Lynn in the Revolution
Chapter III.
The Lexington Alarm In Lynn

A Very Special Thanks To The Lynn Public Library For The Use Of This Important Resource.

Transcribed by Shaun Cook
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     THE town of Lynn, together with every village and hamlet in New England, was prepared for the opening scenes of the Revolutionary War. It is true that the militia was untrained and poorly equipped, yet it was not wholly so, and it is certain that the conviction was as strong here as elsewhere that the cause of the colonies was a righteous one, and the inhabitants were as determined to resist to the last the unjust measures of the British ministry. Aside from the Quaker families, who refused steadfastly to fight or pay the attendant expenses incurred by the town, it may safely be said that nearly every home in Lynn sheltered a militia or minute man, and in many cases every male member of the family of sufficient age to shoulder a musket was ready for action. If we cannot now point to the patriotic utterances of Rev. John Treadwell, the pastor of the old First Church, or of Deacon Daniel Mansfield, the sturdy moderator of the town meeting, the ringing resolutions transcribed by the pen of Ebenezer Burrill, the town clerk, we are assured voiced the sentiments of them all.
     Let us look over the little town as it appeared on the eve of the conflict.
     It should be remembered that Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant were parts of Lynn in 1775, the two former being separate parishes only. Three years before the population had been set, down as 2,100, including 465 polls. Valuation of property was under
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Ł30,000, and there were less than 150 dwellings. Lynn Common was an unfenced field, little better than an open pasture, over which teams crossed at will. Farmhouses were scattered along its sides, and the "Old Meeting-House," as it was invariably called in the records, stood in the middle, opposite and facing Petticoat Lane, now Shepard Street. A brook crossed at the point where Harwood Street now turns off, and near it was the home of Nathan Attwill, in a house which is still standing and now numbered 35 Whiting Street. Mall Street was Lucy Newhall's Lane, and a cart-road ran from what is now Park Street to Mill Street, now Strawberry Avenue. Franklin Street was then called the Townway, and leading from it was Grass Lane, now Leighton Street. At the lower end of the Common, Market Street turned to the right, and Marblehead Lane, now Essex Street, to the left. A little further on was Black Marsh Lane, now lower Union Street. Broad and Lewis Streets of to-day made then scarcely more than a rambling cart-path, connected with the County Road, the present Boston Street, by Fresh Marsh Lane, now Chestnut Street. Woodend, like the western section of the town, consisted of scattered farms, with a rough path through the fields where we now have Fayette Street. The old County Road, however, was the main thoroughfare of the town, and boasted the chief residences. It was connected with the farms at Breed's End by Rhodes's Lane, the Federal Street of to-day. The turnpike, or Western Avenue, had not been laid out. It is probable that Lynn proper had at that time eighty or ninety homes, and Lynnfield and Saugus about twenty-five each.
Nahant had but one or two habitations, and Swampscott was included in Lynn
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proper. There were no school-houses, and one or two stores sufficed for the needs of all. The Old Tunnel Meeting-House was the forum, and contained the only pulpit. The products of the farm supplied most of the needs of the people, and the little shoemakers' shops gave the simple cordwainers a chance to procure enough ready money to buy what the farm could not produce.
     There were probably four hundred and seventy-five men of all ages in the town. Deducting from this number the old and disabled, together with those whose religious scruples would not allow them to participate, there could not have been over three hundred and fifty men ready for service when the War for Independence opened. It will be shown, however, that before the war closed nearly five hundred men had enlisted and fought, to the credit of the town of Lynn. This resulted because the boys, as soon as they became old enough, went into the service. By reference to the personal sketches which will follow, it may be noticed that Daniel Watts enlisted, and was actually borne on the rolls of Washington's army at the age of twelve, while scores of Lynn boys were seasoned Continentals at fifteen. This fact alone speaks well for the patriotism and courage of the inhabitants.
     Situated in close proximity to Salem, where there were so many Tory merchants and sympathizers, it is also a fact well worth noting that not a single instance has been found recorded of a Tory in Lynn, and no case where an unpatriotic "towny" was made to swear allegiance to his country.
     It may not be out of place to allude to the business of shoemaking as it was carried on in the town in 1775.
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The industry had been introduced in a small way by Philip Kertland, who came to Lynn in 1638, but it had gained little headway until 1750, when John Adam Dagyr, a Welshman and a practical shoemaker, made his appearance. His skill and energy gave such an impetus to the business of manufacturing ladies' shoes that they undoubtedly laid the foundation of the great and thriving business which has ever since characterized Lynn. Indeed, he secured such a reputation during his lifetime that the Boston Gazette in 1764 alluded to him as "the celebrated shoemaker of Essex." His patriotic service in the Revolution and his death in poverty will be spoken of later. Under the stimulating influence of Dagyr nearly every male inhabitant of the town began to turn his hand, in a greater or less degree, to the manufacture of shoes. The little square shoe-shop sprang up by many a farm-house, and, while the plough and scythe were kept busy in the field in summer, the pounding of the lap-stone and the drawing of the wax thread kept the men-folk equally busy in the shop in winter. Their quaint wills, on file at the Court House in Salem, invariably indicate that they were "yeomen and cordwainers." Their shoes were sold in Boston and Salem, whither they were carried on horseback at the end of the week. It may be safely said that in 1775 Lynn had already a reputation as a shoe manufacturing town not exceeded by any in the colonies.

