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Portrait of a Patriot
"These fellows say we won't fight; by
Heavens!
I hope I shall die up to my knees in blood."
Free America
Joseph Warren
To the tune of "The British Grenadiers"
That Seat of Science Athens, and Earth's great Mistress Rome,
Where now are all their Glories, we scarce can find their Tomb;
Then guard your Rights, Americans! nor stoop to lawless Sway,
Oppose, oppose, oppose, oppose, -- my brave America.
Proud Albion bow'd to Caesar, and num'rous Lords before,
To Picts, to Danes, to Normans, and many Masters more;
But we can boast Americans! we never fell a Prey;
Huzza, huzza, huzza, huzza, for brave America.
We led fair Freedom hither, when lo the Desart smil'd,
A paradise of pleasure, was open'd in the Wild;
Your Harvest, bold Americans! no power shall snatch away,
Huzza, huzza, huzza, huzza, for brave America.
Torn from a World of Tyrants, beneath this western Sky,
We form'd a new Dominion, a Land of liberty;
The World shall own their masters here, then hasten on the Day,
Huzza, huzza, huzza, huzza, for brave America.
God bless this maiden Climate, and thro' her vast Domain,
Let Hosts of Heroes cluster, who scorn to wear a Chain;
And blast the venal Sycophant, who dares our Rights betray.
Preserve, preserve, preserve, preserve my brave America.
Lift up your Heads my Heroes! and swear with proud Disdain,
The Wretch that would enslave you, Shall spread his Snares in vain;
Should Europe empty all her force, wou'd meet them in Array,
And shout, and shout, and shout, and shout, for brave America!
Some future Day shall crown us, the Masters of the Main,
And giving Laws and Freedom, to subject France and Spain;
When all the Isles o'er Ocean spread shall tremble and obey,
Their Lords, their Lords, their Lords, their Lords of brave America.
SOURCE: Freedom Songs
Somewhat impetuous in his nature, but brave to a fault, Bro.
Warren craved the task of doing what others dared not
do-the same courage imbued in Paul Revere, Samuel
Adams, and other patriots. On the anniversary of the Boston
Massacre(March 3, 1770) Warren was the orator. While it
was a duty which won him distinction, it was also one of
peril. English military officers usually attended in order to
heckle Warren and it required a brave man to stand up in
Old South Church, in the face of those officers, to boldly
proclaim their bloody deeds. It required cool head and
steady nerves, and Grand Master Joseph Warren had both.
The crowd at the church was immense; the aisles, the pulpits
stairs, and the pulpit itself were filled with officers and
soldiers of the garrison, always there to intimidate the
speaker. Warren was equal to the task but entered the
church through a pulpit windows in the rear, knowing he
might have been barred from entering through the front door.
In the midst of his impassioned speech, and English officer
seated on the pulpit stairs and in full view of Warren, held
several pistol bullets in his open hand. The act was
significant; while the moment was one of peril and required
the exercise of both courage and prudence, to falter and
allow a single nerve or muscle to tremble would have meant
failure-even ruin to Warren and others.
Everybody knew the intent of the officer and a man of less
courage than Warren might have flinched, but the future hero,
his eyes having caught the act of the officer and without the
least discomposure or pause in his discourse, he simply
approached the officer and dropped a white handkerchief
into the officer's hand! The act was so adroitly and
courteously performed that Breton[British Officer] was
compelled to acknowledge it by permitting the orator to
continue in peace.
SOURCE: Warren Tavern
A Harvard-educated medical doctor and skilled
orator, Dr. Warren arrived at Bunker Hill with fresh
news of his commission as Major-General in the
militia. When Warren asked the militia
commander where he might be of service in
combat, General Israel Putnam replied much the
same as Elbridge Gerry had implored the evening
before. The new Major-General was too valuable
to be risked at the front lines and would be of
great assistance in fortifying Bunker Hill to the
rear of the American line. As president pro tempore of the Provincial
Congress, Warren was indeed a valuable man to risk in combat. But he
would have none of it.
Where, he asked General Putnam, would the most fierce fighting likely take
place? Putnam pointed to nearby Breed's Hill, where Colonel William
Prescott and his men were finishing construction of a redoubt at the top of
the hill. The Breed's Hill redoubt was much closer to the likely landing point
for any British attack, and the view offered by the hill would make it useful to
the British in taking Bunker Hill afterward. Putnam reluctantly allowed Warren
to go up to the redoubt, and soon Warren was among those inspiring the
rank and file to hold fast when the British attacked. As Warren arrived on the
scene at Breed's Hill, Colonel Prescott offered General Warren command of
the redoubt. But Warren deferred to Prescott who had the greater military
experience.
Dr. Warren was among the last of the patriots cut down during the third and final
British charge up Breed's Hill; he had stayed behind with a few other
volunteers to give the main force time to withdraw.
SOURCE: THE NEW AMERICAN
In 1775 a Harvard College graduate named Joseph Warren, M.D. volunteered to fight in the
Revolution. He refused the position of physician-general to the Massachusetts militia saying he
wanted a more hazardous service. This led to his appointment as a major general of the colony�s
fighting force.
Joseph Warren, M.D. was well known for his studies of smallpox. He also served as president of
the Council of Safety as well as Grand Master of Freemasons for North America.
Dr. Warren at age 35, became the first high-ranking officer to fall in the American Revolution. A
decision was made to bury him at the spot where he fell. The next year after the British had been
driven out, Dr. Warren was reinterred in King�s Chapel with military and Masonic rites. Later the
Masons of Charlestown Mass. erected a 35-foot monument at the spot where he fell. It stood for 40
years before being replaced by the Bunker Hill Monument. A scale model of the Warren maker was
placed inside the tall granite obelisk.
SOURCE: How Warren County Got Its Name
Warren, MG Joseph
Despite a lack of military experience, Warren, a physician by profession, was chosen as a
Major General by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress. He lead men into combat on April
19th, 1775. In this battle he was not so much a military leader, but an inspiration to those men
he commanded.
Warren also served in the Battle of Bunker Hill, even though he had not yet received his
commission by the day of the battle. He served at the redoubt as an ordinary volunteer, where
he was killed. Warren's death contributed as much as the respectable performance of the
American troops to strengthening the radicals politically and making reconciliation impossible
after Bunker Hill.
SOURCE: Worcester PolytechnicInstitute
On the eve of our struggle for independence a man who might have been one
of the greatest among the Founding Fathers, Dr. Joseph Warren, President of
the Massachusetts Congress, said to his fellow Americans, "Our country is in
danger, but not to be despaired of.... On you depend the fortunes of America.
You are to decide the important questions upon which rests the happiness and
the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves."
Well, I believe we, the Americans of today, are ready to act worthy of
ourselves, ready to do what must be done to ensure happiness and liberty for
ourselves, our children and our children's children.
SOURCE: Ronald Reagan
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