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Chapter 13 - Warren’s Second Oration - 1775, January to March · Life and Times of Joseph Warren

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Chapter thirteen of Life and Times of Joseph warm by Richard Frothingham. This LibriVox
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recording is in the public domain. Warren in the Committees, the Struggle in
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Europe, the Position of Massachusetts, Franklin in the Ministry Military Preparations, the
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Second Provincial Congress, the Committee of Safety, Public Opinion, Warren's second Oration
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seventeen seventy five January to March. I am convinced that our existence as a
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free people absolutely depends on acting with spirit and vigor. The ministry are even
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yet doubtful whether we are in earnest when we declare our intention to preserve our
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liberty. These words were written by Warren, and he was interpreting them by
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efficient action. The journals of the Committee of Public Safety show clearly enough the
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nature of some of his service. One of the January votes will that doctor
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Warren be desired to wait on Colonel Robinson in relation to securing certain brass cannon
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and seven inch mortars, and they ordered supplies of arms and ammunition to be
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deposited at Conquered and Worcester. The inspection committee on which Warren was placed by
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the town grew directly out of the action of the Continental Congress. It is
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stated in the Boston Journals of the fifth of January that all the Southern provinces
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have heartily adopted the resolutions of the late respectable Continental Congress, and are taking
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proper steps to carry them into fall execution. And a few days later,
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January ninth, it is reported that the assemblies of Rhode Island, Connecticut,
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Pennsylvania, and Maryland had met and taken steps to carry the whole of these
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measures into execution. It is added in the other colonies, where the assemblies
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have not yet met, they are all with vigor and unanimity, exerting themselves
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in the same important and glorious cause, so that it is thought there never
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was framed a set of human laws that were more strictly and religiously observed than
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these will be. When petitioners of Marshville applied to General Gage for leave to
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hold a meeting according to the Act of Parliament, Samuel Adams wrote in a
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letter, they will be dealt with according to the law of the Continental Congress,
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the laws of which are more observed throughout this continent than any man's laws.
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Whatever. It was one of the duties of the inspection committees and the
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Committee's of correspondence to see that the non importation agreement was strictly observed, and
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the newspapers contained many advertisements of cargoes of vessels to be sold by auction under
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the direction of these committees, and agreeably to the American Congress Association. In
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some instances, freight and vessels that had violated this agreement was thrown overboard,
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which was the case with an invoice of salt, coal and tiles that arrived
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at Charleston, South Carolina, the committee being present. The progress of events
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in America, made known through the press, was attracting more and more the
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attention of the political world. The British minister at the Court of Vienna,
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Sir John Murray Keith, wrote, there is not a man of sense in
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Europe who does not think that the question now in agitation between Great Britain and
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her colonies is one of the most important, as well as most singular,
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that has been canvassed for many centuries. The Americans, who had to meet
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this question uttered the same sentiment in private letters, in official papers, and
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through the press. Well might a looker on far away from the din of
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the struggle pronounce the question most singular for the authoritative voices of the two American
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centers of action, the Continental Congress and the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, were
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not only disclaiming a desire of independence, but were professing affectionate fealty to the
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King. The men whose spok for Massachusetts were solemnly pronouncing the controversy to be
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a calamity, and were ordering that prayers should be offered to Almighty God,
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that his blessing might rest upon all the British Empire, upon George the Third,
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their rightful King, and upon all the Royal family, that they might
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all be great and lasting blessings to the world. It ought ever to be
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borne in mind that from the beginning of the controversy the people of Massachusetts made
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no demands on the sovereignty for an extension of popular power. The following,
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candid, temperate, and just summary of their past action and position was printed
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in the Philadelphia Journal of the first of January seventeen seventy five. The people
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of Massachusetts have hitherto acted purely on the defensive. They have only opposed those
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new regulations which were instantly to have been executed, and would have annihilated all
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our rights. For this absolutely necessary and manly step, they have received the
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approbation of the con Congress, one of the most respectable assemblies in the world.
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They aim at no independency nor anything new, but barely the preservation of
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their old rights. Since the passage of the Act authorizing the East India Company
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to export tea to America, the issue had been on the original question of
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taxation. But the Ministry, alarmed at the union of the colonies, declared
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now to Franklin, through friendly agents, that they would concede the point of
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taxation, would repeal the Tea Act in the Boston Port Act, but that
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the two acts relating to Massachusetts, the Regulating Act and the Act concerning the
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Administration of Justice, must remain as permanent amendments to the local constitution, and
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as a standing example of the power of Parliament. When the momentous issue was
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narrowed down to the preservation of old customs and rights, the reply of the
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Great American was prompt and decided, and spoke the united voice of the party
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who constituted the majority of a countrymen. While Parliament claims the right of altering
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American constitutions at pleasure. There can be no agreement, for we are rendered
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unsafe in every privilege. Subsequently, Franklin sent, through Lord how to Lord
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North the following as his last words, the Massachusetts must suffer all the hazards
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and mischiefs of war, rather than admit the alteration of their charter and laws
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by Parliament. They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
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safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. The journals reported from time to time the
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concentration of military and naval force at Boston, and said that when the whole
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of the army should arrive, it would consist of about sixty four hundred men.
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On the eighteenth of January, General Gage wrote to Lord Dartmouth, the
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eyes of all are turned upon Great Britain, and it is the opinion of
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most people that if they respect sable force is seen in the field, the
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most obnoxious of the leaders seized, and a pardon proclaimed for all others,
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Government will come off victorious and with less opposition than was expected. A few
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months ago. A letter was now on the way from Lord Dartmouth to the
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General containing directions as the first central step to be taken towards re establishing government
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to arrest and imprison the principal actors and the bettors in the Provincial Congress.