but always showing the simple lines which are becoming so universally recognized as good. Many of the Lynn houses were small, seldom were they referred to in the wills as "my mansion house," yet all, whether large or small, were comfortable and homelike. In one of these, on the northerly side of Boston Street, opposite the present Hudson Square, lived James Newhall, or "Squire Jim," as he was called in later years. Beyond, on the same side, lived Benjamin Hudson, from whom the square was named. On the top of Tower Hill, on the opposite side, stood the Burrill house, demolished twenty-five years ago, the home at the time of John Burrill, later familiarly known as "Colonel John," to distinguish him from three others of the same name. Near Cottage Street, on the same side, an ancient house, still standing, marks the one-time home of Calley Newhall, who made powder for General Washington. On the corner of Wyman Street was the home, demolished in 1902, of Captain Ezra Newhall. Beyond, on the same side, was that of the Burchsteads, ancestors of Benjamin Burchstead Johnson. Between Flint and Childs Streets lived Allen Newhall and his two sons, Daniel Allen Breed and Charles. In the quaint, little, gambrel-roofed house, between Kirtland Street and Sargent's Court, lived Jedediah Newhall. In the old house on the corner of North Federal Street, or Hart's Lane, lived Lieutenant Joseph Hart. On the opposite corner lived Ebenezer Burrill, the patriotic town clerk. John Adam Dagyr's home was just beyond, presumably in the so-called "Carnes house," which stood across the entrance of the present Carnes Street. Rufus Mansfield, captain of the fourth company of militia, lived on Waterhill, as did Lieutenant Thomas
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Cox, Nathaniel Tarbox, and his son Nathaniel, Jr. William Tarbox lived in a small house where Bridge Street now crosses Strawberry Brook. Further along, at the corner of the present Federal and Marion Streets, was the tavern of Increase Newhall, still standing, and at the further end of Marion Street back from the old Boston Road, was the residence of Dr. John Flagg, in a narrow, gambrel-roofed house, known as the Billy Gray House, still standing. On the corner of the present Cedar Street was the home of Lieutenant Frederick Breed, known later as "Colonel Frederick." On the other side of the same street lived Deacon Jesse Rhodes, in an ancient house pulled down some twenty years ago. At the foot of Mall Street, or Lucy Newhall's Lane, lived Joel Newhall. Between the present Rhodes Avenue and Bulfinch Street was the home of Lieutenant Edward Johnson, in a house much altered, but still extant. In Strawberry Lane, or Colonel John Mansfield's Lane, was the home of John Mansfield. He was at that time the most important man in the little community, perhaps the wealthiest, and certainly the most influential, being at that time, with Ebenezer Burrill, Esq., a delegate to the Provincial Congress. He had also been a member of the General Court which General Gage ordered dispersed at Salem. In the old Hathorne house, which stood on the ground of the present Lynn Hospital, lived Deacon William Farrington, captain of the second company of Lynn militia, a prominent man and deacon of the old First Church. In Bow Bend, or North Bend Street, lived John Willis and his brother-in-law, Thomas Hall. Just where Fresh Marsh Lane, or Chestnut Street, joined the Boston Road, lived
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Robert Mansfield. The old house, still standing, known as the "Wyoma House," was the home of Ebenezer Richardson. On the present estate of John L. Shorey lived Daniel Galeucia, afterwards a captain in the army of Washington.
     Turning back now to the western part of the town, an ancient house, still in a good state of preservation, marks the dwelling of Ephraim Breed, great-grandson of the first Allen Breed; and near it was the home of his friend, Harris Chadwell. Over in the fields, near the Saugus line, back of the present City Farm, lived Ezekiel Moulton. Around the Common were the homes of Aaron Breed, Henry and Theophilus Hallowell, Micajah Newhall, Richard Pappoon, Thomas Cheever, James Bacheller, Daniel and Ralph Lindsey. On Market Street lived the Alleys and Benjamin Johnson. On the present Fayette Street, opposite Ireson Avenue, lived Edward and John Ireson, and near them Jacob Ingalls. Eleazer Collins Ingalls resided on Essex Street, near Alice; and the home of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego Ramsdell was at the curve of the road where it now enters Swampscott. Near the present Swampscott railroad station lived Theophilus Burrill, in a house still standing; and his nearest neighbors were the Richards family, five of whom were in the war.
     The homes in Saugus and Lynnfield were widely scattered, although in that part of Saugus known as Oaklandvale four houses are still standing which sheltered four families of Boardmans.
     Thus were located some of the scattered homes of the Lynn patriots. Without doubt, there were many others long ago crowded out by the growing city, and even their
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sites forgotten. These we are glad to remember, together with the men who went forth from their shelter to the War for Independence.
