Revolutionary War Commander Artemas Ward Dies
On this day in 1800, the man who commanded the ragtag American force that chased the British Regulars back to Boston following the battles of Lexington and Concord died at home in Shrewsbury. Trusted and admired by the volunteer militiamen who made up the first American army, General Artemas Ward was severely criticized by George Washington, who assumed command of the Continental Army in July 1775. Accustomed to serving with professional officers, Washington and his fellow Virginians dismissed Ward as "a fat old church warden." Washington was also appalled by the lax discipline among Ward's New England soldiers. After two years, Artemas Ward resigned and returned home to Shrewsbury. The Massachusetts general faded from national memory and from the history books.
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