Davis Monument

"On the morning of that eventful day the Provincial officers held a council of war near the old North Bridge in Concord; and as they separated, Davis exclaimed, 'I haven't a man that is afraid to go!' and immediately marched his company from the left to the right of the line, and led in the first organized attack upon the troops of George III in that memorable war, which by the help of God, made the thirteen colonies independent of Great Britain and gave political being to the United States of America. "Acton, April 19, 1851." (On the northwest face of the monument, directly under the arch, is cut the above inscription)

WHO was Captain Isaac Davis? Who was Abner Hosmer? Who was James Hayward? And what was Concord fight? What did they fight for, and what did they win? These were Massachusetts Province militiamen, not in these good, quiet, piping times of peace, but in 1775, at the very dark, gloomy outbreak of the American Revolution.

General Gage had full possession of this city. The flag that waved over it was not that of "the old pine-tree;" nor that one, with that beautiful insignia over your head, sir, with the uplifted right hand lettered over with this most warlike, and, to my taste, most appropriate motto in a wrongful world like this, "Ense petit placidam, sub libertete quietem." No, no! It was the flag of that hereditary despot, George the Third.

And if there had been no Isaac Davis or other men of his stamp on the ground on that day, the flag of the crouching lion, the flag of Queen Victoria, due successor to that same hated George the Third, first the oppressor, and then the unscrupulous murderer of our fathers, --yes, I know what I say, the unscrupulous murderer of our fathers,-- would still wave over this beautiful city, and would now be streaming in the wind over every American ship in this harbor. Where, in that case, would have been this legislature? Why, sir, it would never have been; and my conscientious friend from West Brookfield, instead of sitting here a good "Free-Soil" man as he is, would have been called to no such high vocation as making laws for a free people, for the good old Commonwealth of Massachusetts, voting for Robert Rantoul, Jun., or Charles Sumner, or Hon. Mr. Winthrop, to represent us in a body known as the United States Senate, pronounced the most august, dignified legislative assembly in the civilized world. Oh, no! Far otherwise! If permitted to legislate at all, it would be done under the dictation of Queen Victoria; and if he made laws, it would be with a ring in his nose to pull him this way and that, or with his head in the British lion's mouth, --that same lion's mouth which roared in 1775, showing his teeth and lashing his sides at our fathers.

This city was in full possession of the enemy, and had been for several months. General Gage had converted the house of prayer, the Old South Church, --where we met a few days since, to sit, delighted auditors, to that unsurpassed Election Sermon, --into a riding-school, a drilling-place for his cavalry. The pulpit, and all the pews of the lower floor, were, with vandal violence, torn out, and tan brought in; and here the dragoons of King George practised, on their prancing warhorses, the sword exercise, with Tory ladies and gentlemen for spectators in the galleries.

Information had been received from most reliable sources that valuable powder, ball, and other munitions of war, were deposited in Concord. General Gage determined to have them. Concord was a great place in '75. The Provincial Congress had just suspended its session there of near two months, adjourning over to the 10th of May, with Warren for their president, and such men as old Samuel Adams, John Hancock, John Adams. and James Otis as their advisers. Yes, Concord was the centre of the brave old Middlesex, containing within it all the early battlegrounds of liberty, -- Old North Bridge, Lexington Common, and Bunker of the Province, the seat of the government of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay.

And Concord had within it as true-hearted Whig patriots as ever breathed. Rev. Mr. Emerson was called a "high son of liberty." To contend with tyrants, and stand up against them, resisting unto blood, fighting for the inalienable rights of the people, was a part of his holy religion. And he was one of the most godly men and eloquent ministers in the colony. He actually felt it to be his duty to God to quit that most delightful town and village, and the most affectionate church and people, and enter the Continental army, and serve them as a chaplain of a regiment.

What a patient, noble-hearted, truthful, loyal, confiding, affectionate generation of men they were! And remember, these were the men, exasperated beyond all further endurance by the course of a deluded Parliament and besotted ministry, who flew to arms on the 19th of April, 1775. These were the men who then hunted up their powder-horns and bullet-pouches, took down their guns from the hooks, and ground up their bayonets, on that most memorable of all days in the annals of the Old Thirteen Colonies, -- nay, in the annals of the world, --which record the struggles that noble men have made in all ages to be free!

