Proclamation of Governor General Thomas Gage, June 12, 1775

By his Excellency the Honourable Thomas Gage, Esq; Governor in Chief, in and over his Majesty's Province of Massachusetts-Bay, &c.

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the infatuated Multitudes, who have long suffered themselves to be conducted by certain well-known Incendiaries and Traitors, in a fatal Progression of Crimes, against the constitutional Authority of the State, have at length proceeded to avowed Rebellion, and the good Effects which were expected to arise from the Patience and Lenity of the King's Government, have been often frustrated, and are now rendered hopeless, by the Influence of the same Evil Counsels; it only remains for those who are entrusted with supreme Rule, as well for the Punishment of the guilty, as the Protection of the well-affected, to prove they do not bear the Sword in vain.

The Infrigements which have been committed upon the most sacred Rights of the Crown and People of Great Britain, are too many to enumerate on one Side, and are all too atrocious to be palliated on the other. All unprejudiced People who have been Witnesses of the late Transactions, in this and the neighbouring Provinces, will find upon a transient Review, Marks of Premeditation and Conspiracy that would justify the fulness of Chastisement: and even those who are least acquainted with Facts, cannot fail to receive a just Impression of their Enormity, in Proportion as they discover the Arts and Assiduity by which they have been falsified or concealed. The Authors of the present unnatural Revolt never daring to trust their Cause or their Actions, to the Judgment of an impartial Public, or even to the dispassionate Reflection of their Followors, have uniformly placed their chief Confidence in the Suppression of Truth; And while indefatigable and shameless Pains have been taken to obstruct every Appeal to the real Interest of the People of America; the grossest Forgeries, Calumnies and Absurdities that ever insulted human Understanding, have been imposed upon their credulity. The Press, that distinguished Appendage of public Liberty, and when fairly and impartially employed it's best Support, has been invariably prostituted to the most contrary Purposes: The animated Language of ancient and virtuous Times, calculated to vindicate and promote the just Rights, and Interest of Mankind, have been applied to countenance the most abandoned Violation of those sacred Blessings; and not only from the flagitious Prints, but from the popular Harrangues of the Times, Men have been taught to depend upon Activity in Treason, for the Security of their Persons and Properties; 'till to compleat the horrid Profanation of Terms, and of Ideas, the Name of God, has been introduced in the Pulpits to excite and justify Deviation and Massacre.

The Minds of Men having been thus gradually prepared for the worst Extremities, a number of armed Persons, to the amount of many Thousands assembled on the 19th of April last, and from behind Walls, and lurking Holes, attacked a Detachment of the King's Troops who not expecting so consummate an Act of Phrenzy, unprepared for Vengeance, and willing to decline it, made use of their Arms only in their own Defence. Since that Period the Rebels, driving Confidence from Impunity, have added Insult to Outrage; have repeatedly fired upon the King's Ships and Subjects, with Cannon and small Arms, have possessed the Roads, and other Communications by which the Town of Boston was supplied with Provisions; and with a preposterous Parade of Military Arrangement, they effect to hold the Army besieged; while Part of their Body make daily and indiscriminate Invasions upon private Property, and with a Wantoness of Cruelty ever incident to lawless Tumult, carry Depredation and Distress wherever they turn their Steps. The Actions of the 19th of April are of such Notoriety, as must baffle all Attempts to contradict them, and the Flames of Buildings and other Property from the Islands, and adjacent Country, for some weeks past, spread a melancholy Confirmation of the subsequent Assertions.

In this Exigency of complicated Calamities, I avail myself of the last Effort within the Bounds of my Duty, to spare the Effusion of Blood; to offer, and I do hereby in his Majesty's Name, offer and promise, his most gracious Pardon to all Persons who shall forthwith lay down their Arms and return to the Duties of peaceable Subjects, excepting only from the Benefit of such Pardon, Samuel Adams, and John Hancock, whose Offences are of too flagitious a Nature to admit of any other Consideration than that of condign Punishment.

And to the End that no Person within the Limits of this proffered Mercy, may plead Ignorance of the Consequence of refusing it, I by these Presents proclaim not only the Persons above-named and excepted, but also all their adherents, Associates, and Abettors, meaning to comprehend in those Terms, all and every Person, and Persons of what Class, Denomination or Description soever, who have appeared in Arms against the King's Government, and shall not lay down the same as afore-mentioned; and likewise all such as shall so take Arms after the Date hereof, or shall in any-wise protect or conceal such Offenders, or assist them with Money, Provision, Cattle, Arms, Ammunition, Carriages, or other Necessary for Subsistence or Offence; or shall hold secret Correspondence with them by Letter, Message, Signal, or otherwise, to be Rebels and Traitors, and as such to be treated.

