Israel Bissell
Born1752
East Windsor, Connecticut, Connecticut Colony, British America
DiedOctober 24, 1823(1823-10-24) (aged 71)
Hinsdale, Massachusetts, United States
Other namesIsrael Bissel
Occupation(s)Post rider, colonial militia officer
SpouseLucy Hancock (1784–1823; his death)
Children4

Israel Bissell, also spelled Bissel (1752 – October 24, 1823), was a patriot post rider who delivered mail between Boston, Massachusetts and New York.

On April 19, 1775, British made an attack on Lexington and Concord, inciting the American Revolutionary War. He was assigned to alert American colonists of the news and rally them to assist the Massachusetts minutemen. The message was carried through eastern Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York City, New Jersey, and ultimately Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The order stated that Bissell was to travel through Connecticut, which he did, traveling along the Old Post Road from Watertown, Massachusetts to New Haven, where the dispatch included an order to take the message to Philadelphia. At New York, General Alexander McDougall added an order to obtain a new rider to convey the message to Philadelphia. According to the Sons of the American Revolution and Elizabeth Norton Hunt, Bissell went the entire way to Philadelphia.[1][2]

Along the way, Bissell is said to have shouted "To arms, to arms, the war has begun", and carried a message from Joseph Palmer send soldiers to the fight.[3][2] Benedict Arnold of New Haven, Israel Putnam of Pomfret, and others mustered soldiers and headed for Massachusetts.

Life

Israel Bissell was born in 1752 in East Windsor of the Connecticut Colony of the British Colonies.[2] His family settled in East Windsor after they immigrated from England.[2] Bissell was a post rider who rode on horseback between Boston and New York to deliver the mail,[2][4] including dispatches for the Sons of Liberty.[5] In preparation for a war, the Massachusetts Committee of Safety chose Bissel to carry the call to arms from Watertown.[2]

Lexington alarm

Notice

On April 19, 1775, Joseph Palmer of the Committee of Safety sent Israel Bissell on a ride through Connecticut[6] to warn colonists that the war with Britain had begun.[2][7] The purpose of the call to arms was to have militias in five colonies rally to support the minutemen of the Massachusetts militia.[2]

Bissell carried the "call to arms" message to Worcester, south and then west through Connecticut, and ultimately to Philadelphia. This is the wording for the New York copy of the dispatch:[6]

Watertown, Wednesday near
10 o'Clock, 19th April 1775.



To all the friends of American liberty be it known that this morning before break of day, a brigade, consisting of about 1,000 to 1,200 men landed at Phip's Farm, at Cambridge, and marched to Lexington, where they found a company of our colony militia in arms, upon whom they fired without any provocation, killed six men and wounded four others. — By an express from Boston, we find another brigade are now upon their march from Boston, supposed to be about 1,000. The Bearer, Israel Bissell, is charged to alarm the country quite to Connecticut, and all persons are desired to furnish him with fresh horses, as they may be needed. — I have spoken with several persons who have seen the dead and wounded; pray let the delegates from this colony to Connecticut see this, they know Col. Foster of Brookfield one of the delegates.

— J. Palmer, one of the Committee of Safety[8]

Bissell left Palmer and traveled to Worcester, passing many people walking towards Lexington.[1] Along the way, Bissell is said to have shouted "To arms, to arms, the war has begun"[3][9] or "the war has begun, the war has begun", which startled people who had not heard the news.[1] Church bells were rung and a cannon was fired to alert neighboring colonists.[1]

The 345 miles (555 km) journey[3][5][a] required the rider to obtain fresh horses along the route.[2] According to tradition, at the end of Bissell's first leg, from Watertown to Worcester, his horse collapsed and died of exhaustion.[3] Monroe Stearns said, "Bissell rode so hard that his horse dropped dead in Worcester that night. The next morning he got a fresh horse, and rode on."[10][b]

