Artemas Ward | |
|---|---|
_-_H835_-_Harvard_Art_Museums.jpg) Portrait byRaphaelle Peale (c. 1795) | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts | |
| In office March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1795 | |
| Preceded by | George Leonard |
| Succeeded by | William Lyman |
| Constituency | 7th district (1791–93) 2nd district (1793–95) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1727-11-26)November 26, 1727 |
| Died | October 28, 1800(1800-10-28) (aged 72) Shrewsbury, Massachusetts,U.S. |
| Resting place | Mountain View Cemetery, Shrewsbury |
| Political party | Pro-Administration |
| Spouse | Sarah (Trowbridge) Ward |
| Children | Ithamar (1752), Nahum (1754), Sara (1756), Thomas (1758), Martha (1760), Artemas Jr. (1762), Maria (1764), Henry Dana (1768) |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Occupation | Soldier, politician |
| Known for | Revolutionary War Major General |
| Website | Artemas Ward Museum |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Great Britain United States |
| Branch/service | British Army Continental Army |
| Years of service | 1755–1758 1775–1777 |
| Rank | Colonel Commander-in-chief of the Massachusetts Bay colony's militia Major general of theContinental Army |
| Commands | British Army's 3rd Regiment of the Massachusetts Bay militia—the militia of Middlesex and Worcester Counties Second-in-command of theMassachusetts Provincial Militia Continental Army in command of the Eastern Department April 4, 1776 – March 20, 1777 |
| Battles/wars | |
Artemas Ward (November 26, 1727 – October 28, 1800) was an Americanmajor general in theAmerican Revolutionary War and aCongressman fromMassachusetts. He was considered an effective political leader, PresidentJohn Adams describing him as "universally esteemed, beloved, and confided in by his army and his country".[1]
Artemas Ward was born atShrewsbury in theProvince 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 asea 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 fromHarvard 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 ofGroton.[4] The young couple returned to Shrewsbury where Artemas opened ageneral 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 forWorcester County, the first of many public offices he was to fill.[7] In 1752 he was elected ajustice 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 theGeneral Court. In 1755 the Massachusetts militia was restructured for the war; Ward was made amajor in the 3rdRegiment which drew its company mainly fromWorcester County.[8] The 3rd primarily served as agarrison force along the frontier inwestern Massachusetts. In 1757 he was promoted toregimental colonel of the 3rd Regiment of the militias ofMiddlesex andWorcester counties.[9] In 1758 the regiment marched withAbercrombie's force to sortie onFort 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, withSamuel Adams andJohn Hancock, was appointed to thetaxation committee. On the floor, he was second only toJames Otis in speaking out against the acts of parliament in London. His prominence in these debates prompted theRoyal GovernorFrancis 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 resigneden masse fromBritish 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 asgeneral andcommander-in-chief of the colony'smilitia.[14]
Following theBattle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the rebel (colonial) forces followed the British troops back toBoston and deployed to start theSiege of Boston, cutting all land access to the city. At first Ward directed his forces from his sickbed (in Shrewsbury), later moving his headquarters toCambridge. Soon, both theNew Hampshire andConnecticut 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 attackBunker Hill. He gave orders to fortify the point, setting the stage for theBattle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. Command during the battle devolved upon GeneralIsrael Putnam and ColonelWilliam Prescott.[15]
Meanwhile, theContinental Congress was creating theContinental Army. On June 17, Congress commissioned Ward amajor general, and appointed him second in command toGeneral George Washington.[16] (Ward was one of the original four major generals in the Continental Army along withCharles Lee,Philip Schuyler andIsrael Putnam.)[17] Over the next nine months he helped convert the assembled militia units into the Continental Army.
After the Britishevacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776, Washington led the main body of the army toNew 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 thestate's Executive Council, he effectively served as governor before the ratification of theMassachusetts Constitution in 1780. He was continuously elected to theMassachusetts House of Representatives from 1779 through 1785, leading it asSpeaker in 1785.[20]
Ward was appointed a delegate to theContinental Congress in 1780 and 1781,[21] and from 1791 to 1795 was elected twice to theUnited States House of Representatives[22] after being an unsuccessful candidate in1788.[23] He was one of nine representatives to vote against final passage of theEleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.[24]
Ward died at his home in Shrewsbury on October 28, 1800, and was buried with Sarah in the town's Mountain View Cemetery.[25] (His great-grandsonArtemas Ward wroteThe Grocer's Encyclopedia, published in 1911.)[26]
Ward, Massachusetts was incorporated in 1778 in honor of Artemas Ward. In 1837, the town was renamed toAuburn, Massachusetts after complaints from the U.S. postal service that the name Ward was too similar to the nearby town of Ware.[27]
Wards's lifelong home had been built by his father, Nahum, about the time Artemas was born. The home is now known as theArtemas Ward House and is a museum preserved byHarvard University. Located at 786 Main Street in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts it is open to the public for limited hours during the summer months.[28]
Ward Circle is a traffic circle at the intersection of Nebraska andMassachusetts Avenues inNorthwestWashington, D.C. The land on three sides of Ward Circle is owned byAmerican University. The circle contains a statue of Ward.[29]
The great-grandson of Ward gave over four million dollars toHarvard University on the condition that they erect a statue in honor of Ward, and maintain his home inShrewsbury.[30] 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.[31]
The statue was unveiled on November 3, 1938[32] by Maj. Gen. Ward's great-great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. Lewis Wesley Feick.[33] Although there are nocrosswalks for pedestrian access to the circle, the base of the statue bears this inscription:[34]
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 theWard Circle Building, home of theAmerican University School of Public Affairs, in honor of Artemas Ward.[35][36]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Media related toArtemas Ward at Wikimedia Commons
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 7th congressional district 1791–1793 | Succeeded by District eliminated |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMassachusetts's 2nd congressional district 1793–1795 alongside:Dwight Foster,Theodore Sedgwick,William Lyman on aGeneral ticket (1793–1795) | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 1786–1787 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 1779–1785 | Succeeded by |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Major of the 3rd Regiment The Militia ofMiddlesex andWorcester Counties 1755 – 1757 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
