History of Marshfield, Massachusetts

Native Americans of Wampanoag and Massachusetts Tribes

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

lived in Marshfield for thousands of years before the white settlers came. These people included members of the Wampanoag Tribe of the Algonquin nation and members of the Massachusetts Tribe. Evidence of Native American habitation extending back to 9,000 to 10,000 B.C. has been found extensively in the area.

Native American roads were well established in the town by the time of English settlement in the 17th century. These Native American roads are still in use today, comprising the town's main roads. A hauntingly beautiful, pre-historic Native American road - extending between three rivers- can still be seen today in seemingly pristine condition. It is in woodlands formerly owned by the Marshfield Drive-In Movie Theatre.

The Wampanoag name for the area is "Missacautucket." The earliest English settlers became allies of the Wampanoags, due in part to a strong friendship formed between Chief Massasoit

Massasoit

Massasoit Sachem or Ousamequin ,was the sachem, or leader, of the Pokanoket, and "Massasoit" of the Wampanoag Confederacy. The term Massasoit means Great Sachem.-Early years:...

and Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow was an English Pilgrim leader on the Mayflower. He served as the governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633, 1636, and finally in 1644...

. That alliance lasted 40 years.

After Massasoit's death in 1661, his son Wamsutta

Wamsutta

Wamsutta , also known as Alexander Pokanoket, as he was called by New England colonists, was the eldest son of Massasoit and a sachem of the Wampanoag native American tribe. His sale of Wampanoag lands to colonists other than those of the Plymouth Colony brought the Wampanoag considerable power,...

succeeded him as Sachem

Sachem

A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...

of the Wampanoags. However, Wamsutta died under suspicious circumstances in 1662. After a visit to the home of Governor Josiah Winslow

Josiah Winslow

Josiah Winslow was an American Pilgrim leader. He served as governor of Plymouth Colony from 1673 to 1680.Born in Plymouth Colony , he was son of Edward Winslow and Susanna White. In 1651 in London, with his father, he married Penelope Pelham, daughter of Herbert Pelham, the first treasurer of...

in Marshfield he suddenly collapsed and died. Wamsutta was succeeded as Sachem by his brother Metacomet

Metacomet

Metacomet , also known as King Philip or Metacom, or occasionally Pometacom, was a war chief or sachem of the Wampanoag Indians and their leader in King Philip's War, a widespread Native American uprising against English colonists in New England.-Biography:Metacomet was the second son of Massasoit...

, who was known to the English as King Phillip. Metacomet grew increasingly resentful of the colonists after the mysterious death of his brother. These resentments led to King Phillip's War. Governor Josiah Winslow

Josiah Winslow

of Marshfield commanded the colonial forces against the Native Americans during that brutal war. While nearby towns, including adjoining Scituate

Scituate

Scituate is the name of some communities in New England in the United States:*Brunswick, Maine, formerly named Scituate*Scituate , Massachusetts*Scituate, Massachusetts*Scituate, Rhode Island, named after the town in Massachusetts...

, were attacked during King Phillip's War, Marshfield was spared. Subsequent to the victory of the colonists in King Phillip's War, Native Americans had a limited presence in Marshfield.

Pilgrim Settlement Founded By Governor Edward Winslow

Marshfield is an early Pilgrim town, originally part of the "New Colony of New Plimoth in New England," which was established in 1620. Marshfield retains some of its historic character throughout its several quaint villages.

Marshfield was first established as a separate settlement in 1632 by Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow was an English Pilgrim leader on the Mayflower. He served as the governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633, 1636, and finally in 1644...

, a Mayflower

Mayflower

The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...

Pilgrim who became a governor of Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...

. Edward Winslow was the third signatory to the Mayflower Compact

Mayflower Compact

The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the colonists, later together known to history as the Pilgrims, who crossed the Atlantic aboard the Mayflower...

. He became a negotiator and diplomat for the Colony in its dealings with the Native Americans and with the British. Edward Winslow established the first church and the first school in the town, near the cemetery which today still bears the Winslow name.

Governor Winslow was the author of several works concerning Plimoth Colony, which are now considered among the most important primary source materials about Plimoth still in existence. These include Good Newes from New England (1624); Hypocrisie Unmasked (1646),; New England's Salamander Discovered (1647); and The Glorious Progress of the Gospel Amongst The Indians of New England (1649). It is believed that he also wrote Mourt's Relation

Mourt's Relation

The book Mourt's Relation was written primarily by Edward Winslow, although William Bradford appears to have written most of the first section...

with William Bradford in 1622, although he did not sign the work.

