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CHAPTER XX

THE STORY OF MENOTOMY. -- THE RUSSELL FAMILY STORE. -- STORY OF WHITTEMORE FAMILY. -- CAMBRIDGE.

MENOTOMY

      "IN the village of Menotomy, as in no other place on that April day, the footprints of the patriots were indelibly stamped in their own blood and that of their enemy," said Mrs. Sophronia Russell in 1894, when in her eighty-eighth year she reviewed the sad experiences of her own family and that of the Russells, with their neighbors.
      This may be attributed to the location and the hour of the day. It was in the direct line of march of the enemy, and sufficient time had elapsed for the towns at a distance to respond to the early alarm. The various routes taken converged at this village.
      Through the main road Gage's troops, in command of Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, made their stealthy midnight march; and over the same route they fought their way through a sheet of fire back to the protection of their ships of war.
      The outward march, intended to be silent, is

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remembered in Menotomy by only a few trifling incidents. Three of the Committee of Safety and Supplies, before alluded to, viz., Elbridge Gerry and Colonels Orne and Lee,[1] had stopped for the night at Black Horse Tavern. They were aroused soon after midnight to see the highway filled with British regulars. When the centre of the column

[Photo - "Russell House, Menotomy"]

reached the tavern, the light of the moon revealed the sly movements of an officer and file of soldiers coming towards the house. The trio of anxious guests understood that movement; and, although half-dressed, they made their escape through a rear door, and sought the shelter of the corn


[1] Lee took cold from the exposure of that night, and died on May 10 following. He was buried at Marblehead.

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stubble of the previous harvest. Having searched the house in vain for the coveted rebels, the soldiers went out and joined their comrades on the march into the country.
      The centre of Menotomy being away from the line of Revere's midnight ride, there was but little stir among the people when the regulars passed

[Photo - Russell Store, Menotomy]

out; but it was not long before they were aware of the march.
      Lieutenant Smith, of Captain Locke's company, upon going to his door was asked by a soldier for a drink of water. This he refused, asking in turn, Why are you out at this time of night?" This and other similar incidents were enough to set an expectant people in action.

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      Among the buildings standing and presenting much of the same appearance as in 1775 are the Russell dwelling and store; and no family is more favorably situated for retaining the account of those trying scenes than the Russell family. At the old home and store it has been my privilege to gather the story of Menotomy from the lips of those who had it from their grandparents, who participated in the bloody work of April 19, 1775.
      The name of Russell appears in the list of the first settlers of that part of Cambridge known in the Revolution as Menotomy; incorporated in 1807 as West Cambridge, and later changed in name to Arlington.
      In 1732 William Russell headed a petition for better accommodations for the settlers in the north-west part of Cambridge.
      In 1762 the name is prominent among those who secured the forming of a new parish by the name of Menotomy. It was named after the Indian river that flowed from Spy Pond brook into the Mystic.
      The first to establish the store in Meriotolny was Thomas, son of Jason, who was born in 1751, in the old Russell house.
      Jason, the father, was of the third generation from William the immigrant. He married Elizabeth Winship in 1740, and set up a home in the Russell dwelling. That he was a man of prominence, and had negro slaves, is apparent from the

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records of the church, which say that Kate, his negro child, was baptized on March 17, 1754, at three months of age.
      Thomas was one of a large family of children. He set up business for himself at the Russell store in 1773, married Anna Whittemore in the following year, and was well established as the only merchant of that village at the opening of the Revolution. He left his home and merchandise to shoulder the "king's arm," and serve as a friend of the colonial cause. Says Thomas H. Russell of the fourth generation of the merchants of the family, On returning to this place of business, my great-grandfather, Thomas, found that the British soldiers had entered the store, helped themselves to what they wanted, destroyed much, and after drinking all the rum they could, had left the taps open, expecting to thereby empty the hogsheads; but a member of the family was watching the enemy, and foiled the plan of destruction. But," continued Mr. Russell, "the damage to this store and the loss of merchandise were as nothing when the trials of that day were summed up in the village, and especially in our family." Menotomy, like many other towns, had the good fortune of being led by a patriotic minister. Rev. Samuel Cook was fearless in denouncing the tyranny of the king, and ready to espouse the cause of the Province whenever opportunity presented itself.

