Lieutenant James Metcalf Mystery Where is Lieutenant James Metcalf buried? Unknown
Who was Lieutenant James Metcalf (Unknown-1778) ?
On September 5, 1778 an engagement took place with British troops at the Head of the River Bridge. Lt. James Metcalf and Lt. William Gordon were defending Acushnet with a one-gun detachment of a Massachusetts State Artillery Company against a force of the 4,000 British soldiers.
Lt. Metcalf was mortally wounded and was carried by his men to the headquarters of the company located on North Water near Union Street, New Bedford. Metcalf died the third day after he was wounded. His comrades carried his body over the road, over the village bridge; up to the Meeting House and then in the Precinct cemetery, amid strangers, they buried him with military honors. There is no tombstone and documents indicating his burial location.
Head of the River Bridge
Head of the River, or Acushnet Village, was the oldest village on the Acushnet River, being first settled in the late 1600s even before the whole region was incorporated as the Town of Dartmouth.
The stone bridge that still stands today was built in 1828, replacing an earlier wooden bridge that was the site of the deadly battle that claimed the life of Lt. James Metcalf. After the Revolution, the Town of New Bedford broke from Dartmouth and this area became a village of New Bedford. When the stone bridge was built, Head of the River was part of the Town of Fairhaven, which had split from New Bedford in 1812. On February 13, 1860, the northern part of Fairhaven was incorporated as the Town of Acushnet. Until the 1790s when the first Fairhaven-New Bedford bridge was built. The only bridge crossing the Acushnet River was the Head of the River Bridge.
Who was Lieutenant William Gordon (1754-1835) ?
While researching the story about Lt. Metcalf, another interesting story was discovered about Lt. William Gordon. Gordon before he arrived at the bridge in Acushnet, was on watch duty in Bedford Village, and was attracted into the house of Caleb Russell. The smell coming from the home was very powerful one to the hungry soldier.
He saw within, steaming hot Indian pudding served on pewter platters. Gordon had evidently miscalculated the location of the British, for as he was in the act of helping himself to the delicious contents of a platter an alarm sounded. He sprang to his feet, rushed out of doors, and was soon a prisoner of war, the first capture made by the enemy in that eventful raid. Gordon closely watched his captors, and in an opportune moment leaped a wall, fled into the woods and was soon with his battery in Acushnet. Lt. William Gordon was later promoted to Captain. He remained in Acushnet, and was laid to rest in the Acushnet Cemetery.
Who was Lieutenant James Metcalf (Unknown-1778) ?
On September 5, 1778 an engagement took place with British troops at the Head of the River Bridge. Lt. James Metcalf and Lt. William Gordon were defending Acushnet with a one-gun detachment of a Massachusetts State Artillery Company against a force of the 4,000 British soldiers.
Lt. Metcalf was mortally wounded and was carried by his men to the headquarters of the company located on North Water near Union Street, New Bedford. Metcalf died the third day after he was wounded. His comrades carried his body over the road, over the village bridge; up to the Meeting House and then in the Precinct cemetery, amid strangers, they buried him with military honors. There is no tombstone and documents indicating his burial location.
Head of the River Bridge
Head of the River, or Acushnet Village, was the oldest village on the Acushnet River, being first settled in the late 1600s even before the whole region was incorporated as the Town of Dartmouth.
The stone bridge that still stands today was built in 1828, replacing an earlier wooden bridge that was the site of the deadly battle that claimed the life of Lt. James Metcalf. After the Revolution, the Town of New Bedford broke from Dartmouth and this area became a village of New Bedford. When the stone bridge was built, Head of the River was part of the Town of Fairhaven, which had split from New Bedford in 1812. On February 13, 1860, the northern part of Fairhaven was incorporated as the Town of Acushnet. Until the 1790s when the first Fairhaven-New Bedford bridge was built. The only bridge crossing the Acushnet River was the Head of the River Bridge.