Governor Edward Winslow made a major contribution to the success of Plimoth Plantation

Plimoth Plantation

Plimoth Plantation is a living museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts that shows the original settlement of the Plymouth Colony established in the 17th century by English colonists, some of whom later became known as Pilgrims. They were among the first people who emigrated to America to avoid religious...

by returning to England to obtain cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

for the Colony. Cattle farming was introduced into Marshfield at the inception of its settlement and became a major industry for the town for the next 300 years. Governor Bradford described the first land grants in the Town as being made for tillage and cattle.

A commercial fishing enterprise was established in Marshfield by 1623, by William Green, who later married a granddaughter of Pilgrim Richard Warren

Richard Warren

Richard Warren was a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620. He settled in Plymouth Colony and was among ten passengers of the Mayflower landing party with Myles Standish at Cape Cod on November 11, 1620...

. The area was originally referred to as "Green's Harbor." When the area was formally set off as a town, it was named "Rexhame." Later, the name of the town was changed to "Marshfield." It is believed that the name "Marshfield" was taken from a Welsh

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

town by that name. The town has extensive acreage of salt water tidal marshes along its three rivers: the Green Harbor River, the South River and the North River.

Marshfield was officially set off from Plimoth Plantation

Plimoth Plantation

as a separate "town" in 1640. Much of the land in Marshfield was originally granted to Pilgrims, their family members or to the investors in the Pilgrim settlement at Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

.

According to the List of Freemen of 1643, the earliest settlers in Marshfield, in addition to Edward Winslow, included his brothers Kenelm Winslow and Josiah Winslow

Josiah Winslow

. The list also included Thomas Bourne, Robert Waterman, John Dingley, Thomas Chillingsworth, John Russell, Edward Buckley, William Thomas and Nathaniel Thomas. (The two Thomas families were not related.)

The list of those who took the Oath of Fidelity in the Town in 1657 included: John Adams, John Booth, John Howland,Jr. Thomas Dogget, Samuel Baker, Robert Latham, Joseph Rose, Edward Bumpas,Jr., John Branch, James Dougherty, Robert Parker, Edmund Hincksman, Richard Sylvester, Thomas Tilden, Francis Crocker, John Thomas, Abraham Jackson, John Thomas, John Rogers,Jr., John Walker, George Vaughan, William Foard,Jr., William Maycomber, Richard French, Ralph Chapman, John Bumpas and Grigory Flecnam.

Home to First Native-Born New England Colonist, Pilgrim Peregrine White

Another early resident of the town was Peregrine White

Peregrine White

Peregrine White was the first English child born to the Pilgrims in the New World....

, the first English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

child born in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

. Peregrine was born on November 20, 1620 on the Mayflower, while the ship was anchored near Provincetown on Cape Cod

Cape Cod

Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...

. This is where the Pilgrims moored for several weeks prior to selecting a location in Plymouth for permanent settlement. Peregrine was born to Pilgrim Susanna Fuller White and her husband Pilgrim William White. William died during the first winter. Half of the Pilgrims died that winter due to sickness, cold and starvation.

The name "Peregrine" means wanderer, foreign traveler or "pilgrim." After Peregrine's father died, his mother Susanna White married Edward Winslow in 1621. Winslow's first wife, Elizabeth Barker Winslow, also had perished that initial winter. Susanna was the first English bride married in New England. She was also the first English woman to give birth in New England.

Pilgrims Susanna, Edward and Peregrine all settled in Marshfield, along with Susanna's older son, Pilgrim Resolved White. Edward Winslow adopted Peregrine as his son. The General Court of Plimoth Colony granted Edward Winslow a large tract of land, about 1200 acres (4.9 km²), covering much of Marshfield south of the Green Harbor River. This is where Peregrine was raised.

