Pepperell and the Battles of Lexington and Concord

Overview

Pepperell, Massachusetts, was one of the towns that mobilized its militia forces in response to the Lexington Alarm. The Pepperell Militia joined the militia from the town of Groton and the District of Shirley. However, these contingents did not arrive in time to participate in the battle. Colonel William Prescott led his men to Boston, where they joined American forces conducting the Siege of Boston. This account includes the town’s response to key events during the American Revolution, including the Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, and Intolerable Acts.

The following account of the Pepperell Militia and its response to the Lexington Alarm is taken from History of the Town of Groton, Including Pepperell and Shirley, written by Caleb Butler and published in 1848.

This entry only includes Butler’s information about Pepperell and the district’s response to the Lexington Alarm. At the time, Pepperell and Shirley were smaller districts associated with the town of Groton.

Please note that we have made minor text corrections and edits but have not changed the author’s meaning or intent. These changes have been made to help readers, particularly younger ones, understand the text. We have also added spacing and section headings to help readers scan the text and added notes for context.

Essential Facts

• Location: Pepperell is about 25 miles northwest of Lexington, Massachusetts.
• Commanding Officers: Colonel William Prescott. 
• Entered the Battle: Pepperell responded to the Lexington Alarm but did not engage the British.
• Lexington Alarm: The Alarm was raised by a rider from Concord between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m.

Key Details

• Pepperell was initially known as “Groton West Parish.”
• The town hired Reverend Joseph Emerson in September 1746.
• The Pepperell District was established in April 1753 and named after Sir William Pepperell.
• Pepperell openly opposed Taxation Without Representation, including the Stamp Act (1765) and the Townshend Acts (1767–1768).
• Pepperell formed a Committee of Correspondence to communicate with the Committee in Boston.
• In June 1774, Pepperell approved resolutions condemning the Intolerable Acts.

Pepperell, the American Revolution, and the Lexington Alarm

Early History of Groton West Parish

That part of Groton lying west of Nashua river and north of the country road, as travelled a century ago from Groton to Townsend, was set off as a distinct precinct, or parish, in the year 1742, and called “Groton West Parish.”

At a legal meeting of said parish, held January 17, 1742, at the house of Mr. William Spaulding, Benjamin Swallow was chosen moderator; Eleazer Gilson, parish clerk; Benjamin Swallow, Isaac Williams, James Lawrence, Jonathan Woods, and Joseph Whitney, committee; Samuel Wright, treasurer; Jonas Varnum, Moses Woods, and Samuel Shattuck, assessors; and William Spaulding and Jeremiah Lawrence, collectors. 

This was undoubtedly the first parish meeting and organization of the parish under the act of the General Court by which it was incorporated. At this meeting, the sum of ten pounds, lawful money, was voted to be assessed to defray the necessary charges arisen and arising in said parish.

Whilst this territory remained a parish, nothing of a public nature, unconnected with Groton, except of a parochial character, was transacted therein. Building a meeting-house and settling a minister were the first and only matters that called for action and were put on record.

The second meeting was held at the house of James Lawrence, February 16, 1742, at which the parish voted to build a meeting-house…between the paper-mills at Babbitassett and Jewett’s bridge.

At about the same time, it was voted “to receive the people on the east side of the river, that have petitioned to be annexed to us, provided they will consent to have the meeting-house set at the most convenient place on the west side the river, near the bridge…”

Reverend Joseph Emerson

On September 25, 1746, the town voted to give the Reveverend Joseph Emerson, of Malden, a call to settle in the gospel ministry in said parish, and to give him one hundred and twenty pounds settlement, and sixty-two pounds ten shillings salary yearly, and thirty cords of fire-wood, cut and delivered at his door.

In January 1747, the parish voted to give Reverend Emerson forty acres of land within a mile of the meeting-house and to increase his salary twelve pounds ten shillings when the parish should contain one hundred ratable families. At that time, it contained seventy-two families. Mr. Emerson’s answer to the call was in the affirmative, and he was ordained on February 25, 1747.