Who was Lieutenant William Gordon (1754-1835) ?
While researching the story about Lt. Metcalf, another interesting story was discovered about Lt. William Gordon. Gordon before he arrived at the bridge in Acushnet, was on watch duty in Bedford Village, and was attracted into the house of Caleb Russell. The smell coming from the home was very powerful one to the hungry soldier.
He saw within, steaming hot Indian pudding served on pewter platters. Gordon had evidently miscalculated the location of the British, for as he was in the act of helping himself to the delicious contents of a platter an alarm sounded. He sprang to his feet, rushed out of doors, and was soon a prisoner of war, the first capture made by the enemy in that eventful raid. Gordon closely watched his captors, and in an opportune moment leaped a wall, fled into the woods and was soon with his battery in Acushnet. Lt. William Gordon was later promoted to Captain. He remained in Acushnet, and was laid to rest in the Acushnet Cemetery.
Paranormal Samuel West House Mystery Several local paranormal groups have investigated the home. One particular group mentions they captured a disembodied voice speaking about an airplane crash. On September 15, 1957 An airplane crashed near New Bedford Airport, killing and injuring many, however at that time this house wasn't being used as a funeral home and none of the residents of the home at the time were connected to the New Bedford airplane crash.
According to legend, the British burned Samuel West's house in Dartmouth (now Acushnet) in September 1778 in retaliation for his efforts in deciphering Dr. Benjamin Church's letter for General George Washington in 1775. It's claimed that as the British were leaving town, the house was pointed out to them and they burned it.
Historical documents including the 1858 book "History of New Bedford" state among the eleven (11) houses burned by the British on September 5-6 1778 the West house was not among them. The description in the deeds established the fact that Dr. West lived in this house, which he owned after 1785.
The Samuel West house was formerly known as the B. Rodman farmhouse which was constructed in 1732. The house has been used as a residence, a funeral home (1890-1951), then a residence again.
In 1748 the property belonged to John Crandon and was then inherited by Thomas Crandon an innkeeper. In 1785 Samuel West recovered a judgment against Crandon and seized this land on execution. In 1811 Samuel West Jr. sold the property to William Wood.
Samuel West
Reverend Samuel West (1729 -1807) preached to the farmers, yeomen, and women of the fourth precinct of the Congregational Church Society of Dartmouth for decades after being called on to pastor the congregation in 1760. West graduated from Harvard College in 1754, a classmate of young John Hancock, an ardent patriot, and future governor.
West married Experience Howland, they would live beside the meeting house on Main Street for decades, then be buried in the nearby Acushnet Cemetery. The reverend obtained title to his homestead property in a legal dispute over unpaid wages by the poor farmers of Acushnet; he was also allowed to farm two nearby parcels just to the north, owned by the First Church and kept by the Fourth Precinct “for the minister’s use,”
Revolutionary War....A Pro-British Spy is Discovered
In 1775, the patriot leaders of Massachusetts suspected they had a traitor in their midst. The spy had reported on their Sons of Liberty meetings, the secret deliberations of the Provincial Congress, and had informed military governor General Thomas Gage where the rebel militias were stockpiling guns and powder. The spy’s reports of muskets, cannons and gunpowder being stored at Lexington and Concord, and the British general’s attempt to seize those military assets would lead to the outbreak of fighting on April 19, 1775. The hunt to identify the “spy” would finally be solved months later.
Spy is Identified, Caught and Letter Needs Decoding
In August 1775 a young woman from Boston walks into the Newport, RI bakery owned by Godfrey Wenwood, and now the mystery of the spy begins to unravel. Some historical researchers identify the young woman as Wenwood’s ex-wife or former mistress, Mary Butler. She was the current mistress of Massachusetts Provincial Congress member Dr. Benjamin Church.
