Artemas Ward | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Raphaelle Peale (c. 1795) | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts | |
| In office March 4, 1791 –March 3, 1795 | |
Artemas Ward (November 26, 1727 – October 28, 1800) was an American major general in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts. He was considered an effective political leader, President John Adams describing him as "universally esteemed, beloved, and confided in by his army and his country". [1]
Artemas Ward was born at Shrewsbury in the Province of Massachusetts Bay in 1727 to Nahum Ward (1684–1754) and Martha (Howe) Ward. [2] He was the sixth of seven children. His father had broad and successful career interests as a sea captain, merchant, land developer, farmer, lawyer and jurist. As a child he attended the common schools and shared a tutor with his brothers and sisters. He graduated from Harvard in 1748 and taught there briefly. [3]
On July 31, 1750, he married Sarah Trowbridge (December 3, 1724 – December 13, 1788), the daughter of Reverend Caleb Trowbridge and Hannah Trowbridge of Groton. [4] The young couple returned to Shrewsbury where Artemas opened a general store. [5] In the next fifteen years they would have eight children: Ithamar in 1752, Nahum (1754), Sara (1756), Thomas (1758), Artemas Jr. (1762), Henry Dana (1768), Martha (1760), and Maria (1764). [6]
In 1751, at age 23 or 24, he was named a township assessor for Worcester County, the first of many public offices he was to fill. [7] In 1752 he was elected a justice of the peace and to the first of many terms in the Massachusetts provincial assembly, or "general court." [5]
Between 1755 and 1757, Ward was called to active duty at intervals that alternated with his attendance at the General Court. In 1755 the Massachusetts militia was restructured for the war; Ward was made a major in the 3rd Regiment which drew its company mainly from Worcester County. [8] The 3rd primarily served as a garrison force along the frontier in western Massachusetts. In 1757 he was promoted to regimental colonel of the 3rd Regiment of the militias of Middlesex and Worcester counties. [9] In 1758 the regiment marched with Abercrombie's force to sortie on Fort Ticonderoga, [10] but Ward was sidelined during the campaign by an "attack of the stone."
By 1762, Ward returned to Shrewsbury permanently and was named to the Court of Common Pleas. [11] In the General Court (the provincial assembly) he, with Samuel Adams and John Hancock, was appointed to the taxation committee. On the floor, he was second only to James Otis in speaking out against the acts of parliament in London. His prominence in these debates prompted the Royal Governor Francis Bernard to revoke his military commission in 1767. [12] At the next election in 1768, Bernard voided the election results for Worcester and banned Ward from the assembly, but this didn't silence him. [13]
In the growing sentiment favoring rebellion, the 3rd Regiment resigned en masse from British service on October 3, 1774. They then marched on Shrewsbury to inform Ward that they had unanimously elected him their leader. Later that month the governor abolished the assembly. The towns of Massachusetts responded by setting up a colony-wide Committee of Safety. One of the first actions of the committee was to name Ward as general and commander-in-chief of the colony's militia. [14]
Following the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the rebel (colonial) forces followed the British troops back to Boston and deployed to start the Siege of Boston, cutting all land access to the city. At first Ward directed his forces from his sickbed (in Shrewsbury), later moving his headquarters to Cambridge. Soon, both the New Hampshire and Connecticut provisional governments named him commander of their forces participating in the siege. Most of his efforts during this time were devoted to organization and supply problems.
Additional British forces arrived by sea in May, and in June, Ward learned of their plan to attack Bunker Hill. He gave orders to fortify the point, setting the stage for the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. Command during the battle devolved upon General Israel Putnam and Colonel William Prescott. [15]
Meanwhile, the Continental Congress was creating the Continental Army. On June 17, Congress commissioned Ward a major general, and appointed him second in command to General George Washington. [16] (Ward was one of the original four major generals in the Continental Army along with Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler and Israel Putnam.) [17] Over the next nine months he helped convert the assembled militia units into the Continental Army.
After the British evacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776, Washington led the main body of the army to New York City. Ward took command of the Eastern Department and held that post until March 1777, when ill health forced his resignation from the army. [18] [19]
Even during his military service, Ward also served as a state court justice in 1776 and 1777. From 1777 to 1779, as President of the state's Executive Council, he effectively served as governor before the ratification of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1780. He was continuously elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1779 through 1785, leading it as Speaker in 1785. [20]
Ward was appointed a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1780 and 1781, [21] and from 1791 to 1795 was elected twice to the United States House of Representatives. [22] He was one of nine representatives to vote against final passage of the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. [23]
Ward died at his home in Shrewsbury on October 28, 1800, and was buried with Sarah in the town's Mountain View Cemetery. [24] (His great-grandson Artemas Ward wrote The Grocer's Encyclopedia , published in 1911.) [25]
Ward, Massachusetts was incorporated in 1778 in honor of Artemas Ward. In 1837, the town was renamed to Auburn, Massachusetts after complaints from the U.S. postal service that the name Ward was too similar to the nearby town of Ware. [26]
Wards's lifelong home had been built by his father, Nahum, about the time Artemas was born. The home is now known as the Artemas Ward House and is a museum preserved by Harvard University. Located at 786 Main Street in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts it is open to the public for limited hours during the summer months. [27]
Ward Circle is a traffic circle at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues in Northwest Washington, D.C. The land on three sides of Ward Circle is owned by American University. The circle contains a statue of Ward. [28]
The great-grandson of Ward gave over four million dollars to Harvard University on the condition that they erect a statue in honor of Ward, and maintain his home in Shrewsbury. [29] Harvard's initial offer in 1927 of $50,000 toward the statue was enough for a statue, but inadequate to provide the general with a horse. [30]
The statue was unveiled on November 3, 1938 [31] by Maj. Gen. Ward's great-great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. Lewis Wesley Feick. [32] Although there are no crosswalks for pedestrian access to the circle, the base of the statue bears this inscription: [33]
ARTEMAS WARD
1727–1800
SON OF MASSACHUSETTS
GRADUATE OF HARVARD COLLEGE
JUDGE AND LEGISLATOR
DELEGATE 1780–1781 TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
SOLDIER OF THREE WARS
FIRST COMMANDER OF THE PATRIOT FORCES
American University named the Ward Circle Building, home of the American University School of Public Affairs, in honor of Artemas Ward. [34] [35]
Shrewsbury is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 38,325 according to the 2020 United States Census, in nearly 15,000 households.
