Robert Treat Paine Papers, Volume 3
This morning early Aunt Paine had a visit from Mr. Collins with your welcome Pacquet. His account of you & your letters was a fine repast to us before breakfast. Mr. Collins’s agreable address & behaviour demanded a welcome reception, but his being commissioned by you Sir made him doubly welcome. How agreable it tis to see a Person that has so Lately been in company with an absent Friend? His visit was not so long as we should have been glad to have had, as we wanted to ask many more questions than we had time to think of. I have taken my feather from the jay as you directed & thank you Sir for your kind remembrance of all us poor refugees from the realy distressed town of Boston. I have long thought it my duty to write to you, but things have wore so melancholy an aspect that I did not feel stedy eno’ to write any thing worth sending so far as Philadelphia. I hope Sir you will not think it want of respect. I am under Such infinite obligations to you & my Aunt, that my heart overflows with gratitude when I reflect upon the many blessings indulgent heaven has bestowed upon me above many hundreds of the Poor Sufferers who have not a Friend to go to when they are deprived of every Convenience of Life. My Sister Polly & I came here the 25th of April, the day after you left your family. I was Sorry for my own sake you was not here. We were then in a most melancholy afflicted 67state. Papa Mama & our little Sister lying at Gages mercy which you know, Sir, was not to be depended upon & Papa one of the most obnoxious men in town, to the present Government. Heaven! only knows, what I Suffered in one fortnight, which was spent, without hearing one word from Papa, any more than from those in the Silent tomb. Our whole Consolation was, that we Put all our trust in that God, who is able to deliver his People out of the deepest distresses, where no humane aid can help them, & that being to whom we looked for mercy did not forsake us, but after three weeks cruel Seperation we all met again, at your hospitable mantion (happy in that Privilege) which we all flew to for Safety from Insant danger having no other Freind who resided in a Place of Safety. But Sir, you cant imagine how Painfull the reflection, that we had no home nor where withal to Provide ourselves one. However as it will serve no one good end to think too much upon the dark & melancholy side, according to yr. kind injunctions, we make ourselves as happy as we can & enjoy in the most Prudent maner, the many blessing kind heaven has bestowed upon your Family & thro’ them upon us, with hearts full of gratitude to him who, is benefisence itself for his divine interssotion between us & our enemys. He seems to have espoused our Cause & will if we walk in the ways of religion & virtue extricate us from our presant afflections. Tis nesasary we should be Chastised, & we must humbly kiss the sod which has already given us several severe strokes, & Perhaps will many more, ere, those happy days of Peace & tranquility, America used to enjoy will return to us again. You have before this time, had a Particular account of the battle at Charlestown & of the destruction of that town the 17th of June, the loss we met with in the death of our amiable & worthy Friend Doctor Warren. I will not attempt to describe, but he dyed gloriously in a glorious Cause, & we must be all Submission to the ways of Providence knowing they are unerring wisdom.
We divide the labour of the Family amoung us so as not to burden my Aunt any more than we cant help. We are sorry to be obliged to enlarge her Family so much. She is very kind to us & is I think more cheerfull & sprightly than she used to be, so I hope she does not esteem it a very great affliction. We all try to make ourselves as agreable & usefull as Posible to her, that her Life may be as happy as the Present scituation of affairs both Public & private will admit.
Papa is employed in Publick business at Cambrige Watertown &c. only comes to see us he is with us now, but will leave us in a day or two. 68We all thank you for the Sermon you sent us. Tis very much admired.1 I long to hear that Gentleman Preach. The Doctor says he will Preach it to us in the Pulpit if the Parson will give us an introductory Prayer.
Your little ones are all well. Cousin Bob improves much in a manly behaviour & in reading. He says he will go to Philadelphia & have the small Pox if I will go with him & take care of him. Sally goes to meeting every sunday & is good girl. Tommy is a Saucy chattering Boy. We all love him tho he is not very good natured. Your garden grows finely. We have had a fine Plenty of Peas & beans & Sallad & some Squashes. No Cucumbers yet. It has been very dry but we have lately had fine refreshing rains & very hot weather. Fruit of every kind will be very Plenty this year.
