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During the very early hours of April 19, 1775, Samuel Whittemore, nearing eighty years old, was awakened by the British on their march towards Lexington and Concord. Living along the main road, Mrs. Whittemore planned to leave the home and go to their son’s home nearby along the Mystic River. Though she had assumed her husband would join her, she found him instead of preparing to leave, readying his weapons for battle. A veteran of the militia, Whittemore instead was “oiling his musket and pistols, and sharpening his sword…”.1 Whittemore, who lived just past the two elms along the Cambridge-side of the main road, marched instead toward the center of town.
Whittemore, it is claimed, waited behind a wall in the general area of what is now Arlington Catholic High School. Upon hearing the troops approach, Whittemore fired at least six shots toward the British soldiers and then retreated to safety behind the wall. Whittemore, being nearly eighty years old at the time, had no hope of running from the soldiers. Historian Lucius Page quotes from Whittemore’s obituary, in which it is claimed the man said “‘If I can only be the instrument of killing one of my country’s foes, I shall die in peace.’”2 According to his obituary, Whittemore was able to kill two before the soldiers descended upon him in retaliation.
A modern artist's interpretation of Samuel Whittemore's story.
As Whittemore fired a third time, a musket struck him in the head, rendering him unconscious. Upon finding the man, the British soldiers beat him and stabbed him with their bayonets. Whittemore’s obituary, to which much of the information pertaining to the man’s encounter is owed, provides a description of his condition that day: “About four hours after, he was found in a mangled situation; his head was covered with blood from the wounds of the bayonets, which were six or eight; but providentially none penetrated so far as to destroy him. His hat and clothes were shot through in many places…”.3 Whittemore, though advanced in age on the afternoon of April 19, 1775, managed to not only survive the attack, but lived long enough “to see the complete overthrow of his enemies, and his country enjoy all the blessings of peace and independence.”4 Samuel Whittemore passed away on February 2, 1793 at ninety-six years old.
Whittemore’s brave actions are memorialized by a marker placed in Whittemore Park, in front of the Jefferson Cutter House, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Mystic Street, not far from the site where Whittemore had patriotically stood up to soldiers of the most powerful army in the world at the time. The historical record regarding Whittemore, however, largely begins with the publication of his obituary in the Columbian Centinel on February 6, 1793, according to historian Lucius R. Page.5 Page, writing in 1877, even cautioned the contemporary reader of the way in which the historical record had begun to evolve, noting a preference to rely upon the obituary rather than the narratives published more recently as these were recounted “possibly with some embellishments in later years.”6 Whittemore’s story was no doubt a source of pride and patriotism for the community in the years following the American Revolution, and remains so even up to the present day. In searching for historical accuracy, however, it is important to regard the various accounts with a certain amount of skepticism and desire to seek truth. A perusal of newspapers published in the days following the Battles of Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy, omit any mention of Whittemore or incidents resembling his experience. Furthermore, Whittemore’s encounter was not recorded in depositions of residents collected by the Second Provincial Congress. The attack of an elderly Patriot, one who chose to confront his enemy rather than hide safely would seem to be worthy of publication at that time, especially as the Patriots widely circulated news of the events to raise support for their cause. The story, however, is worthy of further investigation, in the hopes that more contemporaneous accounts might provide support to help reveal the actual details of Whittemore’s involvement.
A historical marker honors the contributions of Samuel Whittemore on April 19, 1775.
Image Credits
Image Credits
Page Header Background:
Don Troiani, Old Sam Whittemore, April 19th, 1775, Painting, Minuteman National Historical Park, https://m.facebook.com/MinuteManNPS/photos/a.158388931240979/972825816463949/?type=3.
Modern Interpretation Painting:
Don Troiani, Old Sam Whittemore, April 19th, 1775, Painting, Minuteman National Historical Park, https://m.facebook.com/MinuteManNPS/photos/a.158388931240979/972825816463949/?type=3.
Historical Marker:
Bill Coughlin, Samuel Whittemore Marker, April 15, 2009, Photograph, Historical Marker Database, https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=18142.
Footnotes
Footnotes
1. Samuel Abbot Smith, West Cambridge on the Nineteenth of April, 1775, 29.
2. Lucius R. Paige, History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877 with a Genealogical Register (Boston, MA: H.O. Houghton and Company, 1877), 414-415.
3. Lucius R. Paige, History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 415.
4. Lucius R. Paige, History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 415.
5. Lucius R. Paige, History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 414.
6. Lucius R. Paige, History of Cambridge, Massachusetts, 414.
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