Hometown History #47: Local Men Rush to Fight at Concord

Above, a 2012 Facebook image of Franklin’s Andrew Tobin reenacting the ride of Paul Revere to alert the local militia of the King’s troops marching to seize weapons at Concord. Tobin, a member of The National Lancers volunteer cavalry troop, which is the Official Mounted Ceremonial Troop of Massachusetts, reprised the role Monday. Revere’s historic ride occurred on April 19, 1775.

(Above, public domain image of typical colonial militia of 1775)

As 19th century Franklin historian Blake noted, when it became clear that conflict with Britain was likely, Wrentham, including the north Parish, soon to become Franklin, organized two bodies of minutemen who were supposed to be ready to march on a moment’s notice to wherever conflict seemed likely to erupt. The British plan for a night march through Lexington to seize weapons and stores at Concord was betrayed to William Dawes and Paul Revere who alerted the immediate countryside. Other alarms went across the countryside by rider, the tolling of bells, or the firing of guns – the urgency of the situation if not the details reaching Wrentham with little delay.

So it was that, according to Wrentham historian, Jordan D. Fiore, “five companies of minutemen led by Captain Oliver Pond, Elijah Pond, and Lemuel Kollock marched from Wrentham in the provincial service.” Although they did not arrive in time to assist at Concord or in the long-running battle that accompanied the British withdrawal, they did participate in the subsequent siege of Boston that lasted nearly a year. “It appears that most of the able-bodied men in town served in this provincial army at some point in the early part of the war,” Fiore wrote.