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      Benjamin Locke and his company of minutemen were early to respond to the alarm. They assembled on the green by the meeting-house, and marched on to the aid of those who had charge of the stores at Concord. The women and children were sent away to places at a distance from the Concord road. Many people hid their silver and other valuables, expecting that the army when returning would be given over to murder and plunder.[1]
      "The morning wore away quietly enough. Towards noon the road was again glittering with British bayonets. Smith's appeal for aid had been answered. Lord Percy was sent at the head of three regiments of infantry and two divisions of marines -- in all about twelve hundred men -- to re-enforce the first detachment. Marching out through Roxbury, he was delayed for a little while at Brighton Bridge, until the planks which had been taken up could be replaced. Then he kept on through Cambridge and Menotomy without further hindrance."
      The wagons of supplies and provisions which followed met with great difficulty in crossing the bridge, and were delayed so that they were obliged to make their course unattended by the army. The news of their approach preceded them to Menotomy; and the old men, "exempts,"


[1] A silver cup was recovered after the evacuation of Boston, and is now treasured among the parish valuables.

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[Photo - drawing showing capture of 18 British soldiers]

determined to capture them, and thus aid the cause for which they were not able to shoulder the musket and march. About a dozen of them met at Cooper's Tavern. If they were not led by a minister, there was one in their number, Rev. Phillips Payson of Chelsea, who was foremost in this bold act. They secreted themselves behind a breastwork of earth and stones opposite the meeting-house, and when the wagons arrived they ordered a halt and surrender. The drivers whipped up their horses, but it was of no use. The old men fired, killing some of the horses, one or two men, and wounding others. The drivers and remaining soldiers fled, leaving the supplies with the people of Menotomy. This was a bold act, perpetrated by the "exempts" without the knowledge of the affair at Lexington or Concord. They had fired at the king's army on the king's highway, without regard for the oft-repeated injunction, "Let them begin the war." The little group of invalids had a task before them, -- they must remove the wagons and everything that would betray them to the returning enemy. Says Mrs. Sophronia Russell, "When I was a child I went with my father down to Spring Valley, near where now is the residence of J. T. Trowbridge, and saw the bones of the horses as they lay bleaching in the sun."
      All traces of the convoy of supplies were out of sight when the regulars returned, and the men

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of Menotomy had the satisfaction of knowing that they had captured the first supplies during the war. They never ceased telling this story as long as they were able to meet at Russell's store, where the more sorrowful experiences of the day were, often repeated by some member of the family which met with the greatest loss. Said Thomas Russell, "My grandfather, who was a non-combatant, would not go away for refuge as others were doing. He was one of the principal citizens of the village, being fifty-eight years of age, and in possession of a large tract of real estate. He was lame, and had difficulty in getting about, so he decided to stay at his own house, which stood near the highway. When friends urged him to leave it, he replied, 'An Englishman's house is his castle,' and he decided to stand his ground. Meanwhile a number of Americans, mostly from Danvers, had taken up a position in the rear of his house, and within a walled enclosure, which they strengthened by piling up bundles of shingles. There were other men behind trees on the side of the hill.
      "When the retreating enemy reached the plains of Menotomy they were better situated to do their deadly work, for the Americans were less protected by heights on either side. Our people were well arranged to meet the enemy if they came in the highway; but they did not anticipate a flanking guard, which came suddenly upon their ambuscade,

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and, after a moment of most savage fighting, drove our men in the enclosure down towards the road, where their complete destruction seemed inevitable, as the main body of the enemy was before them. Closely pursued, they entered our house. Grandfather was shot at his own door, and then his body was stabbed through and through with the bayonets of the infuriated enemy as they rushed in, killing everybody they could reach. Eight Americans escaped to the cellar, where they protected themselves by firing up the stairway. One of the enemy was killed in attempting to continue his pursuit to the cellar; but after plundering the house, the rest left, and went on their way. Our house," said Mr. Russell, "was a sad place that night. In the south room were laid the bodies of twelve of the dead, grandfather among them, bearing the marks of two bullet wounds and eleven bayonet stabs. They had seemed to vent their rage upon him. The Americans had observed little or no order in the fighting of the morning; and now the enemy, finding themselves confronted by fresh troops from either side as they advanced, observed but little military order. They plundered houses, besides our store; entered the meeting-house; carried away the communion service from the house of Deacon Joseph Adams; damaged the home of the minister, and so on, to Cooper's Tavern, which had not been entirely abandoned. They burst open the door, and