AND WHEREAS, during the Continuance of the present unnatural Rebellion, Justice cannot be administered by the common Law of the Land, the Course whereof has, for a long Time past, been violently impeded, and wholly interrupted; from whence results a Necessity for using and exercising the Law Martial; I have therefore thought fit, by the Authority invested in me, by the Royal Charter to this Province, to publish, and I do hereby publish, proclaim and order the Use and Exercise of the Law Martial, within and throughout this Province, for so long Time as the present unhappy Occasion shall necessarily require; whereof all Persons are hereby required to take Notice, and govern themselves, as well to main Order and Regularity among the peaceable Inhabitants of the Province, as to resist, encounter and subdue the Rebels and Traitors above-described by such as shall be called upon for those Purposes.

To these inevitable, but I trust salutary Measures, it is a far more pleasing Part of my Duty, to add the Assurances of Protection and Support, to all who in so trying a Crisis, shall manifect [sic] their Allegiance to the King, and Affection to the parent State. So that such Persons as may have been intimidated to quit their Habitations in the Course of this Alarm, may return to their respective Callings and Professions; and stand distinct and separate from the Parricides of the Constitution, till God in his Mercy shall restore to his Creatures, in this distracted Land, that System of Happiness from which they have been seduced, the Religion of Peace, and Liberty founded upon Law.

Given at Boston the 12th Day of June, in the Fifteenth Year of the Reign of his Majesty GEORGE the Third, by the Grace of God of Great-Britain, France and Ireland, KING, Defender of the Faith, &c. Annoque Domini, 1775.

By his Excellency's Command

Thomas Gage.

Thomas Flucker Secr'y

GOD save the KING.

SOURCE: Massachusetts. Governor, and Thomas Gage. A Proclamation Whereas the Infatuated Multitudes, Who Have Long Suffered Themselves to Be Conducted by Certain Well Known Incendiaries and Traitors, in a Fatal Progression of Crimes, Against the Constitutional Authority of the State, Have at Length Proceeded to Avowed Rebellion. [Boston, Massachusetts?: Printer not identified, 1775] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2016660912/.

Journal of Dr. James Thatcher, June 14, 1775

General Gage has issued a proclamation declaring theprovince of Massachusetts Bay to be in a state of rebellion, offering a pardon to all who will resort to his standard, and denouncing the penalty of martial law on all those who refuse to submit to his authority, or who shall be found aiding or corresponding with such as he has designated as unpardonable rebels and traitors. He has been pleased to proscribe by name, Mr. John Hancock and Mr. Samuel Adams, as objects of his exemplary vengeance. Yet, singular as it may appear, this same authorized Governor, and General in Chief of the royal army, is now cooped up in the town of Boston, panting for a country airing, of which he is debarred by his denounced rebels.