Why, sir, the 19th of April, '75, that resistance, open, unorganized, armed, marshalled resistance at the Old North Bridge, that marching down in battle array at that soul-stirring air which every soldier in this house must remember to this day, for the tune is in fashion yet, -- I mean "The White Cockade," -was itself a prior declaration of independence, written out not with ink upon paper or parchment, but a declaration of independence made by drawn swords, uplifted right arms, fixed bayonets ground sharp, cracking musketry, -- a declaration written out in the best blood of this land, at Lexington first, and finally all the way for eighteen miles from Old North Bridge to Charlestown Neck, where those panting fugitives found shelter under the guns of British ships of war, riding at anchor in Mystic River ready to receive them; a declaration that put more at hazard, and cost the men who made it more, after all, of blood and treasure, than that of 1776.

Well, I always thought ever since I read it when a boy, that if I had fought on either side it would have been with Napoleon against the allied forces. But what is the question to me, or what is the question to you, or to any of us, or our children after us, if we are to be ruled over by crowned heads and hereditary monarchs? What matters it who they are, or which one it shall be?

In ancient times, three hundred Greeks, under Leonidas, stood in the pass of Thermopyloe, and for three successive days beat back and kept at bay five million Persians, led on by Xerxes the Great. It was a gallant act; but did it preserve the blood-bought liberties of Greece? No. In time they were cloven down, and the land of Demosthenes and Solon marked for ages by the footsteps of the slaves.

I regard them as one great drama, scene first of which was at Lexington early in the morning, when old Mrs. Harrington called up her son Jonathan, who alone, while I speak, survives of all that host on either side in arms that day. He lives, blessed be God, he still lives! I know him well, a trembling, but still breathing memento of the renowned past, yet lingering by mercy of God on these "mortal shores," if for nothing else, to wake up your sleeping sympathies, and induce you, if anything could, to aid in the noble work of building over the bones of his slaughtered companions-in-arms, Davis, Hosmer, and Hayward, such a monument as they deserve. Oh, I wish he was here, I wish he only stood on yonder platform, noble man!

"Concord Fight" broke the ice. "Concord Fight," the rush from the heights at North Bridge, was the first open, marshalled resistance to the king. Our fathers, cautious men, took there a step that they could not take back if they would, and would not if they could. Till they made that attack, probably no British blood had been shed.

If rebels at all, it was only on paper. They had not levied war. They had not vi et armis attacked their lawful king. But by that act they passed the Rubicon. Till then they might retreat with honor, but after that it was too late. The sword was drawn, and had been made red in the blood of princes, in the person of their armed defenders.

Attacking Captain Laurie and his detachment at North Bridge was, in law, attacking King George himself. Now they must fight or be eternally disgraced. And now they did fight in good earnest. They drew the sword, and threw away, as well as they might, the scabbard. Yesterday they humbly petitioned. They petitioned no longer. Oh, what change from the 19th to the 20th of April!

They had been, up to that day, a grave, God-fearing, loyal set of men, honoring the king. Now they strike for national independence; and after seven years of war, by the help of God, they won it. They obtained nationality. It that day breathed into life; the Colony gave way to the State; that morning Davis and all of them were British colonists. They became by that day's resistance, either rebels doomed to die by the halter, or free, independent citizens. If the old pine-tree flag still waved over them unchanged, they themselves were changed entirely and forever.

Old Middlesex was allowed the privilege of opening the war, of first baptizing the land with her blood. God did well to select old Middlesex, and the loved and revered centre of old Middlesex, namely, Concord, as the spot, not where this achievement was to be completed, but where it was to be begun, and well begun; where the troops of crowned kings were to meet, not the troops of the people, but the people themselves, and be routed and beaten from the field, and what is more, stay beaten, we hope, we doubt not, to the end of time.

And let us remember that our fathers, from the first to the last in that eventful struggle, made most devout appeals to Almighty God. It was so with the whole Revolutionary War. It was all begun, continued, and ended in God. Every man and every boy that went from the little mountain town of Acton, with its five hundred souls, went that morning from a house of prayer. A more prayerful, pious, God-fearing, man-loving people, I have never read or heard of. If you have, sir, I should like to know who they are, and where they live. They were Puritans, Plymouth Rock Puritans, men who would petition and petition and petition, most respectfully and most courteously, and when their petition and petitioners, old Ben Franklin and the rest, were proudly spurned away from the foot of the throne, petition again; and do it again for more than ten long, tedious years. But after all they would fight, and fight as never man fought; and they did fight.

