University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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John Adams had been sent to Phila- delphia to attend the second continental congress. He was lonely and in a lot of ways out of touch with his native land. Letters were the only means of staying in touch not only with peoplebut also with events. In the privacy of his letters to his wife, he gives us a look at what our founding fathers were really concerned with much of the time. No one had all the answers and much was in doubt. John knew better than most the great- ness of his task. John Adamsg June 10, 1775 Another story, concerning Parson Ashley in Deerfield, is that in a sermon soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, he declared that the souls of the rebels who fell there went straight to Hell. When he went back for the afternoon service, he found the pulpit door nailed up. He called upon his Deacon, Jonathan Arms, the blacksmith, to get some in- strument and open the door. The dea- con replied that he did not use his tools on the Sabbath. THIS BELFRY WAS ERECTED ON THIS HILL IN l7E AND REMOVED TO THE COMMON IN l768. IN l' WAS HUNG THE BELL WHICH RUNG OUT TH ALARM ON THE I IN THE SOUTH PART OF THE TOWN IN ISSI IT WAS BROUGHT BACK TO THISHILLBY LEXINGTON HISTORICALSOCIET I 9' OF APRIL l775. IN I797ITWAS REMOVED TO THE PARKER HOMESTE T DESTROYEDBYA GALEIBO9. REBUILT I9 Captain Dickinson gathered some men to form a company of Minutemen after the battle of Concord had been fought and trained them till they were ready to see battle. The Amherst Min- utemen first fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill. The Charlemont town trail was used as a highway for soldiers and supplies from Boston to the Hudson Valley. Charlemont also saw the troops march- ing back to Boston with the wounded and the prisoners from the Battle of Saratoga. ln I777 in Conway, every ablebodied man is said to have marched out ofthe town to meet and fight General Bur- goyne. ig f t fl!!! F-I . v .I . It ii f I I s l I My dear, with smarting eyes, I must write a few lines to ' you. I never had in my life such severe duty to do, andl was never worse qualified to do it. My eyes depress my spirits, and my health is quite infirm. Yeti keep about, and attend congress constantly. I wish I could write freely to you, my dear, but I The scene before me is complicated enough. It requires better eyes and better nerves than mineg yet I will not despond. I will lay all difficulties prostrate at my feet. My health and life ought to be risked in the cause of my country, as well as yours, and all my friends. l It is impossible to convey to you any adequate idea of the discomforts I am under. I wish that you and our friends may not be in greater distress than I am. Yet I fear you are. Pray let me know as often as possible. I don't know the state of Boston people as exactly as I could wish. t U Two days ago we saw a very wonderful phenomenon .in this city: A field day. Three battalions of soldiers were reviewed, all in uniforms, going through the manual exercise, and the maneuvers, with remarkable deitter- ity. All this has been accomplished in this city since the 19th of April: so formation of an army never took place anywhere. In congress we are bound to secrecy. But, my dear, I believe that ten thousand men will be maintained in Massachusetts and five thousand in New York I must close now. My love and duty where due -n1f'.l?w9' 26 v. I

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xii l' keep warm and dry on the soggy ground, All night we lis- tened to singers and speakers, against war, against the go- vernment, against the Presi- dent. Phil Ochs sang .. l ainit marching anymore ... and the crowd screamed and cheered. They questioned the war, the government, and who killed President Kennedy? Khmer Rouge, Vietnam, and on and on . . . Power and freedom for the people, strung out in a carnival atmosphere. Pete Seeger and Holly Near, Richard Chavez, and United Farm Workers. The rain came, the liquor bot- tles came out. Freezing in four feet of mud, comrades huddled together under unbrellas. TV cameras whirred, reporters took notes. An endless night set in along with fatigue, and everyone waited for dawn or Arlo Guthrie. The area surrounding the North Bridge was checked con- tinuously. People swarmed everywhere, even the trees were crowded. The whole atmos- phere was unreal, the rally of the PBC seemed inappropriate, belonging to another place and another time. Everyone re- membered Woodstock, and some tried to relive some of the old feeling. But it was gone, and this was not the place to get it back. At about 3:30 AM we began to make our way back over the North Bridge toward Concord. We wanted to be in Lexington to observe the reenactment of the battle on the green at 5 AM. We had been told that there would be bus service provided between the towns of Lexing- ton and Concord. In order to pick up the bus, we figured we had better be to the waiting spot early. All the policemen we asked about the bus service had no idea what we were talk- ing about, so we decided to walk and have the bus catch up to us. As we walked closer to town we noticed many of the town's people walking with picnic bas- kets, folding chairs, children, blankets and other things in order to find a good spot to see the parade, which was to start about six hours later. The prime spots near the Bridge were already filled by 4 a.m. In the center of Concord, we asked more policemen about

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