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there round two of the old men, who were unarmed, and had only come up to the tavern to get a mug of flip and the news. Neither age nor helplessness deterred the infuriated mob; for Gage's army was little else at that time.
      "The old men were at once despatched with blows and bayonet thrusts; but the keeper and his wife, Benjamin and Rachel Cooper, having escaped to the cellar, were passed unharmed. The sworn testimony of the tavern-keeper and his wife is: 'The king's regular troops, under the command of General Gage, upon their return from blood and slaughter which they had made at Lexington and Concord, fired more than one hundred bullets into the house where we dwell, through doors, windows, etc.; then a number of them entered the house where we and two aged gentlemen were all unarmed. We escaped for our lives into the cellar. The two aged gentlemen were immediately most barbarously and inhumanly murdered by them, being stabbed through in many places, their heads mangled, skulls broke, and their brains out on the floor and walls of the house.'
      "Not less than twenty-two Americans were killed on that April afternoon in Menotomy, and fully twice as many of the enemy perished. Two of our men were taken prisoners; one, Seth Russell, was a member of our family. They remained in captivity until the exchange of June 6 was made at Charlestown." Many of the dead

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were carried back to their own towns; but twelve of them, including thee three Menotomy men, were buried here. So urgent were their country's needs, that the village people had no time for funeral rites; and the carpenter was too busy to make the coffins, so these martyrs were committed to a common grave with their clothes for shrouds.
      Above this grave was afterwards placed a single slate gravestone. This now stands beside a monument of more recent erection, on which is read: --

MR. JASON RUSSELL
WAS BARBAROUSLY MURDERED IN HIS OWN HOUSE
BY GAGES BLOODY TROOPS
ON YE 19TH OF APRIL, 1775, AETAT, 59.
HIS BODY IS QUIETLY RESTING IN THIS GRAVE WITH
ELEVEN OF OUR FRIENDS, WHO IN LIKE MANNER,
WITH MANY OTHERS, WERE CRUELLY SLAIN
ON THAT FATAL DAY.
"BLESSED ARE YE DEAD WHO DIE IN YE LORD!"

      Dr. Warren and General Heath were active on the plains of Menotomy, directing and encouraging the Americans. " A ball struck a pin from the earlock of the former; but his life was spared for another bloody conflict, when it was yielded up in the cause of freedom."
      From a poem printed in Boston in 1781 the following is taken: --

"Again the conflict glows with rage severe, And fearless ranks in combat mixt appear. Victory uncertain! fierce contention reigns, And purple rivers drench the slippery plains!

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Column to Column, host to host oppose, And rush impetuous on their adverse foes; When lo! the hero Warren from afar Sought for the battle, and the field of war. From rank to rank the daring warrior flies, And bids the thunder of the battle rise. Sudden arrangements of his troops are made, And sudden movements round the plain displayed. Columbia's Genius in her polished shield Gleams bright and dreadful o'er the hostile field! Her ardent troops, enraptured with the sight, With shock resistless force the dubious fight; Britons, astonished, tremble at the sight, And, all confused, precipitate their flight."

      The scenes that have been enacted in the store would furnish material for a thrilling narrative. It was there that the distressed colonists assembled to talk over their grievances, after placing in the grave a few rods away the father of the proprietor, his two neighbors, and nine other comrades in death. The descendants of Jason Russell, who have served in that store, could not look to the southward from the busy counter without seeing the memorial of this brave ancestor.
      Turning to the venerable member of the family with whose general remark this section was introduced, I was shown a Bible that belonged to the widow of Jason Russell. In it is written: --

      "Purchased with money given her by some unknown friend in England, in consideration of the loss of her be-

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loved husband, on the 19th of April, 1775, who was inhumanly murdered by the British troops under the command of Gen. Thomas Gage, to the eternal infamy of the British nation."

      Says Mrs. Russell, "Some of the delights of my early life were the visits to my uncle, Jonathan Harrington, at Lexington. He was the last survivor of the battle of Lexington, living until 1854. By the open fire he and Aunt Sally would sit and tell the story over and over again. He would cry out as his mother did when rushing to his room, 'Jonathan, you must get up! The regulars are coming; something must be done!'
      "Uncle Jonathan lived to see the sentiment grow in the country until he was sought out by men from all lands, and became a hero indeed. When the veterans failed to come to his door, their descendants rose up to honor him.