When such men take up arms, let kings and queens take care of themselves. When you have waked up such men to resistance unto blood, you have waked up a lion in his den. You may kill them, -- they are vulnerable besides on the heel, -- but my word for it, you never can conquer them.

Davis's minute-men were ready first, and were on the ground first. They were an élite corps, young men, volunteers; and give me young men for war. They were to be ready at a moment's warning. They were soon at Davis's house and gun-shop, and they waited here till about fifty had arrived. While there some of them were powdering their hair, just as the Greeks were accustomed to put garlands of flowers on their heads as they went forth to battle; and they expected a battle. They were fixing their gun-locks, and making a few cartridges; but cartridges and cartridge-boxes were rare in those days. The accoutrements of the heroes of the Revolution were the powder-horn and the bullet-pouch, at least of the militia.

And Concord Fight, with all its unequalled and uneclipsed glory, was won, by the help of God, by Massachusetts militiamen. Some were laughing and joking to think that they were going to have what they had for months longed for, -- a "hit at old Gage." But Davis was a thoughtful, sedate, serious man, a genuine Puritan, like Samuel Adams; and he rebuked them. He told them that in his opinion it was "a most eventful crisis for the colonies; blood would be spilt, that was certain. The crimsoned fountain would be opened; none could tell when it would close, nor with whose blood it would flow. Let every man gird himself for battle, and not be afraid, for God is on our side. He had great hope that the country would be free, though he might not live to see it." The truth was, and it should come out, Davis expected to die that day if he went into battle. He never expected to come back alive to that house.

And no wonder that after the company started, and had marched out of his lane some twenty rods to the highway, he halted them, and went back. He was an affectionate man. He loved that youthful wife of his, and those four sick children, and he thought to see them never again; and he never did. There was such a presentiment in his mind. His widow has often told me all about it; and she thought the same herself. And no wonder he went back, and took one more last, lingering look of them, saying -- he seemed to want to say something; but as he stood on that threshold where I have often stood, and where, in my mind's eye, I have often seen his manly form, he could only say, "Take good care of the children;" the feelings of the father struggling in him and for a moment almost overcoming the soldier. The ground of this presentiment was this. A few days before the fight, Mr. Davis and wife had been away from home of an afternoon. On returning they noticed, as they entered, a large owl sitting on Davis's gun as it hung on the hooks, -- his favorite gun, the very gun he carried to the fight, a beautiful piece for those days, his own workmanship, the same he grasped in both hands when he was shot at the bridge, being just about to fire himself, and which, when stone dead, he grasped still, his friends having, to get it away, to unclinch his stiff fingers.

Sir, however you may view this occurrence, or however I may, it matters not. I am telling how that brave man viewed it, and his wife, and the men of those times. It was an ill omen, a bad sign. The sober conclusion was, that the first time Davis went into battle he would lose his life. This was the conclusion, and so it turned out. The family could give no account of the creature, and they knew not how it came in. The hideous bird was not allowed to be disturbed or frightened away; and there he stayed two or three days, siting upon the gun.

But mark, with this distinct impression on his mind, did the heart of that Puritan patriarch quail? No; not at all, not at all. He believed in the Puritan's God, -- the Infinite Spirit sitting on the throne of the universe, Proprietor of all, Creator and Upholder of all, superintending and disposing of all, that the hairs of his head were all numbered, and not even a sparrow could fall to the ground without his God's express notice, knowledge, and consent. He took that gun from those hooks with no trembling hand or wavering heart; and with his trusty sword hanging by his side, he started for North Bridge with the firm tread of a giant. Death! Davis did not fear to die. And he had the magic power, which some men certainly have, -- God bestows it upon them, -- to inspire everyone around them with the same feeling. His soldiers to a man would have gone anywhere after such a leader. After about two miles of hurried march, they came out of the woods only a few rods from Colonel James Barrett's, in Concord, and halted in the highway, whether discovered or not (this road came into the road by Barrett's, some twenty rods from Barrett's house), looking with burning indignation to see Captain Parsons and his detachment of British troops with axes break up the gun-carriages, and bring out hay and wood, and burn them in the yard.

