tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post7885718281454011653..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: Asa Lawrence at the “Battle of Chelsea”Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-20897578859108445422019-01-19T17:46:06.047-05:002019-01-19T17:46:06.047-05:00I have been told for many years that Captain Asa L...I 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.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-35534887286434289172011-04-06T07:52:39.271-05:002011-04-06T07:52:39.271-05:00In a book called Groton During the Revolution Asa ...In 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.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-1438462319332569472010-08-17T14:42:24.160-05:002010-08-17T14:42:24.160-05:00@JL -- I guess you're right, re: Shays' Re...@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.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02572326586888509489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-44723261673221855572010-08-17T12:53:35.617-05:002010-08-17T12:53:35.617-05:00Looking back at my original source for Lawrence’s ...Looking 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.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-84482212678651964792010-08-17T12:52:47.516-05:002010-08-17T12:52:47.516-05:00I see Lawrence’s name on a Groton committee to dea...I 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.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-57140393634866361962010-08-16T23:27:39.884-05:002010-08-16T23:27:39.884-05:00Pretty sure this is the same Asa Lawrence who was ...Pretty sure this is the same Asa Lawrence who was a leader in Shays' Rebellion, right?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02572326586888509489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-81479135546267921642010-08-13T11:17:32.736-05:002010-08-13T11:17:32.736-05:00There are a lot of petitions for lost property lik...There are a lot of petitions for lost property like this in the Massachusetts legislative records, and they’re usually from individuals, including lowly privates. <br /><br />In 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.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-74700577579297203542010-08-13T09:14:35.962-05:002010-08-13T09:14:35.962-05:00Perhaps the 100 pounds was for his whole company.Perhaps the 100 pounds was for his whole company.Chris Hurley of Woburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11767360457057298740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-62336605626819250802010-08-12T16:16:52.361-05:002010-08-12T16:16:52.361-05:00Even in inflated wartime currency, that does seem ...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.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-51869710146599227892010-08-12T14:45:08.510-05:002010-08-12T14:45:08.510-05:00"The Massachusetts legislature voted to grant..."The Massachusetts legislature voted to grant Lawrence £100 for the “gun, knapsack, bayonet, coat, blanket, &c.” that he lost at Bunker Hill.<br />"<br /><br />I'm not sure when they granted him this in compensation, but £100 was a considerable sum in 1775, and for many years after. <br /><br />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."RFullernoreply@blogger.com