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia after the war's outbreak. The Continental Army was created to coordinate military efforts of the colonies in the war against the British, who sought to maintain control over the American colonies. General George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and maintained this position throughout the war.
The siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. In the siege, American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Washington prevented the British Army, which was garrisoned in Boston, from moving by land. Both sides faced resource, supply, and personnel challenges during the siege. British resupply and reinforcement was limited to sea access, which was impeded by American vessels. The British ultimately abandoned Boston after eleven months, moving their troops and equipment north to Nova Scotia.
William Prescott was an American officer in the Revolutionary War best known for his service at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
Benjamin Lincoln was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln was involved in three major surrenders during the war: his participation in the Battles of Saratoga contributed to John Burgoyne's surrender of a British army, he oversaw the largest American surrender of the war at the 1780 siege of Charleston, and, as George Washington's second in command, he formally accepted the British surrender at Yorktown.
John Thomas was an American medical doctor and soldier from Massachusetts who became a major general in the Continental Army. He was a leader during the siege of Boston. Thomas briefly commanded the withdrawal from Canada after the unsuccessful invasion by the Continental Army. He died from smallpox during the retreat.
Ward Circle is a traffic circle at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues in Northwest, Washington, D.C. The circle, totaling 30,243 sq ft (2,809.7 m2), is owned and administered by the National Park Service through its Rock Creek Park unit. On three sides is the campus of American University, while the fourth is occupied by the Nebraska Avenue Complex, a U.S. government facility.
Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district is located in north-central and northeastern Massachusetts. The largest municipalities in the district are Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, Methuen, Billerica (partial), Fitchburg, and Marlborough.
Major-General James Warren was an American merchant, politician and military officer who served as the speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1787 to 1788. An advocate of colonial resistance to British parliamentary acts in the American Revolution, Warren served as the Continental Army's Paymaster-General during the Revolutionary War before pursuing a political career.
Moses Gill was an American merchant and politician who served as the acting governor of Massachusetts from 1799 to 1800, when he died in office, the only acting governor to do so. A successful businessman, he became one of the most prominent colonists in Princeton, Massachusetts, entering politics shortly before the American Revolutionary War. He served on the Massachusetts Provincial Congress's executive committee until the state adopted its constitution in 1780, after which he continued to serve on the state's Governor's Council.
Artemas Ward (1727–1800) was an American major general in the American Revolutionary War and a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.
The General Artemas Ward House is a historic house at 786 Main Street in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Commonly known as the "Artemas Ward House", it was the lifelong home of Artemas Ward, American Major General in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Massachusetts Line was those units within the Continental Army that were assigned to Massachusetts at various times by the Continental Congress during the American Revolutionary War. These, together with similar contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line. Line regiments were assigned to a particular state, which was then financially responsible for the maintenance of the regiment. The concept of the line was also particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers. Officers of the Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state.
Artemas Ward Jr., like his father, Artemas Ward, was a United States representative from Massachusetts. He served in the Thirteenth Congress and Fourteenth Congress (1813–1817). He was a member of the Federalist Party.
Events from the year 1800 in the United States.
Paul Dudley Sargent was a privateer and soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
General Artemas Ward is a bronze statue of American Revolutionary War general Artemas Ward. It is sited in the center of Ward Circle, which was specifically made for the statue, at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenue in the American University Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The 10-foot (3.0 m) statue of Ward was completed in 1936, but was not unveiled for two years. Ward was the first Commander-in-Chief of colonial forces during the Revolutionary War and served in a number of government roles, including as representative to the United States House of Representatives.
American Revolution Statuary is a group of fourteen statues in Washington, D.C., that honor men whose actions assisted the Thirteen Colonies in their fight against the Kingdom of Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War. They are spread throughout the city, except for the four statues in Lafayette Square, across from the White House, that honor some of the foreign heroes from the war. Some of the statues are located in prominent places, while others are in small parks or stand alone in front of buildings. All of the statues are owned and maintained by the National Park Service, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior. The statuary was collectively listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1978 and the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites the following year. In addition, most are also contributing properties to historic districts listed on the NRHP.
Massachusetts law required a majority vote, necessitating additional votes if no one won a majority. This was necessary in 4 of the districts.
Artemas may refer to:
Media related to Artemas Ward at Wikimedia Commons
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
