LANTERNS ARE PLACED on graves at the Old Burying Ground during the Historical Society’s Patriot Vigil on April 18. (Alan Foulds Photo)
LYNNFIELD — Despite the dismal weather on April 18, a crowd of more than 100 residents took part in a vigil remembering the 38 militia men from Lynnfield (known then as the village of Lynn End) who marched to battle on the opening day of the American Revolution.
The Lynnfield Historical Society hosted the program called “Lynnfield on the Eve of the American Revolution.” It opened inside the Centre Church’s 1832 Chapel, where program coordinator Alan Foulds introduced Veterans Services Office Bruce Siegel and American Legion Post 131 Commander Tom Bogart, who, on behalf of the town, offered stirring and solemn words on the bravery of those who marched into the unknown to face the world’s most powerful army.
Foulds returned to the podium and stressed the significance of the town’s involvement on April 19, 1775. He talked of Martin Herrick riding into the village to tell Captain Bancroft that British soldiers were marching to Lexington and Concord, and of 16-year-old Benjamin Adams beating his drum to call the militia to the task at hand.
DANIEL TOWNSEND MUSE, who is a decedent of late Revolutionary War hero Daniel Townsend, along with his family attended the Patriot Vigil at Centre Congregational Church on April 18. Daniel Townsend perished in the first battle of the Revolutionary War on April 19, 1775. (Shelley Lynch Photo)
At the conclusion of his remarks, the audience, led by a fifer and drummer from Prescott’s Battalion, and Society President Ron Sarro, in the personage of a town crier, proceeded out the front door, across the Common, to the Old Burial Ground. As Sarro read the names of the 18 people buried there who marched on April 19, a lantern was lit at each grave. Rather than detracting from the program, the mists in the air only added to the aura of the solemn occasion.
Among those chosen to light the lanterns were direct descendants. Daniel Townsend’s grave was illuminated by his namesake Daniel Townsend Muse. Other members of the Muse family took part as well. The grave of Thomas Wellman was lit by Tony Wellman, of Connecticut.
The evening concluded back inside the church chapel with a talk by historian Paul Hogman, who illustrated the battle at the Jason Russell House in Arlington, where three Lynnfield men were killed. The Townsend and Wellman families, together with the speakers mingled with attendees over event-themed refreshments.
The Patriot Vigil was the opening event of the Lynnfield Historical Society’s Revolution 250 program.
OVER 100 RESIDENTS attended the Historical Society’s Patriot Vigil in the Centre Congregational Church Chapel on April 18. (Ace Foulds Photo)