As stated in the notice, Bissell was to ride throughout Connecticut,[6] and yet the message was delivered to New York and ultimately to Philadelphia.[6][11] At each stop, the dispatch was copied for the town's records, with the original order by Joseph Palmer and attestations of the previous stops, which was carried to the next stops.[1][12] Towns people printed the alarm in broadsides and newspapers.[1] At New Haven, the dispatch was was amended to include an order to take the message on to Philadelphia, "We thought it necessary and expedient to communicate by express, expecting your speedy aid to forward the same to the Congress at Philadelphia..."[12] At New York, the dispatch was amended by General Alexander McDougall to obtain a new rider to convey the message to Philadelphia.[13] According to the Sons of the American Revolution, several historians believe that Israel Bissell rode the entire route to Philadelphia.[1] From New York, the message was communicated at stops in New Jersey, before going on to Philadelphia.[14][c]

Timeline

The timeline of the ride based upon the attestations, which meant that it was understood by the contacts in the towns that the war had begun.[4] The stops are:

Bissell traveled, perhaps with two horses,[4] on the Upper Post Road to Worcester,[1][4] and then the Lower Post Road,[4] headed south for Connecticut, where he crossed the Middle Post road at Pomfret. From there, Bissell traveled a road from Norwich to New London.[1]

With his arrival, colonists and people in neighboring towns were alerted by the firing muskets and ringing of church bells that the war had begun. In Philadelphia, 8,000 people assembled when they heard the ringing of the Liberty Bell.[3] Samuel Parsons of New London added a note, "You will see, by a Letter to your Committee of Correspondence, the necessity of rallying all your forces immediately... We shall march before noon to-morrow."[19] Answering the call, Benedict Arnold of New Haven, Israel Putnam of Pomfret, and others mustered soldiers and headed for Massachusetts.[2][22] By the time that the Lexington Alarm made it to Philadelphia, there were 50,000 armed colonists marching for Boston.[19] The war essentially began in Manhattan, New York City, when a riot broke out with news of the war in Lexington and Concord.[4] Copies of the manuscript were sent to other locations, like Maryland, North Carolina, and other areas. [23]

The war and after

After completing his ride, Bissell returned to Connecticut, where he joined the army alongside his brother, Justis. After the war, he moved to Middlefield, Massachusetts, where he married Lucy Hancock and became a sheep farmer.

Bissell, his wife, and three children moved to a farm in Hinsdale, Massachusetts in 1790.[24] Bissell died there on October 24,[citation needed] 1823, and was buried in the Maple Street Cemetery in Hinsdale.[3]

In popular culture

Bissell was the subject of "Ride, Israel, Ride", an epic poem by Marie Rockwood of Stockbridge, Massachusetts.[25]

The remarkable ride of Israel Bissell is a partly fictional account of Bissell's ride written by Alice Schick, Marjorie N. Allen, and Joel Schick in 1976. [26]

At the behest of Hinsdale historian Marion Ransford, the Daughters of the American Revolution installed a special marker at Bissell's grave.

Bissell was mentioned in comedian Robert Wuhl's 2006 HBO special, Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl.

Bissell was portrayed by David Bluvband on the cult public access program, The Chris Gethard Show in the episode "18th Century American Gladiators", which aired in August 2014.