I think Sir I have done my share at writing. I wish it were more agreable & inteligable but such as it is, I hope you will receive it in a Leasure hour & find time to asure me you read it as a token of my most gratefull thanks duty & respect. I shall be much gratified with a line from your Pen. I am dear Sir with my Prayers for the blessings of heaven upon all yr. labours both Publick & Private yr. most obliged Niece & humble. Sert.
A Sermon on the Present Situation of American Affairs. Preached in Christ-Church, June 23, 1775. At the Request of the Officers of the Third Battallion of the City of Philadelphia, and District of Southwark, by William Smith (1727–1803), provost of the College of Philadelphia. This sermon, as several subsequent family letters note, was printed in both Philadelphia and Wilmington, and later that year went through editions in London, Bristol, Dublin, and Belfast. It caused quite a stir in the patriot community, promoting the concept that “the people of this country know their rights, and will not consent to a passive surrender of them” (iv).
That natural Indolence of Disposition with which I am curs’d, & those little unforeseen accidents of Time which have depriv’d Kingdoms of their purposes, have prevented me from writing; ’till I begin sensible to feel what my Parsons tell me every Sunday (or more properly once in a year) that the procrastinating any Duty encreases the deficulty 69of perform it. Thus much for an excuse. Your four Letters of the 28th May, 9th, 10th of June & 5th of July1 are safely come to hand, and as it gives me great pleasure to hear of such Unanimity presiding in the Congress; so that pleasure, if possible is encreas’d, by knowing that your Health & good Spirits are still continued to you. It is so long since I wrote you last, and the Military operations since being so numerous, that to particularize them wou’d take up more paper than you’d have patience to read & more time than I can conveniently spare; and as you must be inform’d of all the Transactions of Note, either by the Public papers or by private Intelligence, let it suffice for me to say, that the Battles of Hog-Island & Bunkers Hill will eternize the Memory of Infant American Soldiers.2 Dr. Warren is gone. Coll. Gardner3 is dead and Coll. Parker,4 who was taken prisoner has since died of his wounds in Boston. These are losses we shall feel for the present, but we’ll have the World to know that from their Ashes will rise Thousands of Warren’s, Gardner’s and Parker’s that shall carry, if need be, the American Standard to the Capital of the Empire.
Within this week past our Army have burn’t Brown’s, and the other Houses adjacent, on the Neck, which the Regulars improv’d as Guard Houses, and plunder’d two Guns, a Drum etc., without the loss of a Man kill’d or wounded; soon after which they clear’d Long Island of the stock that was upon it, took about 14 prisoners and came off indiscover’d; but as they had not burnt the Hay, Barnes, Houses &c., a party of ’em were desireous of returning in the day time to do it, which they effected, but were oblig’d to return thro’ a heavy fire from the Ships, arm’d Boats, &c., with the loss only of one man kill’d & one missing. These are bold actions.
Intrenchments are forming in diverse parts of Roxbury, and one was thro’d up on the marsh beyond Roxbury Burying ground towards Boston, whilst the Enemy in plane Ground kept a constant fire, and not a Man hurt. These little incidents serve to make our Soldierry vastly bold and enterprising.
