This page is a part of the Lynn & Nahant town site.  Not for Commercial use.  All rights reserved.

     THE most prominent man in the town of Lynn at the time of the breaking out of the Revolutionary War was Captain John Mansfield. Born in Lynn during the reign of King George I., he lived to see Thomas Jeffer­son made President of the United States. His career was a notable one, full of adventure, success, and defeat. His public services were many and varied, and his devo­tion to duty was sincere and marked. Yet, if we were to accept as final the report found in the provincial rec­ords of the Revolutionary period, we might feel that a shadow rested upon his memory. Generations have long since gone of the men who knew and remembered him, and nearly two hundred years have passed since his birth, yet even at this late day we are able to glean some facts which would seem to clear away the misun­derstanding caused by the reading of that early record,­ a record which, however true it may be, we can but feel resulted from a judgment severe to injustice on the man upon whom it was passed.
     John Mansfield was born February nineteenth, 1721, in that part of Lynn called "Mansfield's End." This section comprised the land now lying between Pine Grove Cemetery and Federal Square, and stretched northward to the hills. His line of descent, traced back to the emigrant ancestor, would be John⁵, Jonathan⁴, Joseph³, Joseph², Robert^1, Robert, the emigrant, who with his wife, Elizabeth, was in Lynn in 1640, lived on Boston Street,
[ 62 ]

near Moulton, in a house which he built and a portion of which is said to be still standing. His death occurred December 16, 1666. His son Joseph was in the Narra­gansett War, married Elizabeth Needham, and died in Lynn, April 22, 1694. Joseph, of the third generation from Robert, was born in Lynn, January 1, 1660, married Elizabeth Williams, and died June 2, 1739. His gravestone is still to be seen in the Old Western Burial Ground. This Joseph's son, Jonathan, was born in Lynn, February 26, 1690, married Martha Stocker, and died March 1, 1728-29, when his son John was seven years old.
     Of the earlier years of John Mansfield nothing is known up to the time of his marriage with Sarah Cheever, of Saugus, niece of Rev. Edward Cheever, who performed the marriage ceremony. Sarah Cheever was of the fifth generation from Ezekiel Cheever, the famous master of the Boston Latin School, and by the marriage of John Mansfield with her there were united two of the oldest families in Massachusetts and certainly two of the most prominent in Lynn. The home was established on what is now Strawberry Avenue, formerly called "Gen. Mans­field's Lane." The ancient building, torn down in 1885, stood directly opposite the Orgin house, and was mod­elled after the style of houses built about 1740, the roof sloping nearly to the ground, the windows small, and the chimney immense. In this house were born his thir­teen children : John, June 29, 1750, died young; Isaac, September 22, 1753; Cheever, December 25, 1755; Sarah, September 12, 1757, died August 27, 1763; Lucy, August 27, 1759, married Joel Newhall, December 24, 1778; William (Colonel), July 1, 1761; Martha, July 6,
[ 63 ]

1763; James, May 6, 1765; Sarah, April 16, 1767, mar­ried Daniel Allen Breed Newhall; Mary, January 5, 1770, married Samuel Brimblecom, afterward lieuten­ant-colonel in the War of 1812; Jonathan, May 1, 1712; John, December 9, 1774; Elizabeth, June 21, 1777.
     During the French and Indian War, Captain Mans­field became actively engaged in the service of the king, enlisting December 13, 1754, in a company in His Maj­esty's service raised for the defence of the eastern frontier, under Captain John Lane. He was at Albany in 1756, under Captain Samuel Flint, of Danvers. He was a corporal in Captain William Angier's company at Fort Cumberland from April second, 1759, to January twenty-­sixth, 1760; a private in Captain Moses Parker's com­pany from June eighth, 1761, to January second, 1762; and a sergeant in Captain Hart's company from March twelfth to November twenty-fifth, 1763. In January, 1766, he was made lieutenant of Captain Samuel Johnson's second company of militia in the town of Lynn, Colonel Pickman's regiment, being promoted to captain in 1771. This latter company was attached to the first regiment of Essex County, commanded by Colonel William Brown. During the exciting days preceding the Revolution, Cap­tain Mansfield assumed a prominent part in the debates which took place in the old meeting-house on the Com­mon. He early began to serve as moderator of the town meeting, a position which he filled many times during his life. His advice was often sought, his judgment was highly respected, and he was assigned a place on nearly every committee of importance having to do with public affairs. He gave hearty support to the resolutions con­demning the Stamp Act and the Boston Port Bill, and
[ 64 ]

