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
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.
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