved to be no more cooperative with Governor Martin than the outlawed Provincial Congress. That was not surprising in that 61 members of the General Assembly were also members of the Provincial Congress. Moderator John Harvey of the Provincial Congress was also Speaker of the House of Burgesses and the Patriots were the overwhelming majority of both bodies.
Also on that day in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Mercy Otis Warren writes to John Adams about “the present dark and Gloomy aspect of public affairs.” She asked:
Is there no hope that the Dread Calamity of Civil Convulsions may yet be Averted, or must the Blood of the Best Citizens be poured out to Glut the Vengeance of the most Worthless and Wicked men Ever Nursed in the Lap of America.
And wishes him success in the coming Continental Congress:
I do not Expect the pleasure of seeing you (if we both Live through the Approaching storm) till your Return from the Assembly of the states (Ere which perhaps the Fate of Nations may be Decided and A Mighty Empire trembling to the Centrer) but my Every Wish for your Honour safety and Happiness will Attend you. And may you and your Associates be Directed to those steps which will Redound to the Glory of America, the Welfare of Britain and the promotion of that Equal Liberty which is the Birthright of Man and the only Basis on which Civil society Can Enjoy any durable Tranquility.
“To John Adams from Mercy Otis Warren, 4 April 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-02-02-0087. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 2, December 1773 – April 1775, ed. Robert J. Taylor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977, pp. 413–414.]
On this day 250 years ago in New Bern, the Second North Carolina Provincial Congress convenes, notwithstanding Royal Governor Josiah Martin’s Declaration that the Congress was “in every light illegal, and inconsistent with good order and government.” John Harvey is elected Moderator of the North Carolina Congress.
On this day 250 years ago in Newport, Rhode Island, Ezra Stiles records in his diary that
This day there was a general Muster of the 4 Companies of the Newport Militia & the Light Infantry. The 4 Companies consisted of about 250 Soldiers, the Light Infantry 47. So there were about 300 in Arms. Mr Att” Gen. Marchant presented the Light Infantry with a Pair of Colours, delivering an handsom spirited Address or Oration to them at giving the Colours. There was a vast Concourse of pple. The Light Infantry made a fine Appearance, & performed the Exercise and Manoeuvres with a Dexterity equal to any Regulars. They gained themselves great Honor
On this day 250 years ago in Massachusetts, John Adams writing under the pseudonym “Novanglus” publishes a lengthy essay refuting the arguments of “Massachusettensis” that had cited the subordination of Ireland and Wales to the rule of the English Parliament as precedent binding the American colonies. Adams concludes his essay:
In the history of Ireland and Wales, though undoubtedly conquered countries, and under the very eye and arm of England, the extreme difficulty, the utter impractability, of governing a people who have any sense, spirit, or love of liberty, without incorporating them into the state, or allowing them some other way, equal priviledges may be clearly seen. Wales was forever revolting for a thousand years, untill it obtained that mighty blessing. Ireland, has been frequently revolting, altho’ the most essential power of a supreme legislature, that of imposing taxes has never been exercised over them, and it cannot now be kept under, but by force, and it would revolt forever, if parliament should tax them. What kind of an opinion then must the ministry entertain of America? When her distance is so great, her territory so extensive, her commerce so important, not a conquered country, but dearly purchased and defended? When her trade is so essential to the navy, the commerce, the revenue, the very existence of Great-Britain, as an independent state? They must think America inhabited by three million fools and cowards.
Source: “X. To the Inhabitants of the Colony of Massachusetts-Bay, 3 April 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-02-02-0072-0012. [Original source: The Adams Papers, Papers of John Adams, vol. 2, December 1773 – April 1775, ed. Robert J. Taylor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977, pp. 355–363.]
On this day 250 years ago two ships from England arrive at Marblehead, Massachusetts carrying newpapers reporting that orders had been issued to General Gage to take offensive action against the Patriots. They also reported that the King had insisted that all laws be enforced in America, that a bill had been introduced to prevent New England fishermen from fishing off Canada, that Parliament had declared the colonies in rebellion and that large numbers of troops and ships had been ordered to America. The news is immediately dispatched to Boston so that Samuel Adams and the other Patriot leaders can leave Boston and evade arrest.