• AHC Note — Reverend Emerson died on October 19, 1775, at the age of 51. He became ill after visiting the Pepperell militia at their camp in Cambridge during the Siege of Boston.

Establishment of the Pepperell District

On April 12, 1753, Groton West Parish was made a district by an act of the Great and General Court, in conformity to a petition by the inhabitants, and named Pepperell. This name was adopted in honor of Sir William Pepperell of Piscataqua, who commanded an army of six thousand men raised in New England in the year 1745, for the express purpose of reducing Louisburg and subjecting the isle of Cape Breton to the possession of Great Great which was successfully effected.

• AHC Note — Sir William Pepperell (1696–1759) was born in present-day Kittery, Maine, which was part of Massachusetts at the time. Pepperell became a merchant and soldier. He financed the Louisbourg Expedition (1745) during King George’s War (1744–1748). Pepperell and his men successfully captured the French fortress. Pepperell is believed to have been one of the wealthiest men in America in his lifetime.

The French and Indian War

The ravages of the Indians had nearly ceased in this vicinity before the settlement of Pepperell. Fears and alarms, however, had not entirely subsided, so Reverend Emerson says, after his settlement in the ministry, his parishioners carried their weapons to the house of worship.

• AHC Note — The “ravages of the Indians” refers to the raids and attacks carried out by Native American Indians against settlements on the Massachusetts frontier. 

Pepperell justly claims to have produced many brave officers and soldiers. A military spirit was imbibed and cherished by the encouragements and exhortations of their minister, Reverend Emerson, who, having served as chaplain at Cape Breton, took a lively interest ever after in military affairs, especially at the commencement of the Revolutionary War.

In the spring of 1758, a company was enlisted for the French war from Pepperell and its vicinity, of which Thomas Lawrence was captain. As the company was about to take up their march to join the army, Reverend Emerson preached a sermon on the occasion, in which he thus addressed the soldiers:

“My Friends and Brethren, — 

‘Tis matter of rejoicing to me, that so many of you have engaged in this affair with so much cheerfulness, and proffered your services for your country; and some of you, I hope, have entered upon it with becoming seriousness. If the present expedition should go forward, according to our present expectation, (which God grant it may!) and not be stigmatized, as some former ones have been, by the name of a mock expedition, whereby we are become the shame of our friends and contempt of our enemies; I say, if the army should proceed, you will doubtless be called into action, and must expect to jeopardize your lives in the high places of the field. 

Fix this, then, in your minds, that danger you must encounter; imagine not that you are going out against a weak and effeminate enemy, who will be affrighted as soon as they hear of your approach, or be intimidated by the very sound of your drums, and run away as soon as you charge them, and you have nothing to do, but fall upon the prey, and load yourselves with the spoil.

Far from this. You are going against an enemy who are far from being dastardly; an enemy flushed with various and repeated successes. And as you are designed, by the present concerted scheme of operation, to enter the very heart of the enemy’s country, you may well expect that they will not tamely resign their possessions into your hands. 

I say not these things to discourage you, but rather to animate you to set out with greater resolution and courage. If you alight upon dangers, this will not make them heavier when they come, and it may serve something to lessen them.

You are to fight; you are enlisted for this end; you are paid for this purpose. Boldly, then, advance into the very heart of your enemy’s country. Fear them not; let it never be said of a New England soldier, — let it never be said of a Pepperell soldier, that he was afraid to face his enemies, or that ever he turned his back on them, and cowardly deserted the cause of his country.”

Captain Thomas Lawrence, the commander of this company, is represented as a man of gigantic stature, Herculean strength, bold and courageous, experienced in Indian warfare, and holding in thorough contempt the valor of the savages. 

He often said, he would never run for an Indian or Indians, and that he would never be taken alive by them. This assertion was verified in the manner of his death. Having the command of a ranging party of about twenty men, in 1758, at a place called “Half-way brook,” they were suddenly surrounded by Indians. 

