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CHAPTER IV

Say then, O poet! when sages Shall anew the tale relate, Not for a thousand ages Was a little battle so great; Yea, write, besides, on your pages, With an adamantine pen, Not for a million ages May such battle be fought again.

THOMAS W. PARSONS, Dedication of Tablets at Charlestown.

REV. CHARLES BABBIDGE GIVES THE GENERAL REPORT OF THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL AS HE HEARD IT FROM THE OLD SOLDIERS. – THE PREACHER IN CAMP. – PEPPERELL'S DEAD AT BUNKER HILL. – COLONEL PRESCOTT'S GRAVE. – GRAVES OF OTHER HEROES. – LIEUTENANT JOSEPH SPAULDING. – THE SWORD OF BUNKER HILL

      I KNOW of no other town in New England having so large part in the opening Revolution whose story comes to us to-day in as direct manner as does that of Pepperell. Of the more than four-score soldiers of the town who left their homes on April 19 and fought at Bunker Hill, a full score were living when Rev. Charles Babbidge,

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who is now pastor emeritus of the first parish church, began his work in that town. It was my good fortune to receive from this venerable clergyman the reports of the personal experience of the Pepperell soldiers as he gathered them from

[Photo of Rev. Charles Babbidge]

the lips of the veterans when, in his early ministry, he talked with them by the wayside, or gave them the consolations of the, gospel in their homes. Rev. Charles Babbidge, now a nonagenarian, began his ministry in Pepperell in 1833. He is one who has never statedly ministered to

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any other people than those of his first choice. For more than sixty-three years he has been recognized as the pastor of the first parish, although of late not in active service.
      In addition to all the ecclesiastical functions of a faithful pastor, Rev. Mr. Babbidge has never allowed the fire of patriotism to go out on the altar so early kindled in that town by his predecessor, Rev. Joseph Emerson, and kept burning through all the years of the town's history. How far this may be attributable to the location, and to the score of heroes of Bunker Hill to whom he ministered until they joined their comrades, we may not be able to determine. When from the standpoint of a nonagenarian this pastor reviewed his early years at Pepperell, he expressed himself in the semi-scriptural language, "Did not my heart burn within me as I walked and talked with them by the way, and as they opened to me the secrets of their lives?" But his patriotism was not sentiment alone; for at the commencement of the Civil War he was chaplain of the Sixth Regiment, and the first minister in the country to enlist. He thus followed in the footsteps of the town's first minister, who is said to have offered up the first prayer in camp at Cambridge. Having served through the three months' campaign of "the Old Sixth," Rev. Mr. Babbidge was commissioned chaplain of the Twenty-sixth Massachusetts Regiment, in which he served three years, when he

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returned to his people.[1] With this introduction to a modern patriot of Pepperell, my reader must be prepared to catch an impulse for good citizenship from the story as he received it from survivors of the Revolution:--

      "Having been in camp since we arrived there on the 19th of April, we had become restless and anxious for some more active service, and our order to march over to Charlestown on the night of June 16 was gladly received. We were always ready to follow our neighbor, Colonel Prescott. It was our regiment, with detachments from others, that marched from Cambridge Common to Charlestown, and took possession of the heights. Our colonel was at the head. He was dressed in a simple, loose blue coat and three-cornered hat. Two sergeants carried dark lanterns ahead of him; the intrenching-tools were in carts in the rear. We had our arms; and most of us had one day's rations in our knapsacks, although some did not obey the order and were not so well provided, not realizing what was in store for them. There were one or two halts for consultation of the officers; but we reached.the hill about midnight, and began work in earnest. It went very well until the June sun of the 17th licked up the dew, and we began to be weary. We had no sleep, and but little refreshment; yet we could not give up so long as our colonel was with us, and cheering us on as he walked leisurely around on the top of the redoubt, giving directions, and uttering words of approval, and cracking an occasional


[1] "There is one consideration that may afford you consolation: you will never again receive a letter from one, who, like myself, played in his childhood in and out of the redoubt on Bunker Hill while it still remained precisely as it was when Prescott left it, and when Warren moistened it with his blood." – Letter from Dr. Babbidge written for, and read on, the centennial of Colonel William Prescott's death.