They had great thoughts of firing in upon them then and there to venture. But Davis was a military man; and his orders were to rendezvous at North Bridge, and he knew very well that taking possession of North Bridge would cut off all retreat for this detachment of horse, and they must be taken prisoners.

In a few minutes more he wheeled his company into line on the high lands of North Bridge, taking the extreme left of the line, -- that line being formed facing the river, which was his place, as the youngest commissioned officer present in the regiment, -- a place occupied a few days before by him at a regimental muster of the minute-men.

A council of war was immediately summoned by Colonel James Barrett, and attended on the spot, made up of commissioned officers and Committees of Safety. The question was, What shall now be done? The Provincials had been talking for months -- nay, for years -- of the wrongs they had borne at the hands of a cruel motherland. They had passed good paper resolutions by the dozens. They had fired off their paper bullets; but what shall now be done? Enough had been said. What shall now be done? What a moment! What a crisis for the destinies of this land and of all lands, of the rights and liberties of the human race! Never was a council of war or council of peace called to meet a more important question, one on the decision of which more was at stake. Their council was divided. Some thought it best at once to rush down and take possession of the bridge, and cut off the retreat of Captain Parsons; others thought not.

Here were probably found in battle array over six hundred troops, standing there under arms. Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn were in plain sight, with their red coats on, their cocked-up hats and their spyglasses, inspecting from the old graveyard hills the gathering foe; for they came in from all directions, suddenly, unaccountably, like the gathering of a summer thunder-cloud. Of course it was admitted on all hands that they could take possession of the bridge, but it was to be expected that this skirmish must bring on a general engagement with the main body in the town. The Provincials would be in greater force by twelve o'clock m. than at nine. And if the whole British army of eight hundred men should take the field against them in their present number, most undoubtedly the men would run, -- they never would "stand fire." Their officers thought so; their officers said so on the spot. They gave it as their opinion, and it is probable that no attack at that hour would have been made had it not happened that, at that moment, the smoke began to rise from the centre of the town, -- all in plain sight from these heights, -- the smoke of burning houses. And they said, Shall we stand here like cowards, and see Old Concord burn?

Colonel Barrett gave consent to make the attack. Davis came back to his company, drew his sword, and commanded, them to advance six paces. He then faced them to the right, and at his favorite tune of "The White Cockade" led the column of attack towards the bridge. By the side of Davis marched Major Buttrick of Concord, as brave a man as lived, and old Colonel Robinson of Westford. The British on this began to take up the bridge; the Americans on this quickened their pace. Immediately the firing on both sides began. Davis is at once shot dead, through the heart. The ball passed quite through his body, making a very large wound, perhaps driving in a button of his coat.

His blood gushed out in one great stream, flying, it is said, more than ten feet, besprinkling and besmearing his own clothes, these shoe-buckles, and the clothes of Orderly Sergeant David Forbush, and a file leader, Thomas Thorp. Davis when hit, as is usual with men when shot thus through the heart, leaped up. his fall length and fell over the causeway on the wet ground, firmly grasping all the while, with both hands, that beautiful gun; and when his weeping comrades came to take care of his youthful but bloody remains, they with difficulty unclutched those hands now cold and stiff in death. He was just elevating to his sure eye this gun. No man was a surer shot. What a baptism of blood did those soldiers then receive! The question is now, Do these men deserve this monument, -- one that shall speak?

There never can be but one man who headed the first column of attack on the king's troops in the Revolutionary War. And Isaac Davis was that man. Others fell, but not exactly as he fell. Give them the marble. Vote them the monument, one that shall speak to all future generations, and speak to the terror of kings and to the encouragement of all who will be free, and who, when the bloody crisis comes to strike for it, "are not afraid to go."

Is there not an appointed time to man upon ye earth? are not his days also like the days of an hireling? As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away, so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know hint any more. -- JOB vii. I, 9, 10.

It is not known by whom, or when, or where the idea of building the monument on the common was first discussed in private. The first recorded public action took place on November 11, 1850 when the town, in meeting assembled, voted to remove the remains of Davis, Hosmer, and Hayward, their friends and relatives so willing, to a suitable place on Acton Common, and erect over them a monument; and that the selectmen together with the three ministers of the town, be a committee to layout what they thought proper and petition Congress an the state legislature for aid in the project.

