Artemas Ward (November 26, 1727 – October 28, 1800) was an American

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

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 ...

and a Congressman from

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. He was considered an effective political leader, President

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 ...

describing him as "universally esteemed, beloved and confided in by his army and his country."

Early life and career

Artemas Ward was born at Shrewsbury in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay 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 ...

in 1727 to Nahum Ward (1684–1754) and Martha (Howe) Ward. He was the sixth of seven children. His father had broad and successful career interests as a sea captain, merchant, land developer, farmer, lawyer and jurist. As a child he attended the common schools and shared a tutor with his brothers and sisters. He graduated from Harvard in 1748 and taught there briefly. On July 31, 1750, he married Sarah Trowbridge (December 3, 1724 – December 13, 1788), the daughter of Reverend Caleb Trowbridge and Hannah Trowbridge of Groton. The young couple returned to Shrewsbury where Artemas opened a general store. In the next fifteen years they would have eight children: Ithamar in 1752, Nahum (1754), Sara (1756), Thomas (1758), Artemas Jr. (1762), Henry Dana (1768), Martha (1760), and Maria (1764). In 1751, at age 23 or 24, he was named a township assessor for Worcester County, the first of many public offices he was to fill. In 1752 he was elected a justice of the peace and to the first of many terms in the Massachusetts provincial assembly, or "general court."

French and Indian War (1754–1758)

Between 1755 and 1757 Ward was called to active duty at intervals that alternated with his attendance at the General Court. In 1755 the Massachusetts militia was restructured for the war; Ward was made a major in the 3rd

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

which drew its company mainly from Worcester County. The 3rd primarily served as a garrison force along the frontier in

western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...

. In 1757 he was promoted to regimental colonel of the 3rd Regiment of the militias of

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

and

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

counties. In 1758 the regiment marched with Abercrombie's force to sortie on

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...

, but Ward was sidelined during the campaign by an "attack of the stone."

Between the wars

By 1762, Ward returned to Shrewsbury permanently and was named to the Court of Common Pleas. In the General Court (the provincial assembly) he, with

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 ...

and

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 ...

, was appointed to the

taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...

committee. On the floor, he was second only to James Otis in speaking out against the acts of parliament in London. His prominence in these debates prompted the Royal Governor Francis Bernard to revoke his military commission in 1767. At the next election in 1768, Bernard voided the election results for Worcester and banned Ward from the assembly, but this didn't silence him. In the growing sentiment favoring rebellion, the 3rd Regiment resigned ''en masse'' from

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

service on October 3, 1774. They then marched on Shrewsbury to inform Ward that they had unanimously elected him their leader. Later that month the governor abolished the assembly. The towns of Massachusetts responded by setting up a colony-wide Committee of Safety. One of the first actions of the Committee was to name Ward as

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

and commander-in-chief of the colony's

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

American Revolution (1775–1783)

Following the

Battle 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, ...

on April 19, 1775, the rebel (colonial) forces followed the British troops back 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 ...

and deployed to start the Siege of Boston, cutting all land access to the city. At first Ward directed his forces from his sickbed (in Shrewsbury), later moving his headquarters to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. Soon, both the

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

provisional governments named him commander of their forces participating in the siege. Most of his efforts during this time were devoted to organization and supply problems. Additional British forces arrived by sea in May, and in June, Ward learned of their plan to attack Bunker Hill. He gave orders to fortify the point, setting the stage for the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. Command during the battle devolved upon General

Israel Putnam Israel Putnam (January 7, 1718 – May 29, 1790), popularly known as "Old Put", was an American military officer and landowner who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). He als ...

and Colonel

William Prescott William Prescott (February 20, 1726 – October 13, 1795) was an American colonel in the Revolutionary War who commanded the patriot forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Prescott is known for his order to his soldiers, "Do not fire until ...

. Meanwhile, the Continental Congress was creating the Continental Army. On June 17 Congress commissioned Ward a

, and appointed him second in command to General George Washington. (Ward was one of the original four major generals in the Continental Army along with Charles Lee,

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 ...

and

.) Over the next nine months he helped convert the assembled militia units into the Continental Army. After the British evacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776, Washington led the main body of the army to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Ward took command of the Eastern Department and held that post until March 1777, when ill health forced his resignation from the army.

Post-war and death

Even during his military service, Ward also served as a state court justice in 1776 and 1777. From 1777 to 1779, as President of the state's Executive Council, he effectively served as governor before the ratification of the

Massachusetts Constitution The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the fundamental governing document of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the 50 individual state governments that make up the United States of America. As a member of the Massachuset ...

in 1780. He was continuously elected to the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

from 1779 through 1785, leading it as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

in 1785. He was appointed a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1780 and 1781,and from 1791 to 1795 was elected twice to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. Ward died at his home in Shrewsbury on October 28, 1800 and was buried with Sarah in the town's Mountain View Cemetery. (His great-grandson Artemas Ward wrote '' The Grocer's Encyclopedia'', published in 1911.)

Legacy

Town of Ward

The Town of Ward, Massachusetts was incorporated in 1778 in honor of Artemas Ward. In 1837 the town was renamed to Auburn, Massachusetts after complaints from the U.S. postal service that the name Ward was too similar to the nearby town of Ware.

Artemas Ward House

Wards's lifelong home had been built by his father, Nahum, about the time Artemas was born. The home is now known as the '' Artemas Ward House'' and is a museum preserved by

Harvard University 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 high ...

. Located at 786 Main Street in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts it is open to the public for limited hours during the summer months.

Ward Circle

Ward Circle is a traffic circle at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues in Northwest

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The land on three sides of Ward Circle is owned by American University. The circle contains a statue of Ward. The great-grandson of Ward gave over four million dollars to

on the condition that they erect a statue in honor of Ward, and maintain his home in Shrewsbury. Harvard's initial offer in 1927 of $50,000 toward the statue was enough for a statue, but inadequate to provide the general with a horse. The statue was unveiled on November 3, 1938 by Maj. Gen. Ward's great-great-great-granddaughter, Mrs. Lewis Wesley Feick. Although there are no

crosswalks A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to ro ...

for pedestrian access to the circle, the base of the statue bears this inscription:

American University

American University named the ''Ward Circle Building'', home of the

American University School of Public Affairs The American University School of Public Affairs (SPA) is an institution of higher education and research located in Washington, D.C. that grants academic degrees in political science, public administration, public policy, and justice, law and ...

, in honor of Artemas Ward, as it was the closest building at the time to

Ward Circle Ward Circle is a traffic circle at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues in Northwest, Washington, D.C. The circle, totaling , is owned and administered by the National Park Service through its Rock Creek Park unit. On three si ...

. However, it was renamed to ''Kerwin Hall'' after their former president Cornelius M. Kerwin in June 2017.

References

Notes

* *Ward, Andrew H. (July 1851). "Memoir of Major General Artemas Ward". ''New England Historical and Genealogical Register''. 5.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Artemas 1727 births 1800 deaths Continental Army generals Continental Army officers from Massachusetts Continental Congressmen from Massachusetts 18th-century American politicians People of colonial Massachusetts Harvard University alumni Members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts People of Massachusetts in the French and Indian War People from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts Members of the colonial Massachusetts Governor's Council Harvard University faculty Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives