Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 158, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1914 — SPOTS MADE FAMOUS IN WAR'S HISTORY [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SPOTS MADE FAMOUS IN WAR'S HISTORY

|— —Ml O PERPETUATE the memory I of mighty deeds on the field I of battle and of epochal I a I events which have led to the j JL I changing of governments and °f the boundary lines in our KjTJf'v&TWVijSrt geographies and to arouse in the minds of succeeding generations the spirit of patriotism w hich inspired our forefathers to accomplish these deeds, tablets and monuments of various kinds have been placed on the sites of those historic events. In the United States Boston, New York, Philadelphia and many other places in the East and Southeast are rich in memories of the War of the Revolution and of the events leading up to and succeeding It. Boston, more than any other place perhaps, is deserving of the title “the Cradle of American Liberty.” Faneull hall, Old South church, Christ church, or Old North church, from whose belfry the signal was flashed which started Paul Revere on his famous ride and Bunker Hill, are only a few of the historic landmarks which make Boston famous In Revolutionary history. The famous “Boston Tea Party” was the first protest of the Indignant colonists against the oppressive rule of the mother country. This event occurred In Boston harbor in December, 1773. In order to compel Great Britain to be just toward the American colonists In the matter of taxation, merchants of this country had agreed not to Import anything While such oppressive laws existed. The British parliament declared their right to tax die colonists without their consent; the latter declared that “taxation without representation is tyranny.” The quarrel grew hotter and hotter; some of the contested duties were removed under pressure, but, by 1773, several articles, among them tea, were still burdened by heavy taxes. The colonists finally refused to allow any cargo of tea even to be landed at some of the ports. Vessels were immediately sent back with their cargoes untouched. In December, 1773, three British ships landed at Boston and the royal governor attempted to have their cargoes landed in defiance of the popular will. The “Boston Tea Party” was the result. This occurrence the inscription on the tablet Itself sufficiently explains. “Here formerly stood Griffins Wharf, at which lay moored on Dec, 16, 1773, three British ships with cargoes of tea. To defeat King George’s trivial but tyrannical tax of three pence a pound, about ninety citizens of Boston, partly disguised as Indians, boarded the ships, threw the cargoes, three hundred ftnd forty-two chests In all, Into the sea, and made the world ring with the patriotic exploit of the BO9TON TEA PARTY. “No! ne’er was mingled such a draught In palace, hall, or arbor. As freemen brewed and tyrants quaffed That night in Boston harbor.” A large building on the corner of Pearl street and Atlantic avenue, devoted to commercial purposes, now marks the site of Griffin’s wharf where this event occurred. The first armed resistance to Great Britain SJ, ’EX » x

that some cannon and munitions of war had been placed in Salem by the colonists, so he sent Colonel Leslie In a vessel from Castle William to seize them. They landed at Marblehead, marched into Salem, and not finding what they sought, moved toward Danvers. Part way between the two towns at a small drawbridge, which is now marked* by the tablet shown In the illustration, they found a large number of people assembled, and on the opposite side 40 militia under Timothy Pickering. The drawbridge was up and Pickering refused to let it down. Leslie -tried to ferry his troops over In a gondola near by, whereupon the colonists promptly scuttled the craft. The British troops eventually returned to their* vessel, but without the cannon. The first real battle of the Revolution was fought at Lexington, Mass. In the spring of 1775 General Gage was informed that the colonists had deposited a large quantity of munitions of war at Concord, a village some 16 miles outside of Boston, and he planned a secret expedition to seize them. The alert and wary colonists heard of his plan, however, and through the immortal ride of Paul Revere, the whole countryside was alarmed. When Major Pitcairn, with some 800 men (the advance guard of the British), arrived at Lexington on their way to Concord, they were met there on the village green by about seventy determined men under Capt. Jonas Parker. The British ordered them to disperse, and when they refused to do so, fired upon them, killing eight and wounding a number of others. This began the Revolutionary war. It was at Cambridge,'Mass., that the anny of the colonists was gathered for the march against the British at Bunker HUI. The city of Cambridge, one of the county seats of Middlesex county, Massachusetts, Is separated from the greater city of Boston by the Charles river. It is chiefly noted for three things: As the seat of Harvard university, as the place where Washington took command of the Continental army on July 2, 1775, which was only a short distance from the spot shown In the illustration. and for the occurrence marked and described by the tablet also. The building in the background is the Law library of Harvard university. The battlefield of Bunker Hill at Charlestown, now part of the city of Boston, Is marked by an Imposing monument, erected on a commanding Site on the summit of Breed’s Hill. The cornerstone of this huge granite obelisk was laid on June 17, 1825 —the fiftieth anniversary of the battle. Lafayette was at this time on a visit to America, and he was present at the ceremony; Daniel Webster delivered an oration. The monument stands on Breed’s l Hill, near the ' center of the ground Included in the old breastwork. It is built of Quincy granite, and is 221 feet in height. It is 30 feet square at the base. and 15 feet square at the spring of (the apex. The top may be reached by a flight of 285 stone steps. There is a room in Its top with four Ironshuttered windows. The monument was not completed until 1843, when It was dedicated in the

presence of President Tyler and his 'cabinet. The general impression is that this engagement of the Revolution was fought on Bunker Hill, so It figures in history as the “Battle of Bunker Hill.” In reality It was fought on Breed’s HIJI, some distance from the former. The “Minute Men” were so called because of their ability to assemble upon a minute’s notice. In April, 1775, after having dispersed the 70 colonists under Captain Parker who resisted them at Lexington, about six miles away, Major Pitcairn pressed forward toward Concord. By this time the whole country was aroused, and the militia flocked toward Concord from every direction. The Middlesex farmers, armed with every conceivable weapon, prepared to defend their homes and their rights. The battle of Concord started at North Bridge, near Concord (the first volley was fired by the British). The spot is marked by the famous statue of a typical “Minute Man." So incensed were the colonists that the whole 800 British would have been destroyed had they not been re-enforced by more troops from Lexington. They retreated to Lexington, and then, after a short rest, the whole body, 1,800 strong, started their march of retreat to Charlestown. During the whole of their ten-mile march, they were terribly assailed by the infuriated colonists. They finally reached their destination and under the guns of the British war vessels spent the night at Charlestown, crossing over to Boston morning. During this affair the British lost 273 men; the colonists lost 103. During the war of 1812 Sir Isaac Brock, a major general of the Canadian forces, personally led his troops in the battle of, Queenston, where he was killed on October 13, 1812.‘ The British government caused a fine monument to be erected to his memory in St. Paul’s cathedral, London. In 1816 the Canadians struck a medal to his memory, and on the heights of Queenston built a beautiful Tuscan column, over 130 feet in height. In the base of which a tomb was formed and in which the general’s remains now repose. The small monument here shown marks the spot where he was killed.