     We now turn our thoughts for a moment to the companies which had been forming during the memorable winter of 1775, for the men who went out on the April alarm went for the most part regularly and under command, and not independently in a mad run for the scene of conflict. This statement is made after careful investigation and a consultation of every bit of available evidence, and in spite of the published statement that, "on receiving the intelligence that the troops had left Boston, many of the inhabitants of Lynn immediately set out, without waiting to be organized, and with such weapons as they could most readily procure. The people from Lynn met them at Lexington on their return, and joined in firing at them from the walls and fences." A few men undoubtedly failed to leave the town with their companies, and later hurried after them in their own way. Some of these men may have reached Lexington, although even this is doubtful. It is certain that no company went as far as Lexington.
     Two hundred and forty-seven men had been duly organized in five companies, and were ready for the opening of hostilities. Each man had furnished his own musket or firearm, and no one had reached the dignity of a uniform. The men were, indeed, but slightly trained, yet they were courageous and full of devotion to their country.
     The first company was exclusively from the Third Parish, Saugus, and was commanded by Captain David Parker. It consisted of sixty-three men, and was the
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largest in town. It met for drill at the Jacob Newhall tavern, which stood across the present Lincoln Avenue, East Saugus.
     The Second Company of Foot, as it was called, was commanded by Captain William Farrington, and consisted of fifty-two men. Its membership was largely from the central and easterly sections of the town, and its place of meeting was at the foot of the present Franklin Street, near where the Lynn Hospital now stands.
     The third company in point of numbers was commanded by Captain Ezra Newhall, and was composed of men from every portion of Lynn, including Lynnfield and Saugus. This company, as will be seen by the roll appended, was called a "Minit Company," and was undoubtedly formed to comply with the recent vote of the Provincial Congress. It had its headquarters on the Common, and, although no record of its organization has been found, it numbered forty-nine men. From its widely scattered membership the evidence appears that it was hastily formed of men and boys who had not previously been enrolled in the regular militia companies. Its captain had seen service in the French and Indian War.
     The next company was called the Fourth Company of Foot, and was commanded by Captain Rufus Mansfield, who lived on Waterhill. It consisted of forty-four men, most of whom were from the immediate neighborhood, and the greater part of whom were bound together by the ties of blood or marriage. Nearly one-third of its membership bore the name of Newhall. Its rendezvous was at the Increase Newhall Tavern, in later years
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The fifth, last, and smallest company was commanded by Captain Nathaniel Bancroft, of the North Parish, or Lynnfield. By the record of its organization, Joseph Gowing had been made captain, but, before the arrival of the nineteenth of April, Deacon Bancroft had been substituted, and Gowing had been dropped to first-lieutenant. On the pay-roll appended it will be noticed that it is called simply "Capt. Bancroft's Company." It numbered thirty-eight men, and was perhaps the most interesting of all from the fact that it saw hard fighting, lost three of its number killed, had several wounded, and probably made several prisoners. Like the fourth company, it was also bound together, in large part, by the ties of relationship. The meeting-place was the Joseph Gowing Tavern at Lynnfield Centre, an interesting old house, which was burned, probably by an incendiary, at midnight, June eighteenth, 1896.
The nineteenth of April, 1775, fell on Wednesday. The spring of that year had been a very remarkable one. The season was far advanced, apple-trees were in bloom, and farmers were preparing the fields for planting. General Gage's troops had been restless during the winter months, and hailed with delight an excursion into the country, even though it must be a stealthy one. Paul Revere, a coppersmith and engraver, living on Hanover Street in Boston, had been particularly zealous in watching the movements of the king's troops, and in this work he had been assisted by many of his business associates, most of whom were members of the Masonic fraternity. They had quietly kept one another informed of every-
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thing transpiring, and the decision of the British to march into the country on the night of the eighteenth was quickly known among them. Dr. Joseph Warren at once arranged with Paul Revere and William Dawes to ride by different routes to Lexington, for the purpose of alarming the country and placing Hancock and Adams, who were there, on guard. Revere had arranged with a friend to have signals displayed in the steeple of Christ Church, one lantern, if it was found that they were to go by way of Roxbury Neck, and two, if they were to cross the river to Cambridge. He found at ten o'clock that the expedition was to cross the river, and then his night ride began. It was probably between eleven and twelve o'clock when he reached Medford, the nearest point to Lynn, distant about eight miles. There was little difficulty in arousing alert and patriotic Medford, and little time was lost before her messengers were hurrying the news to Malden, and from thence on to Saugus and Lynn, which were reached before sunrise. Confirming this, a grandson of one of the Saugus minute-men, contributing a series of sketches to the Lynn Reporter in 1860, and being then contemporary with many of the survivors of the Saugus company, wrote as follows: -

