As America prepares for its 250th anniversary, CV Weekly will be working with the Daughters of the American Revolution – Don José Verdugo Chapter to gather information on those recognized by DAR as American patriots. 

Artemas Ward was born on Nov. 26, 1727 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard College with two degrees: a B.A. in 1748 and an M.A. in 1751. In 1757, he was elected for the first of many terms as Shrewsbury’s representative in the Massachusetts General Assembly. The following year, in 1758, he was commissioned as a major in the provincial army for the French and Indian War and by the end of the conflict had reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. 

Upon his return to Shrewsbury at the conclusion of the war he was appointed colonel of his local militia regiment. In 1762, he became a judge of the Court of Common Pleas and was placed on the Taxation Committee along with lifelong friends Samuel Adams and John Hancock. From the beginning he was very active on the patriot side of the political controversy with England. During this period, he was second only to James Otis in speaking out against the acts of parliament. This caused the Royal Governor to revoke his military commission and to ban him from taking his elected position in the Massachusetts General Assembly. 

On Oct. 3, 1774, the 3rd Regiment of the Massachusetts Militia resigned from British service as an act of rebellion. The 3rd Regiment of the Massachusetts Militia marched to Shrewsbury and informed their former colonel that they had unanimously elected him as their leader. The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts appointed him brigadier general on Oct. 27, 1774 and named him as second general officer to the Massachusetts Militia. 

After the events at Lexington and Concord, he took over the role of first general officer to command the militia. He was named commander in chief of the Massachusetts forces on May 19, 1775 and was appointed to first major general by the Continental Congress on June 17, 1775. He was in command of the revolutionary forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill and continued to lead the Siege of Boston until George Washington’s election of commander in chief by the Continental Congress. Along with Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler and Israel Putnam, Ward was one of the four original major generals in the Continental Army. Being second in seniority only to George Washington, he took command of the right wing division of the army. When Washington left for New York, he took over command of the Eastern Department and held that post until 1777. He was the Massachusetts chief executive during the war from 1777-1779. 

Upon stepping down from that appointment due to poor health, he became a member of the Second and Third Continental Congresses in 1780 and 1781, respectively. This was followed by roles in the Massachusetts General Court culminating in the role of speaker of the House in 1786 during the time of Shays’ Rebellion. This office and his position as chief justice of the Worcester County Court put him right in the middle of the trouble, facing down the rebels on the courthouse steps. As a Federalist, he was a member of Congress in the House of Representatives for Massachusetts from 1791 – 1795. In 1797, he officially retired from being a judge in Massachusetts, having simultaneously held this role during his military and legislative careers. 

He passed away in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts on Oct. 28, 1800. In 1938, he was honored with a statue at the center of Ward Circle in northwestern Washington DC, which is on the National Historic Register and is overseen by the National Park Service. More recently, he was chosen as one of the 250 patriots for which a tree has been planted at the Colonial National Historical Park – Yorktown Battlefield as part of the DAR Pathway of the Patriots, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. 

His descendant, Marianne Ward, grew up in the Crescenta Valley attending elementary and junior high school in La Crescenta and high school in La Cañada Flintridge. She is an associate member of the local Don Jose Verdugo Chapter of the DAR of which her mother, Joanne Ward, is chapter treasurer. She is a chapter member and honorary chapter regent of the New York City Chapter, NSDAR, where she served as chapter regent from 2010-2013. To learn more about our local chapter of the DAR, please visit http://donjoseverdugo.californiadar.org.