Dr. Church, friend to many patriotic Sons of Liberty who were now leaders of the revolution, had just been appointed Surgeon General of the newly-formed Continental Army. He had once been suspected of being a British spy, but his patriotic endeavors had convinced leaders that it was impossible to believe. He was a descendant of King Philip’s War hero Colonel Benjamin Church of Little Compton.
Butler requested Wenwood to deliver a letter to a British officer in Boston, thru one of three specific people – Captain James Wallace, commander of HMS Rose, a British warship serving in local waters on the Royal Navy blockade; royal customs collector Charles Dudley; or pro-British merchant George Rome. Wenwood was known to supply bread and biscuits to the Royal Navy, so the task was not an impossible one. But suspecting some traitorous intent the baker never delivered the letter; after weeks of agonizing and consulting with a friend, Wenwood finally opened the letter, and finds a long message in code. Now convinced of Church’s treason, the baker delivers the coded letter to militia officials, who quickly-arrested Mary Butler, and send the cryptic letter to the Continental Army generals in Boston. Butler soon confesses that the message came from Church, and General Washington demands that the letter be deciphered to prove the guilt of surgeon general being a spy.
General Washington recruited three recommended men somewhat familiar with encryption techniques for the job: Reverend Samuel West of Dartmouth, Hadley militia Colonel Elisha Porter; and state Committee of Safety member Elbridge Gray. Colonel Porter and Gray work together to decode the message, while West tackles another copy on his own. The frequency of the most common letters helped proved the encryption to be a simple substitution code. Within days, both parties deliver their deciphered letters which contained, an identical report on American troop numbers around Boston, the locations of rebel artillery placements, and plans for a proposed expedition against British strongholds in Canada. Confronted with the evidence, Church confesses and sent to a Connecticut prison. After several years Church was transferred to a Boston jail, and finally released by order of the Continental Congress with the condition he be exiled from these United States forever. Dr. Church was placed on a ship bound for the West Indies in 1780. Neither the ship or Dr. Church is ever seen again, presumed to have been lost at sea.
Post Revolutionary War
Reverend Samuel West eventually returned home from the siege of Boston to resume his pastoral duties. He returned to the city in May of 1776 to deliver an “election day sermon” to the Massachusetts Council and House of Representatives, affirming the right of Christian men to resist tyrannical rulers, even to the point of armed rebellion to protect their God-given rights. Later, he would help those same men draft the first state constitution, and serve as a delegate to the federal Constitutional Convention, using his considerable intellectual skills to help shape the future of both our state and the new nation.
His ministry in Acushnet would last until 1803, when his advanced age and diminished mental faculties led him to resign the post of pastor. West would retire to live with his son in Tiverton, RI until his death in 1807.
According to legend, the British burned Samuel West's house in Dartmouth (now Acushnet) in September 1778 in retaliation for his efforts in deciphering Dr. Benjamin Church's letter for General George Washington in 1775. It's claimed that as the British were leaving town, the house was pointed out to them and they burned it.
Historical documents including the 1858 book "History of New Bedford" state among the eleven (11) houses burned by the British on September 5-6 1778 the West house was not among them. The description in the deeds established the fact that Dr. West lived in this house, which he owned after 1785.
The Samuel West house was formerly known as the B. Rodman farmhouse which was constructed in 1732. The house has been used as a residence, a funeral home (1890-1951), then a residence again.
In 1748 the property belonged to John Crandon and was then inherited by Thomas Crandon an innkeeper. In 1785 Samuel West recovered a judgment against Crandon and seized this land on execution. In 1811 Samuel West Jr. sold the property to William Wood.
Samuel West
Reverend Samuel West (1729 -1807) preached to the farmers, yeomen, and women of the fourth precinct of the Congregational Church Society of Dartmouth for decades after being called on to pastor the congregation in 1760. West graduated from Harvard College in 1754, a classmate of young John Hancock, an ardent patriot, and future governor.