[Photo - "Mrs. Sophronia Russell"]

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"The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay, Sat by his fire, and talk'd the night away, wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done, Shoulder'd his crutch, and show'd how fields were won.'"

      Leaving the Russell home and store, I turned my steps to the residence of Mrs. Pamelia Fisk, who began life with the opening of the nineteenth century. To her, a native of Lexington, the experiences of April 19, 1775, are as great a reality as is the firing upon Sumter to the middle-aged man of to-day. Says Mrs. Fisk, "My two grandfathers fought at Lexington, and my grandmothers were eye-witnesses to the butchery. They told me so much of their trials and sufferings at that time that I have felt as though I was almost a participant in the fight myself." No sentiment gilds the narrative as it falls from her lips; she has it as it was told to her when in childhood she played on the smooth field where "they poured out their blood like water before

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they knew whether it would fertilize the soil of freedom or of bondage." Mrs. Fisk is a granddaughter of Francis Brown and of Edmond Monroe of Lexington. Her paternal grandmother was Mary Buckman, who lived at the old Buckman tavern. So on all sides she inherits the blood of true patriots, and has heard the story from their own lips.
      "Grandfather Brown," she says, "told me this story: 'I was out here near the meeting-house at the very early hour of two o'clock, and answered the roll-call of our company, and in response to the order of Captain Parker loaded my gun with powder and ball. I heard the discussion as to the safety of Hancock and Adams. I went back to my home, and waited until half-past four o'clock, when I heard the alarm-guns and the drum beat to arms, and I was again on the green.
      "'The order not to fire unless fired upon deterred me and all of us from having a shot at the British soldiers as they came up the road. I participated in the early action; and, having cared for our dead and wounded neighbors, I was in the afternoon attack, when I was wounded by a ball, which entered my cheek, passed under my ear, and lodged in the back of my neck, where it remained nearly a year.'" Mrs. Fisk said, "I used to put my finger on those scars, as he told me just how the ball went. We needed no fairy-tales in

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our youth; the real experiences of our own people were more fascinating than all the novels ever written."
      The Whittemore home is one of the residences of old Menotomy which remains as a reminder of the day of peculiar trials. Says Lewis Downing Whittemore, "Here my ancestors made an early settlement, having numerous representatives actively engaged in the opening Revolution. The home has not been without a representative of the family and name since Samuel, born in 1696, of the third generation in this country, located here. He inherited the old homestead, situated nearer Boston, and exchanged it for the present well-known estate about 1730. There were two dwellings on the farm in 1775 occupied by the family; on the northerly side of the highway lived my great-great-grandfather, Samuel Whittemore, and on the opposite side his son Samuel was living.
      "Among those who manifested great bravery and courage on April 19, 1775, was Samuel the elder, then in his eightieth year.
      The following narrative appeared in an obituary notice of the Columbian Sentinel of Feb. 6, 1793:
      "Died at Menotomy, the 2d instant, Capt. Samuel Whittemore, AEt. 96 years and 6 months. The manly and moral virtues, in all the varied relations of a brother, husband, father, and friend, were invariably exhibited in this gentleman. He was not more remarkable for his longevity and his

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numerous descendants (his progeny being 185, one of which is the fifth generation) than for his patriotism. When the British troops marched to Lexington, he was 79 years of age, and one of the first on the parade; he was armed with a gun and horse-pistol. After an animated exhortation to the collected militia to the exercise of bravery and courage, he exclaimed, 'If I can only be the instrument of killing one of my country's foes, I shall die in peace.' The prayer of this venerable old man was heard; for on the return of the troops he lay behind a stone wall, and discharging his gun a soldier immediately fell; he then discharged his pistol, and killed another; at which instant a bullet struck his face, shot away part of his cheekbone; on which a number of the soldiers ran up to the wall, and gorged their malice on his wounded head. They were heard to exclaim, 'We have killed the old rebel.' About four hours after, he was found in a mangled situation; his head was covered with blood from the wounds of the bayonets, which were six or eight; but providentially none penetrated so far as to destroy him. His hat and clothes were shot through in many places; yet he survived to see the complete overthrow of his enemies, and his country enjoy all the blessings of peace and independence. His funeral will be held to-morrow at 4 o'clock P. M. from his house at Menotomy, which his relatives and friends are requested to attend."

