{"id":99434,"date":"2024-06-26T11:04:15","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T15:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=99434"},"modified":"2024-06-28T11:19:30","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T15:19:30","slug":"for-independence-day-spirit-of-76-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/for-independence-day-spirit-of-76-part-1.html","title":{"rendered":"For Independence Day: Spirit of \u201976 (part 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Introduction:<\/em><\/strong><em> In this article \u2013 to help celebrate Independence Day on July 4 \u2013 Melissa Davenport Berry profiles some Revolutionary War heroes and their descendants, and provides genealogy. Melissa is a genealogist who has a website, <a href=\"http:\/\/americana-archives.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">americana-archives.com<\/a>, and a Facebook group, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/HistoryGenNEFamilies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New England Family Genealogy and History<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>With Independence Day aka \u201cFourth of July\u201d approaching, I look back on events, people, and places that brought America its freedom, including some descendants, many who helped to secure and maintain that freedom. Because the 4th is a time commemorating the Declaration of Independence (which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on 4 July 1776, establishing the United States of America), it is important to trace its origins.<\/p>\n<p>For this series I\u2019m using archive photos, and articles from GenealogyBank\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/explore\/newspapers\/all?utm_source=social&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;s_referrer=social&amp;s_siteloc=blog&amp;s_trackval=SM_Blog_txtlnk_2014_00&amp;kbid=69919&amp;pq=1&amp;prebuy=no&amp;intver=&amp;CCPRODCODE=\">Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>VP Dawes \u2018Meets\u2019 Ancestor Dawes Who Fought in the American Revolution<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this photo, we see (from left to right):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The 30th Vice President of the United States Charles Gates Dawes (1865-1923), son of Civil War General Rufus and his wife Mary Beman (Gates) Dawes.<\/li>\n<li>General John J. \u201cBlack Jack\u201d Pershing (1860-1948), son of farmer and store owner John Fletcher and Ann Elizabeth (Thompson) Pershing.<\/li>\n<li>Harold Isaac Slocomb (1895-1954), son of Isaac Leonard and Lona (Diffin) Slocomb, impersonating American Revolutionary soldier William Dawes Jr. (1745-1799), son of William Sr. and Lydia (Boone) Dawes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Dawes Jr. was one of several men who, in April 1775, alerted Minutemen in Massachusetts of the approach of British regulars prior to the battles of Lexington and Concord at the outset of the American Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n<p>Vice President Dawes is a direct descendant of William Dawes.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_99436\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99436\" style=\"width: 766px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99436\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-dawes-meets-dawes.jpg\" alt=\"Photo (from left to right): Charles Gates Dawes, John J. \u201cBlack Jack\u201d Pershing, and Harold Isaac Slocomb. Credit: James Michael Curley Scrapbook Archives and Special Collection, College of the Holy Cross.\" width=\"766\" height=\"673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-dawes-meets-dawes.jpg 766w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-dawes-meets-dawes-300x264.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 766px) 100vw, 766px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99436\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo (from left to right): Charles Gates Dawes, John J. \u201cBlack Jack\u201d Pershing, and Harold Isaac Slocomb. Credit: James Michael Curley Scrapbook Archives and Special Collection, College of the Holy Cross.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Shots Heard around the World and the Descendants of the Minutemen Who Fired Them<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <em>Boston Journal<\/em> in 1904 published an article about the Minutemen and militia of the Revolutionary War and their descendants. The article features a photo of \u201cThe Minute Man\u201d statue completed by sculptor Daniel Chester French in 1874, located at the North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. Inscribed at the base is the opening stanza of poet Ralph Waldo Emerson\u2019s \u201cConcord Hymn\u201d:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>By the rude bridge that arched the flood.<br \/>\nTheir flag to April\u2019s breeze unfurled,<br \/>\nHere once the embattled farmers stood<br \/>\nAnd fired the shot heard round the world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<figure id=\"attachment_99438\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99438\" style=\"width: 617px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/doc\/newspapers\/image\/v2%3A11CE74B6F9A6E5CC%40GB3NEWS-11F01FE05240DA00%402416588-11F01FE0F8D46A88%4024-11F01FE389BAE7E0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99438\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/boston-journal-newspaper-0417-1904-revolutionary-minutemen.jpg\" alt=\"An article about Revolutionary War heroes and their descendants, Boston Journal newspaper 17 April 1904\" width=\"617\" height=\"810\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/boston-journal-newspaper-0417-1904-revolutionary-minutemen.jpg 617w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/boston-journal-newspaper-0417-1904-revolutionary-minutemen-229x300.jpg 229w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 617px) 100vw, 617px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99438\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Boston Journal (Boston, Massachusetts), 17 April 1904, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Below \u201cThe Minute Man\u201d statue, the article features photographs of three Minutemen descendants:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Civil War Union 47th Massachusetts Infantry Col. Richard Faye Barrett (1848-1912), son of Richard and Lois Jane (Wheeler) Barrett, and grandson of Col. James Barrett (1710-1779), son of Benjamin and Lydia (Minott) Barrett (she married 2nd Samuel Stow Jr.). Col. James Barrett was in command of the troops during the Battle of Concord on 19 April 1775.<\/li>\n<li>Civil War Union Col. George Lincoln Prescott (1829-1864), son of Timothy and his second wife Maria (King) Prescott. Ralph Waldo Emerson eulogized Col. Prescott as a man with \u201ca patience not to be tired out, a serious devotion to the cause of the country that never swerved, a hope that never failed.