After he married, Peregrine eventually established a successful farm. It was on the western bank of the South River, directly across the river from the farm of Kenelm Winslow, Edward's brother. Yet, Peregrine could be seen almost daily on his horse riding to see his mother Susanna at Green Harbor, with the silver buttons on his jacket twinkling in the sunlight. He was of high energy and described as "comely to the last." Peregrine became widely known for planting a great number of European fruit trees in Marshfield and other parts of the Colony. He held a number of offices in Marshfield and the Colony, including the office of Selectman of Marshfield. Peregrine also served as a lieutenant in the Colony's militia. He lived until age 84, passing on July 20, 1704. Peregrine White was much revered within the Colony as the first born.

Peregrine White's baby cradle, the first cradle of New England births, has been lovingly preserved since 1620. The cradle that helped to found America can be seen today on display at Pilgrim Hall in nearby Plymouth

Plymouth

Land Tenure

For purposes of settling in the area peacefully, Josiah Winslow

Josiah Winslow

secured a deed to the town from the Chief of the Wampanoag Tribe, Chickatawbut. Chief Chickatawbut granted land rights to the English settlers from Plymouth on the condition that members of the Wampanoag Tribe could continue to hunt and fish in the area in perpetuity.

In the earliest years of the town, many of the land grants given by the Plymouth Colony Court were held by investors or speculators who did not live in the town, and frequently swapped and traded their deeds. The settlement of the town was largely confined to the area south of the South River.

There was extensive "common land" in the town, not owned by any individual. Some of the land in the town remains "common land" today, such as the town's magnificent five mile (8 km) long seashore along the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. In the case of Briggs Thomas v. Inhabitants of Marshfield, 13 Pickering 240 (1832), the Supreme Judicial Court

Supreme Judicial Court

The term Supreme Judicial Court is the shorthand name for the:*Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court*Maine Supreme Judicial CourtIt was also once the name of the Rhode Island Supreme Court....

ruled that the Marshfield seashore was a public highway and landing place. The Court further ruled that the Marshfield seashore, including extensive beach dunes, had been set aside for use as a common for hundreds of years. In connection with that litigation, it was determined that the owner of the farm along some of the beach, Major Briggs Thomas, did not own the beautiful Rexhame Beach, as he claimed, and that Rexhame Beach was part of the common land of the town.

Colonial Government

Plymouth Colony

was governed by a Governor and a General Court, composed of freemen of the Colony. The term "freemen" included white males, and excluded all women, Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

, blacks

Black people

The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

, indentured servants, Quakers and other religious minorities. In 1685, Plymouth Colony was divided into counties. Marshfield was designated part of Plymouth County

Plymouth County, Massachusetts

Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...

. Marshfield did not become part of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

until 1692, when the English Crown forced the Pilgrim's Plymouth Colony to merge with the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Massachusetts Bay Colony

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...

, which was seated to the north in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

.

The 1692 charter created the Province of Massachusetts. The charter joined Plymouth's government with the Massachusetts Bay government, and created a single legislature. The Province of the Massachusetts Bay was replaced by a provisional government

Provisional government

A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...

called the Massachusetts Provincial Congress

Massachusetts Provincial Congress

The Massachusetts Provincial Congress was a provisional government created in the Province of Massachusetts Bay early in the American Revolution....

during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. After the American Revolution

American Revolution

, the provisional government became the "State of Massachusetts" which later evolved into the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Up until the time of the merger of the two colonies, Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony

was distinctly different from the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Massachusetts Bay Colony

. For example, the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony

did not embrace the death penalty or physical mutilation as punishment for crimes, while the colony at Massachusetts

Massachusetts

frequently employed such punishments. The two colonies were controlled by members of different religions. Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony

was established by Separatists, while the Massachusetts colony was established by Puritans. The two colonies had different sets of laws. Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony

demonstrated greater religious tolerance. Neither Marshfield nor Plymouth Colony

Plymouth Colony

was involved in the Massachusetts witchcraft hysteria, which erupted simultaneously with the merger of the two colonies, and resulted in the Salem witch trials

Salem witch trials

The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings before county court trials to prosecute people accused of witchcraft in the counties of Essex, Suffolk, and Middlesex in colonial Massachusetts, between February 1692 and May 1693...

Loyalist Town During The American Revolution

(i). Pilgrim Descendants Retained Their Loyalty

In the days of the American Revolution, Marshfield was considered a main hotbed of Tory

Tory

Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...

activity, the most Loyalist

Loyalist (American Revolution)

Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...

town in New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

. Although not everyone in the town was a Loyalist, Marshfield was unique in Massachusetts in that for a long while the Loyalists dominated and controlled the town, rather than existing merely as a minority faction.