      Among the family treasures of to-day are the cartridge-box and bayonet used by Captain Samuel Whittemore, when at the age of almost fourscore years he responded to the Lexington alarm.
      "In my great-grandfather's family," said my informant, were two sons, Jonathan and Josiah, aged thirteen and eleven years respectively. Being too young to shoulder a musket if there had

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been an extra one beneath the old roof, these boys fled with others from their home upon the approach of the retreating army, but injudiciously perched upon a rail fence at a distance, with no thought of being detected; but they were seen by a straggling soldier from the regulars, who discharged his musket at them. They were uninjured, but so much frightened that they instantly fell from the fence, one exclaiming, 'I'm shot.' They made haste to the forest beyond, and, becoming bewildered, wandered about until they reached Watertown, where, on the following morning, they were taken in charge by a friend of the family, who returned them safely to their despairing parents." One of them is represented by a granddaughter in the old home; and the other is represented by a grandson, who, while treasuring the military equipments, delights in telling this story.

CAMBRIDGE.

      (In tracing the movements of the patriots through Cambridge, it is well to bear in mind that Brighton was at that time "Little Cambridge," and the Somerville of to-day is a comparatively recent incorporation; hence Charlestown was the adjoining township.)
      The setting sun of April 19 saw Cambridge transformed to a theatre of war. For nearly a year it was given over to the use of the American

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army. Although it was the assembled patriots, many of whom were not far from their own homes, the town suffered by the unavoidable devastations of war. The fences, forest-trees, fruit-trees, and orchards for a mile around the camp were taken and burned for fuel by friendly hands in a state of desperation.
      In early winter the straitened condition of the camp was relieved through an act of the authorities, by which the patriots in the neighboring towns were required to deliver at camp a specified number of cords of wood per day. The records of the different towns attest to the cheerful manner in which their people met the demand. Roxbury, Dedham, Milton, and Dorchester delivered three cords per day to the Roxbury wing of the camp; Lexington five, Bedford four, Lincoln three and a half, to Prospect Hill wing; Newton and Weston six, Needham five, Waltham four, Concord and Natick three, to Cambridge.
      Hay and other supplies were provided in a similar manner.
      The daily coming and going of the teams kept the towns within a radius of a dozen miles in touch with the life of the camp. Many a box of goodies from a mother's larder brought cheer to the boys, with a loving message from the anxious at home; and many a son, prostrated by the deprivation of camp-life, was borne home by the teamsters to languish and die, filling patriots' graves

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to-day as truly as though they had fallen at Lexington, Concord, or Bunker Hill,
      The evacuation of Boston relieved Cambridge of the camp, and made it possible for Harvard College to return to its own buildings. Many patriots returned to their deserted homes; but the Loyalists, of which Cambridge had a good share, found no sympathizing hearts to welcome them back to familiar scenes.
      Before the barracks had been removed from Prospect and Winter Hills, the surrender of Burgoyne occurred; and in November, 1777, his army of prisoners were lodged in these old apartments. The superior position of officers was recognized by their allotment to dwelling-houses, where they were kept under guard.
      Several houses that witnessed the scenes of camp-life still remain in Cambridge, chief among which, for its pre-Revolutionary reminders, is the dwelling on Linnehan Street, nor far from the college buildings.
      In my tour about Cambridge, seeking for hidden footprints, I happily came upon this dwelling, which had witnessed the vicissitudes of more than a century before the Revolution. Its plain simplicity is in striking contrast with the famous Vassall house, and it is a forcible reminder of the more common life of the majority of the colonists.
      While the house in its well-kept condition offers

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many attractions to the antiquarian, a face seen through the narrow pane was much more attractive. It was that of Mrs. Charlotte Holden, who in her ninety-eighth year, in the enjoyment of her faculties, told the old story as she received it while resting her youthful head upon her mother's bosom she listened to the recital of what she witnessed at Concord. "My mother," said Mrs. Holden, "was Hepsibah Buttrick, daughter of Joseph, who, with his brother, Major John Buttrick, not only acted the part of patriots at Concord, but did much to infuse that spirit into the camp-life of Cambridge."
      I would that any who thoughtlessly enjoys the blessings of liberty might be aroused to a keen sense of his obligation to become a good citizen through this woman's recital of the sacrifices made to give every true American a share in the glorious heritage of freedom. Said Mrs. Holden: "I am one of three sisters whose united ages are two hundred and eighty-five years. We are granddaughters of one of the "thirteen well-instructed children of Samuel Buttrick of Concord."
      After thoughtfully noting this woman's confirmation of the narrative already received, I turned to consider with her a few incidents connected with this locality.
      The route through Cambridge by which the enemy made haste to protection was not the same as they had taken under cover of the night, nor

