by Nancy Bertrand, with assistance from WHS files notes

As the 250^th Anniversary of the United States approaches, the Town of Wakefield in a very real sense has already marked significant anniversaries.  By mid-April, 1775, the town was already in a state of high alert, resulting from the conflict situation with the British government.  Although they publicly sought a restitution of “happy harmony” with Great Britain, they also sought their rights as “Men and British subjects.”

 As in all the Massachusetts towns, the sting of British taxation was weighing heavily on the shoulders of the men of this town, who had publicly debated issues like the Stamp Act, and waited anxiously to hear the reaction of Bostonians dumping 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor.  Rebel newspapers like “the Boston Gazette” and “Massachusetts Spy” were certainly circulating here, and the writings of Samuel Adams, James Otis and Joseph Warren were well known to the people here.  Yet we were cautious and had voted against a popular vote in March of 1774, declining to join the Boston “Committee of Correspondence.”  When the reply from the British government to the ‘tea party’ came in, it brought with it punitive laws and a limitation of the number of town meetings to one per year in order to limit the discussion of grievances.  Still we waited, very mindful of the fact that General Gage, the new Royal Governor, sat in Boston with a large contingent of British soldiers. 

By June 1774, a new Provincial Congress for Massachusetts had been formed and our town chose John Temple and Benjamin Brown to serve as our new deputies.  By October, a Committee of Safety urged all communities to reorganize the militia system and for the towns to arm, uniform and assemble provisions.  All militias should also include separate “Minute Companies,” who would hold themselves ready to march in aid of any threatened town. 

An active local militia had been part of life since the beginning of settlements here.  Wakefield was then (the oldest and most populous) part of the town of Reading.  Reading in fact had three militias:  First Parish (Wakefield), Second Parish (North Reading) and Third Parish (Reading), along with separate Minute companies.   

By the end of December, First Parish (Wakefield) had voted to adopt the Continental Congress’  sentiment and send tax money to the Provincial government, instead of to the Royal tax collector.  We also voted to contribute to the relief of the people in Boston and Charlestown who had been affected by the closing of the harbor.  We were now committed.  We took in refugee families from Charlestown and assigned a depot for military provisions.  We stored provisions in the Centre Schoolhouse on the (upper) Common.  Active drilling of military companies took place, under the overall guidance of First Parish’s war veteran Captain David Green, who was in charge of 9 Middlesex regiments.  Young Dr. Brooks, of Reading, was chosen captain of the minute companies.  Captain John Walton who lived on what is now Oak Street in Wakefield also took a leading role. 

The first real alarm came on February 26, 1775 when General Gage made a move to seize cannon stored in Salem.  The British planned to reach Salem on a Sunday afternoon, while townspeople were in church.  But word of the raid spread like wildfire, reaching us here by late Sunday night.  Imagine that first alarm: hearing the bells ringing, guns firing and drums beating ‘to arms” at 3 o’clock in the morning.  Our men were on the road before dawn, traveling 5 miles before learning that the danger had passed.  At that point 200 men from various militias came back here to First Parish to use the opportunity to drill together.   

The system of watching for danger and alerting the communities was working well by April  when the British regulars began their march toward Concord.  By the time they boarded boats on the night of April 18^th, the towns knew where they were going.  Dr. Martin Herrick brought the news to First Parish and to Linn End (Lynnfield).   By 6 a.m., the Reading ‘minute’ companies were en route to Bedford.  About this time the British met the colonial forces on Lexington Green; the answering volley to that first shot might well have been heard on what is now Wakefield.  By 8 a.m., a second alarm rider came through town and the rest of the Militia, including older men not included in the regular companies, were assembling.  

 The Reading companies reached Bedford by 11 a.m.  By just past noon, they had reached Meriam’s Corner in Concord, some hundred yards away from the advance British guard, starting toward Boston.  Volleys were exchanged and the actual battle commenced.  Our men continued to fire and harass the British all the way back to Charlestown.  About 270 Reading men are known to have participated that day.  Remarkably none were killed, although some narrow escapes were noted. 

The American Revolution had begun … and we had participated in its beginnings right here in the town now known as Wakefield.