Many of the party fell by the first fire; a few ran and escaped. Capt. Lawrence sprang to a tree, and shouted, ”To cover, to cover, boysI” Being closely pressed on all sides, those who remained were soon all slain, except the gallant captain, and he was mortally wounded. He finally fell by the strokes of a number of the enemy. His body, when found, was in a horribly mangled state.

Taxation Without Representation

Sympathizing with their minister in the ardor and zeal he felt in the contention between the colonies and the British ministry, previous to the commencement of hostilities, the inhabitants of Pepperell were among the first to notice the unconstitutional and arbitrary acts of Parliament, which led to the separation of the colonies from the mother country; among the first to express emphatically their opinion in relation to those acts; and among the first forcibly to defend what they deemed their rights and privileges. Perhaps some of the following extracts from the district and town records were penned by Reverend Emerson.

On the 25th of October, 1765, the Pepperell District voted to give the following instructions to Abel Lawrence, their representative in the General Court, for his conduct in this important crisis.

“To Abel Lawrence, Esq. — Taking into consideration the measures that have been adopted by the British ministry, and acts of Parliament made, which press hard upon our invaluable rights and privileges, by the royal charter granted to the first settlers of this province, the power of making laws and levying taxes invested in the General Assembly. It is certain we were not represented in Parliament, neither were the remonstrances sent by this province admitted there, when the late act, called the Stamp Act, by which an insupportable and unconstitutional tax is laid on the colonies, was made. We, therefore, think it our indispensable duty to desire you by no means to join in any measures for countenancing or assisting in the execution of the said stamp act. Furthermore, as the trade of this province is greatly obstructed, and the people labor under an almost insupportable debt, we expect you will use your utmost endeavors, in the General Assembly, that the monies of the province drawn from the individuals, may not be applied to any other uses, under any pretence whatever, than what is evidently intended in the act for supplying the province treasury.”

On January 24, 1766, Reverend  Emerson preached a thanksgiving sermon on the repeal of the Stamp Act.

• AHC Note — The Stamp Act was repealed by Parliament on March 18, 1766.

In 1768, the district chose William Prescott a committee to join the committees from the several towns in this province.

• AHC Note — This was in response to the Townshend Acts and the Boston Non-Importation Agreement.

Committee of Correspondence

In 1772, the following article was inserted in a warrant for a district meeting. “To see if the district are so generally inspired with true patriotic spirit, as to propose any method in order to retrieve and recover the constitutional liberties that have been extorted from us, contrary to the royal charter, and in order to prevent any further unjust taxes, tonnage, poundage and the like, and act thereupon as shall be thought proper, and most conducive to the happiness of all the true sons of liberty, and to American subjects in general.”

At a district meeting held January 16, 1773, “chose a committee of nine men to consider what is proper for this district to do, at this alarming time, respecting the encroachments that have been made upon our civil privileges;” which committee reported the following communication to the committee of correspondence, and also a letter of instructions to their representative, both of which follow.

“To the Committee of Correspondence, Boston.

Gentlemen — You will be so good as to inform the town of Boston that we have received their kind letter, together with the pamphlet setting forth our liberties as men, as Christians, as subjects, with the infringements which have been made upon them. Desire them to accept our hearty acknowledgements for their vigilance over our common interests and remitting to us so particular accounts of the innovations made upon our charter privileges. Assure them we are greatly alarmed at the large strides, which have been made by the enemies of our excellent constitution, towards enslaving a people. 

We of this place are unanimous; no less than one hundred have signed a request to the selectmen to call a meeting, though we count but about one hundred and sixty families, and when met, the fullest meeting that was ever known on any occasion, and not a dissenting vote or voice. We feel for ourselves, we feel for our posterity, we feel for our brethren through the continent. 

We tremble at the thought of slavery, either civil or ecclesiastical, and are fully sensible of the near connection there is between civil and religious liberty; if we lose the former, the latter will not remain; our resentment, (not to say our indignation,) rises against them, let them be in what relation soever, who would dare invade our natural or constitutional rights. 