At the time, the Town had a population of about 1,200 residents, some of whom were considered to be very wealthy. The population was still largely descended from the town's founding families, including the descendants of Pilgrim Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow was an English Pilgrim leader on the Mayflower. He served as the governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633, 1636, and finally in 1644...

, Pilgrim Peregrine White

Peregrine White

Peregrine White was the first English child born to the Pilgrims in the New World....

, Pilgrim Resolved White and Pilgrim Richard Warren

Richard Warren

. These and other Old Colony families within the town had intermarried for generations. Oftentimes, cousin married cousin. The townspeople were closely bound together by an all encompassing web of blood ties.

Some of these families had for generations educated their sons at Harvard College. They were connected with powerful figures in the royal government of the Massachusetts Colony. Members of the Winslow family in particular were part of the aristocracy of Massachusetts, which also was tightly bound together by intermarriage. A number of families in the town were members of the Episcopal Church, which up until the Revolution was part of the Church of England.

Many of these families were alienated by the extreme violence, including the use of tarring and feathering

Tarring and feathering

Tarring and feathering is a physical punishment, used to enforce unofficial justice or revenge. It was used in feudal Europe and its colonies in the early modern period, as well as the early American frontier, mostly as a type of mob vengeance .-Description:In a typical tar-and-feathers attack, the...

, which characterized the behavior of the Patriots. Contrary to popular myth, the Massachusetts Patriots showed no regard for rights of free speech, or rights of free assembly, or the right to simply hold different views. A fact now buried in time is that the Patriots set out to win by intimidating those who held Loyalist views through mobbings and assaults. In one example, Patriots on Cape Cod acted to silence a woman who dared to express her Loyalist views to her customers in her small grocery store. A mob of Patriot men broke into the home of a widow named Abigail Freeman during the night. They dragged her from her bed to the town green and there tarred and feathered her. They then carted her around town on a rail.

The Loyalist families tended to hold the view that favorable concessions could be won from Britain through diplomacy, rather than by extremism and threats of a violent rebellion. They considered themselves Englishmen, subjects of the King. The Winslow family in particular retained strong ties to England due to General John Winslow's long and distinguished service in the provincial forces of the British Army.

Winslow relative Nathaniel Ray Thomas was a prominent Loyalist in the town. In August of 1774, Thomas was appointed by General Thomas Gage, royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts, and the King's Privy Council to the position of Mandamus Councillor. On September 6, 1774, a large Patriot mob of over a thousand men from Plymouth, Kingston, Pembroke, Hanover and Scituate began assembling to march to Thomas's home to demand his resignation from the post. The Patriots took the position that those accepting appointments as Mandamus Councillors were enemies of the cause of liberty. The mob arrived the next day, September 7, carrying an empty coffin. However, Thomas had been tipped off to the plans of the mob forming in Plymouth. Thomas had already escaped by fleeing on horseback along the beach under cover of night on September 6, 1774. Thomas reached the relative safety of British occupied Boston. For Marshfield, the Revolution had already begun.

(ii). Associated Loyalists of Marshfield

In December of 1774, Marshfield residents formed a Loyalist militia named the "Associated Loyalists of Marshfield." The membership has been described as numbering about 300, comprising the majority of adult males in the town. However, other sources indicate that there were hundreds more affiliated with the group and that "all but six" of the Marshfield men were members of the group. The formation of the group brought hope to the royal government that more Massachusetts towns would follow the Marshfield example of adopting a strong Loyalist position.

The "Associated Loyalists" concept was conceived by Winslow descendant Timothy Ruggles

Timothy Ruggles

Timothy Dwight Ruggles was an American military leader, jurist and politician. He was a delegate to the first Stamp Act congress of 1765.-Early life:...

of Hardwick to counter the efforts of the Patriots under the Continental Association. The Marshfield group signed the so-called "Ruggles Covenant"- a pledge to oppose the formation of any congress within the colonies, to remain loyal to the king, and to defend their principles at risk to their own lives.

