The 1777 March of the Saratoga Convention Army

The lead element of the re-united Convention Army marched through Leicester, Massachusetts, on November 2, 1777.  Massachusetts Militia Lieutenant Israel Bartlett, a guard with the British column, noted in his journal for that day:  "... marched thro' Leicester and halted at Worcester, 14 miles from our last quarters."  [1]  More British prisoners passed through on November 3rd.  The journal of an officer of the 47th Regiment of Foot notes they made a seventeen mile march from Brookfield to Worcester that day which would have taken them through Leicester, but makes no mention of that. [2] The Germans, who marched behind the British and stayed in town the night of November 3rd, were more descriptive:  "Our march went via Spencer to Leicester today [November 3] and came 14 Engl. miles.  The houses were close to each other and in part very beautiful; most of them were two stories high!"  [3]  As had been the case since Palmer, the road they took was marked by miles

On November 1, 1777, the the Convention Army was in or nearing Brookfield, Massachusetts, and a common route to Cambridge.  At its front were some of the British troops, escorted by soldiers from the Massachusetts Militia, including Lieutenant Israel Bartlett who claimed that after a short march they stopped for the night in Spencer:  "Nov. 1 Saturday - We marched 1 1/2 miles to Spencer & halted all the rest of the day to draw provisions; the commissary being absent, could not draw."   The following day, he and those under his charge "... drew one day's provision and marched thro' Leicester and halted at Worcester, 14 miles from our last quarters."   [1] Most of the Convention Army marched through Spencer without staying overnight.  Massachusetts Militia Private David How, who also guarded the British column, noted that on November 2nd:  "This morning we set off [from Brookfield] march'd through Spenser & Lester and at Night we staid at Wors

Lieutenant Israel Bartlett, a Massachusetts Militia officer escorting the British column of the Convention Army, noted that on October 31st he and his comrades  "... marched 1 1/2 mile [from present-day Warren, Massachusetts] and halted in front of the British Army - breakfasted & marched to the furthest part of Brookfield 11 miles from our last quarters.  We were forced to march 4 or 5 miles further than we intended, for want of quarters."  [1] What was Brookfield in 1777 is now four towns: Brookfield, North Brookfield (incorporated in 1812), West Brookfield (incorporated in 1848, but as the site of the first area of European settlement claimant of the title of the "mother town" of the Brookfields ), and East Brookfield (incorporated in 1920, and the  youngest town in Massachusetts ).  The present day borders of these towns span a straight-line distance of about ten miles both west to east and north to south.   The European settlement of the Brookfield area was

There was and is more to Brookfield, Massachusetts, than t he murder of Joshua Spooner .    That includes the displacement of its Native inhabitants a century earlier by 17th century European settlers, the coming and going of the Convention Army along its  post road and past its milestones , and a story of "what might have been".  My own travel along the route of march of the Convention Army in 1777 has led to further exploration of the town (now four towns), including West Brookfield's  "Asparagus, Flower and Heritage Festival"  in May, and winter festival seen below outside what was tavern in 1777 and recently re-opened as the Hitchcock Tavern, a place for lunch or dinner, and drinks. The first troops of the Convention Army to arrive in Brookfield were from the British column.  Massachusetts Militia Private David How, one of their guards, wrote that on October 31st:  "This Day we marchd to Brookfield Staid at Night."   How and others would spend a se

The day after the vote to approve the Declaration of Independence, John Adams of Massachusetts wrote home to his wife Abagail: " The Second Day of July 1776 , will be the most memorable Epocha, in the history of America. - I am apt to believe it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary Festival."   On July 2, 1778, a crowd of some 5,000  people had gathered in Worcester, Massachusetts, two years to the day after the Continental Congress resolved  "That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States..."  They had not gathered to celebrate American independence, as Adams had predicted.  It was a much darker event that brought them together - a public execution, not one hanging but four, one of the four a woman.  All had been convicted of the murder of Joshua Spooner in Brookfield, Massachusetts, on March 1, 1778. How does a 1778 murder tie into the march of the Convention Army?  For five days in 1777, Br