When choosing what to cover about People, I try to focus on the "second-tier" first patriots—those men and women whose actions helped shape the course of the American Revolution but are often overlooked in the brief history taught these days. I put "second-tier" in quotes because, in reality, the sum of their activities, and sometimes their only actions, were crucial to the success of the Glorious Cause. With that in mind, this blog post highlights one of our lesser-known great first patriots, Artemas Ward of Massachusetts. A dependable, serious leader of the patriot cause in New England, the little-known Ward was the first commander in chief of the American army during the early days of the War for Independence.
Early Life
This first patriot was born in Shrewsbury on November 26, 1727. His father, Nahum Ward, was a skilled sea captain, merchant, land developer, farmer, lawyer, and jurist. Young Artemas went to common schools, was prepared for college by a private tutor, and graduated from Harvard College (B.A. 1748, M.A. 1751). Like his father, he held many public offices at the town, county, and state levels. In 1750, he married Sarah Trowbridge, daughter of Rev. Caleb Trowbridge and Hannah Walter of Groton, Massachusetts. They had eight children. To support his wife and growing family, he opened a general store and became a tax assessor.
Silent Servant
Ward held numerous offices at the town, county, and state levels. However, his military service was the highlight of his career. He was appointed Justice of the Peace in 1752 and served multiple terms as a representative in the Colonial General Assembly and on the executive council. When the war with France broke out in 1755, Ward became a major in the 3rd Massachusetts Regiment, the militia of Middlesex and Worcester counties. The regiment served as garrison forces along the frontier in western Massachusetts. This duty called him at intervals from 1755 to 1757 and alternated with his attendance at the General Court.
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| Massachusetts militia protected the western frontier |
In 1757, he was appointed colonel of the 3rd Regiment, which marched with British General James Abercrombie's forces to attack Fort Ticonderoga in 1758. The French army, led by General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, consisted of 3,600 men and decisively defeated the numerically superior force of Abercrombie. However, Ward was sidelined during the critical (losing) battle at Fort Carillon due to an "attack of the (kidney) stone." This was clearly a recurring condition for Ward, as we will see.
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| Abercrombie's Campaign vs Ticonderoga would end in failure |
When he returned from the war, Ward was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas. He also became involved in the heated politics of the Bay Colony as a member of the governor's council, while maintaining many of his militia connections. As tensions with Britain grew in the next decade, he associated with figures like John and Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Joseph Warren. In the General Court, he was appointed to the taxation committee alongside Samuel Adams and John Hancock. On the floor, he was second only to James Otis in speaking out against the acts of Parliament.
It's safe to say he was a Whig. In fact, his often outspoken support for the increasing demands of the colonists put him at odds with the Massachusetts governor, Francis Bernard, who revoked his militia colonelcy. But Ward's growing popularity helped him get re-elected to the governor's council until 1774, when the new governor, the infamous Thomas Hutchinson, removed him from the council for his political activism. Tensions were reaching a boiling point in New England, and by October of that year, Ward sat with the first Provincial Congress of Massachusetts. He was also appointed Brigadier General by the Congress on October 24, 1774.
Struggle for Freedom Begins
As political crises led to an American Revolution, the people in and around Boston, as well as New England overall, were close to insurrection by the spring of 1775. Local militias, minutemen, and other groups gathered around the British-occupied city in a wave of patriotism. If New England was the most rebellious region and Massachusetts the most aggressive rebel colony, Artemas Ward was one of its most aggressive, if little-known, leaders.
The insurgency didn't need much to turn into an open rebellion. It reached that point when "the shot heard round the world" was fired on April 19, 1775. Ward missed Lexington and Concord because of illness. However, upon hearing about the action, he got out of bed, mounted his horse, and rode through pain (he was suffering from kidney stones again) to Boston to help organize the siege of the city.
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| Ward missed Lexington & Concord but rallied from his sickbed to take charge |
Ward was popular with the troops, and because of his military experience, he was soon proclaimed commander of all Massachusetts state militia. In June, the Continental Congress appointed him Major General and commander of all forces besieging Boston—some 15,000 strong. Boston-strong, I suppose. By now, other New England colonies as well as New York were sending men to Boston—America's first national army was forming. Ward was soon to be tested in both his military and political skills.
First Commander
Ward had his hands full with the army, whether it was New England's or the United States' forces; the men were ill-trained, ill-led, ill-equipped, and had little regard for military discipline. But Ward, like Washington later, also faced a complex array of political issues: Committees of Safety from several states, locals, his commanders, and the Continental Congress. Never flashy but always steady, Ward worked through these as best he could.
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| General Artemas Ward was the first American commander |
Ward faced formidable challenges. Not only was he confronting the world's most powerful army, but he was doing so with a force of volunteers who had agreed only to fight in a single battle. Once the British had been pushed back to Boston, many militiamen wanted to return to their farms. In their minds, they had volunteered to fight but had not enlisted in an army. The independent-minded Yankees had little enthusiasm for camp life, especially given the harsh and unsanitary conditions at the sprawling camp in Cambridge. Ward faced the daunting task of building an army from chaos.