Ruggles, who served as a Mandamus Councillor along with Nathaniel Ray Thomas of Marshfield and Isaac Winslow of Boston, intended the Associated Loyalists to become a state-wide group to serve as a Tory military force throughout Massachusetts. A number of Loyalists in Freetown, MA, led by members of the Winslow family and their relatives, signed the Ruggles Covenant. However, Marshfield was the only town with a substantial number signing the pledge. Later, Marshfield became one of the few Massachusetts towns to take formal action at its Town Meeting to oppose the Patriots' formation of the Provincial Congress.

The Associated Loyalists of Marshfield held their meetings at the Marshfield mansion of Dr. Isaac Winslow, today known as the Historic 1699 Winslow House. At the time of the formation of the group in 1774, all three members of the Marshfield Board of Selectmen were loyalists, Isaac Winslow, Abijah White and Ephraim Little. The Plymouth Patriots were threatening to tar and feather those in Marshfield who did not recant their Loyalist views, or drive them off their farms. Patriots from Duxbury planned to kidnap Marshfield resident Nathaniel Phillips, a "principal loyalist," but he evaded capture. The Patriots did kidnap Marshfield Loyalists Paul White, Dr. Stockbridge and Elisha Ford, and carted them to the "Liberty Pole" in Duxbury. There they were "forced to sign recantations" of their Tory sentiments, likely in response to mob violence.

In January of 1775, the Associated Loyalists of Marshfield sent a petition signed by 200 people to General Gage, commander of the British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

troops in Boston

Boston

, requesting that arms and troops be sent to Marshfield for the protection of the Loyalists in the town.

(iii). British Troops Occupy Marshfield

To aid the Associated Loyalists, on January 23, 1775 General Gage sent Captain Nesbitt Balfour and numerous officers leading 114 troops of the regiment known as the "King's Own." They arrived on two armed schooners, the Dianna and the Britannia, of the fleet of Admiral Samuel Graves. General Gage also sent 300 stands of arms and two cannons.

After the ships landed at White's Ferry, the troops marched south into the center of the town without meeting resistance. The troops were quartered on the 1500 acres (6.1 km²) estate of Nathaniel Ray Thomas and other private Loyalist homes in Marshfield. Captain Balfour placed the troops at the disposal of town authorities for purposes of keeping order. The troops were to be stationed in the town indefinitely.

In a letter from a Marshfield Loyalist printed in the Rivington's New York Gazette dated February 9, 1775, it was reported that the British troops were "joyfully received" by Loyalists in Marshfield. The letter stated: "The king's troops are very comfortably accommodated, and preserve the most exact discipline, and now every faithful subject to his king dare freely utter his thoughts, drink his tea and kill his sheep, as profusely as he pleases.".

On February 20, 1775, Marshfield's Town Meeting voted to repudiate the authority of the Patriot's Provincial Congress. The Town Meeting also voted to express its gratitude to General Gage and Admiral Graves by sending formal letters of thanks. The town received from General Gage and Admiral Graves the following responses:

"To the Loyal Inhabitants of the Town of Marshfield.

Gentlemen,-I return to you my most hearty thanks for your address, and am to assure you, that I feel great satisfaction in having contributed to the safety and protection of a people so eminent for their Loyalty to their King, and affection to their country at a time, when Treason and Rebellion is making such hasty strides to overturn our most excellent constitution and spread Ruin and Desolation thro' the Province.

I doubt not that your duty to your God, your King and your country will excite you to persevere in the Glorious Cause in which you are engaged, and that your laudable example will animate others with the like Loyal and Patriotic Spirit. Thomas Gage" .

Admiral Graves replied as follows:

"To The Inhabitants of the Town of Marshfield.

Gentlemen,- The warmth with which you declare your principles of Loyalty to your Sovereign and his Constitutional Government cannot fail of being grateful to the mind of every lover of his country: and it is much to be wished that the uniform propriety of your conduct will extend its influence to the removal of those groundless jealousies, which have unhappily warped the affections of too many of your countrymen from the parent state, and which are now tending to raise violent commotions, and involve in Ruin and Destruction this unfortunate Province.

The approbation you are pleased to express of his Majesty's appointment at this critical juncture to the command of his American fleet, is flattering; and you may be assured that my countenance and support shall never be wanting to protect the Friends of British Government and reduce to order and submission, those who would endeavor to destroy that Peace and Harmony, which is the end of good Legislation to produce. Samuel Graves" .

