Along the King's Highway

I came upon your blog while searching "Thomas...

2012-03-22T12:55:04.642-04:00

I came upon your blog while searching "Thomas Hutchinson's home." (I am currently copyediting a history textbook.) Thank you for the photo and the wonderful information. I look forward to reading the other posts!

This was like the only website that I found inform...

2012-01-27T14:29:20.516-05:00

This was like the only website that I found information on the bullet hole house!Thanks! :D

Ebenezer is my 5th Great Grandfather and I have vi...

2011-08-28T00:01:05.131-04:00

Ebenezer is my 5th Great Grandfather and I have visited the site several times. While the post card looks idyllic, the area behind the house goes immediately uphill and the well is to the right of the house as you face it.
When the family returned home after all the shooting, Ebenezer was 83 at the time, they found Mr. Hayward barely alive on the front step. There is a painting of this tragic event, showing Mr Hayward in the arms of Ebenezer's daughter-in-law, Rebeckah (Howe) Fiske. He later died from his wound.

My husband's mother is a Harrington - as a his...

2011-02-20T00:20:18.597-05:00

My husband's mother is a Harrington - as a history teacher it is a cool tale to tell, even if it is only family my marriage.

The British did find a few things at Col. Barrett&...

2010-03-02T12:29:14.899-05:00

The British did find a few things at Col. Barrett's Farm - the gun carriages minus the brass cannon barrels that had been safely hidden. Mrs. Barrett refused to give the British the "spirits" they requested, but saying "we are compelled to feed our enemies" gave them milk, bread, and cheese made on the farm. Col. Barrett passed back and forth between the house and the bridge several times during the day being in charge of the militia, and at the same time responsible for securing the munitions. He was a well worn 65 years old and had a very long day!

There are at least two reasons for Daniel Chester ...

2010-02-18T17:54:46.879-05:00

There are at least two reasons for Daniel Chester French portraying the Minute Man in the loose shirtsleeve clothing as he did.

First was, ignorance. He, as were most, just wasn't as knowledgable about material culture of 1775 as we try to be today. He merely assumed that the clothing given him by various local families, held for decades in attics and trunks, was from 1775, or, more likely, close enough. But the cut of the waistcoat is 1790s at the earliest, the button holes and pockets being all wrong for the 1770s, and the breeches show no loose seat (ripe for an Elvis Presley-style split in the seat, if he bends over). The shirt collar and cuffs are too wide, and the gaiters on his legs just look a tad too military, for a farmer out in the fields, getting ready to heed the call to action. In his Apollo Belviderean pose, he is about to pick up his coat, and put it on, but that's the part everybody forgets. Folks back then didn't wander around in their shirtsleeves- they dressed for the occasion, not the weather. It's not the squeamishness and prudery of the Victorians, it's rather the simple subsuming of the individual into the whole of society by showing respect for each other by dressing properly. Remember when folks still wore suits on trains, planes and in courts? Same reasons.

The hat is flat on top, with an oval shape. That was very unusual for 1775, when hats were blcked using round forms, at least in circumference. It is also cocked on the wrong side for military use, since muskets were carried usually on the left shoulder in military units of this era, unlike the "right shoulder arms" of the American Civil War era. Otherwise, his shouldered musket would knock against his hat brim. He should probably be shown wearing a wide brimmed, uncocked hat, or more common, a cocked hat, later known in the 19th century as a "tricorne". There is no shade for the sun with this hat the figure wears. Did French use it so that the eyes's determination may be more easily seen, and not hid under the brim of a hat in the sun?

Second, the desire of 1875-era viewers to see the Minute Men and the rest of America's founders in a romantic, masculine light, with the flaws and roughness of the previous century wiped away. Remember, the USA had undergone a terrible trial in the Civil War, and the desire of the war-weary American people to look forward, while looking simultaneously dreamily at an inspiring history, trimmed and tailored to be more relevant and easier to digest, in order to learn from, was very strong.

Even later, in the twentieth century, when, before the nation's Bicentennial, many reestablished town militia and minute companies, mostly set up as ceremonial groups and not historical reenactors, chose to imitate French's- and Kitson's- romanticized militiamen in clothing, since the scupltors, especially French, caught the fire, spirit and resolve these groups wished to celebrate.

I corrected the spelling of Mulliken. Most of my t...

2010-02-07T10:21:29.980-05:00

I corrected the spelling of Mulliken. Most of my texts and sources have it spelled as you suggest.

I have tried to clarify what happened to Dr. Samuel Prescott. And thanks for the comments.

I’ve usually seen the fiancée’s surname as Mullike...

2010-02-05T23:13:49.042-05:00

I’ve usually seen the fiancée’s surname as Mulliken, but spelling was variable in the 1700s so perhaps documents have it in both forms.

It’s often said that Dr. Samuel Prescott was captured while serving as a surgeon on an American privateer and died in captivity in 1777. At the very least, he doesn’t seem to appear in local records after that date.

I don't think Col. James Barrett stood with hi...

2010-01-27T15:53:21.577-05:00

I don't think Col. James Barrett stood with his men at the North Bridge, especially at the crucial moments when they chose to march down to that span. Lower-ranking officers gave the orders then.

Barrett appears to have been riding on horseback along back roads and paths between the assembled militia companies, the outskirts of his farm, and perhaps other sites. The Barretts suspected their men were targets for arrest, and the colonel was apparently doing his best to keep out of the regulars' way while also trying to keep his supplies out of their way.

That doesn't speak to the truth or mythicality of the Jones house's bullet hole, of course. But the historical record often reminds us that what people do in a tense moment is more confused than resolute.

Great post! I'm going to have to check out Mar...

2010-01-11T20:45:16.590-05:00

Great post! I'm going to have to check out Mary Rowlandson's book. By the way, here is a link to arguably the best newspaper account of King Philip's War - http://tinyurl.com/ygccos9

That is a georgous home!

2009-12-22T13:15:26.746-05:00

That is a georgous home!

I heard this on the news too. I'm sure they s...

2009-12-21T14:38:46.543-05:00

I heard this on the news too. I'm sure they stole it to sell as scrapo metal.

Hopefully the Lex PD will find it in Everret at the scrap yard.

Thanks for the comment and the suggestion. I'm...

2009-12-14T17:03:14.431-05:00

Thanks for the comment and the suggestion. I'm still learning this blog stuff. I think I added the appropriate gadget that will allow someone to follow this.

Awessome post! Thank you for sharing... I would l...

2009-12-13T18:20:44.348-05:00

Awessome post! Thank you for sharing...
I would like to follow this blog, you should put a RSS widget up.

Well, as Grover might observe, "C" is fo...

2009-12-05T13:46:52.398-05:00

Well, as Grover might observe, "C" is for "captured"...

I always thought those British officers must have ...

2009-12-03T22:46:22.783-05:00

I always thought those British officers must have been really glad to find a good solid stone wall in the shape of a C to keep their detainees inside. Too bad for them Dr. Prescott's horse jumped over the wall.

Great post! I have actually been to this site - t...

2009-11-30T17:07:00.299-05:00

Great post! I have actually been to this site - there is a Geo-cache there that my family did. And we drive down Water Row on the way to the High School.