James Lovell (October 31, 1737 – July 14, 1814) was a

Founding Father of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American revolutionary leaders who united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the war for independence from Great Britai ...

and an educator and statesman from

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 ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1782. He was a signatory to the Articles of Confederation.

Early life

Lovell was born in Boston and had his preparatory education at the Boston Latin School. His father John Lovell (1710–1778) was the school's headmaster from 1738 until 1775. James attended Harvard and graduated in 1756. He then joined his father and taught at the Latin School, while continuing his own studies. He received a Master of Arts degree from Harvard in 1759. Father and son continued their work in the Latin School until it was closed in April 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. While the school produced a number of revolutionary leaders, including

John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of t ...

and

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, an ...

, the approaching revolution split father and son. John wrote and endorsed Loyalist or

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

positions, while James became aligned with the Whigs and associated growing rebel sentiment. He was chosen to give an

oration Public speaking, also called oratory or oration, has traditionally meant the act of speaking face to face to a live audience. Today it includes any form of speaking (formally and informally) to an audience, including pre-recorded speech deliver ...

to the town the first year after the

Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre (known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing t ...

, which he delivered at the

Old South Church Old South Church in Boston, Massachusetts, (also known as New Old South Church or Third Church) is a historic United Church of Christ congregation first organized in 1669. Its present building was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Charle ...

Following the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, the new military Governor William Howe, ordered the arrest of likely dissidents in Boston. James Lovell was picked up in the sweep and spent nine months in the Boston Stone Jail. General Howe evacuated Boston in March 1776, taking all British troops and Loyalists. James was transported with the British fleet as a prisoner and taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he spent nine months in the jail. His father also sailed with the British fleet to Halifax in March 1776, as part of the general exodus of Loyalists when British forces abandoned the city. In November 1776, James was exchanged for Colonel Philip Skene. When he got back to Boston in December, he was elected to be a delegate to the Continental Congress, to which he served until 1782.

Congressional career

Lovell served effectively in the Congress during the six years that were critical to the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. He was particularly important as a long-term member of the Committee of Foreign Correspondence and that of Secret Correspondence. He signed the Articles of Confederation, endorsing them for Massachusetts on July 9, 1778. During his appointment to the Committee for Foreign Affairs, he created and implemented ciphers for the country. The ciphers he created were somewhat difficult and complex to use as described and referenced by

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

"I have letters from the president and from Lovell, the last unintelligible, in ciphers, but inexplicable by his own cipher." and

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

"If you can find the key & decypher it, I shall be glad, having myself try'd in vain." as expressed in their letters to

Francis Dana Francis Dana (June 13, 1743 – April 25, 1811) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, and statesman from Massachusetts. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1777–1778 and 1784. A signer of the Articles of Confederati ...

of March 1781. In one area his performance was controversial. In 1776 and 1777, there was a growing struggle for influence and command in the Continental Army. Lovell became a supporter of

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battl ...

in his lobbying quest for command. He encouraged Gates in reporting directly to Congress, in effect going over General Washington's head. This reached its peak when Gates was given command of the Northern Department, replacing

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

in the summer of 1777. The controversy also extended into his family along political lines as he was a fervent Whig as opposed to his father who was a Loyalist. Lovell was also a frequent correspondent with both John and

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 ...

. In his correspondence to Abigail, he flirted wondering what John was doing with his private time in France. He also used Abigail's pet name of Portia in his correspondence.

Later events

After his term in Congress, Lovell returned to teaching but continued to hold various political offices. He was collector of taxes in Massachusetts from 1784 to 1788 and Customs Officer of Boston in 1778 and 1789. He was appointed as a naval officer of the port of Boston and Charlestown from 1789 and held that position until his death. He died in

Windham, Maine Windham is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,434 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of South Windham and North Windham. It is part of the Portland– South Portland– Biddeford, Maine Metropol ...

(then part of Massachusetts) on July 14, 1814.

Family

His son, James Lovell (1758–1850) served in the Continental Army from 1776 to 1782. After graduating from Harvard in 1776, he joined the 16th Massachusetts regiment as a lieutenant and saw action at Battle of Monmouth and in

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. In 1779, he was assigned as adjutant and major to

Light Horse Harry Lee Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot and U.S. politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia Representative to the United States Congress. Lee's service during the Amer ...

's Southern Legion and fought in the southern campaigns. He is reported to have fought valiantly and was wounded several times. Lovell's grandson was

Joseph Lovell Dr. Joseph Lovell (December 22, 1788 – October 17, 1836) was the 8th Surgeon General of the United States Army, (April 18, 1818 – October 17, 1836), Family He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of James S. and Deborah (Gorham) Lovel ...

, who served as the first Surgeon General of the Army from 1818 until 1836.

References

External links

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Research on James Lovell's Revolutionary War Story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovell, James 1737 births 1814 deaths Continental Congressmen from Massachusetts 18th-century American politicians Politicians from Boston People from Windham, Maine Harvard University alumni Collectors of the Port of Boston