was outspoken in his defence of the rights of the col­omes.
     On Wednesday, October fifth, 1774, the General As­sembly had been called by Governor Gage to meet at Salem, but had been ordered dispersed before the time of meeting, the Governor having become alarmed at the belligerent state of the province. Notwithstanding the objections of His Excellency, the members, to the num­ber of eighty, met at the Court House, and waited all day for the Governor to appear and administer to them the oath of office. The next day there followed what has been referred to before, the choice of John Hancock as their chairman, with Benjamin Lincoln, of Hingham, as clerk, the adoption of resolutions of protest at the ac­tion of the Governor, and the resolving themselves into a

     "Provincial Congress, to be joined by such other persons as have been or shall be chosen for that purpose, to take into consideration the dangerous and alarming situation of publick affairs in this Prov­ince, and to consult and determine on such measures as they shall judge will tend to promote the true interest of his Majesty, in the peace, welfare, and prosperity of the Province."
    
     The next day the list of members legally elected was brought forward, and Mr. Hancock and Mr. Lincoln were elected president and secretary of the Provincial Congress. Captain John Mansfield was a delegate to the General Assembly from Lynn, together with his friend and neighbor, Ebenezer Burrill, Esq., the town clerk. These two men were present at the Court House in Salem, and later joined their fortunes with the new Provincial Congress, following it to Concord when it adjourned to that place. Captain Mansfield's asso-
[ 65 ]

ciates are worthy of mention. Besides John Hancock, whose name was soon to head the most important docu­ment ever written in the New World, there was Samuel Adams, upon whose head, with that of Hancock, the king was soon to set a price; John Adams, statesman and fut­ure President; Dr. Joseph Warren, whose life was to be given for his country at Bunker Hill; Elbridge Gerry, who was to sign the Declaration of Independence; Will­iam Prescott a Pepperell farmer, whose name was to be­come immortalized in a few months; . Artemas Ward of Shrewsbury, who was to assume the first command of the new army; Seth Pomeroy of Northampton, Ebenezer Learned of Oxford, and Benjamin Lincoln of Hingham, who were soon to be appointed to high office in the army of George Washington. With many of these men Captain Mansfield had a personal acquaintance. His attention to business made him valued by his associates, and his firm stand against the king marked him as a pronounced "rebel."
     On December the seventh John Adams, Samuel Adams, and Colonel Danielson were appointed a committee to bring in a resolve relative to taking the number of inhab­itants and the quantity of exports and imports, of mer­chandise, and of the manufactures of all kinds in the colony, the information being for the benefit of the Mas­sachusetts delegates in the Continental Congress. The resolve was passed, and a committee consisting of one from each county was appointed, Captain Mansfield being named as the member from Essex County. He was also chosen by Lynn as her delegate to the next session of the Provincial Congress, to be held in Feb­ruary.
[ 66 ]

     When the Provincial Congress practically disbanded the militia and ordered the formation of minute com­panies, Captain Mansfield met with forty-nine officers of the First Essex County Regiment, February thirteenth, 1775, at the house of Mr. Francis Symonds at Danvers, where the following officers were chosen: Captain Timo­thy Pickering, Jr., colonel; Captain John Mansfielcl, first lieutenant-colonel; Captain Henry Herrick, of Bev­erly, second lieutenant-colonel; Dr. Samuel Holton, of Danvers, first major; Captain Archealus Fuller, of Mid­dleton, second major. This record was attested by Ebenezer Francis as clerk. The distinguished honor paid the Lynn captain can better be appreciated when we consider a little further the men who were his asso­ciate officers. Colonel Timothy Pickering, one of the most noted men in Salem at that time, became a mem­ber of the cabinet of George Washington; Dr. Samuel Holton, of Danvers, the close friend of Adams, Hancock, and Washington, became for five years a member of the Continental Congress, and as judge and patriot held positions of high honor and trust; Ebenezer Francis, afterward colonel, fell at the head of his regiment in the impetuous fight at Hubbardton, while resisting the ad­vance of Burgoyne. In the company of these men, it can hardly be supposed that Colonel Mansfield lost any of his martial spirit, fostered by his long experience in the old French War and association with the militia.
     After his election as lieutenant-colonel he still contin­ued to divide his time between his regiment and Congress, being present at the last session of the latter memorable body before the battle of Lexington. Colonel Mansfield was in Lynn on the morning of the nineteenth
[ 67 ]