A great number of Whale Boats, say 200, were, sometime last week bro’t to Roxbury and last Thursday were convey’d over to the North side of Roxbury Hill down towards the Marsh, for what purpose we know not, but suspect hot work pretty soon. Thus much for Camp Intelligence. Now to come to our domestic Affairs. At our last Election for Deligates, you was join’d with Coll. George5 & Deacn. Simn. Williams6; and last Monday we chose our Representatives, when you & Coll. Williams were elected. Our Friend George G—7 is develish mad that he can’t obtain his 70Election, as he thinks himself a pritty good Son now; but he must eat humble pye for two or three years yet for his past curs’d behaivour. Old Father Baylies8 is as noisey as ever and the Doctr. is a
Mr. Collins & Compy. past thro’ this Town last Fryday. We took all the Notice of them that the shortness of their stay wou’d admit of. I am much pleas’d with his conversation. We are all, thank God, in high spirits, and want nothing more than to meet our Enemies whenever the cause of our Country shall call for it. Whenever such a good natur’d mood come across me as has this Evening, I shall write you again; such a mood, your are sensible has not happen’d for this two Months past, but the Disorder not being periodical, I expect a return in about ten days, as I begin to perseive some symptoms of its approach. In the meantime present my respectfull Compliments to the Deligates from this Provence, and remember me to all Friends, if I have any such, in Philadelphia, and believe me to be, what I always have been, Your Much Oblig’d & sincere Friend
Be so good as to purchase me a Hanger, the price not to exceed a Moidore, & a pr. of Horse Pistols, if any such can be found in the City, likewise 3 lb. Cort. Peruv. opt.10 as we have no good in this part of the World. If you can convey ’em to me safely, do it, if not let ’em rest ’till you come. I forgot to mention that I am now collecting Materials for a Salt Petre Works, and intend, by the blessing of God to produc 500 C.11 between this & next April. This is not reckoning the Chickens before they are hatch’d, for I am possitive I can make it. John Cobb our ingenious Gun Smith was kill’d by Lightening last Tuesday, a great loss to us at this time. Adieu!
71
None of these letters is known to have survived. Cobb had apparently not received one additional letter, dated June 17 and printed above.
Although the Battle of Bunker Hill is still considered the first major military engagement of the American Revolution, Dr. Cobb was not as accurate in suggesting that the Battle of Hog Island would be equally remembered. The latter was an American raid on Hog Island in Boston Harbor to take the livestock held there by the British Army (Allen French, The First Year of the American Revolution [Boston, 1934], 190–194).
Col. Thomas Gardner of Cambridge died July 3 of his wounds.
Lt. Col. Moses Parker of Chelmsford (1731–1775) was wounded at the battle and taken as a prisoner to Boston, where he died July 4.
Col. George Williams (1717–1803) had served as a major in the Third Regiment of Bristol County and by 1774 was a lieutenant colonel in that unit. He was representative to the Provincial Congress in 1775, and the same year was appointed to Taunton’s newly formed Committee of Inspection and Correspondence. When the Bristol County Brigade was organized in February 1776, Williams was appointed colonel of the Third Regiment. He resigned on Feb. 19, 1779, on account of advanced age and ill health. Col. Williams later served as selectman in Taunton, 1780 (Emery, History of Taunton, 371, 436, 441, 474).
Dea. Simeon Williams (1717–1794) served as a captain in the local militia and was a captain of the Third Regiment in 1774. In 1775 he was a representative to the Provincial Congress and a member of the Taunton Committee of Inspection and Correspondence. Williams also served several terms as selectman, 1760–1766, 1770, 1777 (Emery, History of Taunton, 360, 436, 474).
George Godfrey (c. 1720–1793) represented Taunton in the General Court (1770–1772, 1775, 1779, 1784), was town treasurer in 1775, and from 1775 served on the Committee of Safety. In 1776 he became brigadier general in the Massachusetts militia (Schutz, Legislators of the Mass. General Court, 232).
Nicholas Baylies (d. 1807), father of Dr. William Baylies, ran the forge at Uxbridge, Mass., until 1757 when he moved to Taunton to take over the forging operation of the ironworks there (
Sibley’s Harvard Graduates
, 14:552).
John McWhorter (d. 1800) was on the alarm list but did not march on the alarm in Rhode Island, Dec. 8, 1776. However, he did later serve in Capt. Joshua Wilbore’s company for the Tiverton Alarm, August 1780. McWhorter was a sometime part-owner of the Whittington Iron Works with various members of the Leonard family (Emery, History of Taunton, 451, 466, 632).
Cortex peruviana (cinchona) is powdered bark used as an astringent and as an antiseptic, especially for patients with intermittent fevers (J. Worth Estes, Dictionary of Protopharmacology: Theraputic Practices, 1700–1850 [Canton, Mass., 1990], 47–48).