Source: Fischer, PaulRevere’s Ride at 75; Norton at 336.
On this day 250 years ago in Concord, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in recognition that a company “of indians, natives of the town of Stockbridge, have enlisted as minute men,” gives this address
To Johoiakin Mothksin, and the rest of our brethren, the indians, natives of Stockbridge:
Good Brothers — It affords us great pleasure and satisfaction, to hear . . . that our brothers, the natives of Stockbridge, are ready and willing to take up the hatchet in the cause of liberty and their country. We find you have not been inattentive to the unhappy controversy we are engaged in with our mother country, by reason of sundry acts the British parliament have passed, by which, our rights and privileges have been invaded, and our property taken from us without our consent. We have frequently petitioned the king for redress of our grievances, and the restoration of our rights; but, instead of granting us relief, the king’s ministers have sent a large fleet, and posted a great army in the town of Boston, who are daily abusing and insulting the inhabitants, in order to enforce obedience to these acts. The whole continent, from Nova Scotia to Georgia, by their delegates, have lately presented a petition to the king, praying for relief, to which we hope we shall receive a gracious answer. We wish the fire of friendship may be again kindled between both countries; but in case our petition should not be attended to, and the ministry should determine to deprive us of our rights and property by a military force, we hold ourselves obliged to defend them at the point of the sword. This is a common cause; a cause you are equally engaged in with ourselves; we are all brothers, and if the parliament of Great Britain takes from us our property, and our lands, without our consent, they will do the same by you; your property, your lands will be insecure; in short, we shall not any of us have any thing we can call our own. Your engaging in this cause, discovers not only your attachment to your liberties, but furnishes us with an evidence of your gratitude to this province for their past favors. . . . We . . . shall depend upon your firm and steady attachment to the cause you have engaged in.
In response to the Massachusetts Congress on April 11, 1775, Solomon Wa-haun-wan-wau-meet would declare
Brothers: You remember when you first came over the great waters, I was great and you was very little … I then took you in for a friend, and kept you under my arms, so that no one might injure you. . . . [O]ur conditions are changed. You are become great and tall … and I am become small … Now you take care of me, and I look to you for protection. Wherever you go, we will be by your sides. Our bones shall die with yours. We are determined never to be at peace with the red coats, while they are at variance with you.
The Stockbridge Indians were primarily Mohicans long native to Western Massachusetts, but had converted to Christianity and had been augmented by other Christian Munsees, as well as Wappingers, Niantics, Brothertons, Tunxis, Pequot, Iroquois and Narragansetts. The Stockbridge Indians would prove true to their pledge. The company of Stockbridge Indians would join the Massachusetts Militia in the siege of Boston after Lexington and Concord and the Continental Army after its formation and serve heroically, fearlessly and faithfully until August 1778 when the company was decimated in an ambush by British, Hessian and Loyalist troops at Kingsbridge outside of New York, with as much as 80% of the company lost as casualties.
However, Massachusetts and the United States did not keep faith with the Stockbridge Indians. By the end of the Revolution, the Stockbridge Indians had lost all their land in Massachusetts in fraudulent deeds to whites, and had relocated to New York. They were subsequently pushed out of New York to a reservation in Wisconsin where the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians resides today, although some members of the Band are reestablishing a presence in Massachusetts. The people of Massachusetts and the United States still owe a debt to the Stockbridge Indians for their sacrifices and service in achieving American Independence.
Also on this day 250 years ago at the Taylor House (now called Wright Tavern) in Concord, the Massachusetts Committee of Safety resolved that “the stores at Concord, and elsewhere, shall not be removed without written orders from the committee of safety.” The “stores” at Concord included cannon, gunpowder for making cartridges, and “a ton of musket balls”.
And on this day 250 years ago, Daniel Boone and his men crossed the Kentucky River and began construction of Boonesborough, Kentucky’s second oldest European-American settlement.
On This Day In The Revolution 