- Artemas Ward
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name = Artemas Ward
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birth_date = birth date|1727|11|26
birth_place =Shrewsbury, Massachusetts
death_date = death date and age|1800|10|28|1727|11|26
death_place =Shrewsbury, Massachusetts , USA
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occupation = Soldier, politician
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spouse = Sarah (Trowbridge) Ward
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children = Ithamar (1752), Nahum (1754), Sara (1756), Thomas (1758), Martha (1760), Artemas Jr. (1762), Maria (1764), Henry Dana (1768)
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website = [http://artemaswardmuseum.hres.harvard.edu Artemas Ward Museum]
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height =
weight =Artemas Ward (
November 26 ,1727 –October 28 ,1800 ) was an Americanmajor general in theAmerican Revolutionary War and a Congressman fromMassachusetts . PresidentJohn Adams described him as "...universally esteemed, beloved and confided in by his army and his country." Ward was much more effective as a political leader than as a soldier.Early life and career
Artemas was born at
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts , in 1727 to Nahum (1684-1754) andMartha Ward . He was the sixth of seven children. His father had broad and successful career interests as asea captain , merchant, land developer, farmer, lawyer and jurist. As a child he attended the common schools and shared a tutor with his brothers and sisters. He graduated from Harvard in 1748 and taught there briefly.On
July 31 ,1750 , he married Sarah Trowbridge (December 3 ,1724 -December 13 ,1788 ), the daughter of Reverend Caleb Trowbridge andHannah Trowbridge ofGroton, Massachusetts . The young couple returned to Shrewsbury where Artemas opened ageneral store . In the next fifteen years they would have eight children: Ithamar in 1752, Nahum (1754), Sara (1756), Thomas (1758), Artemas Jr. (1762), Henry Dana (1768), Martha (1760) and Maria (1764).The next year, 1751, he was named a township assessor for Worcester, County. This was the first of many public offices he was to fill. Artemas was elected a justice of the peace in 1752 and also served the first of his many terms in the colony's assembly, or "general court."
French and Indian War
In 1755 the militia was restructured for the war, and Artemas Ward was made a
major in the 3rdRegiment which mainly came from Worcester County. They served as garrison forces along the frontier inwestern Massachusetts . This duty called him at intervals between 1755 and 1757, and alternated with his attendance at the General Court. In 1757 he was made thecolonel of the 3rd Regiment or the militia of Middlesex and "Worchester" Counties. In 1758 the regiment marched with Abercrombie's force toFort Ticonderoga . Ward himself was sidelined during the battle by an "attack of the stone."Prelude to revolution
By 1762 Ward had completely returned to Shrewsbury and was named to the Court of Common Pleas. In the General Court he was placed on the
taxation committee along withSamuel Adams andJohn Hancock . On the floor, he was second only to James Otis in speaking out against the acts of parliament. His prominence in these debates prompted theRoyal Governor Francis Bernard to revoke his military commission in 1767. At the next election in 1768, Bernard voided the election results for Worcester and banned Ward from the assembly, but this didn't silence him.In the growing sentiment favoring rebellion, the 3rd Regiment resigned "en masse" from British service on
October 3 ,1774 . They then marched on Shrewsbury to inform Colonel Ward that they had unanimously elected him their leader. Later that month the governor abolished the assembly. The towns of Massachusetts responded by setting up a colony-wide Committee of Safety. One of the first actions of the Committee was to name Ward asgeneral andcommander-in-chief of the colony'smilitia .The Army of Observation
Following Lexington on
April 19 ,1775 the rebels followed the British back toBoston and started the siege of the city. At first Ward directed his forces from his sickbed, but later moved his headquarters to Cambridge. Soon, theNew Hampshire andConnecticut provisional governments both named him head of their forces participating in the siege. Most of his efforts during this time were devoted to organization and supply problems.Additional British forces arrived in May, and in June Ward learned of their plan to attack
Bunker Hill . He gave orders to fortify the point, setting the stage for theBattle of Bunker Hill onJune 17 ,1775 . Command during the battle devolved upon GeneralIsrael Putnam and ColonelWilliam Prescott . While General Ward received national recognition for the heroic stand made that day, his principal contribution was a failure to supply enough ammunition to hold the position.The Continental Army
Meanwhile, the
Continental Congress was creating aContinental Army . OnJune 16 they named Artemas Ward amajor general , and second in command to General Washington. Over the next nine months he helped convert the assembled militia units into the Continental Army.After the British evacuation on
March 17 ,1776 , Washington led the main army toNew York City . Ward took command of the Eastern Department onApril 4 ,1776 . He held that post untilMarch 20 ,1777 , when his health forced his resignation from the army.Politics: Life after war
Even during his military service, Artemas served as a state court justice in 1776 and 1777. He was President of the state's Executive Council from 1777-1779, which effectively made him the governor (before the 1780 ratification of the
Massachusetts Constitution . He was continuously elected to theMassachusetts House of Representatives for each year from 1779 through 1785. He also served as a delegate to theContinental Congress in 1780 and 1781. Ward was the Speaker of the Massachusetts House in 1785. He was elected twice to theUnited States House of Representatives , serving from 1791 to 1795.Artemas died at his home in Shrewsbury on
October 28 ,1800 , and is buried with Sarah in Mountain View Cemetery. His great-grandson, Artemas Ward wroteThe Grocer's Encyclopedia (published in 1911).Legacy
Artemas Ward House
Artemas's lifelong home had been built by his father, Nahun, about the time Artemas was born. The home is now known as the "
Artemas Ward House " and is a museum preserved byHarvard University . Located at 786 Main Street in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts it is open to the public for limited hours during the summer months.Ward Circle
Ward Circle is a traffic circle at the intersection of Nebraska Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue in Northwest
Washington, D.C. . The land on three sides of Ward Circle is owned byAmerican University . The circle contains a statue of Artemas Ward.The great-grandson of Artemas Ward gave over a million dollars to
Harvard University on the condition that they erect a statue in honor of Ward. Harvard’s initial offer in 1927 of $50,000 toward the statue was enough for a statue, but inadequate to provide the general with a horse.Fact|date=December 2007The statue was completed in 1938. Although there is no pedestrian access to the circle, the base of the statue bears this inscription:
ARTEMAS WARD, 1727-1800, SON OF MASSACHUSETTS, GRADUATE OF HARVARD COLLEGE, JUDGE AND LEGISLATOR, DELEGATE 1780-1781 TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, SOLDIER OF THREE WARS, FIRST COMMANDER OF THE PATRIOT FORCES
American University
American University named the home of theAmerican University School of Public Affairs , being the closest building at the time toWard Circle in honor of Artemas Ward.References
*Charles Martyn; The Life of Artemas Ward, The First Commander-in-Chief of the American Revolution.; (1921), reprinted 1970: Kennikat Press, Port Washington, N.Y.; ISBN 0-8046-1276-5
*Andrew H. Ward, "Memoir of Major General Artemas Ward" in "New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 5"; July, 1851.
*CongBio|W000127
* [http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2003/05.22/13-ward.html Description of the Ward House]
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