Li Am35 THE cbg Bicentennial v.4 onnedticut no.4 GAZETTE The Charter Oak VOLUME IV NUMBER 4 MARCH/APRIL 1975 The Governors Speak on the Lexington Alarm .. and the Bicentennial Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. Governor Ella Grasso 1769-1784 1975­ [April 26, 1775] Fellow citizens: Gentlemen of the Council, & The Bicentennial of the American Revolution officially Gentlemen of the House of Representatives. begins in Connecticut this April. On April 20, 1775 the It was thought proper, that this Honble Assembly should news of the "Shot heard round the world" at Lexington, not Meet according to Adjournment on the 13th. of this Massachusetts was brought to Connecticut by Post Rider Month, where upon my Orders went out to Adjourn the Israel Bissell. Our citizens believed deeply in the cause Assembly without day. Since which an application was and 3,600 Connecticut militiamen from 50 towns rushed made to me by Delegates from the Congress of the Prov­ to the aid of our neighboring colony to take up arms ince of the Massachusetts-Bay to call an Assembly, & against the British. Commemorations of this event will take receive their message. On Consultation with Colo Daniel- place throughout the state in recognition of Connecticut's son, who is one of them, it was concluded to wait 'till conributions on behalf of Massachusetts following the Lex­ the Election; unless something new or extraordinary took ington alarm. place:—Such extraordinary & alarming Event hath hap- This month and in the months ahead, the Bicentennial D pened—Which is the occasion of my calling you to meet will be celebrated as an opportunity for fuller understand­ at this Time. The Circumstances attending the unhappy ing of American ideals and as a renewal of efforts to as- continued on page 2 continued on page 2 vi. 4 rvti.u GOVERNOR TRUMBULL continued GOVERNOR GRASSO continued 19th. day of this Instant. & the following to this day are sure that the inheritances of the Revolution—freedom, lib­ generally spread thro' the Colony—which I shal[l] not pre­ erty and equality—are afforded all citizens, now and in the tend to rehearse, many things relative to the same, in the future. Hurry [&] Confusion occasion'd thereby are not yet to be We are proud that every town and city in the state will clearly learned. This is certain that the Kings Troops with­ take part in this effort. Over one hundred of our municipal­ out provocation killed Eight provincial Men at their first ities have already been designated official Bicentennial Onsett at Lexington, marched forward [to] Concord, de­ Communities by the American Revolution Bicentennial stroyed a Store of Flour, & did other damages there; On Administration. whic[h] they met the Resistance you have heard. Three Hundreds of activities and programs are planned in con­ Delegates fro[m] the Provincial Congress are now in Town, nection with the Bicentennial, incorporating civic im­ with desire to be heard when you are ready. It seems now provements, historic restorations, youth and environmental that Subjugation & Slavery, on One hand or a Successfull programs, publications, the arts and ethnic and cultural Resistance on the other must be the Common Lot of the groups. Schools and civic organizations are also contribut­ American Colonies, as well as of that Province[.] ing their energies to the Bicentennial in Connecticut. My speech at the last Assembly so fully Sett forth the Our celebrations will not depend on lavish and costly Case of these Colonies, that I shall only add—That I do display, but will instead, in the true spirit of our ancestors, most earnestly recommend to you, Firmness, Steadiness, depend on imagination, good planning and our greatest Deliberation, & Unanimity, in the most important Affair resource, citizen participation. As honorary chairman of that ever came under Consideration within these walls. the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission of Con­ I Promise my utmost Assistance—And pray God to direct necticut, I congratulate all the men and women whose us to such Measures as he will accompany with his Bless­ dedicated efforts and long-term planning have assured that ing for the Salvation of our Rights & Liberties. Docketed: this commemoration will have a lasting and meaningful Speech/April 26. 