Thursday, April 19, 2012

Samuel Whittemore, My Hero

Re-post 2009 NamSouth



"Samuel Whittemore, an eighty year old hard working farmer, was living in Menotomy, Massachusetts when he became the oldest known colonial combatant in the American Revolutionary War.

On April 19, 1775, British forces were returning to Boston from the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the opening engagements of the war. On their march, they were continually shot at by colonial militiamen.

Whittemore was in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief brigade under Hugh, Earl Percy, sent to assist the retreat. To his families dismay, Whittemore loaded his musket and ambushed the British from behind a nearby stone wall, killing one soldier, then drew his dueling pistols, and killed two more. Whittemore then attacked with a sword. He was shot in the face, bayoneted thirteen times, beaten, and left for dead in a pool of blood.

His family not only found him alive, but trying to reload his musket to fight again! He was taken to Dr. Cotton Tufts of Medford, who held out no hope for his survival. However, Whittemore lived another eighteen years until dying of natural causes at the age of ninety-eight."


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