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On the twenty first of January, a gentleman in Boston, in writing to
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his friend in London, said that the Continental Congress had drawn a line by
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the banks of the ocean, had claimed their own exclusive jurisdiction in all interior
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concerns and in all cases of taxation, had left to Great Britain the exclusive
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sovereignty of the ocean and over their trade, and had placed both upon constitutional
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principles. And that it was vain, it was delirium. It was frenzy
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to think of dragoon three millions of English people out of their liberties. He
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added, there is a spirit prevailing here such as I never saw before.
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I remember the conquest of Louisbourg in seventeen forty five. I remember the spirit
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here when the Duke d'Anville squadron was upon this coast, when forty thousand men
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marched down to Boston and were mustered and numbered upon the common complete in arms
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from this province only in three weeks. But I remember nothing like what I
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have seen these six months past. Neither the King his ministers, nor the
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Tory majority in Parliament could be convinced by the blaze of genius and the burst
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of thought of Camden, Chatham and Burke, that there was anything more serious
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than the acts of a rude rabble, without plan, without concert, and
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without conduct. The First Lord of the Admiralty declared the Americans were neither disciplined
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nor capable of discipline. The task of rechi training the rash among the patriots
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was becoming harder every day. The leaders on both sides now expected the commencement
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of war. In the judgment of Lord Dartmouth, if the arrest of the
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members of the Provincial Congress should occasion hostilities, it were better that the conflict
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should begin on such grounds than in a riper state of the rebellion. Samuel
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Adams, on the twenty ninth of January wrote, we appear to be in
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a state of hostility, the General with regiments with a very few adherents on
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one side, and all the rest of the inhabitants of the province, backed
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by all the colonies on the other. They the people are resolved not to
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be the aggressors in an open quarrel with the troops, but animated with an
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unquenchable love of liberty, they will support their righteous claim to it to the
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utmost extremity. On the first of February, the Second Provincial Congress assembled at
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Cambridge, of which Warren was a member and a prominent actor. It was
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composed largely of the members of the preceding Congress. Warren's name appears in connection
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with most of the proceedings. On the ninth the Congress reappointed a Committee of
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Safety in a resolve which reads that the Honorable John Hancock Esquire, Doctor Joseph
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Warren, Doctor Benjamin Church Junior, Mister Richard Devins, Captain Benjamin White,
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Colonel Joseph Palmer, Mister Abraham Watson, Colonel Azor Orne, Mister John Pigeon,
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Colonel William Heath, and mister Jabez Fisher b And hereby are appointed a
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Committee of Safety to continue until the farther order of this or some other Congress
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or House of Representatives of this Province. It was made their duty to observe
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the movements of all who should attempt to carry into execution the Regulating Act or
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the Act relating to the administration of Justice, and five of them, one
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to be an inhabitant of Boston were authorized, in case they should judge such
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an attempt was to be made to alarm muster and cause to be assembled with
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the utmost expedition, so much of the militia of the province, as they
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should judge to be necessary to oppose such attempts. Another resolve authorized Honorable Jedediah
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Prebble Esquire, Honorable Artemis Ward Esquire, Colonel Seth Palmeroy, Colonel John Thomas,
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and Colonel William Heath to be general officers, who, as such,
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for the purpose of resisting all attempts to execute the two acts, should command
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the said militia, so long as it should be retained by the Committee of
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Safety, and no longer one of the Committee of Supplies. Mister Hall had
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declined, and Eldridge Jerry was chosen in his place. Warren, on the
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day these resolves were passed, was in Boston. On the next day,
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while a committee of the Congress were observing the motion of the troops said to
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be on their way to Cambridge, Warren sent the following letter to Samuel Adams,
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in which he evinced the spirit which impelled him to share with his countrymen
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the fortune of the Day of Bunker Hill. Joseph Warren to Samuel Adams,
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Boston, February tenth, seventeen seventy five. Dear Sir, we were this
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morning alarmed with a report that a party of soldiers was sent to Cambridge with
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design to disperse the Congress. Many year believed it was in consequence of what
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was yesterday published by their order. I confess I paid so much regard to
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it as to be sorry I was not with my friends, and although my
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affairs would not allow of it, I went down to the ferry in a
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chase with Doctor Church, both determined to share with our brethren in any dangers
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that they might be engaged in. But we there heard that the party had
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quietly passed the bridge on their way to Roxbury, up on which we returned
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home. I have spent an hour this morning with Deacon Phillips, and I
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am convinced that our existence as a free people absolutely depends in acting with spirit
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and vigor. The ministry are even yet doubtful whether we are in earnest when
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we declare our resolution to preserve our liberty, and the common people there are
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made to believe we are a nation of noisy cowards. The Ministry are supported
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in their plan of enslaving us by assurances that we have not courage enough to
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fight for our freedom. Even they who wish us well dare not openly declare
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for us, lest we should meanly desert ourselves and leave them alone to contend
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with administration, who they know will be politically speaking, omnipotent if America should
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submit to them. Deacon Phillips, Doctor Church, and myself are all fully
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of opinion that it would be a very proper step should the Congress order a
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schooner to be sent home with an accurate state of facts, as it is
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certain that letters to and from our friends in England are intercepted, and every
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method taken to prevent the people of Great Britain from gaining a knowledge of the
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true state of this country. I intended to have consulted you, had I
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been at Cambridge today, on the propriety of emotion, for that purpose,
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but must defer it until tomorrow. One thing, however, I have upon
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my mind, which I think ought to be immediately attended to the resolution of
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the Congress published yesterday, greatly affects one Weston, who has hitherto been thought
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firm in our cause, but is now making carriages for the army. He
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assisted in getting the four field pieces to Colonel Robinson's at Dorchester, where they
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are now. He says the discovery of this will make him, and he
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threatens to make the discovery. Perhaps resentment and the hope of gain may together
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prevail with him to act the traitor. Doctor Church and I are clear that
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it ought not to be one minute in his power to point out the Jedi
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roll the place in which they are kept, but that they ought to be
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removed without delay. Pray do not omit to obtain proper orders concerning them.