This troop movement was also the subject of a letter from General Gage to Lord Dartmouth dated January 27, 1775, which was read to the British Parliament on March 8, 1775.

The day after the Lexington Alarm of April 19, 1775, approximately one thousand Patriot

Patriot (American Revolution)

Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...

militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

from the local towns of Plymouth, Kingston, Duxbury, Carver, Plympton, Middleboro and Rochester stormed into Marshfield—to attack the British soldiers quartered within the town and the Tories hosting them. Colonel Anthony Thomas, a Patriot leader, helped to coordinate the incursion by assembling several hundred militia forces at his house in preparation for the attack on the estate of his own neighbor, Nathaniel Ray Thomas. The first troops to arrive decided to wait until the next day, so that more Patriot troops could amass for the Marshfield battle.

The confrontation with the British was narrowly averted when General Graves sent the HM Schooner Hope along with two wooden sloops to evacuate the British troops and the Tories at Marshfield. The ships came in near Brant Rock at the Cut River. The two sloops had been "prest" into service by Admiral Graves as the first British "prizes" of the Revolutionary War. Marshfield men alerted the British troops to the arrival of the ships by firing guns from atop "Signal Hill" situated within the vast lands of the Thomas estate. Over one hundred Loyalist residents of the area evacuated with the British troops to Boston. Some of these residents joined regiments in Boston to aid the British. Other Marshfield Tories were taken prisoner by the militia from surrounding towns during the skirmish. The guns sent by General Gage for the Associated Loyalists were confiscated by the Patriots.

The British evacuation of Marshfield occurred just one day after the first battle of the Revolution at Lexington, Massachusetts. Edward Winslow, Jr. served as a guide for Britain's Lord Percy at the Lexington battle. His horse was shot under him during battle.

(iv). Volunteers for the British Forces

During the war, Edward Winslow (loyalist)

Edward Winslow (loyalist)

Edward Winslow was a loyalist officer and New Brunswick judge and official.Edward Winslow was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1746 or 1747, a descendant of Mayflower Pilgrim Edward Winslow. He studied at Harvard College, graduating in 1765 with an MA...

, Junior served as the "Commander of the Associated Loyalists," in charge of Tory regiments. He was a direct descendant of Pilgrim Governor Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow was an English Pilgrim leader on the Mayflower. He served as the governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633, 1636, and finally in 1644...

and was the Plymouth first cousin of Dr. Isaac Winslow of Marshfield. He later held the position of "Muster-Master General of the Loyal North British Volunteers."

Another leader of the Loyalists' militia was Timothy Ruggles

Timothy Ruggles

Timothy Dwight Ruggles was an American military leader, jurist and politician. He was a delegate to the first Stamp Act congress of 1765.-Early life:...

, a former general in the provincial forces under the British Army. Both Edward Winslow, Jr. and Timothy Ruggles were reported to have led Loyalists in acts of piracy to fund their military operations- using British privateers coasting along south Massachusetts.

Dr. Isaac Winslow's brother, Marshfield native Pelham Winslow, was a Major with the British forces. He was known as "Commander of Castle William." Castle William is today known as Fort Independence and is situated on Castle Island in South Boston. Pelham Winslow died of fever in 1783 in New York, where he was serving with the British forces.

Abijah White, a descendant of Pilgrim Peregrine White, was a Selectman of the town in 1774. He became Marshfield's representative in the Province legislature in 1775. He was wounded in a battle at sea near Boston Light

Boston Light

Boston Light is a lighthouse located on Little Brewster Island in outer Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The first lighthouse to be built on the site dates back to 1716, and was the first lighthouse to be built in what is now the United States...

while fighting alongside British forces. The battle occurred on July 30, 1775. The British forces, aided by Marshfield Tories, were attempting to repair Boston Light. They were attacked by Major Benjamin Tupper

Benjamin Tupper

Benjamin Tupper was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, achieving the rank of brevet brigadier general. Subsequently, he served as a Massachusetts legislator, and he assisted Gen. William Shepard in stopping Shays'...

leading 20 whale boats and 200 Patriot forces. The Patriot forces shot Representative Abijah White in the back. He died not long afterwards. Four Marshfield Tories were taken prisoner.