Bissel was mentioned in ABC's show, American Housewife, Season 5 Episode 2.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The Sons of the Revolution state that the route was 350 miles (560 km).[1] Hunt said that the journey was 400 miles (640 km).[2]
  2. ^ Also see Smith's article, which states that this occurrence was documented in an old history of Worcester County.[5]
  3. ^ See the map of the towns with Committees of Correspondence that received the Lexington Alarm arm messages in April and May - between pp. 60 and 61.[15]
  4. ^ From the Norwich attestation, there was no time or day indicated for Worcester. Traditionally, Bissell was said to have arrived in Worcester before noon, which would have meant that he covered 36 miles (58 km) in about two hours, which would not have been feasible.[9] Scheide states that Bissell may have arrived in Worcester in the late afternoon or evening and rested overnight to get to Brooklyn by 11 a.m. on April 20, 1775.[9] The Sons of the American Revolution state the Bissell left Worcester for Connecticut on the morning of April 20, 1775,[1]
  5. ^ There are no attestations that show that Pomfret, Connecticut received the news with the first express. There was an update about the state of the war sent in a second Lexington Alarm update, which was likely an oral update on April 20 at 3 p.m. The dispatch may have been first written at Pomfret. The notice had updated information about the Battle at Concord.[1][16] The second express did not make it to Norwich until the morning of April 21.[1]
  6. ^ There is a copy of the handwritten document between pages 50 and 51.[18] Governor Jonathan Trumbull was in Norwich when the town received news that the war had begun.[17] Trumbull returned to his house in Lebanon and set up a supply depot at his store, which became the "war office" and he asked express riders to get an update on the war before convening a state assembly meeting.[1]
  7. ^ At New London, a message was added to the notice to stop in Saybrook and East Haddam.[19]
  8. ^ There is no attestation of when the message was received in New Haven, but it is there that a message was added to the dispatch to ride to Philadelphia.[12]
  9. ^ General McDougall ordered for the rider to ride through the night and early morning of April 24. The message from New York also asked the rider to stop in New Brunswick and Elizabethtown in New Jersey.[13]
  10. ^ The time of arrival is not know, but McDougall ordered for the rider to ride through the night and early morning of April 24.[13]
  11. ^ Elias Boudinot noted in his diary that Bissell had delivered the dispatch.[4]
  12. ^ The message was said to be delivered to Trenton by Comm. Eben Hasard.[13]
  13. ^ Hunt states that Bissell arrived in Philadelphia before midnight on April 23.[2]
  14. ^ The copy of the call to arms that arrived in Philadelphia idenfied the bearer as Trail Bisel or Bisiel.[21][m] A copy of the handwritten document is in the collection of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.[21]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "An Alarm from Lexington". Sons of the American Revolution. 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Hunt 1965, p. 434.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Okenquist, Michael. "Israel Bissell". Connecticut Sons of the American Revolution. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "The Five Day Ride of Israel Bissell - The Lexington Alarm to Philadelphia". Founder of the Day. 2019-08-26. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  5. ^ a b c Smith 1956, p. 42.
  6. ^ a b c d "New-York, Sunday 23d April, 1775. The following interesting advices, were this day received here, by two vessels from Newport, and by an express by land [The first news of the battle of Lexington and Concord] [New York, 1775]". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  7. ^ Johnson, Allen; Dumas Malone, eds. (1937). Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Scribner's.
  8. ^ "The following interesting advices, were this day received here, by two vessels from Newport, and by an express by land [The first news of the battle of Lexington and Concord] [New York, 1775]". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. New York. April 23, 1775. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  9. ^ a b c d e Scheide 1940, p. 63.
  10. ^ Stearns 1967, p. 84.
  11. ^ Scheide 1940, pp. 65–69.
  12. ^ a b c Scheide 1940, p. 57.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i Scheide 1940, p. 68.
  14. ^ Scheide 1940, pp. 63–69.
  15. ^ Scheide 1940, pp. 60–61.
  16. ^ a b Scheide 1940, pp. 65–66.
  17. ^ a b c Scheide 1940, p. 64.
  18. ^ Scheide 1940, pp. 50–51.
  19. ^ a b c Scheide 1940, p. 56.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g Scheide 1940, p. 65.
  21. ^ a b Scheide 1940, p. 50.
  22. ^ Stearns 1967, pp. 84–87.
  23. ^ Scheide 1940, pp. 56–78.
  24. ^ Hunt 1965, p. 436.
  25. ^ "Who traveled farther to warn the 'British are coming'? Paul Revere or Hinsdale's Israel Bissell". 18 April 2022.
  26. ^ Schick, Alice; Allen, Marjorie N.; Schick, Joel (1976). The remarkable ride of Israel Bissell. Philadelphia: Lippincott. ISBN 978-0-397-31676-2.

Bibliography

External links

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