\u201d Col. Prescott is a descendant of Timothy Prescott (1728-1808), a Minuteman at the Lexington Alarm during the Revolutionary War, and is also a kinfolk to Bunker Hill hero Col. William Prescott (1726-1795), son of Benjamin and Abigail (Olive) Prescott.<\/li>\n<li>Civil War Union Captain Humphrey Hunt Buttrick (1827-1893), son of David and Rebecca (Hunt) Buttrick, and a descendant of Major John Buttrick (1731-1791), son of Deacon Jonathan and Elizabeth (Wooley) Buttrick. Maj. Buttrick was the man who ordered \u201cthe shot heard round the world.\u201d As the American forces approached the British regulars at the North Bridge in Concord, Buttrick ordered: \u201cFire, for God\u2019s sake, fellow soldiers, fire!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are more photos related to three of the military leaders mentioned in this <em>Boston Journal<\/em> article.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Colonel James Barrett<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here is the gravestone of American Revolutionary War leader Colonel James Barrett (1710-1779), Old Hill Burying Ground, Concord, Massachusetts. He was the commander of the Minutemen and militia in Concord on 19 April 1775 for the Battle of Concord \u2013 the first day of the American Revolution. Upon seeing smoke in the town (the British were burning cannon carriages they found), he sent a column of men to march across the North Bridge to ensure that the British forces were not burning the town down. It was at the North Bridge where they engaged the British regulars and forced them to retreat with \u201cthe shot heard round the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_99440\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99440\" style=\"width: 1124px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99440\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-james-barrett-gravestone.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: gravestone of James Barrett, Old Hill Burying Ground, Concord, Massachusetts. Credit: Eric Thompsen.\" width=\"1124\" height=\"722\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-james-barrett-gravestone.jpg 1124w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-james-barrett-gravestone-300x193.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-james-barrett-gravestone-1024x658.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-james-barrett-gravestone-768x493.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1124px) 100vw, 1124px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99440\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: gravestone of James Barrett, Old Hill Burying Ground, Concord, Massachusetts. Credit: Eric Thompsen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Colonel William Prescott<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the Colonel William Prescott statue, Bunker Hill Monument, Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts. Honored for his role in the Battle of Bunker Hill, Prescott\u2019s statue commemorates his command of 1,200 militiamen on 17 June 1775. Though his force was poorly trained and supplied, Prescott managed to repel two British advances and inflict heavy losses before finally relinquishing Breed\u2019s Hill on the third British assault (adjacent to Bunker Hill, Breed\u2019s Hill is where most of the fighting actually took place).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_99441\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99441\" style=\"width: 544px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99441\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-william-prescott-statue.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Colonel William Prescott statue, Bunker Hill Monument, Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts. Credit: Dr. Roy Winkelman.\" width=\"544\" height=\"724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-william-prescott-statue.jpg 544w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/photo-0626-2024-william-prescott-statue-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 544px) 100vw, 544px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99441\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo: Colonel William Prescott statue, Bunker Hill Monument, Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts. Credit: Dr. Roy Winkelman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Major John Buttrick<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This monument to Major John Buttrick is in Concord, Massachusetts, at the intersection of Liberty Street and Estabrook Road, near the North Bridge Visitor Center in Minute Man National Historical Park. He was one of the leaders of the Concord Minutemen and militia at the Battle of Concord on 19 April 1775.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_99442\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-99442\" style=\"width: 864px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-99442\" src=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/collage-0626-2024-john-buttrick-monument.jpg\" alt=\"Photos: monument to Major John Buttrick in Concord, Massachusetts. Credit: Bill Coughlin and Historic Marker Database.\" width=\"864\" height=\"724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/collage-0626-2024-john-buttrick-monument.jpg 864w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/collage-0626-2024-john-buttrick-monument-300x251.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/collage-0626-2024-john-buttrick-monument-768x644.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-99442\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photos: monument to Major John Buttrick in Concord, Massachusetts. Credit: Bill Coughlin and Historic Marker Database.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To be continued!<\/p>\n<p>Explore over 330 years of newspapers and historical records in GenealogyBank. Discover your family story! <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/sign-up\">Start a 7-Day Free Trial<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Note on the header image:<\/em><\/strong> \u201cThe Spirit of \u201976,\u201d by Archibald Willard. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To help celebrate Independence Day on July 4, Melissa Davenport Berry profiles Revolutionary War heroes and their descendants, and provides genealogy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":99445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12557],"tags":[1902,12,58858,58860,58859],"class_list":["post-99434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genealogy-stories","tag-american-revolutionary-war","tag-genealogy","tag-james-barrett","tag-john-buttrick","tag-william-prescott"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/illustration-0626-2024-featured-graphic-spirit-of-76.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99434"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99444,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99434\/revisions\/99444"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}