Tell our brethren at Boston, that we entirely agree with them in their sentiments transmitted to us, both with respect to what are our rights, and those infringements which have been made upon them; and stand ready to co-operate with them in all measures warranted by the constitution, and the law of nature, for the recovery of those privileges which have been unreasonably and unconstitutionally wrested from us, and for the establishment and security of those we do enjoy. 

Offering up our unfeigned desires to the all-wise God, that be would, in this day of darkness, be a lamp to our feet, a light to our path, and graciously direct to those measures which may be effectual for this purpose.”

Instruction to James Prescott

“To James Prescott, representative of the town of Groton, and the districts of Pepperell and Shirley.

Sir — We, his majesty’s most loyal and dutiful subjects, the freeholders and other inhabitants of the district of Pepperell, legally assembled, July 18, 1773, being ever ready to give due assistance and encouragement to government, in a constitutional way, at the same time greatly concerned that the rights and privileges of British subjects, (our birth-right and the richest inheritance left us by our fathers,) may be securely enjoyed by us and transmitted entire to our posterity, cannot but be greatly affected at the frequent innovations which have been made upon our happy constitution; the particulars of the encroachments made on our liberties we shall not at this time enumerate, but referring you to a pamphlet sent from Boston to every town in the province, which we think very justly states our rights, and the encroachments made upon them ; we, therefore, who are no small part of your constituents, do desire and expect, that you exert yourself in the Great and General Assembly to the utmost of your ability, for the regaining of such privileges as have been unjustly wrested from us, and establishing those we do enjoy. 

We trust that you will be ever watchful, that you be not induced by any means to consent to any vote or votes, in the Great and General Assembly that may have a tendency to weaken our constitutional rights and privileges, or ever in a like case to be made a precedent of, to the disadvantage of us and our posterity. Presenting the above instructions to your wise consideration, we wish, that you and all true friends to the English constitution, may be under the divine direction, that you may be led into the paths of truth, and never be driven aside from seeking the welfare of your country.”

The district unanimously voted to accept these communications and chose a committee to transmit them to their respective destinations.

• AHC Note — The “English constitution” refers to the British Constitution. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, it was not one document but rather a collection of legal documents, such as the Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights.

Intolerable Acts

On June 27, 1774, the district passed the following preamble and resolutions and voted to send a copy to Boston.

“Under a deep sense of the distressing and very extraordinary circumstances we of this land are unhappily brought into, by (as we think) a bad ministry in our parent country, by the innovations already made in our civil liberties, and what seems to be further threatened, we are with concern of opinion, that it behooves us and all this province, and all North America, to set up a general correspondence and to cultivate harmony, that there may be a united voice with resolution throughout this land, that we may make a proper stand, and lift up our united prayers to Almighty God to pity us, and vouchsafe to us his gracious protection, and direct us into such measures as he will please to prosper and succeed for our deliverance from the great difficulties and embarrassments we are under, and secure and save us from impending ruin, with which we are further threatened by some in power, who carry on their wicked designs as if by magic art assisted. 

We seriously recommend to all amongst us and the whole of North America to lay aside all contentions, broils, and even small quarrels, and to omit the practice of every thing that tends to disunite us as brethren, as neighbors, as countrymen, that are interested in one and the same cause, and must stand or fall together. Therefore, resolved,

1. As the opinion of this district, that we have a just and lawful right to meet together, when and so often as we shall have occasion, to cultivate harmony and to transact our town affairs; and that we will hold, use and improve that privilege, and will never give it up, or quit the usual practice of meeting, on any mandate whatever.

• AHC Note — This section refers to the Massachusetts Government Act, which restricted public meetings.

2. That neither Lord North, nor any other British minister or person whatever, hath any right to trample America under his feet, nor to invade its privileges, either civil or religious.

3. We are resolved to do all in our power, by abstinence and every other lawful and proper way, to secure and preserve our charter rights and privileges, and that we will not tamely submit to the yoke of bondage.

4. That we will not have any hand in the consumption of teas. West India or British goods, wares or merchandize, imported after the last day of August next, nor deal with any persons that shall import or deal in such goods, wares, or merchandize, contrary to the general sense and agreement of the inhabitants of this much abused province.

