2022-01-26 01:26:40
1787: Daniel Shays' rebel force assaults Springfield Armory.
Shays rose to the rank of captain in the 5th Mass. Regiment of the Continental Army by 1777. He was involved in the Boston campaign and fought at Bunker Hill. He also fought at Lexington and Saratoga. He was wounded during the war and left, still unpaid in 1780. General Lafayette presented him with an ornamental sword in honor of his military service. Shays sold it to help pay down debt.
This no doubt felt like a spit in the face as it was only a portion of what his military pay would've been.
Upon returning home, he was summoned to court for unpaid debts, which he could not pay.
Shays also saw that many of his fellow veterans and farmers were in the same financial situation he was. At commoners' meetings, veterans asserted that they were treated unfairly upon release, and that businessmen were trying to squeeze money out of them in order to pay debts to European (read Rothschildren) war investors. Many Massachusetts communities first petitioned the legislature in Boston, but the legislature did not respond.
A farmer identified as "Plough Jogger" summarized the situation at one meeting:
I have been greatly abused, have been obliged to do more than my part in the war, been loaded with class rates, town rates, province rates, Continental rates, and all rates ... been pulled and hauled by sheriffs, constables, and collectors, and had my cattle sold for less than they were worth ... The great men are going to get all we have and I think it is time for us to rise and put a stop to it, and have no more courts, nor sheriffs, nor collectors nor lawyers.
James Warren wrote on October 22 to John Adams, "We are now in a state of Anarchy and Confusion bordering on Civil War."
Shays and Luke Day and other rebel leaders in the west organized their forces establishing regional regimental organizations that were run by committee.
Protests were successful in shutting down courts in many towns including Great Barrington, Concord, and Taunton in September and October.
The court in Springfield, Mass. was scheduled to meet on September 26,
and Shays organized a force in Northampton to shut down the court, while Luke Day organized in Springfield.
They were met with an equal force led by General Shepard, which consisted of the state militia and a 125 merchant funded force, so they demonstrated rather than rushing the courthouse.
Soon after this, the rebels targeted the federal armory in Springfield. General Shepard had taken possession of the armory under orders from Governor Bowdoin, who was a merchant, and he used its arsenal to arm the merchant force of 1,200.
There were 3 men who led forces which had intended to surround and capture the Armory - Luke Day, Eli Parsons and Daniel Shays on January 25th of 1788. At the last moment, Day tried to signal to the others that he needed one more day but the message was intercepted by Shepard's forces.
Shays rebellion was a catalyst for the Constitutional Convention, as many believed the Articles of Confederation were no longer adequate.
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