Medford Militia respond to the Alarm

Memorial dedicated to the
Medford Minute Men
Hillside Ave. and High St.
Medford, Mass. 02155

This memorial plaque on the corner of Hillside Ave. and High St. in Medford - in front of the Medford Library - has the following inscriptions and gives the muster roll of the Medford Minute Men who fought on April 19, 1775:

(The plaque lists the names in alphabetical order with last name first. I have taken the liberty of listing the names in the more familar style with the christian (given) name first, followed by the family name).

Roster of the first Company Of Minute Men Who Assembled in Medford at the call of Paul Revere and Engaged in the Battle of April 19, 1775

Jacob Bredin, William Binford, Andrew Blanchard Jr. , Aaron Blanchard Jr. , Andrew Bradshaw, Thomas Bradshaw, Lieut. Caleb Brooks, James Bucknam Jr. , John Bucknam, Abel Butterfield, John Callender, John Clark, Joseph Clefton, Richard Cole, Daniel Conery, Peter Conery, Isaac Cooch, Jonathon Davis, Paul Dexter, William Piper Farrington, Andrew Floyd, John Francis Jr. , Corp. Jonathan Greenleaf, David Hadley, Moses Hadley, Samuel Hadley Jr. , Francis Hall, Captain Isaac Hall, Sergeant Moses Hall, Ensign Stephen Hall 4th, Drummer Timothy Hall Jr. , John Kemp, Jonathan Lawrence, William Polly, Sergeant Thomas Pritchard, Eleazer Putnam, Abel Richardson, Benjamin Savels, Thomas Savels, John Smith, Corporal Gersham Teel, Jonathan Teel, Daniel Tufts, Ebenezer Tufts, James Tufts Jr. , Corporal John Tufts, Jonathan Tufts, Sergeant Isaac Tufts, Peter Tufts Jr. , Samuel Tufts, Samuel Tufts 3rd. , David Vinton, Thomas Wakefield, Isaac Watson

Henry Putnam - Aged 62 - Killed in Action

ERECTED BY THE CITY OF MEDFORD ON THE ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY TO COMMEMORATE THEIR VALIANT SERVICE IN THE CAUSE OF LIBERTY

There are a number of things of interest in this muster roll. First of all, many members of this Minute Man Company were related to one another, which must have made it a tight knit group.

Secondly, the Minute Man Companies had been established to answer the call to arms on a "minutes notice", making them a kind of elite force (with known "revolutionary" leanings) within the Massachusetts militia. So it is interesting to notice how many members of this company were drawn from some of Medford's most prominent families, such as the Brooks and Tufts family's.

George Washington Sworn in as First President

Geo. Washington

Almost 220 years ago, on April 30 1789, George Washington was sworn in as the first President of the United States. The oath of office was administered by Chancellor Robert R. Livingstone, a fellow Mason, at Federal Hall on a balcony off the Senate Chamber, overlooking Wall St. in New York city. (The Bible used in the ceremony belonged to the local Masons Lodge). The oath of office, as specified in Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution, reads as follows:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Washington's Farewell Address

President Washington

Coming to the end of his second term in office, in September of 1796 newspapers across America published what came to be known as President George Washington's "Farewell Address". Although it was written in the form of a speech it was never delivered in public.

In this final address before entering private life, Washington gives a noteworthy and memorable "speech". Among other things, he mentions the importance of maintaining the union, talks of the "insidious wiles of foreign influence", to beware the dangers of party politics and to "cherish public credit." Much of the speech was directed towards future presidential administrations and generations of Americans to come, but unfortunately, President Washington's wise and prophetic advice has been all too often ignored.

Washington's Christmas Crossing

Washington Crossing the Delaware
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1816-1868)

On the evening of December 25, 1776, General George Washington marshaled some 2,400 men on the banks of the Delaware River across from New Jersey. It was a very cold and snowy evening and the river was full of ice. Relying heavily upon the efforts of the 14th Continental Regiment (Col. Glover's Regiment) Washington's small army was ferried across the river. After a difficult crossing the troops were then divided into two commands and then marched over poor roads to the outskirts of the town of Trenton. In the early morning hours of December 26th the Americans launched an attack upon the three Regiments of Hessian soldiers that were garrisoned in the small town.

According to legend the Hessian troops were feeling the ill effects of a night of Christmas revelry and were unable to defend themselves. In fact the Hessian soldiers put up a stiff fight but they were taken by surprise by the attack and were overwhelmed by the Continental forces surrounding them. The Hessian commander, Col. Rall, was mortally wounded in the fighting and died shortly afterwards surrounded by his American captors.

The defeat of the Hessian's at Trenton gave the rebel cause a much needed boost. In a year that began with much promise - the British Army's forced evacuation of Boston - the American Army had suffered a series of defeats. After losing major battles at Brooklyn, Harlem Heights and White Plains and a number of other losses, by December 1776 Thomas Paine's famous words, "these are the times that try men's souls", were especially apt. Although a small victory, it was a victory none the less. Washington's army now had the impetus to go forward into the New Year.

Washington's crossing of the Delaware is recreated every year by some very dedicated Revolutionary War Reenactors at Washington Crossing Historic Park in Pennsylvania on December 25. This event is sponsored by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. Here is a story out of Philadelphia about the reenactment and the man portraying Gen. Washington.

Great explosion in Halifax, Nova Scotia

Boston's Official
Christmas Tree

On the morning of December 6, 1917 a French cargo ship loaded with munitions collided in Halifax, Nova Scotia's harbor with another vessel filled with supplies for the war effort (WWI). The resultant explosion killed over 1,900 people and thousands more were wounded. This accidental explosion is still considered one of the greatest man-made non-nuclear explosions ever created.

Relief efforts were marshaled from all over eastern Canada and a special train filled with medical personnel and much needed supplies was sent from Boston to provide further aid. This gesture of goodwill from the people of Boston has never been forgotten in Nova Scotia. For the past 37 years the people of Nova Scotia have been donating a tree to the City of Boston to become the city's official Christmas tree.

These Christmas trees are between 40-50 feet high and are specially chosen from trees grown in Nova Scotia for proper appearance and are donated by private individuals. This years Christmas tree is a 46-foot white spruce which was dedicated in a joint City of Boston/Nova Scotia official lighting ceremony on the Boston Common December 4, 2008.