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I am sir, in great haste, your very humble servant, Joseph Warren,
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please to present my affectionate regards to Colonel Hancock and otherworthy friends. Warren
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sat in Congress on the next day, for he is named, with Hally
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Hancock and others on a committee to report a resolve expressing the determination of this
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people coolly and resolutely to support their rights at all hazards. At the next
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meeting, he was placed on a committee of three to consider what it was
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expedient to do for the encouragement of the manufacture of Saltpeter, and on the
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last day of the session was on a committee to report a resolve to create
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a committee to correspond with the neighboring governments, and then with Hancock, Cushing,
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Jerry, Samuel, Adams and Heath, he was elected by battle on
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this committee, to whom were added by hand vote, Devons, Palmer,
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and gil A conference was held through a committee with a delegation present from Connecticut.
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Having appointed the sixteenth of March as a day of fasting and prayer,
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the Congress adjourned until the twenty third of March. The letter of Warren shows
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how deeply he was interested in the proceedings of this body, and the committees
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on which he was placed indicate the large confidence which the members felt in him.
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This Congress issued an address to the inhabitants of Massachusetts Bay. On this
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being reported, It was read and considered in paragraphs, and then ordered to
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be re committed for amendments. When doctor Church and doctor Warren were added to
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the committee, the report made by the committee was accepted. It was printed
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in a pamphlet containing an abstract of the proceedings of the former provincial Congress.
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Its tone is unusually solemn, it renewed the recommendation to carry into execution the
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plan projected by the wisdom of the whole continent as collected in the General Congress.
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It deprecated a rupture with the mother State. Yet it urged every preparation
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for necessary defense. It recommended the people to have proper magazines, duly prepared,
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and strictly to adhere to the resolutions of the several Congresses, on the
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principle that subjects generally pay obedience to the laws of the land. Urging this
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weighty consideration, we can conceive of no greater punishment for the breach of human
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laws than the misery that must inevitably follow your Disregarding the plans that have,
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by your authority with that of the whole continent been projected. The closing words
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are your conduct hitherto under the severest trials has been worthy of you, as
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men and Christians. The whole continent of America has this day caused to rejoice
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in your firmness. We trust you will still you will continue steadfast, and
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having regard to the dignity of your characters as freemen, and those generous sentiments
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resulting from your natural and political connections you will never submit your next to the
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galling yoke of despotism prepared for you, but with a proper sense of your
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dependence on God, nobly defend those rights which Heaven gave and no man ought
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to take from us. It will be observed that the inhabitants of Massachusetts are
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appealed to as though they were in natural and political connections with a common country,
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and not as though they were or aspired to be a separate, independent,
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and sovereign nation. On the day after the adjournment of the Provincial Congress,
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Governor Gage informed Lord Dartmouth of its proceedings, remarking, if this Provincial
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Congress is not to be deemed a rebellious meeting, surely some of their resolves
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are rebellious, though they affect not to order, but only to recommend measures
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to the people. Three days later he again wrote Lord Dartmouth of this body,
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and evinced considerable anxiety in relation to an assumption of government and the Connecticut
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delegation. I have tried to get intelligence if they had presumed to usurp the
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government entirely and choose a governor, and am informed that the measure was talked
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of, but could not be carried. Some people from Connecticut termed a committee,
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and amongst them the governor's son came to the Congress, which caused much
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speculation and of course many reports. Some say their business was to offer an
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aid of men. I can only yet discover that it was a visit of
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curiosity, not unlikely. The information relative to an assumption of government was communicated
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by Church, for it was now said that there was a traitor in the
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Congress. Four days after Warren had acted so conspicuous a part in the provincial
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Congress, he addressed the following calm and important letter to Arthur Lee, Boston,
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February twentieth, seventeen seventy five. Dear Sir, my friend mister Adams
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favored me with the sight of your last letter. I am sincerely glad of
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your return to England, as I think your assistance was never more wanted there
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than at present. It is truly astonishing that administration should have a doubt of
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the resolution of the Americans to make the last appeal, rather than submit to
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where the yoke prepared for their next. We have waited with a degree of
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patience which is seldom to be met with. But I will venture to assert
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that there has not been any great alloy of cowardice. Though both friends and
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enemies seem to suspect us of want of courage. I trust the event which
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I confess I think is near at hand, will confound our enemies and rejoice
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those who wish well to us. It is time for Britain to take some
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serious steps towards a reconciliation with their colonies. The people here are weary of
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watching the measures of those who are in endeavoring to enslave them. They say
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they have been spending their time for ten years in counteracting the plans of their
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adversaries. They, many of them, begin to think that the difference between
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them will never be amicably settled, but that they shall always be subject to
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new affronts from the caprice of every British minister. They even sometimes speak of
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an open rupture with Great Britain as a state preferable to the present uncertain condition
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of affairs. And although it is true that the people have yet a very
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warm affection for the British nation, yet it's sensibly decays. They are loyal
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subjects to the king. But they conceive that they do not swerve from their
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allegiance. By opposing any measures taken by any man or set of men to
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deprive them of their liberties, they conceive that they are the King's enemies who
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would destroy the Constitution. For the King is annihilated when the Constitution is destroyed.
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It is not yet too late to accommodate the dispute. But I am
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of the opinion that if once General Gage should lead his troops into the country
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with design to enforce the late acts of Parliament, Great in Britain may take
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her leave at least of the New England colonies. And if I mistake not
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of all America. If there is any wisdom in the nation, God grant
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it may be speedily called forth. Every day, every hour widens the breach.