We are again shocked by intelligence that a terrible battle has been fought between the British regulars and the American soldiers, on Bunker, or rather Breed's hill, in Charlestown, near Boston, on the 17th instant. The report states that the whole town of Charlestown is burnt to ashes by the enemy, and that Dr. Joseph Warren, lately appointed Major General in our army, is killed; and that several hundreds of our soldiers are killed and wounded. battle, it is said, was extremely severe and destructive; but the provincial troops displayed the greatest courage and bravery, in the face of the regulars, and have obtained immortal honor. The British were several times defeated before they took possession of our works, and have suffered a loss of more than a thousand of their best troops; among whom are a large proportion of their most valuable officers. They are now taught that Americans can bid defiance to royal regulars, when called to defend their freedom. The situation of our country is truly deplorable, a civil war at our doors; our neighbors, our fathers and brothers, called from their families to encounter an inexorable enemy consisting indeed of brethren and kindred; our domestic peace and welfare cruelly interrupted, and the aspect of our public affairs gloomy in the extreme. All New England has become a theatre of military array; and every member of the community manifests the deepest concern for the great calamities, with which the country is afflicted, by the tyrannical measures of a corrupt administration. In the favor of Heaven and the wisdom of our Congress we repose all our hope and confidence. Participating, I trust, in the glorious spirit of the times, and contemplating improvement in my professional pursuits, motives of patriotism and private interest prompt me to hazard my fortune in this noble conflict, with my brethren in the Provincial army. From the critical and embarrassed situation of our country, numerous and almost insurmountable difficulties are opposed to my view; and I am too young to possess a maturity of judgment, but yet unable to resist the impulse of enthusiasm which characterizes the times. My friends afford me no encouragement, alleging, that as this is a civil war, if I should fall into the hands of the British the gallows will be my fate. The terrors of the gallows are not to be conquered, but I must indulge the hope that I may escape it. Hundreds of my superiors may take their turn before mine shall come. The tories assail me with the following powerful arguments. "Young man, are you sensible you are about to violate your duty to the best of kings, and run headlong into destruction? Be assured that this rebellion will be of short duration. The royal army is all powerful, and will, in a few months, march through the country and bring all to subjection; for they are experienced in war and expert in discipline. Their fleet is able to destroy every seaport town and beat down all our cities. There remains no rational alternative but a reconciliation and renewed obedience to our lawful government; or we shall soon experience their just vengeance. What is your army but an undisciplined rabble? Can they stand against an army of regulars? where are your cannon, your fire arms, your bayonets, and all your implements of war? above all, where is your treasure, and where can you look for a barrel of gun powder? the whole country can scarcely afford a sufficiency for a battle of an hour." Not a small portion of their reasoning I feel to be just and true. I am not certain, however, but much of it may prove erroneous. The result of the late battle at Charlestown should convince the most incredulous tory, that our soldiers will face the regular troops, and that we are blessed with the smiles of Heaven on our exertions. It would be presumption in me to determine as to possibilities and prospects; but the voice of liberty cannot be stifled, while the welfare and happiness of more than three millions of people now in America, and of unborn millions, are involved in the issue. Our rulers are the most competent judges, and under their banners I shall venture, I hope not rashly, to enlist, and trust my destiny in the hands of a kind and overruling Providence. My contemplated enterprise, it is true, requires the experience and resolution of riper years than tweny one, and qualifications, which I do not possess, to ingratiate myself with strangers and those in authority. Having consulted Joseph Otis, Esq. of Barnstable, on this occasion, he immediately applauded my enterprise, and politely furnished me with a letter to his brother-in-law James Warren, Esq. of Plymouth, who is President of our Provincial Congress at Watertown. Imagination could not fail to paint my prospects in bright colors, and I proceeded, July the 3d, with alacrity to the seat of Congress. I was not disappointed in my interview with Mr. Warren; my letter procured for me a favorable and polite reception. He honored me with his friendship and kind assistance, and introduced me to his lady, whose father's family and my own, have for many years been on terms of friendly intercourse. The office which I solicit is one in the medical department, in the provincial hospital at Cambridge. A medical board, consisting of Drs. Holton and Taylor, are appointed to examine the candidates; and they added my name to the list for examination, on the 10th instant. This state of suspense continuing several days, excites in my mind much anxiety and solicitude, apprehending that my stock of medical knowledge, when scanned by a learned committee, may be deemed inadequate, and all my hopes be blasted. While on my journey, a visit of a few days to my friends at Plymouth, gave me an opportunity to pay my respects to the rock, which received the first footsteps of our venerated forefathers. The inhabitants of this ancient town, from a reverence for the memory of the virtuous band of brothers from whom we derive our origin, have lately with commendable zeal and much labor, split off the upper portion of the rock, and removed it to a public square near the church and court house. This rock, with its associations, would seem almost capable of imparting that love of country, and that moral virtue, which our times so much require. We seem holding converse with the celestial spirits, and receiving monition from those who are at rest in their graves. Have these ancient sages bequeathed their mantle to posterity? Can we set our feet on their rock without swearing, by the spirit of our fathers, to defend it and our country? If we reflect on their matchless enterprise, their fortitude, and their sufferings, we must be inspired with the spirit of patriotism, and the most invincible heroism. Unappalled by the dangers of unknown seas, and the perils and the hardships of a savage wilderness, they left their native country and undertook a settlement which promises, through ages, to remain the rich abode of knowledge, religion, virtue and freedom. Let us then cherish a becoming sense of the exalted privileges inherited from our ancestors, and resolve to defend them against all attempts of a corrupt administration.

SOURCE: James Thatcher, M.D., A Military Journal during the American Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783, pp. 24-8