Job one was to keep the army together. He called for volunteers to become the first enlistees. Men from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island began filling the ranks. Some claimed Ward was a poor disciplinarian and that his "Grand American Army" was anything but grand. But the solid Yankee puritan understood his volunteer Yankee soldiers. He knew from experience they would resist strict discipline, a discipline the jurist in him felt he had no legal authority to impose. Ward believed he had to lead by consensus and mutual respect. These were, after all, the men of whom Samuel Adams wrote, "our soldiers will not be brought to obey any person of whom they do not themselves entertain a high opinion." Ward's calculated soft management helped his raw recruits hold the siege.
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| Ward began his RevWar service commanding the ragtag force besieging Boston |
Job two was to keep the British in Boston. The Battle of Bunker Hill took place under Ward’s overall command. On June 13, 1775, after learning from a "line crosser" that the British planned to send troops from Boston to occupy the hills around the city, Ward ordered General Israel Putnam to establish defenses on the Charlestown Peninsula, specifically on Bunker Hill. On June 16, approximately 1,000 colonial militiamen under Colonel William Prescott constructed earthen fortifications on top of Breed’s Hill, as it was smaller but closer to Boston. The battle that followed became iconic: a draw that resulted in the slaughter of British regulars by militia rebels.
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| Lack of munitions caused rebels to abandon Breed & Bunker Hills |
From Number One to Number Two
On June 17, Congress debated who should be appointed as the supreme commander of the American forces. Fellow (and completely biased) New Englander John Adams suggested that "the greatest number" wanted the job to go to Ward. But Congress needed to persuade delegates from the South that this was not just New England's war and instead chose George Washington of Virginia, making Ward his second in command.
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| Adams suggested Ward was the initial first choice for the commander in chief |
While General Ward gained national recognition for the heroic stand at Bunker Hill, the failure to supply enough ammunition to hold the position prevented the Americans from winning. When Washington took command of the army in Cambridge on July 2, 1775, Ward became his second in command. The New England militiamen who made up most of the first American army trusted and admired Ward, but Washington quickly became a critic. Accustomed to serving with professional officers, Washington dismissed Ward as "a fat old churchwarden." Washington was also shocked by the lax discipline among Ward's New England soldiers.
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| Ward was instrumental in the successful siege of Boston in 1775 |
The New England versus Virginia clash became an early challenge to the army's unity. Washington's open criticism deeply offended Ward, but over the next nine months, he helped Washington transform the assembled militia units into the Continental Army. He was stationed with the right wing on Roxbury Heights. Because of impaired health and the British now gone from Boston, he resigned his commission in April 1776. However, at the request of General Washington, who now saw the importance of winning over the New Englanders, he continued to serve as his second until the end of May.
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| Ward was part of the leadership team that forced the mighty British Army from Boston |
Post-Military Public Service
When Ward returned to civilian life, he held important and demanding positions in Massachusetts. He was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas of Worcester County in 1776 and 1777. He served as President of the Massachusetts Senate's Executive Council for about three years. In this role, Ward acted as Massachusetts’ chief executive during the crucial years of the war (1777-1779), essentially filling the position that replaced the Royal Governor. Ward also served as a member of the Continental Congress from January 1780 to May 1782.
Post War Public Service
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| Shay's rebellion led to the Constitutional Convention |
Ward was elected Speaker of the Massachusetts House in 1786, which made his actions as a Justice of the Peace of the Worcester Court during the 1786 Shays’ Rebellion all the more significant. He faced down the rebels on the courthouse steps, demonstrating his popular influence and respect for the rule of law. Shays' rebellion led to demands for a new form of government and the Constitutional Convention was convened. With the ratification of the new constitution, Artemas Ward was elected as a Federalist to the 2nd and 3rd Congresses (1791-1795).
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| Ward House in Shrewsbury |
In December 1797, Ward ended his long career as a judge and spent his final years peacefully at home with his family. He died on October 28, 1800, and is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Shrewsbury Center.
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| Ward is buried in Mountain View Cemetery |
Legacy
Ward's accomplishments as a jurist and politician place him among the top founders who helped lead the colonies to statehood, transition, and the formation of a nation. As a military commander, he was overshadowed by Washington and held back by health issues and his personality. Still, he served as a popular figure for the New England colonists to rally behind during a time of near chaos, when a single mistake by the British could have easily ended the American cause. He faced criticism from his commanding officer but showed the strength and patriotism to persist long enough for the culture of a new American army—the Continental Army—to develop from the early chaos around Boston. For that alone, we give a hearty cheer to the rebellion's first leader.
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| Artemas Ward Memorial |
On November 3, 1938, a bronze statue of General Ward was unveiled at Ward Circle in Washington, D.C., positioned at the intersection of Nebraska Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue. The stone base bears the inscription, “Artemas Ward, 1727-1800, Son of Massachusetts, Graduate of Harvard College, Judge and Legislator, Delegate 1780-1781 Continental Congress, Soldier in Three Wars, First Commander of the Patriotic Forces.”