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A Richmond, a Chatham, a Shelburn, a Camden, with their
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noble associates, may yet repair it. And it is a work which none
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but the greatest of men can conduct. May you be successful and happy in
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your labors for the public safety. I am, sir, with great respect,
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your very humble servant, Doctor Lee Joseph Warrene. This valuable letter contains
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an offhand analyzation of the aspect of a great movement During the next four days,
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the Committee of Safety held meetings in Charlestown, and Warren was present.
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The business transacted was important. The unusual record is made in the Journal of
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the Proceedings on the twenty first, that the votes were passed unanimously. Thus
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voted unanimously by the Committee of Safety that the Committee of Supplies purchase all kinds
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of warlike stores sufficient for an army of fifteen thousand men. On the next
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day, the business consisted of the details of preparation, one of them being
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a provision for the reassembling of Congress on the arrival of the reinforcements coming to
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General Gage. On the twenty third, the Committee met at forty five minutes
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after seven in the morning, and besides other matters, it was agreed that
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a letter should be prepared and be ready for transmission to the commanding officers of
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the militia and minutemen, directing them, on receipt of it, to assemble
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one fourth part of the militia, and that this should be printed, and
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that certain couriers should deliver the letters. The Committee of Supplies were ordered to
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buy twenty hogsheads of rum and send them to conquered on the twenty fourth,
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provision was made for the road each courier should take when he carried the letters
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to the militia to take the field. The committee now adjourned to meet on
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the seventh of March at the house of Captain Steadman of Cambridge Warren. During
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the proceedings of these four days was placed on several special committees. One vote
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desired him to apply to the company in Boston formerly under Major Paddock, to
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learn how many of them might be depended on officers and men to form an
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artillery company when the Constitutional Army of the Province should take the field. The
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Provincial Congress had provided for certain rules and regulations for the officers and men of
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the Constitutional Army which might be raised in the province. February tenth, the
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Committee of Safety had fixed this army at fifteen thousand men, but they were
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to be only conditionally summoned into the field. Among the manuscripts of this committee
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is a remarkable letter addressed on the twenty second of February by that admirable patriot
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Joseph Hawley to Thomas Cushing, enjoining upon him Cushing, as he loved his
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country, to use his utmost influence with the Committee of Safety, that the
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militia be not mustard, and that hostilities be not commenced until Massachusetts had the
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express categorical decision of the continent that the time has absolutely come that hostilities ought
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to begin, and that they would support us in continuing them. All the
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assurance or security of such effectual and continued aid as would be absolutely necessary,
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Holly said, was contained in a resolution of about six lines, and they
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consisting of terms and expressions not the most definite or of certain or precise meaning.
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The words used in the resolution to state the case wherein hostilities are to
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be commenced, my opinion, by far too loose, to wit when the
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acts shall be attempted to be carried into execution by force, as well as
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the words made use of to secure the aid of the colonies, to wit,
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all America ought to support them in such opposition, not that they will
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actually support them, but a mere declaration that it would be reasonable and just
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that such support should be afforded. Is this a treaty offensive and defense an
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of sufficient precision to make us secure of the effectual aid of the other colonies
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in a war with Great Britain? There was no bolder spirit or more sterling
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character than Joseph Hawley, but he shrunk from the step of war without an
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assurance of the full sanction of the American Union. At this time, Hoseiah
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Quincy Junior was about embarking at London for home, and he was commissioned by
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the friends of the cause abroad to enjoin on the people of Massachusetts. By
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no means to take any steps so off of great consequence, unless on a
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sudden emergency without the advice of the Continental Congress. Military events of an irritating
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nature rendered the preservation of the peace difficult, and the occurrence of a sudden
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emergency imminent. Such were the dismissal of Hancock from the command of the cadets,
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the seizure of arms and ammunition, and the employment of the military to
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sustain civil action. To counteract the American Association, which have been adopted by
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the Continental Congress, the Tory Party inaugurated a Loyal Association, designers of which
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pledged themselves to oppose the proceedings of committees and Congresses as the acts of unconstitutional
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assemblies. On the application of a portion of the people of Marshfield who had
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signed this Tory pledge. General Gage stationed a small force in this town,
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which, being under good discipline, did not disturb the inhabitants, were noted
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and remained until the nineteenth of April. This forbearance was ascribed by the Tories
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to the cowardice of the minutemen. In continuance of the policy of disarming the
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patriots, Colonel Leslie, on Sunday, the twenty sixth of February, was
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sent from Boston with a body of troops to seize certain military stores deposited at
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Salem. But the spirited conduct of the inhabitants defeated the object of this expedition,
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and the detachment thought itself fortunate in view of the minutemen, who spontaneously
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gathered in getting safely back to Boston. Even this show of hostility did not
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provoke the Committee of Safety to give the order for a general muster of the
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troops into the field. The militia and minutemen continued to meet for drill in
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the towns all over the province, and in many cases the expenses were met
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by appropriations from the town treasury. This was the state of things when the
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King, not harboring a thought of concession left the choice of war or peace
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to depend on the submission of Massachusetts to the Regulating Act. As the sword
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was hanging by a thread, the words sent to its patriots, along with
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the donations, which had now continued in an uninterrupted flow for nine months,
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grew more and more tender. The Committee of Falmouth now Portland, which like
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Charlestown, was soon to become a holocaust for American liberty, said of its
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contribution, it is for suffering brethren who are standing in the gap between us
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and slavery. We are but few in number and of small ability, And
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as we earn our bread by the sweat of our brow, shall ever hold
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an utter detestation both men and measures that would rob us of the fruits of
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our toil. And are ready, with our labor, with our lives,
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and with our estates, to stand or fall in the common cause of liberty.
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And if we fall, we shall die like men and like Christians,
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and enjoy the glorious privileges of the sons of God. The reply of the
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Committee on donations was scarcely less touching. Your letter, though short, is
30:06
very refreshing, Though the lines are few, the batter is very comprehensive.
