Page 7. Accobding to Hon. Jos. Allen, late of Worcester, Samuel Adams, the proscribed patriot, said, “ I have heard some people find fault with Gen. Ward, for intrenching on Breed’s Hill, so near the enemy, without any fortifications in their rear; but the world does not know how much that man is to be justified for so doing; for he had secret intelligence from Boston, by means of spies, that the British were about to take possession of Dorchester Heights; and, to divert them from their object, a close approach to the enemy was made by intrenching on Breed’s Hill, which had the desired effect, until the provincials could take possession of Dorchester Heights.” Page 12. Col. Sargent was born at Salem, in 1745, but resided in early life at Cape Ann, and was rugged as the rocky mountains there. From his continual intercourse, by sea, between the Cape and the Capital, he acquired the additional roughness and hardihood of the mariner, and was not mollified by his fierce disputes with the government and tories in Boston. His schooling in the tented field lent the last finish to his character: he was a perfect Ironsides, and loved fighting as he loved his eyes. Learning from his brother, who was a tory, that he was proscribed by Gov. Hutchinson, he made his escape into New Hampshire, where he raised a 5
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=