West married Experience Howland, they would live beside the meeting house on Main Street for decades, then be buried in the nearby Acushnet Cemetery. The reverend obtained title to his homestead property in a legal dispute over unpaid wages by the poor farmers of Acushnet; he was also allowed to farm two nearby parcels just to the north, owned by the First Church and kept by the Fourth Precinct “for the minister’s use,”
Revolutionary War....A Pro-British Spy is Discovered
In 1775, the patriot leaders of Massachusetts suspected they had a traitor in their midst. The spy had reported on their Sons of Liberty meetings, the secret deliberations of the Provincial Congress, and had informed military governor General Thomas Gage where the rebel militias were stockpiling guns and powder. The spy’s reports of muskets, cannons and gunpowder being stored at Lexington and Concord, and the British general’s attempt to seize those military assets would lead to the outbreak of fighting on April 19, 1775. The hunt to identify the “spy” would finally be solved months later.
Spy is Identified, Caught and Letter Needs Decoding
In August 1775 a young woman from Boston walks into the Newport, RI bakery owned by Godfrey Wenwood, and now the mystery of the spy begins to unravel. Some historical researchers identify the young woman as Wenwood’s ex-wife or former mistress, Mary Butler. She was the current mistress of Massachusetts Provincial Congress member Dr. Benjamin Church.
Dr. Church, friend to many patriotic Sons of Liberty who were now leaders of the revolution, had just been appointed Surgeon General of the newly-formed Continental Army. He had once been suspected of being a British spy, but his patriotic endeavors had convinced leaders that it was impossible to believe. He was a descendant of King Philip’s War hero Colonel Benjamin Church of Little Compton.
Butler requested Wenwood to deliver a letter to a British officer in Boston, thru one of three specific people – Captain James Wallace, commander of HMS Rose, a British warship serving in local waters on the Royal Navy blockade; royal customs collector Charles Dudley; or pro-British merchant George Rome. Wenwood was known to supply bread and biscuits to the Royal Navy, so the task was not an impossible one. But suspecting some traitorous intent the baker never delivered the letter; after weeks of agonizing and consulting with a friend, Wenwood finally opened the letter, and finds a long message in code. Now convinced of Church’s treason, the baker delivers the coded letter to militia officials, who quickly-arrested Mary Butler, and send the cryptic letter to the Continental Army generals in Boston. Butler soon confesses that the message came from Church, and General Washington demands that the letter be deciphered to prove the guilt of surgeon general being a spy.
General Washington recruited three recommended men somewhat familiar with encryption techniques for the job: Reverend Samuel West of Dartmouth, Hadley militia Colonel Elisha Porter; and state Committee of Safety member Elbridge Gray. Colonel Porter and Gray work together to decode the message, while West tackles another copy on his own. The frequency of the most common letters helped proved the encryption to be a simple substitution code. Within days, both parties deliver their deciphered letters which contained, an identical report on American troop numbers around Boston, the locations of rebel artillery placements, and plans for a proposed expedition against British strongholds in Canada. Confronted with the evidence, Church confesses and sent to a Connecticut prison. After several years Church was transferred to a Boston jail, and finally released by order of the Continental Congress with the condition he be exiled from these United States forever. Dr. Church was placed on a ship bound for the West Indies in 1780. Neither the ship or Dr. Church is ever seen again, presumed to have been lost at sea.
Post Revolutionary War
Reverend Samuel West eventually returned home from the siege of Boston to resume his pastoral duties. He returned to the city in May of 1776 to deliver an “election day sermon” to the Massachusetts Council and House of Representatives, affirming the right of Christian men to resist tyrannical rulers, even to the point of armed rebellion to protect their God-given rights. Later, he would help those same men draft the first state constitution, and serve as a delegate to the federal Constitutional Convention, using his considerable intellectual skills to help shape the future of both our state and the new nation.
His ministry in Acushnet would last until 1803, when his advanced age and diminished mental faculties led him to resign the post of pastor. West would retire to live with his son in Tiverton, RI until his death in 1807.