"Captain Parker mustered his company at an early hour of the day of the Concord fight and marched with them with all speed to the scene of the conflict. He reached the highway in West Cambridge before the return of the regulars and arranged his company in order to give them a warm reception. While thus arranged and prepared, some officer of higher rank informed Capt. Parker that the orders were, not to give the enemy pitched battle, but to let the soldiers disperse themselves through the fields and harass the enemy as much as possible by random firing. Capt. Parker's company
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Again, the Lynn Record of September, 1837, contains the following notice of the death of Abner Cheever, one of the corporals of Captain Parker's company: -

"In Lynn, Sept. 13, 1837, Col. Abner Cheever, aged 82. Col. Cheever was in the battle of Lexington, in 1775. He was of the corps of minute-men of that day and received the alarm of the British marching to Concord that morning at three o'clock. He marched with his company before sunrise, notwithstanding some of them had to make wooden ramrods to their guns, taking their powder in horns, and balls and wadding in their pockets."

"My grandfather was Samuel Ireson. He was only five years of age at the time, but remembered distinctly being awakened that morning by the sudden firing of a musket under his window, at his home in the old Ireson house, on Fayette street. He soon heard the neighbors' boys calling for his brothers, Edward and John, aged nineteen and seventeen. They said that the regulars were out and that the minute-men were gathering. His brothers quickly went
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down, and, taking their muskets, went away with the others. I have heard this story many times from my grandfather and have always understood that his brothers were in the battle."
     Another interesting narrative is that of Mr. Andrew Mansfield, of South Lynnfield, and is as follows: -

     "I am of the ninth generation to live on this tract of land and to bear the name of "Andrew Mansfield." My great-grandfather, Andrew Mansfield, was living in the old homestead on the Danvers road on the morning of the battle. Although the Danvers line ran through the yard and placed him in that town, yet his interests were all with the Lynnfield parish of which he was a member. He was thirty-five years of age and was enrolled in Captain Bancroft's company of minute-men. His son, Andrew Mansfield, was my grandfather. The latter has often told me that the alarm of the regulars reached Lynnfield early in the morning. He was eleven years of age and upon the receipt of the alarm, he harnessed the horse and carried his father to the meeting place of the minute-men, at the Joseph Gowing Tavern at the centre of the village. From thence, he marched away with his company. The Andrew who was eleven at the time of the battle, died in 1851, at the age of 86, and his father, the minute-man, died in 1831, aged ninety-two."

     Many years ago Mr. George W. Rogers, of Lynn, published a series of personal reminiscences of Lynn's earlier citizens. In one of these he has this to say of Harris Chadwell, one of the veterans of the Revolution: -

     "At the first dawn of the Revolution, on the 19th of April, 1775, Mr. Chadwell started with other patriotic men for Concord, among them Ephraim Breed, his inseparable companion. They met the British on their retreat, somewhere between Lexington and Boston, followed and harassed them, firing from behind stone walls and bushes."
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The pay-rolls of the five Lexington alarm companies were made up about the first of the year following the alarm. They were sworn to by the respective captains and presented to the General Court for payment. Later they were examined by the Council and ordered paid. On each roll the item of travel is included, although the distances named are somewhat confusing. The men of Captain Parker's company, which surely went no farther than West Cambridge, were paid for forty-six miles of travel, while those of Captain Farrington's company, known to have reached a point two miles farther on, received the same amount. Captain Bancroft's company, which marched an equal distance, received allowance for but thirty miles, Captain Mansfield's company received pay for forty-six miles, and Captain Ezra Newhall's company is credited with forty miles. The distance is possibly reckoned to Concord and return, but it is certain that none of the-men arrived there. On Captain Bancroft's roll six men were not paid for mileage, yet received full pay for two days' service. This may be accounted for by the supposition that these particular men did not hear of the alarm in time to march with their companies, but, having reported later, were paid for service, and not for travel. If the various companies had not marched as companies, it is doubtful whether the state would have approved a bill for mileage.

and William Flint appear with a note that they were killed. It is certain that they should have been placed in Captain Bancroft's Lynnfield company.
The entire sum paid by the state for the service of these five companies in the battle of Lexington was Ł 123 16s. 5d.
Having found that Lynn was regularly represented, let us turn and follow the alarm as it rang out on that beautiful April morning. From Saugus the news came down over the old Boston Road into Lynn, and from farm to farm it spread with amazing rapidity. The sun was hardly above the horizon before William Newhall and Samuel Berry, drummer and fifer in Captain Ezra Newhall's company, were sounding the long roll on the Common, and the farmers were coming on the run from all directions. The hurriedly fired minute-guns left no home unaware that the British were on the march, and the gathering of the companies was a matter of only a short time. As the first rays of the morning sun lit up the vane on the old meeting-house, we may imagine a motley array, indeed, gathered before the historic edifice. Father, son, and grandson were there, - the seasoned veteran and the inexperienced boy, all eager to make the first stand in their country's defence. Many of the older men, like Captain John Mansfield, Captain Ezra Newhall, Isaac Meachem, and Allen Newhall, had seen service in the old French War, but to most of those who met in the gathering light war was unfamiliar. Hardly a home in Lynn that day contained a male over fifteen years of age, with the exception of the sick and religious non-combatants. Before eight o'clock Captain Ezra Newhall and his company had disappeared down New-
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That morning a house, which is still standing opposite the Lynn Hospital, was framed and ready for an old-fashioned raising. According to custom many were to assemble to assist in the work, but the Lexington alarm postponed the ceremony indefinitely. All the men marched away in their companies, some never to return. Mr. William Hudson, now a venerable man of eighty-seven, whose grandfathers were in the battle, is authority for the statement that not a carpenter was left to work upon the building.

