tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post2643722944277250223..comments2024-03-14T13:25:20.613-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Finding Dr. Joseph Warren’s HeadUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-85729186486303263182024-01-18T21:20:39.282-05:002024-01-18T21:20:39.282-05:00Yes, in the fifteen years since this original post...Yes, in the fifteen years since this original posting, I saw that Abigail Adams’s source was probably Benjamin Hichborn, just out of British captivity and eager to apologize for having lost her husband’s letters to the enemy. <br /><br />Another lesson drawn from studying the people of this period has been <i>not to trust Benjamin Hichborn.</i>J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-30895874798312034292024-01-18T07:31:36.522-05:002024-01-18T07:31:36.522-05:00To John Adams from Benjamin Hichborn, 25 November ...To John Adams from Benjamin Hichborn, 25 November 1775<br />From Benjamin Hichborn<br />Cambridge Saturday Eveng. Novr. 25 1775<br /><br />From <br />One Drew6 now a Lieutenant of the Scorpion or Viper, I am uncertain which, and Bruce a private belonging to the Preston, landed on Bunkers Hill, soon after the battle of the 17th of June. Drew, after walking for some time over the bodies of the dead, with great fortitude, went up to one of our wounded Men, and very deliberately shot him through the Head. Bruce advanced further over the Hill, and meeting with a forlorn wretch, begging Mercy for Gods Sake! he advanced and with a “damn ye, you Bugger you! are you not dead yet?” instantly demolished him. In a day or two after, Drew went upon the Hill again opened the dirt that was thrown over Doctr: Warren, spit in his Face jump’d on his Stomach and at last cut off his Head and committed every act of violence upon his Body. I had this Story from two Gentlemen belonging to the Preston who were eye Witnesses of the facts. In justice to the officers in general I must add, that they despised Drew for his Conduct, the other was below their notice.<br /><br />From <br />6. James Drew was first lieutenant on the sloop Scorpion (Philip Stephens to Vice Adm., Graves, 27 Sept., The Present Disposition of His Majesty’s Ships and Vessels in Sea Pay, 1 Dec., Naval Docs. Amer. Rev., 2:736–737; 3:1400).<br />Brian T. Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09529137413679237960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-42643118429444037652015-02-03T12:39:09.009-05:002015-02-03T12:39:09.009-05:00in regard to Dr warrens skull see the following li...in regard to Dr warrens skull see the following links<br />http://www.derekbeck.com/1775/info/warren-forensic-analysis/<br /><br />And in regard to the Sons of Liberty especially the manner of Warren's death at Bunker hill see<br />http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/showthread.php?p=670452<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-59367059313529463702009-03-18T09:27:00.000-05:002009-03-18T09:27:00.000-05:00I think the Cary biography’s systematic flaw is to...I think the Cary biography’s systematic flaw is to attribute almost everything Dr. Warren was involved in to him alone. Yeah, Warren was a very important guy, especially in the last months before the war when he was the most reliable Whig leader in Boston. But he worked with a lot of other guys.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-40793207843548996292009-03-18T00:29:00.000-05:002009-03-18T00:29:00.000-05:00I think it is worth noting that there are many thi...I think it is worth noting that there are many things about the Cary biography that are unsubstantiated and questionable. You have simply touched on one of many...Derek "A Staunch Whig" Beckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16966961365623936407noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-10768890777438497982009-02-10T12:35:00.000-05:002009-02-10T12:35:00.000-05:00Okay, I see that as a valid reading of Abigail Ada...Okay, I see that as a valid reading of Abigail Adams’s letter: that for all her anger, she didn’t mean that the British officers had actually taken any steps to behead Dr. Warren before burying him. <BR/><BR/>In that case, Cary’s reading is indeed an accurate reflection of the rumor—and the interpretations that officers really did behead Warren have even less support. <BR/><BR/>Either way, I think all the authors who took this rumor as a reflection of what actually happened (either beheading or just talk about it) put far too much faith in a distant rumor from a dubious source. <BR/><BR/>I’ve found no evidence to support the rumor and one fact (Warren’s corpse found in a grave with one other body) that contradicts it. So it doesn’t seem like reliable evidence of anything but the fact that rumors spread outside Boston. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for sharing a different reading from the one I’d started with!J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-59822737036030507312009-02-10T10:37:00.000-05:002009-02-10T10:37:00.000-05:00Even before I read your description from John Cary...Even before I read your description from John Cary's biography of Warren, I interpreted Abigail Adams's letter the same way that Cary did. I think she's saying exactly what he described: the officers wanted to cut off the head, but a Mason among them intervened. I confess I don't see any other way to read her letter.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10662430672900046101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-15539945692528957252009-02-05T13:35:00.000-05:002009-02-05T13:35:00.000-05:00Ah my mistake, thanks for clearing it up!Ah my mistake, thanks for clearing it up!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-57060630610154554222009-02-05T12:35:00.000-05:002009-02-05T12:35:00.000-05:00My example of George Washington thinking about a t...My example of George Washington thinking about a trip to Vermont was a hypothetical. <BR/><BR/>It was inspired by a claim in the early 1900s that Washington had visited Vermont in 1790. Here’s a <A HREF="http://books.google.com/books?id=IvsKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA31" REL="nofollow">refutation of that claim</A>. On the dates when Grace Greylock Niles wrote that Washington was in Bennington, documents show he was in New York City. <BR/><BR/>At the time, for the President to visit Vermont would have meant leaving the United States, so it would have been a big deal that attracted a lot of attention. Niles’s conclusion rested on a single source, which she turned out not to have seen in a reliable form.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-63118601946636699612009-02-05T12:16:00.000-05:002009-02-05T12:16:00.000-05:00Maybe the reason behind Washington's location of V...Maybe the reason behind Washington's location of Vermont vs NH is that Vermont not being a colony, most people thought of it as NH still. The person who considers Washington in Vermont was someone with local ties to the area and considered himself a Vermonter and not a NHer...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-14505994475669332642009-02-04T17:56:00.000-05:002009-02-04T17:56:00.000-05:00This has been a great series of posts - I find mys...This has been a great series of posts - I find myself thoroughly fascinated by the story of Joseph Warren's head!Rob Velellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14284492589098267999noreply@blogger.com