6. We return our hearty thanks to our patriotic friends at Boston for their firmness, care, and vigilance the time past, for the good and safety of this country. And we desire you not to give over now, although your circumstances are very discouraging. We sympathize with you in this day of darkness, and bad situation of aflfairs, and will, when need be, attest our ability, administer our substance, and whatever may be beneficial to the cause, and are determined to exert ourselves in the cause, that so much concerns us. And we hope and pray, that the Lord of Hosts will direct us and you and all the colonies into a right way, that His blessing may be upon our united endeavors, and may success, with peace and harmony, crown the whole to the glory of God and the tranquillity of the American colonies.”

AHC Notes

• Pepperell, like many towns, pledged its support for Boston, which was suffering due to the closure of the Port of Boston per the Boston Port Act.
• In August 1774, Pepperell erected a Liberty Pole and raised what may have been the first “American” flag (see Appendix).

Early Support for Independence

One more extract from the records of the district deserves to be remembered, as it anticipated the great and important step taken a year afterwards by the Continental Congress. It is a part of the instructions of the inhabitants to their representative in 1775.

“We therefore instruct you, sir, that you, in our name and behalf, signify to the Great and General Court, of which you are a member, that our opinion is, that indpendence is the only alternative for the safety of this oppressed land, and that if the honorable Congress should think it best for the safety of the United Colonies to declare them independent of Great Britain, we acquiesce heart and hand, and are determined at the risk of life and treasure to support the measure.”

William Prescott of Pepperell

Soon, the time arrives, which puts to the test the valor and the courage of Pepperell soldiery. It is soon to be known whether their patriotism consisted of words only and whether or not, when the crisis arrives, their actions would correspond with, and make good, their promises and resolutions. The sequel shows that their intrepidity in action was in no wise inferior to their skill and pertinency in expressing their opinions.

William Prescott, a son of the Honorable Benjamin Prescott, though born in the center of Groton, removed to that part of it called the “Gore,” which formed a part of the district of Pepperell, before he arrived at the age of twenty-one years. 

Prescott was a Lieutenant in the provincial troops, which were sent to remove the neutral French from Nora Scotia in 1755, and possibly a soldier in the expedition to Louisbourg two years earlier. After his return from Nova Scotia, he was promoted to Captain.

During the 1755 expedition, Prescott was attacked by a fever. The surgeon of the army was very negligent in his attendance on him. One day, on entering his chamber, he found him so ill that he brutally exclaimed, “It’s no use of my staying here, I can do nothing,” and turning his back on the patient, he walked out of the room. Lieut. Prescott was perfectly aware of what was said and was filled with such rage by this unfeeling conduct that he seized his sword, which hung near him, and springing out of bed, made after the doctor, who, as it may be believed, completed his exit with greater precipitation than he commenced it. This sally of passion had a most favorable effect, as it appeared, on the fever, which was then at its crisis, and the patient mended rapidly from that day.

The Lexington Alarm

In 1774, William Prescott was appointed Colonel of a regiment of minute men, enrolled in Pepperell, Groton, Hollis, and other towns in the vicinity. 

On the morning of the memorable 19th of April, 1775, a messenger rode from Concord to Pepperell, alarming the inhabitants on his way with the intelligence that the “regulars” had come out from Boston, had killed eight men at Lexington, and were fighting at Concord. He arrived at Pepperell about nine or ten o’clock a.m.

Colonel Prescott immediately gave order to the company in Pepperell and the company in Hollis to march to Groton and there join the Groton companies. Prescott also proceeded to Groton.

So quickly were the Pepperell company armed, equipped, and on their march that although five miles further from the point whence the messenger started, and consequently proportionably later in receiving the Alarm than the Groton companies, they arrived at Groton parade ground before the companies were in readiness to accompany them.

AHC Notes

• In The Battle of April 19, 1775, Frank Warren Coburn says, “Even in Pepperell, thirty-five miles northwesterly from Boston, the alarm went, reaching there about 9 o’clock. Gen. Prescott gave orders to the Pepperell and Hollis companies to march to Groton…to join others of the regiment.”
• Even though Pepperell was five miles north of Groton and received the Alarm later, Prescott and his men were ready to march before the Groton men were.

