Asa Lawrence (1737-1804) was a provincial army captain from Groton. In the second volume of his Groton Historical Series (1890), the indefatigable local historian Samuel Abbott Green published Lawrence’s 1779 petition to the Massachusetts General Court, asking for some compensation and support: Humbly shewes Asa Lawrence of Groton in the County of Middlesex that he was in the Engagement of the 17th of June at Charlestown [i.e., the Battle of Bunker Hill] and there lost goods an account whereof is hereunto annexed—The Massachusetts legislature voted to grant Lawrence £100 for the “gun, knapsack, bayonet, coat, blanket, &c.” that he lost at Bunker Hill.
and that at the Battle of Chelsea he risqued his Life at the Command of general [Israel] Putnam to Burn one of the Enemies armed Vessels and after many attempts he finally effected the same whereby there was an acquisition of twelve peices of Cannon to the Public,
and also that he served seven weeks in the late Expedition against Rhode Island as a Volunteer and has never had any reward for said services or Compensation for his said Losses.
Wherefore he prays that a due allowance may be made him for his services and losses aforesd and he as in duty bound shall ever pray &c.
This petition suggests that the fight in late May 1775 had become known in Massachusetts as “the Battle of Chelsea.” Of course, Lawrence had every reason to portray that fight as an important battle since he had played an important role in it and was seeking some reward.
I can’t leave Capt. Lawrence without noting the evidence, mentioned in this article, that his twelve-year-old son Rowland (or Roland) came with him to the siege of Boston as a “waiter,” or personal servant and gofer. Later, in 1776-77, Rowland served four months in the militia at Dorchester.
TOMORROW: So what does this mean for “the Battle of Chelsea Creek”?
"The Massachusetts legislature voted to grant Lawrence £100 for the “gun, knapsack, bayonet, coat, blanket, &c.” that he lost at Bunker Hill.
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I'm not sure when they granted him this in compensation, but £100 was a considerable sum in 1775, and for many years after.
I am reminded of the late Sen. Everett Dirksen's observation about Congressional spending, "A billion here, a billion there...pretty soon, you're talking real money."
Even in inflated wartime currency, that does seem like a lot of compensation. But I suspect this was the state’s elite class looking after one of their own, knowing he’d done important service earlier in the war and using “compensation for lost goods” as their excuse for giving him some money.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the 100 pounds was for his whole company.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of petitions for lost property like this in the Massachusetts legislative records, and they’re usually from individuals, including lowly privates.
ReplyDeleteIn this case, Lawrence was asking for compensation four years after the Bunker Hill battle, long after the unit was broken up. His petition doesn’t say anything about anyone else’s losses. So I think he needed money for himself.
Pretty sure this is the same Asa Lawrence who was a leader in Shays' Rebellion, right?
ReplyDeleteI see Lawrence’s name on a Groton committee to deal with some of the economic problems that led to Shays’s Rebellion, but I don’t know what further part he played.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at my original source for Lawrence’s petition, I see that he appended an accounting for his losses that came to only £7.10s. So the legislature was obviously compensating him for more than just that.
ReplyDelete@JL -- I guess you're right, re: Shays' Rebellion. For some reason I had remembered Capt. Asa Lawrence as having been more directly involved in the rebellion, but like you I can't find any evidence of that now. I must have been conflating him with another man.
ReplyDeleteIn a book called Groton During the Revolution Asa Lawrence's name appears on the bottom of page 184 as a person who took part in Shays rebellion.
ReplyDeleteI have been told for many years that Captain Asa Lawerence was my great, great (how ever many greats, I have lost count) grandfather. My family came from a long line of farmers, and as he was not part of the military, but called on for assistance, when he would leave for duty, our family would suffer for it. This was the case for most of those that just volunteered, as there was no pay. They used thier own weapons, and goods to fight, and would not be paid for thier work. As the story is told in my family, John Hancock himself helped petition for my grandfather for compensation for his service, as my family was in dire need of help since he had been gone for so long with no pay. The compensation he was asking for, for the items he had lost in battle, was really him just trying to get anything to help his family. He had been called on at least 3 times that I know of, by the army, which meant he was not making any money for a substantial amount of time. He did it without question, and I am told that is why they granted him so much more that he was asking for. They felt his sacrifice he and his family made was also worth a monetary value. Just saw this story and felt urged to share my thoughts from my families point of view. Obviously I never met him, but his service and sacrifice is something members of my family have always tried to live by, and we have a long line of servicemen in every generation that followed him.
ReplyDeleteFinally, I've just discovered that Captain Lawrence is my ancestor.
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