The CLimax of the Rebellion
The Massachusetts government believed troops were needed to put down the rebellion and if the federal government could not supply those troops, Massachusetts would have to go about gathering together troops of their own. Governor Bowdoin of Massachusetts, with the help of General Benjamin Lincoln, had the commercial elite raise money to assemble an army. Many men were gathered for this cause and a plan was set in place. On January 20, 1787, 4,400 men under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln would start their travel westward from Boston to battle against the Regulators. (1)
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The Regulators were alarmed upon learning this plan. The Regulators saw themselves as reformers, not radicals, and were scared for their own lives. Therefore they decided that to have a fighting chance, they must acquire the weapons stored in the Springfield Arsenal. A three prong attack was planned against the arsenal, which was already guarded by Major General William Sheppard and over 900 men. (2) The insurgents planned to all at once storm the arsenal from three different directions, acquire the weapons, and then immediately march east to Boston and burn it to the ground. (3)
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Approaching the arsenal
On January 25, 1787 the rebellion reached its apex.(4) The three-prong plan was to be carried out, but the problem was that only two prongs made it to the arsenal. The third prong did not attack the arsenal on January 25 due to miscommunication caused by the interference of the Massachusetts militia with communication between the Regulators . (5) The Regulators marched through the snow to the Arsenal feeling confident about the outcome of their attack and thinking maybe that there would not even be bloodshed. These men were in for an unpleasant surprise.
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tERMINATION
General William Sheppard called for two warning shots to be set off to caution the Regulators not to advance, but the Regulators did not listen. Thus, the arsenal’s cannon was fired into the crowd of Regulators, killing three and dispersing the 1,400 others.(8) The event of the arsenal attack was swift and proved to be an utter failure to the Regulators. After this radical event, the rebellion started to draw to a close.
The dispersed Regulators had regrouped in the forest only to be surprised by an attack by General Lincoln and his militia who captured 150 of the regulators.(9) Shays’s managed to escape to Vermont, and some of the uncaptured Regulators continued with their attacks on the Massachusetts courthouses, but the rebellion was ultimately coming to a close. |
a FIRsTHAND account Of the Attack on the arsenal
A letter by a man named David Hoyt written to his father gives a detailed firsthand account of the battle at the arsenal through the eyes of a man fighting for the Massachusetts government. The full letter may be read by clicking on the link below, but the major details are quoted below:
Our number I cannot exactly ascertain but Judge them to be about 1400 & continually increasing ... Their numbers
we do not regard-our Genll has orders to Defend the public Stores on ye hill at all hazards- (11)
We had inteligence day before yesterday that Shays with his army was on his march with a view to take ye Hill...But yesterday morning our Horsemen brot inteligence that Shays was advancing with a full determination to Quarter his army into ye Barracks,about 12.O.Clock we were allarmd and the Army immediately Parraded on the Hill and were put in Battle array. (12)
The Enemy approachd Slowly . Sun. about one hour high their front appeard, Genl Shepherd- first a horseman to their leader, told him if he did not halt in 3 mins he would Fire. the leader rejected the message and treated the messenger with contempt. the three mins being out, our horsemen opend, to ye right and left, and the pieces opened upon them. (13)
Implications
Shays's Rebellion, having come to a close, became a topic of concern for many political figures. The rebellion exposed the weaknesses of the government under the Articles of Confederation and moved people to desire change. In the next section of the site, the opinions of different historical figures will be provided. Analyzing the opinions of men and women after the rebellion will strongly support ones's understanding that Shays's Rebellion was in fact a turning point in American history. As will be explained, a change in people's opinions led to a turning point in the government which resulted in a shift in the history of the United States.
(1) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America, directed by Marco Williams (2006; n.p.: A&E Television Network, 2006), DVD.
(2) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.
(3) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.
(4) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.
(5) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.(6) - Shays' Rebellion-From Revolution to Constitution, last modified 2008, accessed April 13, 2014, http://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu.
(7) - Shays' Rebellion-From Revolution to Constitution.
(8) - Shays' Rebellion-From Revolution to Constitution.
(9) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.
(10) - Letter by David Hoyt, January 26, 1787, accessed April 16, 2014, http://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/shaysapp/artifact_trans.do?shortName=letter_dh26jan87&page=p003.
(11) - Letter by David Hoyt.
(12) - Letter by David Hoyt.
(13) - Letter by David Hoyt.
(2) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.
(3) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.
(4) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.
(5) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.(6) - Shays' Rebellion-From Revolution to Constitution, last modified 2008, accessed April 13, 2014, http://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu.
(7) - Shays' Rebellion-From Revolution to Constitution.
(8) - Shays' Rebellion-From Revolution to Constitution.
(9) - 10 Days That Unexpectedly.
(10) - Letter by David Hoyt, January 26, 1787, accessed April 16, 2014, http://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/shaysapp/artifact_trans.do?shortName=letter_dh26jan87&page=p003.
(11) - Letter by David Hoyt.
(12) - Letter by David Hoyt.
(13) - Letter by David Hoyt.