The route taken by all the companies was undoubtedly over the County Road to Saugus, thence through Cliftondale, by "Black Ann's Corner" into Malden, thence through Medford to Menotomy, or West Cambridge, now Arlington. By this route the distance traversed must have been at least twelve miles, and the time consumed three hours. The main body of the British troops had passed through Menotomy before daybreak, and was in Lexington at sunrise. The daybreak conflict on Lexington Common had caused the British to hastily send back to Boston for reinforcements. It is probable that these extra troops had passed through Menotomy before the arrival of the Lynn men. With this large force up the road it would have been folly for the scattered companies of minute-men to march up to meet Earl Percy and his two thousand picked men of the British army. According to General Gage's, report to the king, made directly after the battIe, the first body sent out on the night of the eighteenth consisted of the grenadiers of his army and at least ten companies of light infantry, eight
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hundred men in all, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Smith of the Tenth Regiment and Major Pitcairn of the Marines. These men were in part from the Fifth, Tenth, Thirty-eight, Forty-third, Forty-seventh, Fifty-second, and Fifty-ninth Regiments. The, next morning General Gage hurried off eight companies of the Fourth, or King's Own, Regiment, an equal number of the Twenty-third Regiment of Royal Welsh Fusileers and the Forty-ninth Regiment, together with the First Battalion of Marines, in all twelve hundred men, under command of Earl Percy. Thus a force of two thousand men, or nearly two-thirds of the British army in Boston, were on the road between Boston and Concord. It is no wonder that some officer was wise enough to tell Captain Parker to disperse his men, and let them fight in their own way. When the red-coats, under Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, reached the Munroe tavern in Lexington on the retreat down the Boston Road, all agree that it was between one and two o'clock in the afternoon. At that point Earl Percy met them with his fresh troops. This is an additional proof that his troops had passed through Menotomy before noon, and therefore before the arrival of many of the Lynn men. It is probable that the latter reached the Boston Road to Lexington soon after Earl Percy had passed with his reinforcements.
Captain Bancroft's company came over through South Reading, forming a junction with the other Lynn men, also at about this time. These were soon followed by the seven companies from Danvers and by many others from Essex County towns, nearly all of whom came through Lynn over the present Boston Street. Mr. Samuel M. Bubier, one of Lynn's former mayors, used often to re-
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late that his grandmother, Joanna Mansfield, daughter of Ebenezer Mansfield, a young girl at the time of the battle, living in the old house afterwards known as the Bubier house, on Boston Street, near Park, watched with great interest the Danvers men as they passed the house, noting particularly their homespun gray stockings. Many times she drew water from the well for the thirsty minutemen as they hurried along the road. The next day she saw, carried by in a cart, seven of the same men who had been killed in the battle, and whom she knew by their gray stockings.

When the British column finally appeared on the outskirts of Menotomy, on its way back, it was nearly five o'clock. At this point an immerise number of minutemen had collected, and the first determined stand of the day was taken by the provincials. Every minute had made the position of the British worse, for the farmers were appearing in numbers to appall the stoutest hearts. Enraged by the burning and plundering of their homes, they were harassing the regulars at every turn.

This was the condition of affairs when Captain Bancroft looked up the road and saw the advance-guard of the enemy. Although he was fifty years of age and had been commissioned in the king's militia since 1767, he had never been in actual warfare. On the way over he had asked Zerubbabel Hart, a private in his company who had been in the French and Indian War, if he was afraid to go into the fight, and Hart had replied, "No, but I tell you to look out for the flank-guard!" It will be no disparagement to the old captain to say that undoubtedly he felt no resentment at the well-meant advice of his neighbor, who was only a private. As the British
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advanced in regular order, Captain Bancroft observed that the main body was marching in the road, but that on both sides were long lines of flankers marching in the fields. Zerubbabel Hart's warning might have come to him with force at that moment, but it was too late to act, for, before he knew it, his company, with others, was between the main line and the flank-guard. At this time they were near the home of Jason Russell, and were using it as a shield. The Danvers men had improvised a defence from a huge pile of shingles, and were busily firing at the troops in the road. Before they could escape, seven of their number were killed, - caught in a trap. Dr. Joseph Warren was near by, and barely escaped with his life. Seeing the fate of the Danvers minute-men, many of the Lynn boys rushed into the house, and there Abednego Ramsdell, Daniel Townsend, William Flint, and Thomas Hadley were killed, and Timothy Munroe, Joshua Felt, and others wounded. This part of the tragic story is told in part by Alonzo Lewis in the History of Lynn: -