of April, and early received news of the march of the Brit­ish to Concord. Possibly from the very fact that the object of the regulars was in part to capture the presi­dent of the Congress in which he had sat within five days, Colonel Mansfield used every effort to bring out the minute-men. After seeing his neighbor, Captain William Farrington, safely off with his company, he has­tened to Salem to help to arouse the officers of his regi­ment. Having performed this duty, he hurried on to Menotomy, arriving just in time to see the last of the British retreating towards Boston. He followed them down to Cambridge, where he spent the night. The next day the first council of war in the Revolution was called, and Colonel Mansfield had the honor to be in­vited to sit in it, which he did in company with Generals Ward, Heath, and Whetcomb, and Colonels Frye, James Prescott, William Prescott, Bullard, Spaulding, Bridge, Barrett, Nixon, Whitney, Wheelock, and Mann. This body recommended to the Provincial Congress the for­mation of an army, and on the first of May Colonel Tim­othy Pickering wrote the Committee of Safety, recom­mending Lieutenant-Colonel Mansfield as colonel in a regi­ment to be raised in Salem and vicinity. His standing was excellent. He was at once engaged, and, returning home, set about raising a regiment in compliance with the terms of his appointment. He first turned his attention to the company then in service in Lynn commanded by his friend, Captain Ezra Newhall. He soon secured the enlistment of not only the captain, but nearly all of the members of the company. In Salem he organized companies under the command of Captains Thomas Barnes, Addison Richardson, and Nathan Brown; in
[ 68 ] 


Danvers under Captains Enoch Putnam and Asa Prince; in Beverly under command of Captains Ebenezer Francis and John Low; and in Manchester under command of Captain Benjamin Kimball. Having thus mustered ten full companies, he reported to the Provincial Congress, May twenty-seventh, that his regiment was in "good forwardness," and a recommendation was adopted that the regiment be commissioned accordingly. The regi­ment was made up as follows: -

Israel Hutchinson,
Lieutenant-Colonel. Ezra Putnam, Major.

Captains.

Ezra Newhall,
Enoch Putnam,
Ebenezer Francis,
Asa Prince,
Benjamin Kimball,
Thomas Barnes,
Addison Richardson,
John Low,
Gideon Foster,
Nathan Brown.

Lieutenants.

Zadock Buffington,
John Dodge,
James Bancroft,
John Upton,
Job Whipple,
Nathaniel Cleaves,
Francis Cox,
Stephen Wilkins,
Bill Porter,
Ephraim Emerson.

Ensigns.

John Pierce,
Benjamin Crat,
James Matthews,
Grimes Tufts,
Benjamin Gardner,
Joseph Herrick,
Frederick Breed,
Archealus Bachelor,
Harfail White,
Thomas Downing.

     On the twenty-seventh of May it was "Ordered, that Commissions be delivered to the officers, Lieutenants and Ensigns of Colonel Mansfield's regiment, agreeable to the above list."
     The regiment at this time was in camp at Cambridge. On May the twenty-fifth Colonel Mansfield was the officer of the day in the American camp. On June the third he was again officer of the day, when the parole was "Mar­blehead" and the countersign "Lynn." On the eleventh
[ 69 ]

