Eagle Feathers #251 – The Reunion

By Bob (Monty) Doherty

A reunion has been described as a gathering of friends, relatives, or associates on a special date or interval who honor the act of uniting again after a long separation. In our grand country, the historic time to remember should be the year 1775 and its following day of January 1, 1776.

The historic place to remember where the American spirit of 1776 was incubated was Charlestown/Somerville’s Prospect Hill and the seven forts surrounding it. If the first Revolutionary War leaders and soldiers wanted to reunite, Somerville might be its historic choice!
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It would be an ageless reunion, of course, because it would be 247 years later. They might greet each other with, “Hey, you all look the same. It seems like yesterday we were here, or you haven’t changed a bit.”
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But then, the tears would slowly flow when the foggy memories cleared. They would remember the British attack on the old Powder House, Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, the long siege of Boston, and the bitter and bloody eight-year war which followed. During the first year of the war, Prospect Hill, meaning panoramic view, became General Washington’s essential American fortress. It was from this height that he observed the enemy and organized his early soldiers of all ranks in preparation to assault them.
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Who were they? They were the patriots who had already fought and spilled their blood since April 19 at Lexington. The last American to die that day was at the base of Prospect Hill. He was sixty-five-year-old James Miller who said, “I am too old to run.” It was the first time Prospect Hill was stained with the blood of an American patriot. Younger men fled before the advance of the British Redcoats, but only James showed that the gray hairs of age outdared the red blood of youth.
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These patriots all touched Prospect Hill:                                             

• General Israel Putnam – Fought at Bunker Hill and fortified Prospect Hill.
• Colonel Thomas Knowlton – Fought at Bunker Hill and was the father of America’s Army Rangers.
• General Charles Lee – Commanded the left wing of the American Army during the siege of Boston.
• Doctor General Joseph Warren – Was a martyr at Bunker Hill. Somerville was almost named after him.
• General Nathanael Greene – Was Washington’s southern commander during the eight-year war.
• Colonel William Prescott – Was the American commander at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
• General Henry Knox – Was the Father of American Artillery. He built Cobble Hill’s fort and was Fort Knox’s namesake.
• Colonel Paul Revere – Evaded Somerville capture on the way to complete his ride to Lexington. He also commanded guards, delivering 4,200 captured British and Hessian prisoners to Winter and Prospect Hills.
• Captain Nathan Hale – Was a school teacher, American Ranger and American spy. His famous words were, “My only regret is that I only have but one life to give for my country.”
• General John Paterson – Was Commander of Fort #3 at Union Square which protected the road to Cambridge.
• General Artemas Ward l – Commanded American troops until General Washington arrived at Prospect Hill.
• General George Washington – Took official command of the new American Army at Prospect Hill under the first American Union Flag on January 1, 1776.

These were the young and old leaders and soldiers of 1775 and 1776. This reunion would have been a reunion of America’s first “Band of Brothers!”
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