1775. impact on the life of our state and nation. AEQ-'75 ENDORSED "AEQ-'75" identifies a major international Bicentennial re-enactment to take place this September; the Arnold Expedition to Quebec. The expedition was endorsed by the ARBCC at the February 20th Commission meeting. Connecticut contributed a full force of 100 men, and the entire army was led by Benedict Arnold, a native of Con­ necticut. The other New England Bicentennial Commis­ sions and the New York ARBC have also given full endorsement to the project. In September, 1775 Colonel Benedict Arnold took com­ mand of a 1,150 man army and led the men through un­ charted Maine wilderness to Canada. Under orders from General Washington to capture supplies and munitions in Quebec, the original expedition left Cambridge, Massachu­ setts on a trip that was expected to take three weeks. Due to extreme hardships, eight weeks actually elapsed before Quebec was reached, and only half of the army completed Members of the Arnold Expedition to Quebec pose with the trip. The attempted attack was a failure. a replica of a bateaux used on the original expedition. To honor these "citizen-soldiers" who displayed their Left to right are Miss Dawn Broivn, Col. Joseph E. Brown patriotism very early in the Revolution, the Arnold Ex­ and Mr. Tom Nolan. The men are state coordinators for pedition Historical Society has planned a ten-day journey AEQ-75. The picture was taken on the Kennebec River to be taken along the same route that Arnold and his at the Major Reuben Colburn House, Pittston, Maine. forces followed. The entire expedition will be re-created as authentically as possible. Many descendents of men MAGIC NUMBER REACHED who were originally in the campaign will trace the steps of their ancestors. Bateaux that were built for use on the There was cause for celebration at the office of the Maine inland waterways have been precisely reconstructed. ARBCC on March 17th when a letter arrived from the Three armies, dressed in authentic costume, will be rep­ First Selectman of Voluntown, George H. Davis, stating resented; Arnold's forces, General Robert Montgomery's that the town's Bicentennial committee had been organ­ army which marched up New York State to capture ized. Earlier in the month, the towns of Bozrah and Frank­ Montreal and join Arnold in Quebec, and the British de­ lin had formed committees, and the count of towns with no fenders of Quebec. Women will make the trip as well, committee stood at "1." Voluntown's action made it unani­ recreating the parts played by the three who made the mous; each of Connecticut's 169 towns now has a working original trip, including Jacataqua, a half-breed Indian. Bicentennial committee. This had been the goal of the ARBCC since its organiza­ The Arnold Expedition Historical Society has several tion in 1971. As the official "kick-off" of the Bicentennial publications on the history of the campaign, a general plan begins April 16-26, every Connecticut committee will be of the re-enactment, and a series of commemorative items taking an active role in the commemoration, and we feel that may be purchased. Contact Box 1775, Gardner, that this is quite an accomplishment. Maine 04345. CONNECTICUT'S RESPONSE TO THE LEXINGTON ALARM The following is taken from The Connecticut Military Record 1775-1848 published in 1889, Henry P. Johnston, Editor. The Revolutionary record of Connecticut opens with her response to the historic Lexington Alarm of April 19, 1775 . (where) .. a detachment of British troops marching out from Boston to seize military stores alleged to have been collected at Concord for hostile purposes, was met upon the road by the Provincials and a bloody encounter took place. The since famous skirmishes of Lexington and Concord were fought, which precipitated the Revolutionary War. An "alarm" was immediately spread in every direction, so that on the 27th of April it had reached the principal points as far as Baltimore, and by the 11th of May was posted at Charleston, S.C. Throughout New England the news was rapidly carried by horse "expresses" from town to town. It was dispatched to Connecticut by the Massachusetts Committee of Safety Plate III. The Battle at the North Bridge in Concord, at Watertown during the progress of the fighting, or "near Doolittle engraving, 1775. Both plates are reproduced from ten o'clock on Wednesday morning, April 19th: "The the collection of The Connecticut Historical Society. bearer, Israel Bessel (Bissell), is charged to alarm the country quite to Connecticut, and all persons are desired to organizations. The gathering thus became orderly as well furnish him with fresh horses as they may be needed." as spontaneous, and represented the town spirit shown During Thursday, the 20th, the news was circulating previously in protests and resolutions. It appears from the through the eastern part of the Colony. The people of records that in some cases the companies or train-bands Windham County received it generally by noon. It reached collected and marched off under their officers without Governor Trumbull at Lebanon not long after. It was further orders; in other cases, the colonels taking the lead, doubtless at Hartford before night; at New Haven on the called out a certain number of their men and directed them following evening, Friday, the 21st, and forwarded from to march forthwith to the point of danger; in a few cases there through Fairfield and Stamford to New York.