In Roxbury, Massachusetts, only miles from the place where the War for Independence would break out a mere, three decades later, a man by the name of Joseph Warren was born. Warren was raised in Massachusetts, going on to study at Harvard, teach briefly, and eventually become a physician like his grandfather.
Warren would begin embracing revolutionary sentiments against the tyrannical British rule in 1767 after the Townshend Acts had been passed, which imposed taxes on goods imported to the Colonies. Warren also published a series of articles to the Boston Gazette using the pseudonym A True Patriot; these articles greatly angered the Royal Governor to the point of attempting to charge Warren and the publishers of the newspaper with libel, however, the Grand Jury appeared to have little interest in the case and the charges amounted to nothing.
Joseph Warren was not alone in his patriotic cause as he was friends with Samuel Adams, brother-in-law to James Otis, and even had connections to Paul Revere. After the Boston Massacre, Warren became the chairman of the Committee of Safety, delivering two of the famous orations on the anniversary of the massacre.
Warren’s Contribution toward the Revolution
In early 1774, Joseph Warren wrote the lyrics to a bold, patriotic song he named Free America, which is also known as A Song On Liberty. In these lyrics, Warren depicted a world where freedom prevailed, affirming that bringing such liberty into existence was possible; Warren surprisingly dared to call the King of England on his tyranny at a time when one may be sentenced to a horrific death for such statements; remember, this was before the Minutemen were formed, before Thomas Paine published Common Sense, and even before the Declaration of Independence was written.
In the same year, Samuel Adams was attending to the business of the Continental Congress, and Joseph Warren assumed Adams’ leadership role, which is when Warren became involved in raising militias and obtaining the necessary arms and powder.
In April of 1775, it was none other than Joseph Warren who instructed Paul Revere and William Dawes to ride and warn of the coming, British Invasion. After hearing about the skirmishes taking place in Lexington and Concord, Warren left his patients in the care of his assistant and rode to the battlefield. When he arrived, Warren led militiamen to repeatedly attack the retreating British forces on their arduous trek back to Boston. During the assault, a musket ball ripped through Warren’s wig, though he would miraculously survive, after which he reportedly informed his mother that he would not shrink from danger.
Warren spent the following weeks readying the Militia for the impending conflicts, for which the Provincial Congress elected him second general in command of the Massachusetts forces on June 14, 1775.
The Sacrifice of a Patriot
When colonial leaders discovered that the British planned to take the unoccupied hills surrounding the British occupied city of Boston, the Colonists sent 1,200 militiamen to Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill, on which they built earthworks in a single night. On the next day, Warren arrived and asked General Israel Putnam where the heaviest fighting would transpire, which is where he insisted on fighting.
On the morning of June 17, 1775, after meeting with the Committee of Safety, Warren learned about the landing of British forces at Charlestown, Massachusetts; the Battle of Bunker Hill was developing.
Around noon, Warren rode to the American fortifications on Breed’s Hill, and forgoing the security of his rank of Major General, fought as a regular volunteer behind the earthworks among other patriots until they exhausted their ammunition. When the Militia retreated from the now mostly unopposed British, Warren remained on the hill to give the militiamen time to escape until, sadly, he was recognized by a British Officer and shot, dying instantly.
Warren sacrificed himself for his fellow patriots and for the upcoming nation. It is undeniable that he died displaying the valor and selflessness of the title by which he lived: a true Patriot.
It is easy to agree with a cause, but it is not so easy to do as Dr. Joseph Warren did and die for that cause in which you believe. This is the price that many, valiant patriots paid for our freedom, and now it is our turn to uphold it.
Who is your favorite Founding Father?
Onward American 🇺🇸
Source: Joseph Warren at Bunker Hill
The sheet music in this post’s image was sourced from the Colonial Society of Massachusetts.
Onward American 