After a halt for a few minutes, the Pepperell men marched on in advance of the Groton companies. Colonel Prescott hastened on, with as many of his regiment as he could collect, ‘to Concord, and thence to Cambridge, but did not overtake the British detachment on their retreat He and most of his officers and men enlisted for eight months, the period of the first enlistment, and which it was then hoped, would be as long as troops would be wanted.

Author Notes

• It is said that Dr. Oliver Prescott, a brother of the Colonel and chairman of the selectmen of Groton, who were then together delivering arms and ammunition to the soldiers, on hearing the martial music and seeing the Pepperell company marching to the common in full ranks, exclaimed to his brethren, “This is a disgrace to us,” alluding to the greater promptitude of the Pepperell soldiers than of their own
• One of the Pepperell company, Abel Parker, was plowing in a distant field and did not receive the alarm in season to start with the rest, but on hearing it, left his oxen in the field unyoked, ran home, seized his gun in one hand, his Sunday coat in the other, sat out upon a run, and slacked not till having passed the Groton companies, he overtook his fellows at Groton ridges.

Patriotism of the Women in Pepperell (and Groton)

The patriotism of the women in those times, “which tried men’s souls,” must not be passed over in silence. After the departure of Col. Prescott’s regiment of minute men, Mrs. David Wright of Pepperell, Mrs. Job Shattuck of Groton, and the neighboring women, collected at what is now Jewett’s bridge, over the Nashua, between Pepperell and Groton, clothed in their absent husbands’ apparel, and armed with muskets, pitchforks, and such other weapons as they could find, and having elected Mrs. Wright their commander, resolutely determined, that no foe to freedom, foreign or domestic, should pass that bridge. For rumors were rife that the Regulars were approaching, and frightful stories of slaughter flew rapidly from place to place and from house to house.

• AHC Notes — “Mrs. David Wright” was Prudence Cummings Wright. “Mrs. Job Shattuck” was Sarah Hartwell Shattuck. It is believed there were 30-40 women in this group.

Soon, there appeared one on horseback, supposed to be treasonably engaged in conveying intelligence to the enemy. By the implicit command of Sergeant Wright, he was immediately arrested, unhorsed, searched, and the treasonable correspondence found concealed in his boots. He was detained prisoner and sent to Oliver Prescott, Esq., of Groton, and his despatches were sent to the Committee of Safety.

• Author Note — The rider was Capt. Leonard Whiting, of Hollis, New Hampshire, north of Pepperell, was a known Loyalist. He was carrying correspondence from Canada, which was to be delivered to British officials in Boston.

William Prescott and the Battle of Bunker Hill

As Pepperell has the honor of being the residence of Colonel William Prescott, and he being chief in command on the American side in the first battle of any considerable consequence, that was fought in the Revolutionary War, a history of that town would be unpardonably incomplete, without some account of that engagement and of that valiant officer.

For the following narration, as well as for many other matters relating to Pepperell and to the Prescott Family, the author is indebted to the courtesy of a distinguished descendant of the commander on Bunker Hill, for the use of a manuscript, penned at sundry times, and kept by sundry persons of that family, of the truth and correctness of which no doubt can exist.

“On the 16th of June, 1776, General Artemas Ward, the commander-in-chief, issued an order for placing three Massachusetts regiments, (Colonel William Prescott, Colonel James Frye, and Colonel Ebenezer Bridge) and a detachment of one hundred and twenty men from a Connecticut regiment, (under the command of Captain Thomas Knowlton, a brave officer) about one thousand in all, under the command of Colonel Prescott, directing him to proceed to Bunker Hill, and there erect a fortification; stating that the party should be relieved the next morning. They, therefore, took only a small supply of provisions with them. Colonel Richard Gridley, an experienced engineer, was appointed to lay out the works. 