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that which the re-enforcements took at midday. In the hasty return they took the route that winds around Prospect Hill. Their situation was critical when they entered this part of Charlestown. Their progress was hindered by their burden of wounded comrades, whom they disliked to leave to the untried mercy of the patriots, while a strong force was advancing from Roxbury, Dorchester, and Milton. Seven hundred of the Essex militia, under Colonel Pickering, threatened to cut them off altogether. The Americans followed closely upon the enemy, reluctant to obey the order of General Heath to cease the pursuit beyond Charlestown Common.
      The dinner provided for the "men-folks" in the homes throughout the near towns came to the hungry men as they ceased the pursuit, and in time to revive many who, regardless of self, had fought their way from Old North Bridge with little or no refreshment. General Heath placed suitable guards, and conducted the weary troops to Cambridge, where they "were ordered to lie on their arms."
      The power of imagination fails when one attempts to recall the scenes that must have passed before the sleepless eyes of many who, having thrown themselves down in the open field, sought nature's sweet restorer. From their beds in peaceful homes they had sprung, made a hasty march, faced the enemy, pursued them through a deadly

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fire, and now waited for they knew not what on the morrow's dawn.
      The continual arrival of men, together with the novel labor of fitting up a camp, furnished variety for a few days; but this soon wore away, and nothing but the spirit of real patriotism could have deterred them all from returning to their homes, in the absence of military restraint and discipline.
      The fight through Cambridge to Charlestown Common was not without its sad results to Cambridge families. On North Avenue, near the easterly end of Spruce Street, three were killed, -- John Hicks, Moses Richardson, and William Marcy. It was claimed that Hicks was a member of the Tea-Party of Dec. 16, 1773. He left his home early in the morning; and, not returning, his wife sent a son of fourteen years to look for him. He found him lying by the side of the road dead; Marcy and Richardson were near him. The boy procured assistance; and the bodies were lifted into a rough wagon, and taken home. Here, as in Menotomy, circumstances did not favor funeral rites; and the three were hastily buried in one grave. It is said that a son of Moses Richardson, standing by, was too tender hearted to see the earth thrown directly upon their faces; and, getting into the trench, he spread the large cape of his father's coat over his face. A neat Scotch granite monument stands over the grave. The inscription is this: --

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ERECTED, BY THE CITY A.D. 1870.
TO THE MEMORY OF
JOHN HICKS, WILLIAM MARCY, MOSES RICHARDSON
BURIED HERE, JASON RUSSELL, JABEZ WYMAN,
JASON WINSHIP, BURIED IN MENOTOMY.
MEN OF CAMBRIDGE
WHO FELL IN DEFENCE OF THE LIBERTY OF THE PEOPLE,
APRIL 19, 1775
0 WHAT A GLORIOUS MORNING IS THIS!"

      In the afternoon of the 20th, General Artemas Ward arrived in Cambridge, and, being the senior general officer, became commander-in-chief. Other officers having arrived, a council of war was immediately held.
      Anxiety and deep planning were now the portion of the leaders, culminating in the battle of Bunker Hill, where Colonel Thomas Gardner, an honored citizen of "Little Cambridge," received a mortal wound. He had honorably discharged the duties of many offices, both civic and military. When his superior officer, the Tory Brattle, fled to Boston, he was promoted to the command of his company. He responded to the Lexington alarm, and soon after enlisted a regiment for the Continental army, of which he was commissioned as colonel about two weeks before the battle of Bunker Hill.
      Colonel Gardner lingered about two weeks after the battle, dying on the day which is remembered by Washington's taking command of the army.

