Cotton Tufts (30 May 1734 in Medford,

Province of Massachusetts The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of E ...

– 8 December 1815 in

Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer") , image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...

) was a

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. He was a cousin of

Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; November 22, [ O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She was a founder of the United States, an ...

Biography

He was the grandson of

Peter Tufts Peter Tufts (1617 – May 13, 1700) was a prominent early citizen of Medford, Massachusetts, and ancestor of Charles Tufts who donated land for the Tufts University campus. The Peter Tufts House is still standing; it is believed by some historia ...

, who emigrated to Massachusetts in 1637. Cotton graduated from

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1749, studied medicine, and settled at Weymouth. He was one of the original members of the

Massachusetts Medical Society The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) is the oldest continuously operating state medical association in the United States. Incorporated on November 1, 1781, by an act of the Massachusetts General Court, the MMS is a non-profit organization th ...

, its president 1787-1795, and one of the founders of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1780. In 1765 he wrote spirited and patriotic instructions to the representatives of Weymouth against the Stamp Act. He was a representative of the state and a councillor, for many years an active member of the

state senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, and supported in the convention the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

Legacy

On April 19, 1775, British forces were returning to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

from the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...

, the opening engagements of the war. On their march they were continually shot at by colonial militiamen. Dr. Cotton Tufts saved the life of

Samuel Whittemore Samuel Whittemore (July 27, 1696 – February 2, 1793) was an American farmer and soldier. He was 78 years old when he became the oldest known colonial combatant in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). Biography Whittemore was born in C ...

who at the time was 80 years old and fought against the British in what is now

Arlington, Massachusetts Arlington is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The town is six miles (10 km) northwest of Boston, Massachusetts, Boston, and its population was 46,308 at the 2020 census. History ...

on April 19, 1775.Fischer, David Hackett. ''Paul Revere's Ride,'' p. 257, New York and Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1994. . Whittemore was in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

under

Earl Percy Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

, sent to assist the retreat. Whittemore loaded his

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

and ambushed the British from behind a nearby stone wall, killing one soldier. He then drew his dueling pistols and killed a grenadier and mortally wounded a second. By the time Whittemore had fired his third shot, a British detachment reached his position; Whittemore drew his sword and attacked. He was shot in the face, bayoneted thirteen times, and left for dead in a pool of blood in Menotomy (present-day Arlington). He was found alive, trying to load his musket to fight again. He was taken to Dr. Cotton Tufts of Medford, who perceived no hope for his survival. However, Whittemore lived another 18 years until dying of natural causes at the age of 96. Samuel Whittemore Monument

Notes

References

External links

Cotton Tufts papers, 1751-1801 (inclusive). B MS c30. Boston Medical Library, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard University, Boston, Mass.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tufts, Cotton 1734 births 1815 deaths Physicians from Massachusetts Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Massachusetts state senators Harvard University alumni People from Medford, Massachusetts People of colonial Massachusetts Burials in Massachusetts 18th-century American physicians