"Watchmen upon the walls must not hold their peace - they must cry and not spare, must reprove for what is amiss, and warn when danger is approaching."
Rev. Moses Parsons, "A Minister's Duty" 1772

"I am sorry to say that no body of men are so extremely injurious to peace and tranquility as the clergy. They preach sedition openly from their pulpits."
Earl Lord Percy, Boston, 1774

"Behold, God himself is with us for our Captain..."
Rev. William Emerson, Concord, 13 March 1775

Revered by their flock, local clergy intertwined religion and politics with a frequent, fiery (and lengthy) pulpit rhetoric. For these men of God, civil government and principles of Christianity were one and long before the Declaration of Independence was penned, they preached the right to life, liberty and property. In addition to spoken and written words used to espouse their beliefs, many ministers sought personal actions, often joining Committees of Correspondence or Safety. For one clergyman, even more was required - the taking up of arms and confronting the oppressor.

Joseph Thaxter - born 1742, graduated Harvard 1768 - was licensed to preach in 1771. By 1775 he was embroiled in the Westford controversy which pitted the town's Loyalist minister (charged with "Toryism") against a patriotic populace. Thaxter was hired to preach on a trial basis and his sermons did not disappoint.

Upon receiving the alarm that Regulars were on the road to Concord on April 18, 1775 , Westford's minute and militia companies prepared to march. Anxious to respond, Lieut. Col. John Robinson sped by horse to Concord followed by an enthusiastic Rev. Thaxter. Dressed in the black cloth of office, he carried not only the word of God but a brace of pistols - one in each pocket. Arriving on the scene as colonials mustered on Buttrick's farm, he quickly joined the ranks.

In an 1824 eye witness account letter, Thaxter stated, "We had then no certain information that any had been killed at Lexington; we saw the British making destruction of the town... proposed to advance to the bridge." As the column including the minister marched, a murderous volley from the Regulars was received. "Our people then fired over one another's heads being in a long column, two and two: they killed two and wounded eleven." No mention is made of his exact location in the ranks or whether he fired his weapons.

Like many others after the engagement, Thaxter paused for sustenance, breakfasting with Rev. Emerson whose house was hard by the Bridge. According to the 1824 letter, the minister then joined his late-arriving townsmen, marched to Meriam's Corner and chased the King's soldiers to Charlestown before retiring to Cambridge.

Thaxter's military exploits continued as on 16 June he proceeded with Col. Robinson's regiment to Breed's Hill only to face Redcoat fire again the next day. Although offered the Westford pulpit permanently in January 1776, he declined and was elected to be one of the first Continental Army chaplains (joined in July by Emerson). The embattled minister would finally settle down in 1780 becoming pastor of the Edgartown church where he would die in 1827.

Sources "The Day of Concord and Lexington" by Allen French, 1925. "U.S. Literary Gazette" vol. 1 p. 264, Letter by Rev. Joseph Thaxter 30 November 1824 "Harper's Magazine", Battle of Concord by Frederick Hudson, May 1875 "History of the Town of Westford" by Rev. Edwin Hodgman, 1875

In his 1824 letter, Thaxter extolled the actions of officers and men on 19 April and 17 June. He called for "a decent monument at Concord Bridge, where the first spark was struck, doing no more honour to Robinson and Buttrick then they richly deserve". He noted, "I have lived in obscurity on this island, and never thought myself of importance enough, and capable of doing justice to a historical account of the transactions of the memorable 19th of April...."

Rev. Cooke, Menotomy, sermonized, "We cannot indeed expect to be saved, but in the way of duty, and in a prudent, manly resolute defense of our rights, dearer to us than our lives...." And so did a common man of the cloth stand and act with uncommon conviction in a time of need and crisis only to fade back to obscurity for his country and his God.

Background: Carla's Graphic Designs
Illustration: Wax Bust of Concord's Rev. William Emerson, courtesy of the Concord Free Public Library. (Thanks for the scan, Bob Hall!)