"We, the undersigned, beg leave to represent that Capt. Isaac Davis of Acton, Mass., was under arms at Concord Fight, the 19th of April, A. D. 1775, and was shot dead at the first fire at the Old North Bridge in Concord, at the head of his company of Acton Minute Men, leading on the column of attack; that it is contemplated to erect over said Isaac Davis's remains a suitable Monument, and this is to pray you grant aid in erecting said monument."

The petition was presented to the legislature early in the session of 1851 and was referred to the joint committee on militia consisting of Saunders and Hawley of the Senate and Wilson of Lenox, Nettleton of Chicopee, Brastow of Somerville, Foster of Groveland, and Hatch of Mansfield, of the House. This committee gave Mr. Woodbury an attentive and gracious hearing as subsequently presented to the legislature a most favorable recommendation in which it was pointed out that Capt. Davis, as leader of the first organized resistance to the troops of King George belonged not only to Acton but to the commonwealth and the nation as well. The crux of the resolution is contained in the following paragraph:

"Resolved: That the sum of two thousand dollars be, and hereby is, appropriated for a monument to Capt. Isaac Davis, to be erected in the town of Acton, under the direction of his Excellency the Governor, in connection with a committee of said town, and the Governor is hereby authorized to draw his warrant accordingly: Provided the citizens of the said town of Acton raise the sum of five hundred dollars for the same purpose."

By a political maneuver Mr. Woodbury had been caught unawares but his adversaries were ill advised if they thought he was so readily whipped. This was just the sort of tight spot that challenged hi$ mettle and called forth all his forensic talents. He rose in his place and began as follows:

I had not expected that the question would be taken on these resolves at this day or at this hour. I am not prepared as I would have been to go into this, to me and the people I represent, exceedingly interesting matter. But the discussion of the merits of this bill has come on; objections, - very unexpected objections, - have been urged to its passage to a third reading; and I have just concluded that I may as well state my whole case to this House, now as ever. As I have the honor to present this petition, and was chosen by the town of Acton on the committee for the procuring of aid from the Commonwealth, it will be expected of me that I should make some extended remarks; otherwise I might have sat in dumb silence during the passage .of these resolves, leaving to other abler men the stirring theme. But even in that case I doubt, - averse as I honestly am to talking in any assembly, - whether I should have had sufficient 'restraining grace' after what has been said in opposition to this bill."

With withering scorn he made the observation that the "Breed of Tories had not yet died out" and then for an hour and a half, speaking entirely extemporaneously, he held the chamber spellbound. Holding aloft the shoe buckles of Davis and the powder horn of Hayward, which he had had in readiness against the day when he made his formal speech, he made what was undoubtedly the most sensational oration of his career.1 At its close a goodly number of eyes were damp

Mr. Kingman of Bridgewater then spoke in opposition to the measure and chided Mr. Woodbury for his anti- peace sentiments. He was interrupted by a motion to adjourn, which by parliamentary rules could not be debated and had to be immediately put to a vote. It failed decisively.

Mr. Banning of Monterey and Messrs. Schoulder and Munroe of Boston all supported the bill. They were interrupted by another motion to adjourn, a device evidently of the opposition to prevent action. The motion failed again, however, by a vote of 124 to 76. Immediately Mr. Kimball of Boston moved the previous question and the bill passed by a vote of one hundred ninety to thirty three.

One month later to a day the town voted to raise not only the specified five hundred dollars but an additional two hundred should it prove necessary. Evidently the decision was not universally pleasing since the records show that at a meeting held a month later there was an attempt made to abandon the whole project. The answer to this move was to reiterate the previous vote and in addition to proceed with a great celebration in which surrounding towns would be invited to participate.

Once these details were settled events moved on apace. The building committee believed in and practiced economy and expedition. Governor Boutwell was nominal chairman but the actual operations went forward under the indomitable drive of Mr. Woodbury. A variety of models were submitted by professional designers, not only for the monument but for the enclosing fence as wel1.2 In the meantime a sub committee had reported the cooperation and consent of the friends and relatives with respect to the moving of the remains.

Another sub committee authorized to proceed with proposals to build, advertised in the Quincy Democrat for three weeks, giving the information that inquiries were to be made at the state house where the models could be examined, and that bids would be accepted until May 19th. On May 26th contracts were signed with G. K. Eastman of Lowell and A. L. Hutchinson of Manchester, N. H.