The detachment was drawn up on the common in Cambridge on the evening of that day, attended prayers by the Reverend Samuel Langdon, then President of Harvard College, and when daylight was gone, Colonel Prescott led them silently down Charlestown road over the neck, and then halted, called around him the field officers, with Colonel Gridley, and then first communicated to them his orders, and conferred with them respecting the place intended for the fortification.

The whole height at that time was popularly called “Bunker Hill,” although the southern part was known as “Breed’s Hill” by the neighbors. After some discussion, the southern part, now better known as Breed’s Hill, was determined as the place. This caused some delay. 

The detachment proceeded to Breed’s Hill, and Colonel Gridley laid out the works — a redoubt and entrenchment — which the troops immediately commenced building. This was about eleven o’clock.

Colonel Prescott was anxious lest they should be discovered and attacked in the night or too early in the morning, and, to satisfy himself, went in person, accompanied by an officer, twice to the margin of the river, and much to his satisfaction found that they were not discovered. The sentinels on board the ships were drowsily calling out, “All’s well.” At daylight, the British made the discovery.

A heavy cannonade from the ships and Copp’s Hill then commenced, which annoyed them, but did not materially retard their work.

• Author Note — One man was killed outside of the redoubt. Seeing the soldiers gathering around the body, Colonel Prescott ordered them to cover it with earth immediately. They inquired if they might not have prayers over it. He told them that might be done after the battle, but it must be covered with earth immediately. Finding the men still continued around the body, regardless of the danger, he ordered the body to be thrown into the trench and earth thrown over it.

At about nine o’clock, it became apparent that the British were preparing to cross the river and attack them. The officers then urged Colonel Prescott to send a messenger to headquarters and request the commander to relieve them according to his engagement, as they had brought on no provisions for a longer time and had worked all night. This he refused, saying the works should be defended by those who built them; their honor required it, and they could do it successfully, but he would send for reinforcements and refreshments.

He accordingly despatched two messengers in the course of the morning, the last being Major John Brooks. This last message produced an order to Colonel John Stark and Colonel James Reed of the New Hampshire troops to march their regiments to his assistance. They arrived just at the commencement of the action and posted their regiments at the rail fence, where they fought with great bravery. 

• Author Note — One rail fence was pulled up and placed parallel to another led standing, and the intermediate space was filled with grass, mown on the spot the day previous.

The Connecticut company under Captain Knowlton was posted at the end of the rail fence nearest the breastwork, and the three Massachusetts regiments defended the redoubt. 

• Author Note —  General Joseph Warren came up to the works a short time before the action was commenced with a musket in his hand. Colonel Prescott proposed to him that he should take the command, as he understood he had been appointed a major-general the day before. General Warren replied, “I have no command here; I have not received my commission. I come as a volunteer and shall be happy to learn service from a soldier of your experience.”

The action began between two and three o’clock. The redoubt was the great object of attack, and the principal force was directed against it while three regiments advanced towards the rail fence, with intent to come on the rear of the redoubt and cut off the retreat of the Americans. The British were twice repulsed with great loss from the redoubt and from the fence.

The British officers were obliged to make great exertions to bring up their men a third time. They, however, succeeded and made a third attack, with great spirit, on the redoubt and at the fence. The redoubt was entered on the southern or southeastern side, and at the same time, the enemy advanced between the breastwork and the rail fence to the rear of the redoubt. 

A few men were shot down as they mounted the breastwork, among them was Major John Pitcairn; but the ammunition of the Americans was exhausted; a cartridge of one of the field pieces furnished powder to load the last muskets that were discharged. They had few bayonets and were obliged to use the butts of their guns.

• AHC Note — Pitcairn is famous for commanding the British troops at the Battle of Lexington.

The enemy had entered the redoubt on one side and were advancing to the rear of it when Colonel Prescott ordered the retreat. He was among the last that left the redoubt, and before leaving it, was surrounded by the enemy, and had several bayonets pushed at his body, which he parried with his sword, in the use of which he had some skill; they, however, pierced his banyan and waistcoat, but he was not wounded.

