Grandmother Barrett Saves the Ammunition

                                                                      The Barrett Farm today

The following family story was one of our Aunt Dorothy’s favorites.  Her mother, Phoebe’s maiden name was Barrett.  Our aunt was sure that Lydia Barrett was one of our ancestors.  She may have been, but our connection was a very distant one.

During the early years of the Revolutionary War, the British Captain Parsons sent six companies of light infantry to search for the Patriot’s ammunition near Concord, MA.  They had learned that arms were stored at Colonel James Barrett’s farm.  As they approached, crossing over the North Bridge, they saw a man out plowing in the field but paid no attention to him.

They arrived at the Barrett home finding only the Colonel’s mother, Lydia Minott Barrett, there.  She was ordered to make food for them, but refused any payment.  She said, “We are commanded to feed our enemies.”

They searched the first and second floors finding nothing.  In the attic were barrels of feathers and flax.  When they started searching deeper in the barrels, Grandmother Barrett asked them to please stop.  She told them her undergarments were stored in there, and it would not be proper for them to see.  They obliged.

Yes, those barrels were full of arms and ammunition!

Recently one of our relatives stopped at the Barrett house and knocked on the door.  The man answering the door said, “Let me guess, you are a descendant of the Barretts.”  Apparently, this happened frequently. 

The National Park Service deemed the Barrett house of historical importance and wanted to bring it back to historstorical accuracy.  “Save Our House” purchased the house to restore it.  This house was even featured on “This Old House”, showing the painstaking accuracy to detail.

Further Questions:

·       Why was the farmer plowing in the field when all the other men were gone?  He wasn’t planting crops. He was hiding a cannon in the deep furrows of the field.

·       Why would Grandmother Barrett have a barrel of feathers?  Until the late 1800’s, most people in the country used hay or feathers to fill their mattresses. Feathers are a lot of work, but they are much softer than hay.

·       National Park Service – Colonel James Barrett House – 1705

·      For more information: www.nps.gov/places/colonel-james-barrett Boston National Historical Park. Minutemen National Historical Park