William Shepard (Contemporary records, which used the Julian calendar and the Annunciation Style of enumerating years, recorded his birth as November 20, 1737. The provisions of the British Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, implemented in 1752, altered the official British dating method to the Gregorian calendar with the start of the year on January 1 (it had been March 25). These changes resulted in dates being moved forward 11 days, and for those between January 1 and March 25, an advance of one year. For a further explanation, see: Old Style and New Style dates. – , 1817) was a United States representative from Massachusetts (1797–1802), and a military officer in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the American Revolutionary War. As a state militia leader he protected the Springfield Armory during

Shays' Rebellion Shays Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. The ...

, firing cannon into the force of

Daniel Shays Daniel Shays (August 1747 September 29, 1825) was an American soldier, revolutionary and farmer famous for allegedly leading Shays' Rebellion, a populist uprising against controversial debt collection and tax policies in Massachusetts in 1786� ...

and compelling them to disperse. He was also served in town and state government and was a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council.

Life

Born in Westfield in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, he attended the common schools, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and served in the French and Indian Wars for six years. He was a member of the committee of correspondence for Westfield in 1774, and was a lieutenant colonel of

Minutemen Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

in April 1775 and served under Colonel

Timothy Danielson Timothy Danielson (1733–1791) was the third son of John and Margaret (Mughill) Danielson. He graduated from Yale in 1756. He was a teacher, merchant, soldier, and public official from Massachusetts. During the American Revolution, he served in t ...

.Gardner MD, Frank A. "Colonel Timothy Danielson's Regiment" The

Massachusetts Magazine The ''Massachusetts Magazine'' was published in Boston, Massachusetts, from 1789 through 1796. Also called the ''Monthly Museum of Knowledge and Rational Entertainment,'' it specialized in "poetry, music, biography, history, physics, geography, mo ...

br>(via archive.org)
Vol. II, No. 2, Pg 74 He entered the

in May 1775 as lieutenant colonel and was commissioned Colonel of the

4th Massachusetts Regiment The 4th Massachusetts Regiment also known as 3rd Continental Regiment or Learned's Regiment, was raised on April 23, 1775, by Colonel Ebenezer Learned outside Boston, Massachusetts. The regiment saw action at the Battle of Bunker Hill, New Yo ...

on October 6, 1776, serving throughout the Revolutionary War, including winter at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, where he commanded the 4th Regiment of Massachusetts Continentals, under the overall command of General John Glover. His name is immortalized along with his comrades on stone monuments there. Many letters still exist between Shepard and other commanders, including General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, the Marquis de Lafayette, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Thomas Jefferson, General Henry Knox and other illustrious founding fathers. The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton December 26 1776

The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton December 26 1776

Shepard was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1785 and 1786 and was selectman for Westfield from 1784 to 1787. In this time local farmers and veterans of the war began to rebel after months of destitution and taxation they believed to be unfairly levied by the powers from Boston. Many were consigned to debtors' prison. Shepard, then a major general in the state militia, called to duty the Fourth Division of the Massachusetts militia in 1786 and defended the Springfield Armory during what became known as

(after one of its principal leaders,

), ordering defenders of the arsenal to fire cannons at attacking the rebels at "waist height" with cannons filled with anti-personnel grape shot. Two of the insurgents were mortally wounded. Messages to Governor

James Bowdoin James Bowdoin II (; August 7, 1726 – November 6, 1790) was an American political and intellectual leader from Boston, Massachusetts, during the American Revolution and the following decade. He initially gained fame and influence as a wealthy ...

expressed his deep regret at the shedding of blood. He kept in constant contact with Governor Bowdoin, Sam Adams, John Hancock, and General Benjamin Lincoln, who arrived in a blizzard from Boston just after the Springfield arsenal attack to pursue Shays and his men into the surrounding towns. That order would earn Shepard a lasting reputation as the "murderer of brethren." The local neighbors were so angry that they mutilated his horses, gouging out their eyes, to his horror. He was a member of the Governor's council of Massachusetts from 1792 to 1796, and was appointed in 1796 to treat with the

Penobscot Indians The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic p ...

and, in 1797, with the Six Nations. Shepard was elected as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

to the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Congresses, serving from March 4, 1797, to March 3, 1803; he resumed his agricultural pursuits and died in Westfield, essentially penniless. Interment was in the Mechanic Street Cemetery.

In popular culture

A statue of him stands in Westfield, sculpted by

Augustus Lukeman Henry Augustus Lukeman (January 28, 1872 – April 3, 1935) was an American sculptor, specializing in historical monuments. Noted among his works are the World War I monument in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, the Kit Carson Monument in Trinidad, Col ...

. Each year on Patriots' Day, a ceremony is held in Westfield, wherein his descendants and those of four other founding families of Westfield join city and state government representatives, members of the armed forces, clergy, local school children and residents in giving prayer and remembrance of the town's history. From a mid-western paper c.1928 he was reported to have been quoted as saying, "Hang On! If the motherhood of America ever lets go, it will serve us right if America turns to the saloon or its equivalent. But the motherhood of America will not let go."

Notes

References

Bibliography

*"A Little Rebellion" by Marion L. Starkey c.1995, Pub.by Alfred A.Knopf, L.o.C. cat # 55-9292 * *Massachusetts, Office of the Secretary of State. (1906
''Massachusetts soldiers and sailors of the revolutionary war. A compilation from the archives prepared and published by the secretary of the commonwealth in accordance with chapter 100, resolves of 1891''
Boston: Wright and Potter Printing Co., State Printers. *

External links

General William Shepard Collection
at the

Westfield Athenaeum Westfield is a city in Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population w ...

Letters to Militia General William Shepard
at icollector.com
A sermon, delivered at Westfield, November 18th, 1817; at the funeral of Maj. Gen. William Shepard, aged eighty
at the Internet Archive
Shays' Rebellion - Person: William Shepard
at

Springfield Technical Community College Springfield Technical Community College (STCC, Stick) is a public Hispanic-serving technical college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is the only technical community college in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Located on the site of the Sp ...

General Shepard Park
at Westfield, Massachusetts
Statue of Major General William Shepard
in ''The History of the Celebration of the Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Incorporation of the Town of Westfield Massachusetts''
Shepard genealogy
in ''Genealogical and Family History of Western New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation, Volume 2'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepard, William 1737 births 1817 deaths American militia generals Continental Army officers from Massachusetts People of Massachusetts in the French and Indian War People from Westfield, Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Members of the Massachusetts Governor's Council Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts