Worcester State University - Oak Leaf Yearbook (Worcester, MA)

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Although the bicentennial celebrations infrequently focus on the tragedies encountered by the Loyalists, there were many such families irreparably split by the Revolution and its political consequences. Their experience was ah inseparable part of our nation’s past as well. The narrative which follows, reviews the lives of five individuals whose experiences during the Revolution had an impact upon the history of the Worcester County area. Many will recognize immediately Henry Knox, whose trek from Fort Ticonderoga to Cambridge received a great deal of publicity in the area during the past winter. On the other hand, few will recollect the name of Deborah Sampson Gannett, a patriot of true courage, who enlisted in the Continental Army under the name Robert Shurtliff. She successfully retained her male disguise during several campaigns and over a considerable period of time. Shortly before receiving her honorable discharge, her true identity was revealed. Timothy Bigelow was a Worcester Blacksmith who left his shop to answer the call for freedom. He fought gallantly throughout the revolutionary campaign, but spent his later life in a debtor’s prison because he was unable to meet the demands of the local mortgage holders, whose fortunes were protected while Timothy labored to secure their liberty. • Next we come upon the tragic tales of Timothy Ruggles and his daughter, Bathesheba, whose once secure were deeply affected by their decision to remain loyal to the Mother Country. Ruggles, more commonly known as “Brigadier Ruggles,’’ was a rich farmer, lawyer, judge, legislator and ex-soldier whose station in life and personal ideologies caused him to remain loyal to the Crown. In earlier times, he was well respected by his neighbors, ♦ but when the battle lines were drawn, Ruggles left his Hardwick farm, rode to Boston through a hostile mob, organized a band of Loyalist supporters, lost his property, and eventually died in exile. 3

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In this bicentennial year, the nation commemorates the founding of our country and reafirms, through its various programs and celebrations, the aspirations and dreams of our forebearers who struggled and eventually achieved the freedom which we cherish today. However, the Battle for Independence was not easily won. Today’s rhetoric is surely an echo, cast from a struggle which levied its toll upon the citizens of colonial times. In reality, the Revolution was our first civil war. It was a war which pitted father against son, brother against brother, daughter against mother and even wife against husband. The bicentennial celebration, in its various forms, is merely an attempt to recreate a facsimile of the events that occurred during the American Revolution and to pay tribute to those persons who invested their own fortunes and, in some cases, their lives in support of a cause they firmly believed. As throughout every period of history, the time produced some unique events. In addition, it placed into public view the lives of individual persons whose deeds created a sense of pride in their fellow patriots; but in other cases, the deeds of some produced shame and dishonor within the community and its citizens. Throughout the colonies, the matter was similar. Emotion was high and opinion strong, relative to the leading political questions of the day. The mood was set in Central Massachusetts — the Worcester County area was a microcosm of the political controversy which existed throughout the colonies. Standing at one extreme were the Colonists, Revolutionaries or Rebels, as they were referred to by the British. At the other end ' of the spectrum were the Royalists, Loyalists or Forces as they were called by the Colonists. The Loyalists, for a variety of not necessarily altruistic reasons, remained faithful to the Crown and, for their decision to do so, lost their rightful property, their citizenship, and were banished from the colonies into exile. 2

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Even more shocking was the story of Ruggle’s daughter, Bathesheba Ruggles Spooner. Bathesheba, while in her teens, married a much older but well-to-do Brookfield farmer by the name of Joshua Spooner. The political views held by Spooner were contrary to those of his wife and the difference was exacerbated by Spooner’s own sour demeanor, Bathesheba’s assertiveness, strong loyalty to her father and the turmoil of the time. A young soldier, recently discharged from Washington’s army, came to live at the homestead. He and Bathesheba fell in love and she became pregnant. In those times, divorce was practically impossible. Little sympathy was held for Bathesheba by the townspeople due to her outspoken manner and avowed loyalty to Britain and her father. In desperation, she enlisted the aid of her houseguest and two British prisoners of war. They succeeded in killing Spooner, were immediately caught, tried and hung. Although the events recounted here have special local significance, their repercussions were felt from Lexington to Yorktown. Even today, we are affected by those events which occurred 200 years ago. The Bicentennial Celebration rekindles their memory. One of the more colorful events of the Bicentennial Celebration was the reinactment of the trek of General Henry Knox from Fort 4 I