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[Photo - "Tell it again, Grandpa!"]

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[Photo - "Territory Covered in This Volume"]

BENEATH OLD ROOF TREES

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY.- SOME OF THE GENERAL FACTS OF THE OPENING REVOLUTION

      THE revival of interest in Napoleon Bonaparte inclines many to long to visit the scene of his fatal conflict. But Waterloo, described and painted by pen and pencil over and over again, when viewed in connection with its results to the, world, is not comparable to the battlefield of Middlesex.
      Good citizenship is patriotism in action. It is not necessary that one should face the bullets of he enemy on the field of battle in order to evince true patriotism. He who loves his home, his native town, and his country, and is ready to make sacrifice for their honor and welfare, is the good citizen. In him the germ of patriotism is well developed.
      This is seen in the great company of intelligent people who make pilgrimages every year to Lex-

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ington, Concord, Bunker Hill, and other places of historic interest. Each recurring anniversary emphasizes the fact. No true citizen can cross the green sward of Lexington Common, gaze upon the bronze "Minute-man" at Concord, or press the turf of Bunker's height, without feeling the blood course more rapidly in his veins as he makes new resolutions of better citizenship.

      We find nothing of a sanguinary character of the scenes that were enacted on the memorable 19th of April, 1775; for the war-drums throb no longer, and the battle-flags are furled. The bayonets of the red-coated soldiers glisten no more ominously in the gray dawn of the breaking day, and the musket of the yeoman hangs useless among the reminders of the past. But within easy access of New England's metropolis are many existing reminders of that most significant uprising, and the person for whom a recital of the "oft-told tale" of the battlefield would prove tedious will find enough of interest in the story of things and places that existed when the wild crash of musketry broke the stillness of that April dawn.
      While the scene of carnage was at Lexington and Concord, and on the entire line of retreat, it was from all Middlesex that the yeoman soldiery came; and the entire Province was in arms before

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nightfall, and all New England was astir before another sunset. I would not abate one "jot or tittle" from the accumulated honor justly due Lexington or Concord, but I would remind all young people that the only limit to the response was the primitive means of spreading the alarm. A preconcerted signal was so general that it required but "a hurry of hoofs in a village street," or the crack of a musket from a chamber-loft, to carry on the alarm from town to town. When the immortal scroll of that day was made up, there appeared upon it forty-nine names. These were from seventeen different towns, ten of which were in Middlesex, four in Essex, and three in Norfolk Counties. But more than twice this number of towns responded to the alarm before the enemy were back within protection of their ships of war.
      It is natural that the tourist should find his interest centre at Lexington and Concord; but if he would trace the footprints of the patriots, he must follow them in the dew of that early morning from their remote homes to the scene of conflict, and in the evening by the blood of the martyrs, who, early slain, were borne lifeless to their homes.
      The general uprising of the colonies on the 19th of April, 1775, was the natural outcome of the treatment to which they had been subjected. They had always claimed the liberties of English-

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men, acting upon the principle that the people are the fountain of political power, an that there can be no just taxation without representation. Every act of the British ministry tending to undermine these principles served but to whet the blade of righteous indignation. The acts of Parliament "for the better regulating the government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay," and "for the more impartial administration of justice," were regarded as blows aimed at the liberties of the people, and, when undertaken to be carried into effect by the local authorities at Boston, created a commotion throughout the colonies. The positive dealing with the small tax on tea was but the outcome of a failure to maintain their rights by strong reasoning, firm resolves, and eloquent appeal for a series of years. It was the boldest stroke of the people up to that time, and, although struck in Boston, received a hearty approval from the remotest hamlet, through the ringing of bells and other signs of joy. The punishment intended for Boston by the Port Bill, which took effect June 1, 1774, was a blow felt and resented at the remotest border. Its execution devolving upon Thomas Gage brought general contempt upon one who had so recently been proclaimed the governor with great applause, and Fanueil Hall had been the scene of animating festivity in his honor. From 1767, when the first addition was made to the troops

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which commonly formed the garrison of Castle William, there had been a growing unrest among the Provincials, strengthened by each new arrival quartered within the town, and becoming unbearable at the massacre in King Street, on March 5, 1770. Each anniversary of this event served as another occasion for declaring the charter rights of the Province, and, although calling forth the expression of different sentiments, was continued until the Declaration of Independence cleared the way for a new anniversary, and the 4th of July, instead of the 5th of March, became the day of America's patriotic expression.
      One needs but refer to the manuscript records of the small towns of the colonies to be duly impressed with the approval of each act of the leaders in Boston. The record of sympathy expressed for Boston and Charlestown when the Port Bill went into effect, the memoranda of provisions forwarded for the relief of the distressed, together with the solemn league and covenant against the use of British goods into which they entered and boldly spread upon their records, attest the intensity of feeling which cemented the people more closely together as the months of trial succeeded one another, all of which found civil expression in the acts of the Committee of Correspondence, and also in the convention of Aug. 30, 1774, at Concord, when one hundred and fifty delegates from the towns

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of Middlesex County placed upon record, "No danger shall affright, no difficulty shall intimidate us; and if, in support of our rights, we are called to encounter even death, we are yet undaunted, sensible that he can never die too soon who lays down his life in support of the laws and liberties of his country."
      Following close upon the memorable convention of Middlesex came the Provincial Congress, which assembled in the meeting-house of Concord, the hostile preparations, the clash of arms, and the general uprising of the people.

      One hundred and twenty years have passed since the embattled farmers struck the first blow for liberty, but many reminders of that day are yet to be seen. Hills over which Revere galloped on his midnight ride have been carried into the valleys through which he made rapid pace; but many a hearthstone that glowed with the embers of patriotism is still the pride of a thrifty owner, who rejoices that the same roof which protects him sheltered his grandfather, who at the same door gave a parting blessing to wife and children as he hastened to the scene of conflict. Such homes, possessed and cared for by those who have there received the story of personal experience from honored sires, are monuments to which all would gladly revert. These, and the many other re-

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minders of the footprints of the patriots, have their lessons of good citizenship for all.
      I have spent much time, during a score of years devoted to historical writing, in visiting such homes throughout New England, and in conversation with the widows of those who had personal experience in the army, also with the children who have had the story of sacrifice from fathers who suffered in the field, camp, or hospital, and from mothers whose sufferings were beneath their own roofs. The widows and children of soldiers of the Revolution had become very scarce when I began my research; but grandchildren have been often met who received indelible impressions of the struggle of the colonists, while fondled in the arms of those who were actors in the Revolution.
      The result of my research has from time to time been given to the public in story through the daily press. Realizing that such a medium, in the main, is as fleeting as the day, I have been prompted to gather my stories into a more enduring form for the benefit of the many whom I now ask to visit the scenes. Familiarity entitles me to invite the company of all who have entered into the labors of the patriots of '75.

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