30:11
What could you have said more? The Committee are greatly obliged and have not
30:15
a little strengthened. You will please accept their sincere thanks for that cordial affection
30:21
expressed in your letter and manifested in a way the most convincing. May the
30:26
Lord bless you and reward you one thousand fold. This interchange of sentiment shows
30:32
the silken cords that were intertwining communities into the sacred relations of country. By
30:37
cementing a union not defined on parchment, but fragrant with the blossoming of fraternal
30:44
sympathy, the press mirrored each fresh detail in the march of events towards American
30:49
nationality. It now contained installments of foreign intelligence showing England's fierce temper, reports
30:57
of the regiments sent to Boston, the parades of alarm lists through the colony,
31:03
the choice of military officers in every county of Delaware, Maryland, and
31:07
Virginia. The resolves of Fairfax County adopted at a meeting when Colonel George Washington
31:14
was in the chair, taxing every titheable person for the purchase of arms,
31:18
the expedition of Leslie at Salem, the alarm that flew like lightning, the
31:23
last number of nov angelas proving the destruction of the tea just proper and right,
31:30
avowing that committees of correspondents were intended by Providence for great events, and
31:34
declaring that Britain could restore harmony by desisting from taxing the colonies and interfering with
31:41
their internal concerns. These details indicate the sentiment, which suggested by the common
31:47
sense and heart, passed from mouth to mouth in the home, in the
31:51
street, in the club, in the caucus, in the public meeting,
31:55
formed public opinion, and was a type of political momentum of modern times.
32:00
The American mind at this time interpreted rightly the importance of the movement. Two
32:06
utterances showing this are recorded side by side in the Journals, the memorable charge
32:12
of Judge William Henry Drayton, enjoining a maintenance of the laws and the rights
32:16
of the Constitution at the hazard of life and fortune, and the nov angelus
32:22
of John Adams, claiming for the basis of the patriots the principles that all
32:27
men were by nature equal, that kings are but the ministers of the people
32:31
holding delegated power, and that the people, whenever power was used to oppress
32:37
them, had a right to resume it and place it in other hands,
32:42
rising above the provincial and the theological, the narrow and the transient. The
32:46
Patriot urged that these were the principles of Aristotle and Plato, of Livy and
32:52
Cicero, of Sydney, Harrington and Locke, the principles of nature and eternal
32:58
reason. As the actors in these scenes mused on the development of these principles,
33:05
they reproduced as applicable and old prophecy of the future glory of America.
33:12
But if I fail not in my augury, and who can better judge events
33:15
than I, long ruling years shall late bring on the times when, with
33:22
your gold debauched and ripened crimes Europe, the world's most noble part shall fall
33:29
upon her banished God's and virtue call in vain, while foreign and domestic war
33:35
at once shall her distracted bosom tear forlorn and to be pitied even by you.
33:42
Meanwhile, your rising glory you shall view, wit, learning, virtue,
33:47
discipline of war, shall for protection to your world, repair and fix
33:52
a long illustrious empire there your native gold. I would not have it so,
34:00
but fear the event in time it will follow too late. Destiny shall
34:05
high exalt your reign, whose pomp, no crowds of slaves, a needless
34:09
train, nor gold the rabble's idol shall support like Montezoom's or Guanapache's court.
34:17
But such true grandeur as old Rome maintained, where fortune was a slave and
34:23
virtue reigned. The patriots now designed to commemorate the Boston Massacre. This was
34:30
usually done in the town meeting, but it was one of the objects of
34:35
the Regulating Act to suppress meetings for such a purpose. The main theme of
34:39
the discourse on the occasion was the danger to a free people of standing armies
34:45
in time of peace, but this theme would have to be treated in the
34:49
presence of the British army. Then. The Tory party of the town was
34:53
numerous and exultant. We have Samuel Adams wrote on the fourth almost all the
34:59
tour of note in the province. In this town to which they have fled
35:02
for the General's protection, they affect the style of rab shaikh, But the
35:07
language of the people is in the name of the Lord. We will tread
35:12
down our enemies. It was given out that it would be at the price
35:16
of the life to any man to speak of the massacre, and that the
35:20
military were determined that reflection on the king or the royal family should not be
35:24
allowed to pass with impunity, the duty which, when parties were irritated and
35:30
exasperated to the verge of civil war, most men would not at least seek.
35:36
It was characteristic of Warren's heroic nature to covet at his own suggestion.
35:40
He was appointed the order. He sought the duty in no selfish spirit,
35:45
but to enable him, as the organ of the community, to bear open
35:51
testimony that the Americans would make the last appeal rather than submit to the yoke
35:55
that was prepared for their necks, that their one exampled patients had no alloy
36:01
of cowardice. The popular leaders, in so critical a conjecture, were naturally
36:07
desirous to be sure of their man. Tomorrow, Samuel Adams wrote, and
36:13
oration is to be delivered by doctor Warren. It was thought best to have
36:16
an experienced officer in the political field on this occasion, as we may possibly
36:22
be attacked in our trenches. The patriots looked forward to the day with deep
36:27
interest, and not without apprehension. The anniversary coming on Sunday, the commemoration
36:34
took place on Monday. It is said that many people came into the town
36:38
from the country to take part in it, and there was a prodigious concourse.
36:44
This indicates that the streets were thronged as they are on a modern Fourth
36:47
of July. In the morning, the citizens, legally warned by an adjournment
36:52
of the port Bill meeting, assembled in Faniel Hall with Samuel Adams for the
36:58
moderator, and transacted the year usual business relative to the selection of the orator.
