The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1936-12-17
Shays' Rebellion in
Massachusetts Was
Protest of People
Drivento Despair
by Poverty and
High Taxes.

the Supreme court in Springfield
late in September, Shays knew
that he and his men were in
danger of indictment for stopping
the lower courts. The only thing
to do was to stop it also. So he
led 600 men there, paraded his
men in front of 800 militia COM
manded by Gen. William Shep-
ard, and sent in a request to
the court for it to adjourn. The
judges did so forthwith.
Next the legislature was called
into special session but it vacil-
lated between granting the peo-
pies demands and upholding law
and order. Finally it compro-
missed by voting a bill to make
taxes payable in produce. During
this time Shays had been laying
low, hoping that the threat of
his armed men would result in the
needed reforms without actual re-
course to arms. When the gov
ernor called out 1000 militia to
guard the Cambridge court house
while court convened, not a
Regulator appeared to interfere.
Civil War Looms.
Taking courage from this fact,
Bowdoin sent out posses to comb
Middlesex county for leaders in
the rebellion. Then Shays acted.
He tented a movement toward
Boston which threw the state Off
Gals into a near-panic. Fright
ened conservatives began to Won
der how long it would be before
he dominated the state and
whether the streets of their cities
were to run red with the blood
of civil strife. AS Christmas APP
preached it was a gloomy time
indeed for the commonwealth of
Massachusetts,.
Then suddenly the rebellion
collapsed. Governor Bowdoin
summoned Gen. Benjamin Lin
coin, Revolutionary veteran, to
take charge of the situation.
When he told Lincoln that the
state had neither supplies nor
credit to outfit an army, Lincoln
stalked into the richest club in
Boston and bluntly told the mer-
chant members that if they
wished to save the state from
anarchy and their property from
seizure by the rebels, they must
finance his expedition. This they
fastened to do.
BY the early part of January
Lincoln had equipped his troops,
consisting of 4, 400 men with a full
staff of Revolutionary war Off
GERS, cavalry, artillery and sup
ply train for a six months cam
paign, and marched half way
across the state. AS he drew
near, Shays sent a proposal for
a truce but without waiting for
reply, tried to capture the
Springfield arsenal and get the
arms and munitions he would
need to resist the invaders. The
militia guarding the arsenal fired
over the heads of the rebels.
Then when they would not re-
tire, they poured a volley into
the rebel ranks which killed two
men and wounded another. This
was on January Is. The next
day Lincoln's army appeared on
the scene, scattered the force of
Luke Day, one of Shays' allies,
and started to pursue the main
body of the insurgents into the
hills of Pelham.
The Rebellion Ends.
Outnunbered four to one Shays
tried to make terms but Lincoln
refused to agree to any truce.
That night Shays and his men
slipped away under the cover of
darkness and fled west through
a snowstorm toward Petersham
where he hoped TO find food and
shelter for his freezing, starving
men. But Lincoln was hot on his
trail and the next morning, while
Shays' men were enjoying break
fast in hospitable kitchens in
Petersham, the state troops
burst in upon them. A hundred
and fifty of the insurgents were
taken prisoners and the remain
der, Shays among them, scat
tered in the hills. Those that did
not dare to go home accompanied
their leader to Vermont where he
lived for several years. When at
last he was pardoned he moved
to Sparta, N. Y. In his old age he
was granted a pension for his
services during the Revolution
but he lived in poverty until his
death on September %, 1925.
Last year the citizens of Pei
ham gathered in town meeting
to vote on the erection of sign
for a new road which passes
their ancient town hall, the oldest
still in use in the United States.
This sign, according to their vote,
was to bear the name "Capt.
Daniel Shays Highway" thus
perpetuating the memory of the
Patriot of re and the Rebel of
'86, who in both years fought
for the rights of the common
man