From Freetown to Freedom

On this day (April 9) in history, 246 years ago, there was no United States of America, but the American Colonies of the British Empire. The town of Freetown in the Massachusetts colony was similar in many respects to other small Massachusetts colonial towns of the era, but there was one big difference.  Freetown was the home of Colonel Thomas Gilbert. Events at Freetown on this date would shape the event that occurred ten days later. In other words, the engagement at Freetown in 1775 was a step of many on the way to freedom, and independence for the colonies.  

Rehoboth Militia Unit Reenactment

Thomas Gilbert was a loyalist, that is, he was loyal to King George III, and the British Empire. Gilbert had served with some distinction during the French and Indian war.  In 1775 he was, however, the head of the second regiment of a loyal group, to which other loyalists in the Freetown area belonged.  He abhorred the growing movement for independence. His loyalty to the crown could not be questioned. He would represent the town in what was called the General Court, in which he served as the chair of the committee which advanced resolutions expressing dismay at the Boston tea party. Under the direction of British Commander General Thomas Gage, he would create stores of war material in his house at Freetown in the first few months of 1775. 

Unit Creation, Nov 1, 1774

Knowing that war was on the horizon, the British needed to have stores of ammunition, powder, and other material for the coming engagement with the American colonialists. To help protect the stands of war material, Gilbert organized a contingent of 300 men of the area to put down any attempt to confiscate the accumulated war material.

American history often tells us that the British started the Revolutionary War.  Of course, the colonies took different actions to get up the British temper.  Freetown was one such event, and perhaps the last event before Lexington and Concord ten days later.  At Freetown, a large group of colonial militias would confiscate some of this war material so well horded by Colonel Gilbert. Gilbert had learned of a coming uprising by the colonial militias and he and part of his small group of 300 men would take some of the material to an English war ship in Newport. However, this agglomeration of colonial militias was 2,000 members strong, and would raid Gilbert's house and in the process take 29 men prisoner, and confiscate over 40 stands of arms and other material which Gilbert was unable to hustle out of town. Those 29 men, who were part of the 300 organized by Gilbert, would later be freed provided they pledged to engage in better behavior. This idea of better behavior probably meant to not take part in any loyalist behavior, if not support the colonial cause. Part of the group of Massachusetts militias to make the raid on Freetown was one from Rehoboth, of Bristol county in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The Rehoboth militia company, comprised of men from Rehoboth and other adjoining communities, was chartered in 1774 for the express purpose of an ability to wage war and protect the local population.  By the time of the raid it consisted of 210 men willing to act at a moment's notice.

Freetown Raid Description

Even though during the raid no shot was fired and the prisoners were released, this attack on the military stores housed at Freetown would be a precursor to the first major battle of the Revolutionary War.  The colonialists too were preparing for war, by accumulating war goods and supplies, some of which came from raids, such as at Freetown. The colonialists attacked theses stores ten days before the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord. The colonialists likely knew how many men had been engaged to protect the ammunition dump, and gathered a large, overwhelming force of 2,000 to attack and claim the goods. A march of 2,000 men did not go unnoticed leading Gilbert to save some of the material and goods. 

My wife's 4th great grandfather, Simeon Goff, hailed from Rehoboth, and while he was not part of this Rehoboth Minuteman militia company to raid the stores 246 years past, he would, in short order, join this same militia unit and see involvement in the Revolutionary War. This post will be part of a journey of tracing, through a few different blog posts, this primeval American war and and the engagements and battles of which Simeon would be apart.  In the end, we cannot look through Simeon's eyes, or see what was in his mind, but yet I hope to provide a general sense of what life was like for Simeon.  He was a part of the war in the fight from Freetown to freedom for the American Colonies.  It is the journey of an early American story.

Sources:

https://www.sailsinc.org/durfee/fenner1906-3.pdf

Historyisfun.org

Atkinson, Rick, 2019, The British Are Coming, Henry Holt & Co. NY NY

http://www.13thcontinentalregiment.org/unit-timeline.html