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      Of the line of fortifications that extended across Cambridge, there is but little remaining. The "three-gun battery" which commanded the river down to Lechmere's Point has been carefully preserved. It was restored in 1858 as nearly as possible to its original state, enclosed by an iron fence, within which three cannon given by the United States are mounted. This memorial is fittingly known as Fort Washington. The site of Fort Putnam at East Cambridge presents nothing of the appearance of a fortification, but bears an enduring monument, -- the Putnam School.
      The use to which houses in Menotomy were hastily put is apparent from the journals of individuals, as well as from the traditions of families, especially that of the Russell family. Says my venerable informant: --

      "In the confused companies of the British when on their retreat, was seen a horse and chaise in which was being carried one of their officers, who proved to be Lieutenant Edward Hull of the British Forty-third Regiment. He was wounded at North Bridge, and was being conveyed back to Boston. The horse was not so swift as the men; and, falling in the rear, the officer received a second wound. It was near the Samuel Butterfield dwelling, and he was carried into the house vacated by the affrighted family. Upon the return of the lady of the house, she found her rooms occupied. There was a wounded Provincial, besides Lieutenant Hull. They were both in one room, each having been placed upon a bed by their respective comrades. How much interchange of sympathy there was we do not know, but Mrs. Butterfield could not with-

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hold her sympathetic attention from both. She ministered to friend and foe alike; saw the former recover, and return to his family at Framingham. But notwithstanding the care of the good woman, together with that of nurses, and supplies sent out from Boston with a flag of truce, the young officer died in about two weeks; and, according to the Salem Gazette of May 5, 1775, 'His remains were next day conveyed to Charlestown, attended by a company of Provincials and several officers of distinction, and there delivered to the order of General Gage.'"

      He was the first British officer who lost his life in the war, and was probably buried on Copps Hill.
      While receiving the best of care at the Butterfield home, he was visited by Rev. Dr. McClure, a prominent clergyman, who kept a journal, a fragment of which has come to light, and is of great interest, not only to the people of Menotomy, but to all interested in the events of that time.

FRAGMENT OF DIARY.

. . ."that it was flattened on one side by the ribs as if it had been beaten with a hammer. He was a plain, honest man, to appearance, who had voluntarily turned out with his musket at the alarm of danger, as did also some thousands besides, on that memorable day. [Doubtless Mr. Hemenway of Framingham.] In the same room lay mortally wounded a British officer, Lieutenant Hull, of a youthful, fair, and delicate countenance. He was of a respectable family of fortune in Scotland. Sitting on one feather-bed, he leaned on another, and was attempting to suck the juice of an orange which some neighbor had brought. The phy-

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sician of the place had been to dress his wounds, and a woman was appointed to attend him.
      "I observed that he had no shirt on, and was wrapt in a coating great-coat, with a fur cap on his head. I inquired of the woman why he was thus destitute of clothing. He answered, 'When I fell, our people [the British] stripped me of my coat, vest, and shirt, and your people of my shoes and buckles.' How inhuman! his own men! I asked him if he was dangerously wounded. He replied, 'Yes, mortally;" that he had received three balls in his body. His countenance expressed great bodily anguish. I conversed with him a short time on the prospect of death, and a preparation for the solemn scene; to which he appeared to pay serious attention. He lived about a week; and the people conveyed his body in a coffin to Charlestown ferry, where I happened to be present, and a barge from the Somerset took it to Boston.
      "Not far from this house lay four fine British horses; the people were taking off their shoes. One informed me that a wagon loaded with provisions was sent from Boston for the refreshment of the retreating army, under an escort of six grenadiers. They had got as far as this place, when a number of men (ten or twelve) collected, and ordered them to surrender. They marched on, and our men fired, killed the driver and the horses; when the rest fled a little way and surrendered.
      "Another wagon sent on the same business was also taken that day. It was strange that General Gage should send them through a country in which he had just kindled the flames of war, in so defenceless a condition. Saw three regulars in beds in a house in Cambridge; one of them mortally wounded. Conversed with them on their melancholy situation. One of them refused to answer, and cast upon me a revengeful look. Perhaps he was a Papist, and his priest had pardoned his sins. The houses on the road of the march of the British were all perforated with balls, and

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the windows broken. Horses, cattle, and swine lay dead around. Such were the dreadful trophies of war for about twenty miles. I hovered around Boston several days. Very few of the inhabitants were permitted to come out. Having some things in Boston which I wished to have sent round to Marblehead, I wrote to my brother-in-law, Capt. Henry Hunter, who with my sister Hunter were there, to send them; and having obtained a permit from the colonel commanding our militia at Roxbury, to go to the British guards on the Neck, I went within call, and waved my hat for permission to enter, when Davis, a Boston Tory, and inspector of those who came out, came towards me, but refused to take the letters which I passed towards him. He said General Gage had given orders that there should be no communication between town and country. I got my letter in, however, the same day."

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