Monthly Archives: June 2013

The first Provincial Congress of Massachusetts meeting in October 1774 reacted to the closing of Boston harbor and other coercive acts of Great Britain by choosing a Committee of Safety which was authorized to muster, arm, and supply a Army upon any consideration whatever.”⁶ Although that resolution was set aside for further consideration by the third Provincial Congress to whom it had been referred, it was made effective by an order of the Continental Army issued on July 10.⁷ The order issued at Cambridge by George Washington’s Adjutant, General Horatio Gates, read, You are not to enlist any deserter from the Ministerial Army, nor any stroller, negro, or vagabond, or person suspected of being an enemy to the liberty of America, nor any under eighteen years of age.⁸

At the outbreak of the Revolution, there were approximately 1,700 Indians living in Massachusetts. While most Indians resided in the counties on or around Cape Cod, over 200 lived near Stockbridge in western Massachusetts. The Bay State had been seeking Indian support for the American cause even before the Lexington uprising.

The Indian company, which had been formed under the commands of Colonel Paterson, Captain Goodridge and an Indian 2nd Lieutenant, Jehoiakim Mtohksin, marched to the army’s headquarters at Cambridge after learning of the Alarm at Lexington. Their arrival was reported back to England by the British Commander-in-Chief, General Thomas Gage.