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joke. He knew that he was detected by the British, but seemed perfectly unconcerned. When it was nearly noon on the 17th we were pretty tired and sleepy, and our officers urged the colonel to send over to General Ward at Cambridge for fresh troops; but the colonel would not hear to it, and said 'The men who have raised these works will best defend them; they have had the merit of the labor, and should have the honor of victory if attacked.'
      "General Warren came up with his musket in hand a short time before the fight began. Our colonel had heard that he had been commissioned major-general the day before, and hence offered him the command, to which he replied, 'No; I have not received my commission. I have come as a volunteer, and am happy to learn service from a soldier of your experience.'
      "We watched the landing of the enemy, and also the cannon-balls as they came over our heads. We could see the roofs of the houses over in Boston covered with people, watching to see what would be the result of the king's army as they landed and marched up the hill. Up the hill they came, firing as they advanced. But we kept silent behind our embankment, for we knew we had no ammunition to waste. ‘Aim low, boys,' whispered Colonel Prescott ; ' fire at their waistbands, and wait till you see the whites of their eyes. Waste no powder.' When the redcoats were almost up the hill, their plumes nearly level with its crest, bang! bang! went our fifteen hundred muskets at once, and down went scores of the brave Britishers, cut down as the scythe cuts the waving grass.
      "We did the best we could; but when our ammunition was gone, there was no other way for us but to retreat while the smoke from the burning town enveloped us. The hardest part of it all was to leave so many of our neighbors dead and wounded in the redoubt. But after all that we had suffered since leaving Cambridge, we would gladly have gone back that night with more men and supplies, and retaken the

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heights, or perished there with our townsmen who were dead, and others who, missing, we supposed were dead.
      "The grief in these Pepperell homes when the news of the battle reached here, we may well imagine. Our people were not altogether unprepared for the sad tidings; they had distinctly heard the roar of the cannon. Our faithful pastor made his record; and there on the church book the boys' names appear in his handwriting, the same as though they had died here peacefully at home."

      The anxiety of Rev. Mr. Emerson for his people in camp was so great that he repeatedly made journeys to Cambridge that he might minister to the survivors. On one occasion while there he took a severe cold, which terminated his useful life. Another hand completed the record; but it is apparent that pastor and eight of his people laid down their lives early in the war for freedom. The names of the Pepperell men who fell on the 17th of June, as they appear on the bronze tablets at Charlestown, are as follows: –-

PRESCOTT'S REGIMENT.

      Nutting's company. –- Nathaniel Parker,[1] William Warren, Edmund Peers,[2] Wainwright Fisk, Ebenezer Laughton, Jeremiah Shattuck.
      Asa Lawrence company. – Lieut. Joseph Spaulding, (unassigned) Amasa Fisk.[3]


      [1] Nathaniel Parker was junior. His father, Nathaniel senior, aged sixty-eight years, died on the same day of fever at his home in Pepperell.
      [2] Edmund Peers should be Pierce.
      [3] Amasa Fisk must have died later from wounds or disease in a

[** Transcriber's Note – Footnote continued on the bottom of page 37.]
[Photo of "Fac-simile of Page, Pepperell Church Records" (Deaths)]

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      NOTE. – The church record of deaths of Pepperell men at Bunker Hill seems to be unquestionable as authority, although tardy in its appearance. It must have been made soon after the 17th of June, as it is in the handwriting of Rev. Joseph Emerson, whose own death occurred in about four months after the loss of his parishioners. Its acceptance is an admission of inaccuracy on the memorial tablets at Charlestown. Benjamin Wood, credited to Groton, belonged to Pepperell.

      The name of the patriot preacher of Pepperell, who died from disease contracted in the service, is seen on the rude slab erected by the town, on which is read: –-

Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children
ERECTED BY THE TOWN OF PEPPERELL
TO THE MEMORY OF
THE REV. JOSEPH EMERSON
FIRST PASTOR OF THE CHURCH HERE,
who deceased Oct. 29th 1775 in the 52d year of his age,
and the 29th of his ministry.
      Steadfast in the Faith once delivered to the Saints. Fixed and laborious in the cause of Christ & precious souls. Exemplary in visiting & sympathizing with his flock – Diligent in improving his Talents – A kind Husband and a tender Parent – a faithful Reprover – a constant Friend – & a true Patriot.