On July 2nd the building committee of six already mentioned was augmented by thirty others to have overall supervision of the projected ceremonies In August the committee was instructed by the town to guarantee to the caterers a minimum of one thousand plates at the huge dinner contemplated for the dedication exercises.

The corner stone was laid on August 21st. A large choir directed by Col. Faulkner sang three Watts psalms, namely Majesty, Northfield, and Truro. Prayer was offered by Rev. Stinson and hymns written by Rev. Richardson were sung. Under the corner stone were placed, in a copper box, the following papers:

Previous to the laying of the corner stone the committee on arrangements had met on July 5th, and each Monday evening thereafter, had chosen Rev. Woodbury as chairman and had decided to invite Gov. Boutwell of Groton to deliver the oration and Rev. J. Pierpont of Medford to give the poem. Sub committees were selected to attend to invitations, contract for the dinner, the tent, to disinter the remains and prepare them for burial, to prepare the music, and to attend to the decorations.

Concord, Sudbury, Stow, Boxborough, Littleton, Westford and Carlisle were invited through their selectmen to participate in the celebration. All but Sudbury responded favorably. James Kimball of Littleton and John Fletcher of Boxborough were added to the committee on the dinner; John Keyes of Concord was added to the committee on invitations, as were also Rev. Bannister of Carlisle, E. Whitney of Stow, and Deacon Cutter of Westford.

The representatives from the adjacent towns listed in the Boston Weekly Journal of October 30, 1851 were as follows: Concord; Stedman Buttrick, F. R. Gourgas, John Stacy, J. S. Keyes; Littleton Benjamin Hale, Benjamin Barrett, Joel Boynton, John Jacobs; Westford; James Prescott, Isaac Day, Jr., Solomon Richardson, D. C. Butterfield. There were no representatives from Stow or Sudbury for reasons that do not appear in any of the records of the three towns concerned.

Before giving the details of the dedication exercises it might be well to consider the salient points with respect to the monument itself. The base is fifteen feet square, surmounted by an arch, which in turn supports an obelisk four feet four inches square at the top. The capstone is seventy-five feet from the foundation, which sets eight feet into the earth. The blocks are of Acton granite split from the ledges lying in the pasture of Mr. Putnam and several hundred feet to the rear of the Pederson truck barn on Newtown Road.1 These blocks are so cut that footholds exist on the inside of the obelisk making it possible for any reasonably agile adult to climb to the top. Every few courses a granite cross beam ties the whole rigidly. These are cleverly cut and placed so that the flagpole may be lowered for painting and incidental repairs. The bottom of the pole is squared to fit into a recess chiseled out of the last crossbeam a few feet below the capstone. The pole is twenty-five feet tall. Twice it has been shattered by lightning, once about Civil War time and again in the early nineteen hundreds. In the autumn of 1876 an American eagle created a minor sensation by perching on the top of the pole for a quarter of an hour.

"The Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town of Acton, co-operating to perpetuate the fame of their glorious deeds of patriotism, have erected this monument in honor of Capt. Isaac Davis and privates Abner Hosmer and James Hayward, citizen soldiers of Acton and Provincial Minute Men, who fell in Concord Fight, the 19th day of April, A. D.1775.

The slate gravestones, which stood for seventy-five years to mark the resting place of the three patriots in the old burying ground (not at this time named Woodlawn) had been laid on the sides of the mound surrounding the base of the monument. They were of ancient design and bear the following interesting inscriptions.

The nature of the first fence surrounding the monument is not known. Fletcher shows a photograph of a pen and ink sketch but whether it is a picture of the designer's draft or of the actual finished structure is not made clear. An article in the town warrant of June 1876 speaks of removing the inside fence. At the turn of the century there was but one, formed of heavy, sagging chains supported by square granite posts, which enclosed the whole banking including the gravestones mentioned above. At that time, what is now called Woodbury Lane continued on across the main street and made a junction with the road past the church in front of the present firehouse.

The dedication exercises took place on October 29, 1851. The day was lowering but comfortable and the rain held off until well after the conclusion of the exercises. The stars and stripes floated over the monument; four lines of flags extended from the ground to the corners of the capstone; the streets were ablaze with bunting and the village houses as well. In addition some five thousand persons were present to witness the spectacle.