Other Marshfield residents took up arms against the Patriots to fight for the British. Among these were Marshfield men who joined the "Loyal American Association, Fifth Company of Associators Milita," assembled in Boston on July 5, 1775:
Joseph Tilden, John Tilden, Stephen Tilden, Silvanus White, Abijah White, Daniel White, Syballine White and Nathaniel Thomas. The Loyal American Association, First Company, then led by Timothy Ruggles and Edward Winslow, Jr., included Marshfield residents Seth Bryant and William Cowper. The Third Company of Associators of the Loyal American Association included Marshfield's Ephraim Little. The Fourth Company of Associators, also assembled in Boston on July 5, 1775, included Nathaniel Phillips and John Phillips Jr.

In July of 1775, Patriot forces captured 13 Tories who were camped out on Long Island in Boston Harbor, where they had been harvesting hay for British troops. In a letter to her husband John Adams, the future First Lady Abigail Adams described the Tories as having been sent there by Marshfield's Nathaniel Ray Thomas.

Around this time in July of 1775, General George Washington came to Massachusetts to take command of the Patriot forces. His headquarters were in Cambridge.

The first arrest of a Tory on Washington's orders during the American Revolution was carried out at the Kenelm Winslow house in Marshfield. This is the ancient house built by the original Kenelm Winslow about 1640, located on Winslow Street in Rexhame, at the corner of Kenelm Drive. At the time, the house was owned by a descendant, Kenelm Winslow, who was then a Marshfield Selectman. It is not known who was arrested in the house. However, Kenelm's brother Joseph Winslow, who had also grown up in the house, was a tea importer in Boston. He was accused of engaging in efforts to aid the British.

In November of 1775, Nathaniel Phillips, a former Selectman of Marshfield, was sent to General Washington as "an infamous Tory." Nathaniel Phillips was sentenced to house arrest from 1775 to 1783.

(v). The Diaspora of the Marshfield Loyalists

After the British evacuated from Boston on March 17, 1776, a number of Marshfield residents were banished from the state under the Tory Banishment Act. The Marshfield Tories were met with mobbings, assaults, jailings, land confiscations and banishments. Many of the Marshfield Tories fled Massachusetts

Massachusetts

. Some never returned. Others eventually did return after they felt it was safe to do so. In April of 1776, the town of Milton denied a ship carrying Marshfield Tories returning from Nova Scotia permission to land, presumably along the Neponset River. The ship "Sally", commanded by Loyalist Captain Cornelius White, with numerous Marshfield Tories onboard, landed along the North River on April 19, 1776. The ship contained many articles consistent with the ship having been used for warfare, including 17 firearms, 5 bayonets, swords, 8 powder horns, hanger and cartridge boxes. The returning Tories had originally left with the British troops when they evacuated Marshfield on April 20, 1775. All onboard were taken to jail by the local Committee of Correspondence.

The anguished dilemma facing the Loyalist families at the conclusion of the war was poignantly expressed in a letter by Sarah Winslow of Plymouth to her cousin Benjamin Marston, dated April 10, 1783:

"Our fate now decreed, and we are left to mourn out our days in wretchedness. No other resources but to submit to the tyranny of exulting enemies or settle a new country. I am one of the number that gladly would embark for Nova Scotia was it either prudent or proper, but I am told it will not do for me at present. What is to become of us, God can only tell. In all our former suffering we had hope to support us--being deprived of that is too much."

Her father, Edward Winslow, a direct descendant of Pilgrim Governor Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow was an English Pilgrim leader on the Mayflower. He served as the governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633, 1636, and finally in 1644...

, tried to reside in Plymouth

Plymouth

after the British Evacuation but was driven out. He explained to the Commission on American Loyalists sitting in Halifax, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

on October 23, 1783: "I was the butt of the licentious, and had received every species of insult and abuse, which the utmost rancour and malice could invent."

His son, Edward Winslow (loyalist)

Edward Winslow (loyalist)

, the Tory military leader, was banished from the state. He helped to found the Loyalist colony in New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

. Many families relocated to New Brunswick

New Brunswick

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Halifax and other places in Canada

Canada

and Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. Of those from Plymouth County who fled, the vast majority were from Marshfield. The loss or displacement of so many residents and working farms, and the disruption to businesses, resulted in the greatest transformation of Marshfield since the time of the arrival of the Pilgrims, led by Governor Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow

Edward Winslow was an English Pilgrim leader on the Mayflower. He served as the governor of Plymouth Colony in 1633, 1636, and finally in 1644...