of June, six days before the battle of Bunker Hill, he was for the third time officer of the day. Not to give the story of the battle, it is sufficient to say that it was an un­expected engagement, and that little preparation had been made for a contest. General Ward, when informed early in the morning that the new fortifications were under fire, refused to weaken his army by sending re­-enforcements. As the day progressed, however, he was brought to a realizing sense of the situation, and sent men to the scene, but too late. At about three o'clock in the afternoon General Ward despatched the Nine­teenth Regiment, commanded by Colonel Mansfield, to reinforce General Israel Putnam and Colonel Prescott. At this time everything was in an uproar, and the utmost confusion prevailed. The terrific fire from the British men-of-war swept Charlestown Neck, a hand-to-hand fight was in progress on Breed's Hill, and Charlestown was in flames. Some regiments were advancing, others halting, others retreating. Major Scarborough Gridley had been ordered with his artillery to advance, but, after reaching Cobble Hill, he decided to halt and cover the retreat which he thought to be inevitable. Colonel Mansfield at this time came up with his regiment, and was ordered by Major Gridley to halt and support him. Here was made the fatal mistake of Colonel Mansfield, for he disobeyed the orders previously given him, took those of an inferior officer, and halted his regiment. Thus, in sight of the battle, the Lynn men under Cap­tain Ezra Newhall stood still until about five o'clock, when the conflict ended.
     That night Colonel Mansfield's regiment lay upon its arms at Winter Hill, expecting a continuance of the at-
[ 70 ]

tack on Sunday morning, but the British had met with such severe losses that they did not care to renew the battle. Colonel Mansfield was field officer of the day on the eighteenth, and on the twenty-third his regiment was ordered to encamp on Prospect Hill. On the thir­tieth of June the Provincial Congress ordered the com­mission as colonel to be delivered to Colonel John Mans­field, to date from May nineteenth. On the fourth of July he was present in Cambridge, and met General Washington, who on the day before had taken command of the army, and who on the next day detailed him as officer of the day. Soon after, Colonel Mansfield was ordered to make a return of his regiment, which he did, showing 399 officers and men effective, twenty-six sick present, twenty-three sick absent, twenty-one on furlough, and one on command, 470 in all. On July the eighth he was again officer of the day, and on July the twenty-sec­ond General Washington ordered the army formed into brigades, and Colonel Mansfield's regiment, together with that of John Stark, was placed under the command of General John Sullivan, and posted on Winter Hill. During this time a part of his regiment was employed in making bricks for the army.
     In the early part of August, jealousy and bad feeling developed among his men, gradually increasing until three of his officers went to General Washington and accused Colonel Mansfield of cowardice in the engage­ment of June seventeenth. Two months after the battle, therefore, on the thirteenth of August, 1775, the follow­ing entry appears in the orderly book of the Commander-in-Chief: -
[ 71 ]

"A general court martial to sit to-morrow to try Col. John Mans­field, of the Massachusetts forces, accused by three of his officers of high crimes and misdemeanors. One Brig. Genl. and twelve field officers to compose the court."
    
     The following members were appointed: president, Brigadier-General Nathanael Greene; members, Colonel James Reed, Colonel Varnum, Colonel Patterson, Colo­nel Woodbridge, Lieutenant-Colonel Wyman, Lieuten­ant-Colonel Marsh, Lieutenant-Colonel Miller, Major Cudworth, Major Buttrick, Major Sawyer, and Major Angell.
     It is unfortunate for history and justice that no record of the trial has been preserved. The only light bearing upon it appears in a diary kept by Benjamin Crafts, second lieutenant of Captain Kimball's company. The observations made by him appear prejudiced, and his own action at the time does not heighten respect for him, inasmuch as he made a request soon after to General Washington to be allowed to resign his commission. He gave as an excuse that the seacoast was unprotected, and that he had a family in Manchester. General Washington granted his request, and the brave lieutenant returned to his home. His diary reads as follows: -

     "Sunday, August 13, 1775. This day our Col. Mansfield was confined & a court martial ordered of twelve officers, Gen. Greene being Prest.
     "Wednesday, Sept. 6. It is said that Col. Mansfield is to have his trial to-day. Col. Mansfield not tried.
     "Thursday, Sept. 7. This morning was notified to attend a court martial as evidence in the case of Col. Mansfield.
     "Friday, Sept. 8. All the officers went to Cambridge as witnesses
[ 72 ]

in the case of Col. Mansfield. The court was opened, the officers sworn, & the Lieut. Col. (Israel Hutchinson) and all the captains examined and gave in their evidence and the court adjourned until Wednesday next. Col. Mansfield had a trying time and I also believe he will find it a breaking time. We returned from court just before night.
     "Wednesday, Sept.. 13. After breakfast went to see the end of Col. Mansfield's court martial. All the lieutenants gave in their evidence much alike, with the exception of Lieut. Breed [Frederick Breed, of Lynn], his evidence being nothing more nor less than Col. Mansfield's own story, which he had learnt from him I suppose, one of the colonel's own scholars. To me this was surprising strange. But I suppose neither master or scholar had any foundation for their support, and believe what they both said will fail and they meet the contempt they justly deserve."

