Littleton Patriot’s Day Celebration - The Littleton Historical Commission invites you to the celebration of Patriot’s Day on April 19 at 7 p.m. at Liberty Square. Rain or shine. The Boxborough Minutemen will join us if they are victorious in their early morning battle with the British in Concord. They can tell us personally about the heated bloody battle and the difficulty in chasing the British back to Boston.
On April 19, 1775
Five citizens received ammunition from the town stock
totaling one and one fourth pounds powder and 38 bullets:
John Green one half pound powder and 14 bullets
Daniel Whitecomb
fourteen bullets
Thomas Wood eleven flints
Jona. Warren one half pound
powder, one pound bullets
Nathaniel Whitcomb one fourth pound powder
From Vol 1 History of Middlesex County:
Littleton’s inhabitants showed displeasure with British
taxation as early as March 5, 1770 at a town meeting:
“The Grievous Impositions the Inhabitants of the british
Colonies have long suffered from their Mother country strongly claim their
attention to every legal Method for their Removal……
We therefore vote
That we will not (knowingly) directly or indirectly purchase any british
goods that have been or may be imported contrary to the patriotic agreement of
the Merchants of the Town of Boston.
If any Inhabitant of this Town of Littleton shall be known
to purchase any article of any Importer of Goods contrary to the afors
agreement or of any one who shall purchase of any such Importer he shall suffer
our high Displeasure and Contempt.
The resolutions were published in the Boston Gazette March
12, 1770.
About 1772 a change in leadership took place when the
conservatives (many of whom were Tories) were suddenly retired
from power and those more actively involved in the Revolution took their place.
The alarm of April 19, 1775 was carried by Edward Weatherbee
of Acton as far as Simon Tuttle's on the road to Littleton. Littleton quickly responded
sending Lt Aquila Jewett’s company of militia numbering 4 officers and 42
men and several volunteers who marched
to Concord and followed the enemy 26
miles probably to Cambridge.
Aquila Jewett (1730-1829) married Eunice
Houghton, daughter of Deacon Israel Houghton and Martha Wheelock, on 22 Mar
1764 in Littleton, Middlesex, Massachusetts. (Eunice Houghton was born on 31
Jan 1736 in Lancaster, Massachusetts and was christened on 13 Feb 1736 in
Lancaster, Massachusetts.)
From History and
genealogy of the Jewetts of America, page 157:Lieut. Aquila Jewett was born
in Littleton, Massachusetts on 20 Feb 1730/31. He was married there by Rev.
Daniel Rogers, 22 Mar 1764, to Eunice Houghton of Lancaster, Massachusetts.
They settled in Littleton, in which he served as a soldier in the Revolution.
from Mass. Soldiers and
Sailors in War of Rev., Vol. VIII:"Aquila Jewett, Littleton,
Lieutenant, in command of a company of military, Col. James Prescott's rgt;
which marched on the alarm of 19 Apr 1775; service 7 days."
His children, all born in
Littleton, were:1 William, b. 5 Feb 17652 Eunice, b. 11 Mar 1767; m. 22 May
1788, to John Wood, 3rd of Littleton3 Israel Houghton, b. 21 Dec 1768, m.
Susannah Wood4 Aquila, b. 23 Dec 17705 Benjamin, b. 1 Mar 1773; m. Betsy Wood6
Samuel, b. 28 Dec 17777 Arethusa, b. 15 Jan 1781
Taken from Ancestry Public
Stories
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On June 18, 1775 (the day after Bunker Hill) another company
of minute men was formed :
“We the subscribers having received ammunition out of the
Town Stock of said Town do promise to keep and return the same again into said
stock except obliged to use the same in defense of our rights and privileges
when call by an alarm.”
The amount totaled 12 pounds powder, 279 bullets, and 99
flints:
Edward Brown
Nathan Chase
John Dix
Job Dodge
Boston Draper
James Dutton*
William Farr
Peter Fox
Israel Hinds
Samuel Hoar, Jr
William Jewett
James King
Ebezaur Lawrence
Simon Lawrence
Robert Powers
National Procter
John Robins,Jr
Ephraim Robbins
Moses Sanderson
Isaac SPauling
Jonathan Tenney
Oliver Tenney
Samuel Tenney, Jr
Samuel Tenney 3rd
Daniel Tuttle
John O Tuttle
John Tuttle, Jr.
Stephen Tuttle
Joseph Warren
Jonathan Wheeler
Daniel Whetcomb
Ephraim Whitcomb
John Whiting, Jr
Benjamin Worster
John Wood
Joseph Worster
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*James Dutton has several notations of payments made for services as a Revolutionary Soldier. He is listed as a private in Capt Samuel Gilberts Co, Col William Prescott's Reg muster roll August 1, 1775. On Jan 3, 1777 James Dutton, Littleton is paid 1.7.9 1/2 for wages due under the command of Maj William Bacon, Brewer's Regt Artificers. And most interesting, he is found at Valley Forge in the winter of 1778.