.

(vi). The Marshfield Tea Party

But not everyone in Marshfield was a Loyalist. Despite the powerful influence of the Loyalist families, the town's Patriots eventually formed one of the revolutionary Committees of Correspondence. Marshfield native John Thomas (general)

John Thomas (general)

John Thomas was an American 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...

, who lived in Kingston, raised an army of volunteers from Plymouth County

Plymouth County, Massachusetts

Plymouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of 2010, the population was 494,919. Its county seats are Plymouth and Brockton...

for the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

on April 23, 1775 known as the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment

2nd Massachusetts Regiment

The 2nd Massachusetts Regiment was a unit of the Massachusetts Line in the 1777 establishment of the Continental Army. It was a successor to a number of Massachusetts provincial regiments from the army's 1775 establishment , and was known as the 23rd Continental Regiment during the 1776...

, also known as the 23rd Continental Regiment. General John Thomas's regiment would see action during the Siege of Boston

Siege of Boston

The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...

. He received a letter from General George Washington praising his service. Other Marshfield Patriot leaders included his brother, Colonel Anthony Thomas, his nephew, Major Briggs Thomas and John Bourne.

Marshfield even had its own version of the Boston Tea Party

Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...

. At midnight on December 19, 1773, Marshfield Patriots confiscated tea from the old Ordinary in the town as a protest against the Crown and in sympathy with the Boston Tea Party, which had just taken place. The Ordinary is a building still standing today, which was constructed as a tavern in 1673 by Timothy Williamson. It is located at 2000 Ocean Street at the corner with Moraine Street (today known as The Corner Cafe). In 1773 the building was owned by John Bourne. After taking the tea, the Patriots knelt in prayer and ceremoniously burnt the tea on a large rock, situated on what became known as "Tea Rock Hill.".

The Marshfield Patriots finally had their day when, on June 19, 1776, the Town Meeting voted to support independence and to defend the effort with their lives. This preceded the national Declaration of Independence by fifteen days.

The legacy of the past lives on in the town today, largely through silence. Unlike other area towns, Marshfield had no written history book until the 20th century. As far back as can be remembered, Marshfield's official 4 July celebrations have been far more subdued than those of surrounding towns. Many years, the town was noteworthy for not having 4 July celebrations at all, in contrast to most other towns. The Marshfield Tea Party serves as the town's only symbol of its Revolutionary past, reflective of the town's continuing uneasiness with its breathtaking Loyalist history.

General Background

Early industry in the town included farming, cattle, fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

and salt marsh haying. Tragically, a number of the town's early families held people as slaves, including the Winslow family at Green Harbor, as well as the Winslow and Kent families at Rexhame beach. Some of the ancient and beautiful stone walls along the fields and roads in Marshfield were likely built by people held as slaves by Marshfield families.

An early nail factory, founded by Jesse Reed, was one of the first to manufacture nails by machine. Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...

grew in the town, and over 1,000 ships were built along the North River in town during the 19th century. The town is also the site of Brant Rock, where Reginald Fessenden

Reginald Fessenden

Reginald Aubrey Fessenden , a naturalized American citizen born in Canada, was an inventor who performed pioneering experiments in radio, including early—and possibly the first—radio transmissions of voice and music...

built the antenna from which he sent his first transatlantic voice radio broadcast in 1907.

In 1941, a great conflagration engulfed the eastern part of the town. Approximately 400 buildings burnt down in three hours. This was one of the largest fires in terms of structures destroyed in the history of the United States. The tragedy was the subject of national news coverage, including photographic coverage in Life Magazine.

Today, Marshfield is largely a semi-rural and suburban town, with many residents commuting daily into Boston. Some of the old farms still remain, as well as a large number of historic houses. The town continues to have a large summer resort population. The Marshfield Fair continues on as the oldest agricultural fair in the United States and serves as the highlight of summer activities in the town. The beach and sea remain largely as they have always been,- ever present, ever beautiful, the essence of Marshfield.

External links

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Native Americans of Wampanoag and Massachusetts Tribes

Pilgrim Settlement Founded By Governor Edward Winslow

Home to First Native-Born New England Colonist, Pilgrim Peregrine White

Land Tenure

Colonial Government

Loyalist Town During The American Revolution

General Background

Further reading

External links