• Author Note — Oliver Prescott, William Prescott’s nephew, said that soon after the battle, he was at Pepperell, and his uncle showed him the banyan and waistcoat with the rents or holes made in them by the British bayonets. Eight of the Pepperell soldiers were killed in this battle, and eight were wounded.
• AHC Note — As the Americans fled from the redoubt, Joseph Warren was shot and killed.

On his return to Cambridge, Prescott immediately repaired to headquarters, where he found the commander-in-chief, General Artemas Ward, in great distress, apprehensive that the enemy, encouraged by their success, might advance on Cambridge and attempt to penetrate into the country. 

Prescott assured him that the enemy’s confidence would not be increased by the result of the action and offered to retake the heights that night or perish in the attempt if Ward would give him three regiments, with bayonets and sufficient ammunition. Ward thought, perhaps justly, that the character and situation of his army would not justify so bold a measure. 

We afterward saw that this battle made a lasting impression on General William Howe’s mind and rendered him an over-cautious commander during the remainder of his command.

• AHC Note — Despite the victory, the British suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Bunker Hill. In October, Howe replaced General Thomas Gage as the Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in North America.

Colonel Prescott continued in the service until the end of 1776. He was stationed at Governor’s Island, New York, until the Americans were obliged to retire from the city. The good order in which he brought off his regiment was noticed and publicly commended by General George Washington. At the end of the campaign, Prescott returned to his farm and family in Pepperell, where he resided till his death. 

In the autumn of 1777, Prescott went as a volunteer, accompanied by some of his former officers, to assist in the capture of the British Army under General John Burgoyne, which was his last military service.

Perhaps his exertions and activity in the suppression of Shays’s Insurrection and going to Concord with his sidearms to protect the courts should be noted in the last remark.

After his retirement from the army, he served his townsmen in the municipal offices of clerk and selectman and represented the town in the General Court for three years. He was an acting magistrate for the remainder of his life. He died October 13, 1795, at 69.”

Significance

The events that took place on April 18–19, 1775, include some of the most historic — and legendary — moments in American History. Many of the details about these events are found in the letters and depositions written at the time and have been used by many historians as the basis for articles and books about the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

However, interesting details that can be found in the histories of the towns that responded to the Midnight Riders and the Lexington Alarm, including Pepperell, are often overlooked. Militia and Minuteman companies from approximately 27 towns fought the British from Lexington to Concord and then from Concord back to Boston. Many of those men remained there and participated in the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Although these local histories are sometimes embellished and border on folklore, they still provide valuable insight into the pride towns felt over standing up against the British forces who fired on the King’s subjects at Lexington and Concord.

This entry about the role of the Pepperell Militia is part of “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” a collection of entries, images, and objects covering the events of April 18–19, 1775.

Appendix

Caleb Butler

Caleb Butler (1776–1854) was an educator, lawyer, and surveyor from Pelham, New Hampshire. After graduating from Dartmouth (1800), he moved to Groton, where he studied the law and taught at Groton Academy. Butler died in Groton on October 7, 1844, at the age of 78.

Pepperell

The first settlements in Pepperell were farms established in the 1720s and 1730s along the Nashua River and Nissitissit River. In 1742, the area was named “West Groton.” It became the Pepperell District of Groton in 1753 and was incorporated as a town in 1775.

The First American Flag

On August 29, 1774, Pepperell erected a Liberty Pole and raised a “flag of liberty…in open defiance to the King” that the Pepperell Historical Commission claims was “…the first Colonial-era flag of New England and the first flag flown without connection to the crown.” The description of this flag was recorded in the Town Meeting minutes, which says:

“This being a time when the civil liberty of this province are unjustly infringed upon, when the ministry of Old England have endeavored to take away our Charter rights and privileges and the people of this province very much disturbed, every one looking after English liberties as departing from North America when congresses are appointed and appointing and the struggles very high, the people of this District prepared and raised a pole by the name of Liberty Pole the height of which was one hundred feet on the common directly before the Publick Meeting House door on the 29th day of August A.D. 1774 with a flag of Blew (sic) and red cloth five yards long and four bredths wide with convenience to hoist it to the top of the pole with ease.”