CHAPTER XV. SIXTY DAYS OF SERVICE. THE COMMITTEE OF SAFETY. THE PROVINCIAL CONGRESS.ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY. - LETTERS OF WARREN. - THE THIRD PROVINCIAL CONGRESS. WARREN ELECTED PRESIDENT. ELECTED MAJOR-GENERAL. 1775. FROM THE 19TH OF APRIL TO THE 17TH OF JUNE. WARREN had reason to be proud of the bearing of his countrymen on the nineteenth of April. They made good every confident word which he had uttered on their bravery. The allegation of cowardice would no longer answer, even in England, as an explanation of the forbearance that had been so persistently exercised. All the organizations of the popular partythe local committees, the Provincial and Continental Congresses - had urged the necessity of keeping purely on the defensive; it had been adhered to under the most trying circumstances, even up to the moment of the appearance of the British troops on Lexington Green; but after the fire of their musketry, forbearance was no longer a virtue. The question, Who fired the first gun? was considered to be of great importance. The simple statement which flew through the land, that a British brigade had 1 It is remarkable, that, notwithstanding the exciting and often bitter political controversies during the years preceding the war, not a life was lost in Boston, except the lives occasioned by the firing on the people, in 1770, by the British troops. Much credit is due to the Board of Selectmen in preserving fired on a provincial company, seemed a vindication of the severe handling which the minute-men gave to the regulars. It was like the sounding of a tocsin. No patriots made the plea, that a portion of the party had madly rushed upon war: but the judgment was as spontaneous as it was righteous, that the firing was the crowning act of a series of aggressions on a loyal and unoffending people; and that the hour had come in which to redeem their pledges of union, by moving to the support of their brethren. The army of citizen-soldiers who hastened to the point of danger, and shut up the British army in Boston, was a magic demonstration of the life and power of American nationality. Warren was called upon for service when the great the public peace. The period covered in these pages extends from 1767 to 1775. When arrogance and outrage stirred passion to its depths, these fathers of the town, acting in concert with the other popular leaders, were successful in guiding the expression of indignation through the channels of the law. The successive Boards during this period were as follows: 1767. Joseph Jackson, John Ruddock, John Hancock, John Rowe, Joshua Henshaw, 1768. Joseph Jackson, 1769. John Hancock, 1770. Joshua Henshaw, Joseph Jackson, 1771. Henderson Inches, John Ruddock, 1778. Samuel Austin, 1774. Samuel Austin, Oliver Wendell, 1775. Samuel Austin, event of the day of Lexington and Concord, like the destruction of the tea, wrested affairs from the control of men, and cast them upon the current of ideas. But I do not feel called upon to trace the effect of the event on the nationality of England, or only incidentally on that of America; but propose, as an act of justice to Warren's memory, to give an idea of his varied labors as he moved on towards the mount of sacrifice. They were in 20th, and the There is no record of the proceedings of the committee of safety on the 19th of April. session the whole of the day of the night; but only the circulars they issued are recorded. I copy the following letter, addressed to the towns, from the original in Warren's handwriting, which contains much interlineation. It seems to glow with the fire of the battle: GENTLEMEN, The barbarous murders committed on our innocent brethren, on Wednesday the 19th instant, have made it absolutely necessary that we immediately raise an army to defend our wives and our children from the butchering hands of an inhuman soldiery, who, incensed at the obstacles they met with in their bloody progress, and enraged at being repulsed from the field of slaughter, will, without the least doubt, take the first opportunity in their power to ravage this devoted country with fire and sword. We conjure you, therefore, by all that is dear, by all that is sacred, that you give all assistance possible in forming an army. Our all is at stake. Death and devastation are the instant consequences of delay. Every moment is infinitely precious. An hour lost may deluge your country in blood, and entail perpetual slavery upon the few of your posterity who may survive the carnage. We beg and entreat, as you will answer to your country, tc your own consciences, and, above all, as you will answer to God himself, that you will hasten and encourage by all possible means the enlistment of men to form the army, and send them forward to headquarters, at Cambridge, with that expedition which the vast importance and instant urgency of the affair demand.1 1 Massachusetts Archives. On this day of keen anguish, Warren addressed the following letter to General Gage: CAMBRIDGE, April 20, 1775. SIR, The unhappy situation into which this colony is thrown gives the greatest uneasiness to every man who regards the welfare of the empire, or feels for the distresses of his fellow-men: but even now much may be done to alleviate those misfortunes which cannot be entirely remedied; and I think it of the utmost importance to us, that our conduct be such as that the contending parties may entirely rely upon the honor and integrity of each other for the punctual performance of any agreement that shall be made between them. Your Excellency, I believe, knows very well the part I have taken in public affairs: I ever scorned disguise. I think I have done my duty some may think otherwise; but be assured, sir, as far as my influence goes, every thing which can reasonably be required of us to do shall be done, and every thing promised shall be religiously performed. I should now be very glad to know from you, sir, how many days you desire may be allowed for such as desire to remove to Boston with their effects, and what time you will allow the people in Boston for their removal. When I have received that information, I will repair to congress, and hasten, as far as I am able, the issuing a proclamation. I beg leave to suggest, that the condition of admitting only thirty wagons at a time into the town appears to me very inconvenient, and will prevent the good effects of a proclamation intended to be issued for encouraging all wagoners to assist in removing the effects from Boston with all possible speed. If Your Excellency will be pleased to take the matter into consideration, and favor me, as soon as may be, with an answer, it will lay me under a great obligation, as it so nearly concerns the welfare of my friends in Boston. I have many things which I wish to say to Your Excellency, and most sincerely wish I had broken through the formalities which I thought due to your rank, and freely have told you all I knew or thought of public affairs; and I must ever confess, whatever may be the event, that you generously gave me such opening, as I now think I ought to have embraced but the true cause of my not doing it was the knowledge I had of the vileness and treachery of many persons around you, who, I supposed, had gained your entire confidence. I am, &c., His Excellency GENERAL GAGE. JOSEPH WARREN. ee On the 21st, the committee of safety resolved to enlist out of the Massachusetts forces eight thousand effective men, adopted the forms of the enlisting papers to meet the emergency, and resolved to propose an establishment at an early day after the meeting of congress. The labors of the committee of safety were uncommonly arduous. Dr. Eliot says, Nothing could be in a more confused state than the army which first assembled at Cambridge. This undisciplined body of men were kept together by a few who deserved well of their country. . . . Dr. Warren was perhaps the man who had the most influence, and in whom the people in the environs of Boston and Cambridge placed their highest confidence. He did wonders in preserving order among the troops." On the 22d, the Provincial Congress, which had been summoned on the 18th, assembled at Concord, when a letter, addressed by Josiah Quincy, jun., to Samuel Adams, was presented, opened, read, and ordered to be sent to Warren, "to be used at his discretion;" when, in order to be nearer the army, the congress adjourned to meet in the afternoon, at Watertown. On re-assembling here, the congress, after notifying officially the committee of safety of its meeting, adjourned until the next day. On the 23d, Sunday, congress held an important session. Instead of the usual stillness of the sabbath, there was now the hurry of war. The militia of the neighboring colonies were approaching the scene of action by hasty marches; families, in great distress, were hurrying from the seaport towns into the country; while a large number of the minute-men, so suddenly summoned to the field, were returning to |