"Timothy Munroe was standing behind a house with Daniel Townsend, firing at the British troops as they were coming down the road in their retreat to Boston. Townsend had just fired and exclaimed, 'There is another red-coat down,' when Munroe, looking around, saw, to his astonishment, that they were completely hemmed in by the flank guard of the British army, which was coming down through the fields behind them. They immediately ran into the house and sought for the cellar, but no cellar was there. They looked for a closet, but there was none. All this time, which indeed was but a moment, the balls were pouring through the back windows, making havoc of the glass. Townsend leaped through the end window and immediately fell dead. Munroe followed and ran for his life. He
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After the savage fight at the Russell homestead, the Lynn men scattered in every direction, and followed the British in a running fight to Charlestown. Timothy Munroe, although wounded, still continued the pursuit. During the latter part of the retreat he found a British soldier badly wounded, who begged him to stop and dress his wound, which was bleeding freely. Munroe stopped the flow of blood with his handkerchief, but the man finally died in his arms. Before his death, however, he gave his silver knee-buckles to Mr. Munroe, and they are still preserved in the Munroe family.

Josiah Breed, a private in Captain Rufus Mansfield's company, was eagerly pursuing the British as they retreated toward Boston, when he was suddenly surrounded and made prisoner. His arms and accoutrements were taken away, and he was forced along with the British column. Arriving at Charlestown, he was sent on board the frigate Lively with several other American prisoners. There he was confined until the sixth of June,
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when he was exchanged for Lieutenant Gould of the British army, who was wounded and captured by the patriots at Concord bridge.
Reference has been made elsewhere to Harris Chadwell and Ephraim Breed. Both were near the Russell house when their comrades were killed, but escaped, and followed the British on their retreat. Mr. Chadwell used often to relate their experience. He said that they were on a hill when the flank-guard of the enemy tried to surround them. Seeing the soldiers coming, he jumped over a stone wall, but, striking his knee on a rock, nearly disabled himself. As the red-coats would be obliged to pass that way, he resolved to throw his gun and equipments into a small pond close by in order that, should he be discovered, he need not be taken under arms. The British, however, too eager to get back to Boston to look behind stone walls, pushed rapidly on. After Chadwell had seen them pass, he raised himself to fire upon them, but refrained from doing so, since they were still near. Determined, however, not to let such a good opportunity pass without apprising them of his presence, he waited until the distance between them had widened somewhat, and then raised himself again and fired. Immediately the compliment was returned with a shower of bullets which knocked the stones from the wall, but did no further damage. After the skirmish, while passing over the ground with Mr. Breed, the two men saw a British soldier wounded in the abdomen, who begged them to shoot him that he might be out of his misery. Mr. Breed raised his gun to do so, but Mr. Chadwell struck it from his hands, saying: "Don't fire! He is our prisoner!"
