Ebeneezer Locke, Lexington Minute Man

So who was this Ebenezer Locke, who has been the subject of so much debate and interest up there in Deering? Well, Ebenzer was born March 2, 1735 in Woburn, Massachusetts, the son of Ebenezer Locke, Sr. and Elizabeth Poulter Locke, and the great grandson of William Locke, an orphan who immigrated to Massachusetts in 1635 at the age of fourteen, and later became a successful farmer and extensive landholder in west Woburn.

You can still see the original William Locke homestead in Woburn, although much altered over the years, located on the North side of Lexington street, less than 100 yards east of the intersection of Route 3. It is now referred to as the Fox home, for a later resident. When Ebenezer Sr. died, his son inherited the father's homestead which was located somewhere in the vicinity of North and Lowell streets near the border of Lexington.

There, Ebenezer farmed his lands and raised three sons with his wife, Lucy Wood, the sister of Sylvanus Wood. When the militia act of 1773 was enacted, Ebenezer became part of the Woburn Training Band serving as a private in Capt. Joshua Walker's Company of Colonel David Greene's 2d Middlesex Regiment of Foot.

Now, Ebenezer had many connections to Lexington. He and his wife were members of the Lexington church. Many of his relatives lived in Lexington, he owned land in the town, and since his farm was much closer to Lexington center than Woburn center, he perhaps carried out a good deal of business in Lexington. So, when the alarm bell rang out in the early hours of the April 19th, it was natural for Ebenezer to arm himself, and hurry to the common in company with his first cousin, Amos Locke.

Amos Locke was one of the individuals who fifty years later gave depositions concerning their activities on the nineteenth of April. According to Amos' deposition as well as stories that were carried down in his family, he and Ebenezer hurried to the Green, coming across lots over the hill by George Wright's house and by Warren Duren's to the common where they found the militia rallying. They stood around for some time, and then someone came up the road with the report that there weren't any regulars anywhere between Boston and Lexington. With this, Amos and Ebenezer decided to return home to their families, but had not proceeded far, when they "heard a firing." "We immediately returned," Amos recalled, "coming up towards the easterly side of the common, where under the cover of a wall about twenty rods distant from the common, where the British then were, we found Asahel Porter of Woburn shot through the body; upon which Ebenezer Lock took aim, and discharged his gun at the Britons who were about twenty rods from us."

Amos and Ebenezer were then forced to retreat from the protection of the wall, probably because the regulars were by then rampaging through the center of town. Following the engagement on the Green, Ebenezer probably joined up with his own Woburn company, as he is listed among the men of Captain Walker's company who responded to the alarm of the 19th of April. He also may then have taken part in the ambush of the Regulars at the "Bloody Curve" where, under the command of Major Loammi Baldwin the Woburn troops comprised the largest portion of the provincials who took part in that action.

Thereafter, Ebenezer was involved in the siege of Boston, first as a member of the 38th Massachusetts Regiment, and then when the Massachusetts militia was incorporated into the continental forces, serving as a private in the 26th Massachusetts Regiment of the Continental line under the command of now Colonel Loammi Baldwin. At this time, his son and namesake also joined the 26th Following the British evacuation of Boston, the 26th marched to New London, Connecticut where they boarded ships to carry them to New York to help defend that city from an expected British attack. Later, when the siege of New York did take place, the 26th did not play a part in the Battle of Long Island, but as part of Colonel John Glover's brigade they helped twice to save Washington's army from being cut off during the retreat from Manhattan.

In one of these engagements, at Pell's Point, Glover's brigade of 750 men single-handedly held off a force of 4,000 British and German troops attempting to flank the American army and cut off their retreat to White Plains. The brigade fought all day, inflicting perhaps between 800 and 1000 enemy casualties. The commander of the British force, Sir Henry Clinton, reported that he had been facing 14,000 Americans at Pell's Point. General Howe then delayed any further advance for another two days giving Washington time to extricate his army and fortify White Plains. Washington in his general orders commended Glover's brigade for their bravery, and urged other units to follow their example.

The 26th Regiment next played an important role in the Battle of White Plains, following which as part of General Charles Lee's division (later commanded by John Sullivan following Lee's capture) they marched from White Plains to General Washington's camp on the Delaware River just above Trenton, New Jersey. The 26th was part of the force that Washington led across the Delaware River on Christmas Eve, 1776 to carry out the surprise attack on Trenton. During that battle Colonel Glover's brigade was credited with cutting off the retreat of the Hessian garrison helping to force their surrender.

Like the rest of the Continental regiments, the term of enlistment of the 26th was due to expire the last day of December 1776. Washington was faced with the prospect of seeing his entire army evaporate before his eyes, and he begged the veterans of the Continental Line to stay with him for a few more weeks. However, most just wanted to go home. Colonel Baldwin left, and Colonel Glover took his entire regiment of Marbleheaders home. Only about half of the members of the continental line, some 1200 men agreed to stay on for ninety more days, but Ebenzer Locke and his son were among them.

Later, when Washington slipped his army around the British flank to attack Princeton, what remained of the 26th now under the command of Major Isaac Sherman of Connecticut was given the honor of leading the army. The 26th did not take part in the bitterest part of the fighting at Princeton, but they were among those who at the close of the battle chased the Regulars out of town. Following the battle, the army took up winter quarters in Morristown, New Jersey, where in April 1777 Ebenezer was discharged and left the army for good.

After the war, he sold his property in Woburn and Lexington and sometime in the late 1780's or early 1790's he moved to Deering, NH along with his three sons, who by the way all served at one time or other in the 26th regiment. There he lived with his son Benjamin, surviving to a ripe old age and no doubt spending many a winter's evening sitting around the fire swapping war stores, and telling his grandchildren how he fired the shot at the Regulars on that April morning.