37:02
It was reported that the committee of the Old South Meetinghouse were willing it
37:07
should be used on the occasion, and the town adjourned to meet at half
37:12
past eleven o'clock in the church, the Old South was crowded. In the
37:17
pulpit, which was draped in black, were the popular leaders, who from
37:22
year to year had been selected by the people to be the exponents of their
37:25
cause. Those named as being present, besides Samuel Adams and William Cooper,
37:31
the town Clerk, were Church Hancock and the selectmen. The moderator, observing
37:37
several British officers standing in the aisles, requested the occupants of the front pews
37:43
to vacate them. And courteously invited the strangers to occupy these seats. When
37:47
about forty officers dressed in their uniforms filled these pews or sat upon the pulpit
37:52
stairs, the audience consisted mainly of the actors. In the public meetings of
37:59
preceding years, the men who had opposed the Revenue Acts, had protested against
38:02
military rule, had summoned the Convention of seventeen sixty eight, had demanded the
38:07
removal of troops, had organized committees of correspondence, had destroyed the Tea,
38:14
and had resisted the Regulating Act. They now felt that they were parts of
38:17
an organization known as the Grand American Union. As yet, this party did
38:24
not desire independence, but one of their number, probably Warren, said on
38:29
this morning in the press, that if the Ministry would not hearken to the
38:34
wise and just proposals of the Continental Congress, it could be demonstrated by a
38:38
million of reasons that the people must look forward to the last grand step for
38:44
defense, that the Americans would be compelled by the great law of nature to
38:49
strike a decisive blow, and, following the example of the once oppressed United
38:53
Provinces, publish a manifesto to the world, showing the necessity of dissolving their
39:00
connection with a nation whose ministers were aiming at their ruin. Warren's personal friends
39:06
were determined to protect him from insult. The audience manifested some impatience at a
39:12
little delay in the appearance of the orator. He was prepared to meet violence,
39:16
and rode in a chase to the building opposite the Old South. There,
39:21
put on a robe, and to avoid pressing through the crowd, went
39:24
to the rear of the building, and by a ladder entered it through the
39:29
window back of the pulpit. Classic and loving pens have drawn the traits of
39:34
this type of American manhood. Amiable, accomplished, prudent, energetic, eloquent,
39:39
brave. He united the graces of a manly beauty to a lion's heart,
39:45
a sound mind, a safe judgment, and a firmness of purpose which
39:49
nothing could shake. He possessed a clear understanding, a strong mind, a
39:53
disposition humane and generous, with manners easy, affable and engaging, but zealous,
40:00
active and sanguine in the cause of his oppressed country. He was a
40:05
powerful orator because he was a true man and struggled for man's highest rights.
40:10
A patriot in whom the flush of youth and the grace and dignity of manhood
40:15
were combined, stood armed in the sanctuary of God, to animate and encourage
40:20
the sons of liberty and to hurl defiance at their oppressors. The tender words
40:25
of eulogy, uttered on the next commemoration of this day, after his spirit
40:30
had passed from earth, and as his loved idea and numberless virtues were recalled,
40:37
indicate the sympathy that existed between the speaker and the audience. We mourn
40:43
thine exit, illustrious shade, with undissembled grief. We venerate thine exalted character.
40:49
We will erect a monument to thy memory in each of our grateful hearts,
40:53
and to the latest ages, will teach our tender infants to lisp the
40:58
name of Warren with wild veneration and applause. The silence was oppressive as the
41:05
orator advanced to the pulpit and began in a firm tone of voice, My
41:08
ever honored fellow citizens, It is not without the most humiliating conviction of my
41:15
want of ability that I now appear before you, But the sense I have
41:19
of the obligation I am under to obey the calls of my country at all
41:22
times. Together with an animated recollection of your indulgence exhibited upon so many occasions,
41:29
has induced me once more undeserving as I am, to throw myself upon
41:34
that candor which looks with kindness on the feeblest efforts of an honest mind.
41:39
After an exordium imbued with the sterling virtue of sincerity, the order proceeded to
41:45
the conclusion with great energy and pathos, receiving the warm applause of friends and
41:51
occasional tokens of dissent from portions of his audience. The orator at the beginning
41:57
stated the following proposition that personal freedom is the natural right of every man,
42:02
and that property, or an exclusive right to dispose of what he has honestly
42:07
acquired by his own labor, necessarily arises therefrom are truths which common sense has
42:14
placed beyond the reach of contradiction, and no man or body of men,
42:19
can, without being guilty of flagrant injustice, claim a right to dispose of
42:23
the persons or acquisitions of any other man or a body of men, unless
42:29
it can be proved that such a right had arisen from some compact between the
42:34
parties in which it has been explicitly and freely granted. The orator, in
42:39
a retrospective survey of the settlement of the country by the illustrious emigrants, delineated
42:45
their labors and perils in these western regions, in rescuing them from their rudest
42:51
state and defending them from the savage, Regarding man in this state, and
42:55
even anarchy itself, as infinitely less dangerous than our ratary power, then this
43:01
widely extended continent was let alone and grew. Britain, saw her commerce extend
43:07
and her wealth increase. The colonists found himself free, and thought himself secure,
43:13
both countries flourishing, happy and united in affection, thought not of distinct
43:19
or separate interests. The colonists gloried in the British fame. He dwelt under
43:23
his own vine and under his own fig tree, and had none to make
43:28
him afraid. He knew, indeed, that by purchasing the manufactures of Great
43:32
Britain, he contributed to its greatness. He knew that all the wealth that
43:37
his labor produced centered in Great Britain, But that, far from exciting his
43:42
envy, filled him with the highest pleasure. That thought supported him in all
43:46
his toils. When the business of the day was passed, he solaced himself
43:52
with the contemplation, or perhaps entertained his listening family with the recital of some
43:58
great, some glorious train transaction which shines conspicuous in the history of Britain.