     On September fifteenth the court-martial handed in its findings, and the following appears in the orders of the day: -

     "Col. John Mansfield, of the nineteenth regiment of foot, tried at a general court martial, whereof Brig. Gen. Greene was president, for remissness and backwardness in the execution of his duty at the late engagement on Bunker's Hill. The court found the prisoner guilty of the forty-ninth article of the Rules and Regulations of the Massachusetts army, and therefore sentence him to be cashiered, and rendered unfit to serve in the Continental army. The General [George Washington] approves the sentence and directs it to take effect immediately."

     At about this time Colonels James Scamman, Ebe­nezer Bridge, and Samuel Gerrish, together with Major Scarborough Gridley, were tried for similar offences. Colonel Scamman was acquitted, although he had halted
[ 73 ]

his regiment near that of Colonel Mansfield. His plea was that he had misunderstood orders. Colonel Bridge pleaded sickness, and was acquitted. Colonel Gerrish was found guilty, as was also Major Gridley. The latter was the young artillery officer who gave the order to Colonel Mansfield to halt, and for which offence he was so severely dealt with. Major Gridley was the son of Colonel Richard Gridley, however, and parental influ­ence soon placed him back in the army again.
     Pending the result of his trial, Colonel Mansfield was detailed on the main and picket guard August twenty­-fourth, thirtieth, and September fifth. Upon his dis­missal from the army he returned to Lynn, bowed down by the sentence and feeling that he had been used unfairly. The townspeople evidently did not believe the stories of cowardice which had been advanced, for they proceeded to honor him in every possible way. In March, 1776, he was chosen a member of the Commit­tee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety, which important position he filled in 1778, 1780, 1781, 1782, and 1783, until the treaty of peace. He served as mod­erator of the town meetings during almost the entire period of the war, and was active in raising the various quotas of men sent into the Continental Army. He at­tended to providing for the families of soldiers away in the army, and in many other ways exhibited his devo­tion to the patriot cause. In 1785 he was elected town treasurer, but declined to accept. His last public ap­pearance was on the fourteenth of May, 1792, when at the age of seventy-one he acted as moderator of the town meeting.
     Colonel Mansfield was a courtly gentleman of the old
[ 74 ]

school, tall and dignified in appearance, and with a gait and manner so noticeable as to be called the "Mansfield swing." Always a stanch supporter and constant at­tendant of the old First Church, he remained steadfast to the faith when most of the members, including Deacons Theophilus Hallowell and William Farrington, joined the new society of Methodists, which made its ap­pearance in Lynn in 1791. He, however, was one of the five male members who refused to join the new movement.
     The last days of the old colonel were spent quietly in the midst of his large family, yet during the remainder of his long life he felt severely the disgrace of his dismissal from the army, even though popular sentiment had as­cribed his course to an error of judgment only. Swett, the historian of Bunker Hill, says plainly that this was the fact, and with such authority bearing upon his con­duct we may well give to him the just respect which his long life of public service commands.
     The death of Colonel Mansfield occurred April twenty-­fourth, 1809, at the age of eighty-eight years. His wife had died many years before, and their graves, near the centre of the Old Western Burial-ground, are marked with slate stones which simply note their deaths. There he rests, surrounded by his kin, his neighbors, and his fellow-soldiers. Who can truthfully say that the Ameri­can flag should not float above his grave, as it does over those of a hundred other soldiers of the Revolu­tion who lie buried near him?
[ 75 ]

This site may be freely linked to but not duplicated in any fashion without my permission. © 2006-2007 Copyright by Shaun Cook