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Revolutionary War letter from Tory, 1775

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Title: Ms. Minutes of the Committee of Correspondence of Warwick, MA, with letter from Lemuel Hedge to Joseph Warren, & related material
Author: Hedge, Lemuel
Description: 4 pp. on 4-page conjugate 11¾x7¼.Interesting record of the meeting in Warwick, Massachusetts, at which Lemuel Hedge, the town preacher, and an avowed tory, was barred from leaving the town and his weapons confiscated. The first two pages are a copy of a letter Hedge sent to Joseph Warren, chief executive of the revolutionary Massachusetts government, pleading his case while admitting his sentiments(ironically, Warren was dead by the time if this meeting, having been killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775). The third page is the view of the committee members of Hedge ("We can view him in no other light than a bitter enemy to his country's freedom... we recommend to the inhabitants of this town to disarm and confine him...") The fourth page lists the vote of the committee, 56 for confinement, 45 against. The Rev. Hedge was indeed confined, and he was to pass away two years hence. A very interesting document, demonstrating that the revolutionary movement in America was not unanimous amongst the citizenry, and was, even at its inception, democratic in nature. Provenance: A private California collection.
Heading: AAAPlace Published: Warwick, Mass.
Publisher:
Date Published: July 13, 1775