44:04
Or perhaps his elevated fancy led him to foretell with a kind of enthusiastic confidence,
44:09
the glory, power, and duration of an empire which should extend from
44:14
one end of the earth to the other. He saw, or thought he
44:17
saw the British nation risen to a pitch of grandeur, which cast avail over
44:22
the Roman glory, and ravished with the preview, boasted a race of British
44:27
kings whose name should echo through those realms where Cyrus, Alexander and the Caesars
44:32
were unknown, Princes for whom millions of grateful subjects redeemed from slavery and pagan
44:39
ignorance, should with thankful tongues, offer up their prayers and praises to that
44:45
transcendently great and beneficent being by whom king's reign and prince's decree justice. The
44:52
order then traced the rise in progress of the aggressions on the natural right of
44:58
the colonists to enjoy personal, freeom and representative government. Until this wicked policy
45:02
had shaken the Empire to its center, yet it was still persisted in regardless
45:08
of the voice of reason, deaf to the prayers and supplications, and unaffected
45:14
by the flowing tears of suffering millions. And as a consequence, the hearts
45:19
of Britain's and Americans, which had lately felt the generous glow of mutual confidence
45:24
and love, now burned with jealousy and rage. The Briton looked on the
45:29
American with an envious eye, and the American beheld to Britain as the ruffian,
45:35
ready first to take his property and next what is dearer to every virtuous
45:39
man, the liberty of his country. The order then passed to the scenes,
45:45
arising out of the resolution of the British administration to sustain this aggressive policy
45:51
by force which reason scorned to countenance and placement were unable to execute. He
45:57
dwelt on the features of that night of una horror, when the troops fired
46:01
on the people, the sad remembrance of which took full possession of his soul.
46:07
One of the victims was so mangled by the bayonet that his brains fell
46:10
upon the pavement. And to this the order referred when he said, come,
46:15
widowed mourner, here satiate thy grief. Behold thy murdered husband gasping on
46:21
the ground, And to contemplate the pompous show of wretchedness, bring in each
46:25
hand thy infant children to bewail their father's fate. Take heed, ye orphan
46:31
babes, Lest, while your streaming eyes are fixed upon the ghastly corpse,
46:37
your feet slide on the stones, be spattered with your father's brains. Enough,
46:42
this tragedy need not be heightened by an infant weltering in the blood of
46:46
him that gave it birth. Nature reluctant shrinks away already from the view,
46:52
and the chilled blood rolls slowly backward to his fountain. We wildly stare about,
46:59
and one of the amazement asked, who spread this ruin round us?
47:02
What wretch has dared to face the image of his God? Has haughty France
47:07
or cruel Spain sent forth her merrimidans, Has the grim savage rushed again from
47:14
the far distant wilderness, or to some fiend fierce from the depth of hell,
47:19
with all the rancorous malice which the apostate damned can feel, twang her
47:23
destructive bow and hurl her deadly arrows at our breast. No, none of
47:29
these, But how astonishing it is the hand of Britain that inflicts the wound.
47:34
The arms of George, our rightful King, have been employed to shed
47:37
that blood which freely would have flown at his command when justice or the honor
47:43
of his crown had called his subjects to the field. The cry that arose
47:46
for revenge was referred to, and the departure of the troops as the close
47:52
of this drama. The orator then spoke of the existing exigency, when a
47:57
gracious prince had been persuaded to erect the hostile banner against a people ever affectionate
48:02
and loyal to him and his illustrious predecessors of the House of Hanover, and
48:08
to enforce obedience to acts of Parliament destructive to liberty. Though armed men again
48:15
filled the streets, the people were not intimidated, but resolved that liberty must
48:20
be preserved. It was a Roman maxim never to despair of the commonwealth.
48:25
It may prove salutary now short sighted mortals, see not the numerous links of
48:30
small and great events which form the chain on which the fate of kings and
48:36
nations is suspended. Ease has often made a people effeminate. Hardship and danger
48:42
have called forth virtues that commanded the applause of an admiring world. Our country
48:47
loudly calls you to be circumspect, vigilant, active and brave. Perhaps all
48:54
gracious heaven averted, Perhaps the power of Britain, a nat great in war,
49:00
by some malignant influence, may be employed to enslave you. But let
49:06
not even this discourage you. Her arms, tis true, have filled the
49:09
world with terror, Her troops have reaped the laurels of the field. Her
49:15
fleets have rode triumphant on the sea. And when or where did you,
49:19
my countrymen, depart inglorious from the field of fight, You too can show
49:24
the trophies of your forefather's victories, and your own can name the fortresses and
49:29
battles you have won, and many of you count the honorable scars of wounds
49:34
received whilst fighting for your king and country. Where justice is the standard,
49:38
heaven is the warrior's shield, But conscious guilt unnerves the arm that lifts the
49:44
sword against the innocent. The orator, in conclusion said that the attempt of
49:50
Parliament to raise a revenue from America, and the denial of the right to
49:53
do it, had excited an almost universal inquiry into the rights of mankind in
49:59
general, and created such a liberality of sentiment and jealousy of power as would
50:05
better than an Admontine wall secure the people against the approach of despotism. The
50:10
Boston Port Act had created those sympathetic ties that must forever endear the people to
50:16
each other, and form those indissoluble bonds of friendship and affection on which the
50:22
preservation of our rights so evidently depend. The mutilation of the Charter has made
50:28
every other colony jealous for its own, for this, if once submitted to
50:32
by us, would set afloat the property and government of every British settlement on
50:37
the continent. The following are the closing paragraphs. Our country is in danger,
50:45
but not to be despaired of. Our enemies are numerous and powerful,
50:49
but we have many friends determined to be free, and Heaven and Earth will
50:52
aid the resolution. On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to
50:59
decide the import wortant question on which rests the happiness and liberty of millions,
51:04
Yet unborn act worthy of yourselves. The faltering tongue of hoary age calls on
51:09
you to support your country. The lisping infant raises its suppliant hands, imploring
51:15
defense against the monster slavery. Your father's look from the celestial seats with smiling
51:22
approbation on their sons, who boldly stand forth in the cause of virtue,
51:27
but sternly frown upon the inhuman miscrant, who, to secure the loaves and
51:31
fishes to himself, would breede a serpent to destroy his children. But pardon
51:38
me, my fellow citizens, I know you want not zeal or fortitude.