The procession formed on the green at noon. In the forefront was the military escort of honor for the dead consisting of the First Artillery, the Concord Artillery accompanied by Flagg's Boston Brass Band, the Prescott Guards of Pepperell, and the Sudbury Rifles. Then came the civic procession under the command of chief marshal Col. Winthrop E. Faulkner of Acton. The next section was made up of the Governor and his staff, the President of the Massachusetts Senate, the invited guests, and the joint committees of arrangements for the various towns. Following these came the #1 division of the Order of United Americans and the Okommakamesit Fire Company #2 of Marlboro. The final two divisions were composed of citizens of Acton and the seven adjacent towns. Several of the delegations carried appropriate banners, the most conspicuous being that of Lexington. It was large and white with red fringe, carrying the date April 19, 1775, and the famous words, "Oh what a glorious day for America", uttered by Samuel Adams as he left Lexington that morning. On the reverse side were the names of Capt. Parker and the other patriots who fell in the cause of liberty on Lexington green.

From the common the procession moved toward the old burying ground where the remains of Davis, Hosmer, and Hayward awaited removal to the monument. The bones, which had been disinterred some days previously, were nearly entire, and were enclosed in an oblong, black walnut box, highly polished and studded with silver nails. The remains were enclosed in separate compartments, each marked upon the cover by a silver plate bearing the proper name. The cheekbone of Hosmer showed the trace of the ball, which caused his death, entering just below the left eye and emerging at the back of the neck. The box was placed in a hearse and under the escort of the Acton militia company, the Davis Guards, with First Lt. Daniel Jones in command, met the procession at what is now the junction of Concord Road with Nagog Hill Road. Here both parties halted - the military escort in open order with arms presented awaited the approach of the sacred remains - the Lowell Band, which accompanied them playing a dirge by Kurick. Flagg's Band, accompanying the escort then played the dirge, "Peace troubled Soul", after which the escort fell into position and the procession, including the remains, proceeded to the monument.

Eight venerable citizens of the town served as pallbearers. They were Joseph Harris and Dr. Charles Tuttle, each eighty-two: Matthew Hosmer, nephew of Abner, eighty; John Harris, Daniel Barker and James Keyes, each seventy-six; Jonathan Barker, seventy-four; and Lemuel Hildreth, seventy. .

Upon arrival at the monument the box was opened and placed in the middle of the street upon a stand covered with a black velvet pall, in order that those who so desired might look upon the remains. Then the box was closed and set into a niche prepared for it in the eternal stone of the monument.

. "Patriotism is one of the most exalted virtues. It is not, as some would have us believe, a mere excitement, or even a passion. It is high among the virtues, which men, in this state of existence, may exhibit . . .. It is a large and noble view of the entire nation, a regard for its institutions, social, moral, civil and religious, crowned by a manly spirit which leads its possessor to peril in all their defense. The patriot is devoted and self-sacrificing. Such were Davis, Hosmer and Hayward. Their names were comparatively humble yet they were men of duty, men of religion, men of Liberal patriotism."

"The sentiment of the Revolution was altogether moral. There was an entire absence of the spirit of revenge, rapine or blood. They never for a moment placed as much reliance upon their numbers as upon the justice of their cause and the existence of a Supreme ruler, who controls the affairs of men. Such was the tone of the press, the pulpit and the bar. Everywhere the morality of the contest was examined and the ground carefully tested at each step; not by leading men only, but by all those who had a vote to give in a town meeting, or an arm to sustain the weapons of war. They were no zealots like the crusaders, but plain careful men of sound moral perception and correct judgment. It is true that they were the descendants of those who rejoiced when Charles the First was beheaded and James the Second was dethroned. This feeling however had no mixture of cruelty in it but proceeded from a conviction that the monarchs were unworthy of the throne. Their impulses were always in favor of liberty. They sympathized with the Republican Party in England, encouraged them at home, and welcomed them to these shores."

After the governor took his seat Rev. Mr. Pierpont of Medford read a long poem into which were ingeniously interwoven the events of April 19, 1775. Nevertheless genius, however potent, could not compete with hunger. The press reports make the observation that before the conclusion of the poem the listeners, who had sat for nearly two hours before chilled viands, were guilty of a disturbing clatter of utensils.