Having ceased from his labors his, works follow him.
      Colonel Prescott remained in service until the end of the year 1776; and in the autumn of the following year he went as a volunteer with some of his former officers and townsmen to aid in the capture of General Burgoyne, which was his last


[** Footnote continued from previous page]
prison, and, if belonging to Pepperell, was not recorded by his pastor, who may have died before him.

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military service. After the enjoyment of peace and his country's independence at the old homestead, he died in 1795, at the age of sixty-nine years. In the old burying-ground at Pepperell, where rests the patriot preacher, and within the shadow of the old church, stands a plain tomb, built of four upright granite slabs, forming a square enclosure about three feet high, upon the

[Photo - GRAVE OF REV. JOSEPH EMERSON, PEPPERELL]

top of which rest two horizorital tablets of slatestone, bearing the following inscriptions

THIS STONE IS ERECTED
IN MEMORY OF
COLL. WILLIAM PRESCOTT
OF PEPPERELL,
who died on the 13th day of October, Anno Domini 1795,
in the seventieth year of his age.
[Photo - "Grave of Colonel William Prescott, Pepperell]

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IN MEMORY OF
MRS. ABIGAIL PRESCOTT,WIDOW OF THE LATE
COL. WILLIAM PRESCOTT,
Who died Oct. 19, A.D. 1821, AE. 89.
      The grave of Colonel Prescott is surrounded by those of his neighbors and friends. The flags floating from the bronze markers of the S. A. R. remind the visitor that, as in life, so in death the gallant colonel is in the midst of his soldiers.

CAPT. EDMUND BANCROFT,
DIED OCT. 23, 1805, AE. 79.
In common with his neighbors, love of country was his ruling passion. He was ever ready to offer up his own life, and the lives of his sons, a sacrifice on the altar of liberty during the darkest period of the Revolution.

ERECTED IN MEMORY OF
GEN. HENRY WOODS,
Who died March 5th, 1804,
Aged 70 years.
He served his country in her contest for the obtainment of freedom and independence, and has since sustained with honor several important offices, both civil and military. He was no less endeared to his family and connections by his disposition to disseminate knowledge, promote the social virtues, than to the community by his public spirit and charity.

THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED IN MEMORY OF
MR. BENJAMIN CHAMBERLIN,
Who departed this life in the Continental army at Valley Forge,
In the year 1778, in ye 17th year of his age.
He was the son of Mr. Phineas Chamberlin, and Mrs. Lydia, his wife.

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CAPTAIN JOHN NUTTING,
DROWNED MAY 25, 1816, AGED 85.
(He passed through the Battle of Bunker Hill in command of a company.)

THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED TO YE MEMORY OF
MESSRS. DANIEL AND JOEL HOBART,
SONS OF MR. NEFB. HOBART AND MRS. RACHEL, HIS WIFE.
Daniel fell in the Battle of White Plains Oct. 28, 1776, aged 28 yrs.
Joel was drowned at ye Eastward Oct. 9, 1785, aged 20 yrs.
Erected by the brethren.

WILLIAM KENDALL,
Died 1819, aged 69.

THOMAS LAWRENCE,
Died 1833, ae. 77.

CAPT. NATHANIEL SARTELL,
Died Sept. 1847, ae. 87.

MAJOR THOMAS LAWRENCE,
Died July 27, 1822, ae. 65.

IN MEMORY OF
LIEUT. JOS: SPAULDING,
Who was slain in the memorable Battle on Bunker Hill,
On the 17th of June, 1775, in ye 37th year of his age.
On the same stone is read:–-
HERE LIES THE BODY OF
MRS. PHEBE SPAULDING,
WIFE OF LIEUT. JOS. SPAULDING,
Who departed this life January 4th, 1775, in ye 38th year of her age.
      NOTE. –- On the top, in the face of this moss-covered stone, is rudely carved the representation of a sword. To the present generation this has lost its significance, but meant much to the family who erected this memorial, as is seen in the following family narrative.