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Abednego Ramsdell and Joseph Richards were neighbors living on Marblehead Lane, now Essex Street, at the point where it enters Swampscott. It is related that
that morning, just as he was starting for the fight, Ramsdell was warned by a woman that he would not come back alive. He is said to have replied that it might be so, but that he was going in a good cause, and, if he fell, he would take a red-coat with him. He was twenty-four years of age, and his neighbor, Joseph Richards, was twenty-one. Both were in Captain William Farrington's company. After Mr. Ramsdell was killed, Richards had a hand-to-hand contest with a British soldier, who attacked him
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with a bayonet. He defended himself stoutly, and succeeded in striking the soldier a heavy blow which felled him to the ground. Richards did not wait to see what the result might be, but joined his companions in their pursuit of the king's troops.
The running fight continued until dark, when the British escaped into Charlestown, the Lynn men having followed them to the end. The patriot loss was forty-nine killed, thirty-nine wounded, and five missing. Of the twenty-three towns represented in this number, Lynn stood fourth in number killed. The British loss, according to General Gage, was one lieutenant-colonel killed and two wounded; two captains and nine lieutenants wounded, one lieutenant missing; two ensigns wounded; one sergeant killed, four wounded, and two missing; one drummer killed and one wounded; sixty-two rank and file killed and one hundred and fifty-seven wounded, together with twenty-four missing.
Thus ended the battle of Lexington. The morning alarm, however, seemingly had no end. It sped on with irresistible force until it had thoroughly awakened the colonies from Massachusetts in Maine to the wilds of the southern swamps. Before night the fords of the Merrimac were choked with men responding to the call to arms. Twenty-four hours had not elapsed till Israel Putnam and a body of Connecticut men were on the way to Cambridge. Springfield sent her minute-men forty-eight hours after the battle had ceased. The Pittsfield company started the twenty-third of April to participate in a contest which had been concluded nearly two weeks when it arrived at Cambridge. Over two hundred towns and plantations in Massachusetts alone had joined in
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Let us now turn back to the Russell house, where in the stillness of the evening three of our Lynn men lay. In the south room of the old farm-house they had been left, side by side, - Abednego Ramsdell, William Flint, and Thomas Hadley, who, full of life, had come over from Lynn that morning. There were also Jason Russell, of Menotomy, the owner of the house; Benjamin Pierce, of Salem; Lieutenant John Bacon, Nathaniel Chamberlain, and Amos Mills, of Needham; Elias Haven and Jonathan Parker, of Dedham; and Jabez Wyman and Jason Winship, of Menotomy. The body of Daniel Townsend had already been taken away by his brother, who was lieutenant of the Lynnfield company, and the seven Danvers men were also borne away that night by their comrades. Twelve, however, were left where they fell. Two days after, all but three of these were buried in a common grave in the rear of the Russell house. There they remained until April twenty-second, 1848, when their remains were transferred to the cemetery at Arlington, and a monument erected by the town. The three men from Menotomy were buried in separate graves.