"We are here today not to inaugurate the opening of some magnificent highway; not to display the rich trophies of agricultural or horticultural industry and skill; not to celebrate the triumphs of modem mechanic art and invention; not to offer homage to some chief magistrate. These are not the objects that have summoned to this retired spot such masses of the people of Middlesex and of Massachusetts. We have assembled on the contrary to pay grateful, though tardy, tribute to the memory of three humble citizens of one of the smallest towns in the state, two of them privates in a militia company, and the third with no higher rank than that of a captain, whose simple story is that they laid down their lives seventy six years ago in defense of American liberty.”

"Coming as I do from the far famed monumental city where stands Bunker Hill, it is with peculiar pleasure that I unite this day with the citizens of Acton in the dedication of the Davis Monument now erected here. I have observed this fair and appropriate structure so justly due to the honored dead and I welcome Acton as hereafter to be distinguished among the monumental places of Middlesex. I know this sequestered and quiet spot was not a battlefield of the Revolution but I know also that brave men were born and reared here, who, with the morning sun went forth to battle for freedom, and with its evening shade were brought back to be buried among its first martyrs."

There were numerous letters from interested and prominent figures in the state and nation. One was from Daniel Webster who has befriended Acton eleven years previous when he lifted his gifted voice in the United States Senate to secure a pension for the aged widow of Isaac Davis. Mr. Webster closed his letter with the now famous observation, "Isaac Davis, - an early grave in the cause of liberty has secured to him the long and grateful remembrance of his country”.

I am glad to see deserved honors paid to those who fell fighting for liberty in the Revolution, but regret that my official duties will not allow me the gratification of showing, by my presence, on the interesting occasion for which you are preparing, my appreciation for the services of the departed heroes whose memory your monument is intended to perpetuate.

At the time of the dedication of the monument several of the venerable persons who could recall the days of the Revolution spoke of the confused state of affairs on the morning of Concord Fight. For weeks the word had gone around that when the time came Gage's troops would wipe out completely the families of all rebels and obstructionists. Hence many women and children on that morning hid the most valuable possessions and fled to the woods where they remained crying and praying until past noon when the wonderful news came from Concord.

Dr. Charles Tuttle, aged nine at the time, related that he remembered his house being filled with women. He lived on the town farm and the place had been chosen as a refuge because it was well off the mainly traveled roads. Some even came from Westford and remained until the news of the British retreat. He and his brother Simon, two years older, were delegated by their mother to guide these women through the woods toward Westford, and once or twice the whole company took fright and ran for their lives, thinking they saw the British regulars.

It was also recalled by some of the nonagenarians that Capt. Joseph Robbins had certain stores of powder and ball and other items belonging to the province. These he carried back into the woods and hid. He was a great strong man and well proportioned although he weighed over three hundred pounds.

Mrs. Joseph Harris, aged eighty-one at the time of the dedication, remembered the morning well. She recalled that a neighbor, Mr. Francis Chaffin, with his gun on his shoulder, awakened them. Her father, Joseph Reed, was one of Davis's minutemen and served as an excellent soldier throughout most of the war. As he started to leave his wife said, "Husband will you not stop for breakfast,” He replied, "No, no, I can't stop for that", and taking a piece of bread and some cheese he rushed from the door, but immediately turned back to embrace his family with the remark, "My wife and my children, may God be with you, for I cannot be".

While the town was concentrating a large portion of its energies on the monument project other items of interest were transpiring as well. In January of 1850 for instance, for the first time in its history, the town passed the thousand-dollar mark on the school appropriation. It voted eleven hundred. In May the town valuation was printed for the first time and distributed among the voters. In September a deposition by Bradley Stone relative to the part taken by Isaac Davis at Concord Fight was ordered spread upon the town records. Early in 1851 a vote was passed to "build a tomb to deposit dead bodies in the winter" and later rescinded. In April Rev. Woodbury was instructed to oppose the contemplated division of Middlesex County. Also in the same year the town authorized the printing of eight hundred copies of the speech of Rev. Woodbury before the Massachusetts legislature and the proceedings of the Davis Monument celebration.

The society of the Sons of the American Revolution are to give a day in honor of Acton's historic landmarks. Wednesday, Sept. 26, they will visit all the places made famous by history, and hold appropriate services. The gathering here will be at the Isaac Davis monument erected by Geo. C. Wright in front of the home of Mrs. Sally Hagar. C. B. Stone is to deliver an oration and lunch will be served on the lawn of Luke Blanchard's residence.