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      "Fight on, brave boys, they fall like pigeons!" were the last words of Joseph Spaulding, First Lieutenant of Captain Asa Lawrence's company in the Battle of Bunker Hill. When this brave son of Pepperell yielded up his life, the Provincials expected to win the day. They had full confidence in their leader, Colonel William Prescott, and believed that with him they were sure to come off victorious; in fact, they were ready to die for him if need be. Tradition says that Lieutenant Spaulding, early in the battle of the 17th of June, voluntarily took a position of danger in place of Colonel Prescott. In order to fully estimate the patriotism of the yeomen soldiers of the opening Revolution, one needs to know something of the sacrifice made in order to leave their homes to enter the service of their country. With the opening of the year 1775, Lieutenant Joseph Spaulding had seen the grave close over the lifeless form of his beloved wife, leaving him with the care of a young son and daughter. It was when his hands and heart were full that the Lexington alarm was sounded through the town, and Lieutenant Spaulding was quick to respond. If he had retired from service after the experiences of April 19, no one would have thought of censuring him; but the brave young man only returned to make provision for his children, and then rejoined his comrades in camp at Cambridge, where he was found when orders came to march over to Charlestown with

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intrenching-tools, etc., on the night of the 16th of June. Through the busy hours of that night, and on the following morning, his thoughts must have been divided between the motherless children at home in Pepperell, and the movements of the British army in and around Boston. But regardless of the natural yearnings for the welfare of his children, Lieutenant Joseph Spaulding manfully faced the enemy; and when he fell, it was with a word of encouragement upon his lips. "They fall like pigeons!" No words could have been more natural, or suggestive of the spring and fall game of those towns, and of the manner of capturing the great flocks of wild pigeons that made their semi-annual visits to the towns in Middlesex County. These were the last words uttered by Lieutenant Spaulding. They were meaningless when first reported to the orphans at Pepperell; but as they advanced in years their full significance became apparent, and they have been transmitted from generation to generation with that spirit of patriotism which prompted their utterance in the hour of death in the redoubt on Bunker Hill. In addition to the message, there was brought to the home the sword taken from the dead soldier. This has been equally precious, and is now treasured as the Sword of Bunker Hill by a great-grandson, Edgar Oliver Spaulding, at Plymouth, N.H.
      Says the owner: "I am a son of Oliver Spaulding and Sarah Ann Hawkins of Rumney, N.H.

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My father was a son of Oliver Spaulding and Sarah Greenough, and grandson of Lieutenant Joseph Spaulding."
      Says the proud owner of the sword, "My grandfather left Pepperell about the year 1787. Being

[Photo - "LIEUTENANT JOSEPH SPAULDING'S COMMISSION"]

an orphan and so early removed from the town where his parents were best known, he did not have the record of family joys and sorrows, and could tell but little save the simple story, 'My mother died a few months before my father was killed at Bunker Hill, after which my sister and myself lived for a time at grandsir's."' This story

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by the great-grandson of the hero of Bunker Hill is strengthened by the silent testimony of the stone at the grave of the wife of Lieutenant Joseph Spaulding. This rude memorial was erected by a provision made for that purpose in the last will of William Spaulding of Pepperell, father of the hero. The will, admitted to probate Sept. 29, 1770, directs that gravestones shall be put up to the memory of his deceased wife, and to that of his son Joseph and wife. In addition to this, there appears in the old church record of deaths, in the handwriting of the patriot preacher, Rev. Joseph Emerson, that which time has not effaced. The first entry of the year 1775 is the death of the wife of Joseph Spaulding, AE 38, – nervous fever. The eleventh entry is Joseph Spaulding, AE 37, – killed in ye battle at Charlestown. Being the oldest of the eight Pepperell men who perished at Bunker Hill, Lieutenant Spaulding's name is placed at the head of the list of patriot dead.

[Photo "THE SWORD OF BUNKER HILL"]

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      The Spaulding sword, like many of the weapons carried by the minute-men on the 19th of April and 17th of June, dated back to the Colonial wars. It was owned by Major Rogers, a British officer in the French war. The owner accidentally dropped it into a lake, from whence it was recovered by Lieutenant Spaulding, who voluntarily dived for it, and was successful in bringing it from the sandy bottom. But upon offering it to its owner, he was rewarded for his daring feat by the gift of the weapon. The young man carried it home to Pepperell as a trophy of the French war, naturally took it with him when next called to service, and used it as faithfully against the king as it had ever been used in the service of his Majesty in the hand of Major Rogers.

"The God of Freedom blessed the Sword of Bunker Hill."

WALLACE

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