51:44
You will maintain your rights or perish in the generous struggle, however difficult to
51:49
combat. You will never decline it. When freedom is the prize and independence
51:53
on Great Britain is not our aim, No, our wish is that Britain
52:00
the colonies may, like the Oak and Ivy, grow and increase in strength
52:04
together. But whilst the infatuated plan of making one part of the Empire slaves
52:09
to the other is persisted. In the interest and safety of Britain as well
52:15
as the colonies require that the wise measures recommended by the Honorable the Continental Congress
52:21
be steadily pursued, whereby the unnatural contests between a parent honored and a child
52:28
beloved may probably be brought to such an issue as that the peace and happiness
52:32
of both may be established upon a lasting basis. But if these specific measures
52:39
are ineffectual, and it appears that the only way to safety is through the
52:45
fields of blood, I know you will not turn your faces from our foes,
52:49
but will undauntedly press forward until tyranny is trodden underfoot, and you have
52:53
fixed your adored goddess Liberty fast by a Brunswick side on the American throat.
53:00
You, then, who nobly have espoused your country's cause, who generously have
53:07
sacrificed wealth and ease, who have despised the pomp and show of tinsel greatness,
53:13
refused the summons to the festive board, and deaf to the alluring calls
53:17
of luxury and mirth, who have forsaken the downy pillow, to keep your
53:22
vigils by the midnight lamp for the salvation of your invaded country, that you
53:27
may break the fowler's snare and disappoint the vulture of his prey. You then
53:31
will reach this harvest of renown, which you so justly have deserved. Your
53:37
country shall pay her grateful tribute of applause. Even the children of your most
53:43
inveterate enemies, ashamed to tell from whom they sprang, while they in secret
53:47
curse their stupid, cruel parents, shall join the general voice of gratitude to
53:53
those who broke the fetters which their fathers forged. Having redeemed your country and
54:00
secured the blessing to future generations who fired by your example, shall emulate your
54:06
virtues and learn from you the heavenly art of making millions happy with heartfelt joy,
54:12
with transports all your own. You cry, the glorious work is done.
54:16
Then drop the mantle to some young Alicia, and take your seats with
54:22
the kindred spirits in your native skies. The speeches in which prominent actors in
54:27
Grecian and Roman story developed their policy or promote their objects, not words actually
54:32
spoken, but what the relater thought we're fitting to have been spoken, are
54:37
regarded as valuable delineations of the temper of those times. But here are the
54:42
words of an earnest and representative man uttered on the eve of a great war,
54:45
and in the presence of the military power whom he was soon to meet
54:50
in the field, for the sake of the cause, he dared to speak
54:54
what some scarce dared to think. His speech, imbued with the spirit of
55:00
high chivalry and faith, resounds with the clash of arms. Though it is
55:05
said that some of the officers groaned as the enthusiastic audience applauded, yet they
55:09
were generally quiet to the close of the oration. One of them, seated
55:15
on the pulpit stairs, in the course of the delivery, held up one
55:17
of his hands with several pistol bullets on the open palm, when the orator,
55:22
observing the action, gracefully dropped a white handkerchief on them. After the
55:28
delivery, when it was moved that the thanks of the town be presented to
55:31
the orator for the oration. On the commemoration of the horrid masker, some
55:37
of the officers struck their canes on the floor, Others hissed, others exclaimed
55:42
oh Phi Phi, which was understood as a cry of fire, and there
55:46
was a scene of panic. The patriots were prepared for any exigency. The
55:52
north enders who idolized Warren did not mean to be trifled with. The assembly,
55:58
Samuel Adams says, was irred to the greatest degree, and confusion ensued.
56:02
They the officers, however, did not gain their end, which was
56:06
apparently to break up the meeting. For order was soon restored, and we
56:09
proceeded regularly and finished the business. I am persuaded that were it not for
56:16
the danger of precipitating a crisis, not a man of them would have been
56:20
spared. It was provoking enough to the whole corps that while there were so
56:24
many troops stationed here with the design of suppressing town meetings, that there should
56:30
yet be one for the purpose of delivering an oration to commemorate a massacre perpetrated
56:34
by soldiers, and to show the danger of standing armies. The scene was
56:38
sublime. Samuel L. Knapp says, there was in this appeal to Britain,
56:44
in this description of suffering, dying, and horror, a calm and
56:50
high sold defiance which must have chilled the blood of every sensible foe. Such
56:54
another hour has seldom happened in the history of man, and is not so
57:00
passed in the records of nations. The thunders of Demosthenes rolled at a distance
57:05
from Philip and his host, and totally poured the fiercest torrent of invective,
57:09
when Cataline was at a distance and his dagger no longer to be feared.
57:15
But Warren's speech was made to proud oppressors resting on their arms, whose errand
57:20
it was to overawe, and whose business it was to fight. If the
57:23
deed of Brutus deserved to be commemorated by history, poetry, painting, and
57:29
sculpture, should not this instance of patriotism and bravery be held in lasting remembrance.
57:36
If he that struck the foremost man of all this world was hailed as
57:40
the first of freemen, what honors are not due to him who undismayed bearded
57:46
the British lion to show the world what his country dared to do in the
57:51
cause of liberty. If the statue of Brutus was placed among those of the
57:55
gods who were the preservers of Roman freedom, want that of war and fill
58:00
a lofty niche in the temple reared to perpetuate the remembrance of our birth as
58:05
a nation. End of Chapter thirteen,