was over, and the Continental Army was soon to be organized. With the exception of Captain Newhall, none of these captains saw further service in the war. It is interesting to read a note following the name of James Gowing on the pay-roll of Captain Bancroft's company. Instead of receiving pay for thirty miles of travel and two days' service, he is accredited with sixty-seven miles of travel and three days' service from the fact that he was ordered to go to Ipswich jail with a number of prisoners. It would thus appear that Captain Bancroft's company, in addition to sustaining the heaviest loss, succeeded in taking some British prisoners.
Captain Newhall and his company returned to Lynn, and proceeded to do guard duty. Later, as may be seen by an examination of a pay-roll of his company, most of his men began to enlist in the new army. In fact, before May fifteenth of that year nearly all of them had enrolled themselves as Continentals, and later were in the service during the siege of Boston.
Glancing over the rolls of the companies once more before we leave the interesting record of the part which our Lynn men took at the very beginning of the Revolution, we note several additional facts which it may be well to mention in this connection. While the Lewis history credits the little town with only 168 men who served during the whole war, we find that the alarm of April nineteenth, 1775, alone, brought out 247 men, and the subsequent years of the war increased the number to nearly five hundred. Where previously twenty-one officers have been noted as coming from the town, Captain Rufus Mansfield, David Parker, Nathaniel Bancroft, and William Farrington not being mentioned, we
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The family names which are most prominent in these companies are "Newhall," represented by forty-two men; "Mansfield," by seventeen; "Bancroft," by seven; "Boardman," by six; "Burrill," by fifteen; "Breed," by seven; "Brown," by ten; "Hitchings," by nine; "Johnson," by ten; "Ingalls," by eight.
Thus did Lynn respond nobly to the midnight alarm. Four of her sons were slain by the soldiers of the king, and others were wounded or suffered loss. The last Lynn survivor of the famous battle passed away over sixty years ago, but the grandchildren of these brave men still relate the story of their sires.
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