William Shepard William Shepard ( - , 1817 ) was a United States Representative from Massachusetts ( 1797 – 1802 ) , and a military officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War . As a state militia leader he protected the Springfield Armory during Shays ' Rebellion , firing cannon into the force of Daniel Shays and compelling them to disperse . He was also served in town and state government and was a member of the Massachusetts Governor ' s Council . Life . Born in Westfield , he attended the common schools , engaged in agricultural pursuits , and served in the French and Indian war s for six years . He was a member of the committee of correspondence for Westfield in 1774 , and was a lieutenant colonel of Minutemen in April 1775 . He entered the Continental Army in May 1775 as lieutenant colonel and was commissioned Colonel of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment on October 6 , 1776 , serving throughout the Revolutionary War , including winter at Valley Forge , Pennsylvania , where he commanded the 4th Division of the Massachusetts militia , under the overall command of General John Glover . His name is immortalized along with his comrades on stone monuments there . Many letters still exist between Shepard and other commanders , including General George Washington , the Marquis de Lafayette , John Hancock , Samuel Adams , Thomas Jefferson , General Henry Knox and other illustrious founding fathers . Shepard was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1785 and 1786 and was selectman for Westfield from 1784 to 1787 . In this time local farmers and veterans of the war began to rebel after months of destitution and taxation they believed to be unfairly levied by the powers from Boston . Many were consigned to debtors ' prison . Shepard , then a major general in the state militia , called to duty the Fourth Division of the Massachusetts militia in 1786 and defended the Springfield Armory during what became known as Shays ' Rebellion ( after one of its principal leaders , Daniel Shays ) , ordering defenders of the arsenal to fire cannons at attacking the rebels at " waist height " with cannons filled with anti - personnel grape shot . Two of the insurgents were mortally wounded . Messages to Governor James Bowdoin express his deep regret at the shedding of blood . He kept in constant contact with Governor Bowdoin , Sam Adams , John Hancock , and General Benjamin Lincoln , who arrived in a blizzard from Boston just after the Springfield arsenal attack to pursue Shays and his men into the surrounding towns . That order would earn Shepard a lasting reputation as the " murderer of brethren . " The local neighbors were so angry that they mutilated his horses , gouging out their eyes , to his horror . He was a member of the Governor ' s council of Massachusetts from 1792 to 1796 , and was appointed in 1796 to treat with the Penobscot Indians and , in 1797 , with the Six Nations . Shepard was elected as a Federalist to the Fifth , Sixth , and Seventh Congresses , serving from March 4 , 1797 to March 3 , 1803 ; he resumed his agricultural pursuits and died in Westfield , essentially penniless . Interment was in the Mechanic Street Cemetery . A statue of him stands in Westfield , sculpted by Augustus Lukeman . Each year on Patriots ' Day , a ceremony is held in Westfield , wherein his descendants and those of four other founding families of Westfield join city and state government representatives , members of the armed forces , clergy , local school children and residents in giving prayer and remembrance of the town ' s history . From a mid - western paper c . 1928 he was reported to have been quoted as saying , " Hang On ! If the motherhood of America ever lets go , it will serve us right if America turns to the saloon or its equivalent . But the motherhood of America will not let go . "