From the diary of Pvt. James Stevens of Andover, camped on the north side of the siege lines around Boston in 1775.Saterday July the 1This is one of the contemporaneous documents that helped historians discard the notion of Gen. George Wasington assuming his command in front of a large portion of the now-Continental Army lined up on Cambridge common on 3 July 1775, as Currier & Ives illustrated above.
I wos releived of a gard about nine a Clok
I went on to Chil [probably Charlestown] to see the fort
there wos won funeral
we preaded to receive the new jeneral Washington but he did not com
Sunday ye 2
this morning we preaded to receive the new jeneral
it raind & we wos dismesd
the jenral com in about nune
there wos no meting in the afternune
I went to the colridg & herd a sarmen from Psams the 71 in the morning
there wos a firing from roxbry
the regerlers burnt won hous
our men fired on them three tims
Munday ye 3
nothing hapeng extrorderly we preaded thre times
I went up on to the hil
Washington actually took command from Gen. Artemas Ward the previous afternoon, soon after his arrival, and there was “nothing hapeng extrorderly” on the 3rd.
Stevens'full journal is in the Essex Institute Historical Collection Vol 48 in Peabody, and is written in such a phonetic style, I found I couldn't understand his words unless I read the sentences out loud to myself!
ReplyDeleteYes, that's where I take the text from. I present each sentence in its own paragraph to make it a little easier to follow, but still.
ReplyDelete