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Tag: Artemas Ward

  • Words From Ward–May 9, 1776

    Cover art for May 9, 1776: Statue of Artemas Ward that stands in Washington DC, just a few blocks northwest of the National Cathedral.

    Artemas Ward was the man left in charge of things when Washington made his trek to New York, so you know that this was a man that Washington trusted. As a result they corresponded with one another frequently.

    So it only makes sense that once in a while, the two would write to one another on the same day, and this was one of those days. Washington wrote to Ward his concern that the British would return to Boston and therefore the city should be fortified to protect against such an event, and Ward wrote to Washington about a pair of ships that had been captured in the Bay just a couple of days earlier.

    In an astonishing coincidence that would stun even Robert Ripley, Abigail Adams’ letter to John Adams from May 7 addresses both of these issues.

    For what it’s worth: Ward Circle, where the statue from today’s cover art is located, is in the middle of a peculiar looking traffic circle on Massachusetts Ave NW. There are no pedestrian crossings that will get you close to it, so if you do choose to make that particular pilgrimage, stop off at the National Cathedral first and ask for divine intervention, ’cause the traffic can easily make that a nightmare to cross.

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  • Reviewing Boston–March 18, 1776

    Cover art for March 18, ,1776: Statue of Artemas Ward at Ward Circle in Washington, DC. Photo by Wikipedia user GarrisonLeMasters, 2008.

    In the aftermath of the siege of Boston, it was incumbent upon George Washington and his men to re-enter the city and take stock of its condition.

    Mike brings up Artemas Ward in today’s episode, and I’m pretty sure that was the first time his name has come up in the course of this podcast. Ward was a major general during the Revolutionary War, among others, and an effective political leader when he wasn’t being a soldier. It was Ward who sounded the alarm on Bunker Hill, and who took command of the New England area once Washington led most of the troops down to New York City. ‘

    The statue in today’s cover art can be found in the center of a traffic circle in Washington, DC, where Massachusetts and Nebraska Avenues cross one another. Ward’s great-grandson donated four million dollars to Harvard on the condition that they build a statue of Artamis, and maintain his Shrewsbury home. Harvard apparently chose to purchase a statue but did not provide enough money to provide the general with a horse. Oddly enough, because it’s a traffic circle and therefore has no obvious way for a pedestrian to get to the center (i.e., no crosswalk), it’s quite difficult to get close enough to the pedestal to read the inscription:

    ARTEMAS WARD
    1727–1800
    SON OF MASSACHUSETTS
    GRADUATE OF HARVARD COLLEGE
    JUDGE AND LEGISLATOR
    DELEGATE 1780–1781 TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
    SOLDIER OF THREE WARS
    FIRST COMMANDER OF THE PATRIOT FORCES

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