tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post8866722458917365373..comments2024-03-28T04:26:30.557-05:00Comments on Boston 1775: The Mythical Captain RoeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-36545125506211800112010-06-12T19:30:25.116-05:002010-06-12T19:30:25.116-05:00True, but a Private Roe wouldn’t have stood out as...True, but a Private Roe wouldn’t have stood out as heroically as a slain captain, just as one militiaman in a company wouldn’t have stood out as mythically as a lone horseman. <br /><br />This story, like a lot of historical fiction, boils down events that involved many people into actions by individual figures, who are easier to empathize with. “Captain Roe” stands for all the Americans killed at Lexington, “Hezekiah Wyman” for all the other Americans roused by that loss.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-35672910721583835712010-06-12T17:24:01.916-05:002010-06-12T17:24:01.916-05:00you mentioned that someone suggested Roe might hav...you mentioned that someone suggested Roe might have been a corruption of Monroe. There is an example of this in "The Life of John Warren" where a Deacon Monroe was mentioned as having been a tenant at the Warren house and called "Deacon Roe" by his contemporaries. With so many Munroes of various ranks and ages participating on April 19th this wasn't such a bad choice of fabricated name. Had the author simply said private Roe it would have been harder to dispute.Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16918332823654921488noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-77925088570047472932010-06-03T10:34:18.059-05:002010-06-03T10:34:18.059-05:00As far as I can tell, the story of Amos and Elizab...As far as I can tell, the story of Amos and Elizabeth Wyman offering Hancock and Adams a meal on 19 Apr 1775 first appeared in Samuel Sewall’s 1868 history of Woburn.<br /><br />Although that was decades after the event, Sewall is generally reliable, and in this particular anecdote he seems careful. He notes that the cow story is local gossip, not documented, and that it may not have been necessary for Hancock and Adams to flee that far. <br /><br />I’ve written about how the <a href="http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2008/04/without-paul-revere.html" rel="nofollow">royal troops weren’t searching for Hancock and Adams</a>. But those Patriot leaders and many of their colleagues <i>thought</i> the troops were, or at least thought the possibility was high enough to make flight worthwhile.<br /><br />As for the cow, I don’t think it’s implausible. Hancock had a lot of money at this time, and he’d started to spend it in ways that would improve his popularity. But his papers are scattered and incomplete, so we’ll probably never know.J. L. Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15405157000473731801noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-66570043612688026502010-06-03T02:16:49.073-05:002010-06-03T02:16:49.073-05:00J.L., nice work as always. For some reason, I'...J.L., nice work as always. For some reason, I'm fascinated by the "White Horseman" story. <br /><br />@Heather - I'm a fellow Wyman descendant -- 8G-grandson of Francis Jr. ... Also distant cousin to Robert Munroe's wife Anna Stone via Reed and Kendall lines, and possibly also Stone. <br /><br />Speaking of Wymans, J.L., I'd like to put in a request for a look at Amos Wyman, who, with his wife Elizabeth, took Adams and Hancock into their home on April 19. I've read several conflicting accounts about that, including the question of whether it was even really necessary for Adams and Hancock to have fled to the Wymans' house. ... And did Hancock really send Elizabeth a cow in appreciation for her hospitality?Peter Fisknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-57074859785224967642010-06-01T16:37:01.233-05:002010-06-01T16:37:01.233-05:00Mr. Bell - as always, a well researched review and...Mr. Bell - as always, a well researched review and very accurate conclusions.John L. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14827783825431694038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-56438579995074875992010-06-01T16:25:49.973-05:002010-06-01T16:25:49.973-05:00Nice bit of research and a good read.Nice bit of research and a good read.ADhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02870881763619404109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28102666.post-57423812496459673472010-06-01T10:30:05.411-05:002010-06-01T10:30:05.411-05:00I'm printing out this series for the annual Wy...I'm printing out this series for the annual Wyman Family reunion this September. Can't wait to see what you write tomorrow. I'm also a descendant of William Munroe you mentioned today. Since 1775 there have been generations of boys named Robert Munroe in honor of the one killed on the common, including my uncle Robert Munroe Wilkinson (1927 - 2005).Heather Wilkinson Rojohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17704949156266722016noreply@blogger.com