I think a lot about the wife of Isaac Davis. I mention her when I tell my version of The Three Strikes of the Match. It's the point where I'm most likely to get choked up, because I can't help but think about my wife.
In fact, I was up late last night tossing and turning thinking about Mrs. Davis again.
We all know that Isaac Davis was Captain of the Acton militia. We know that they were the best equipped and some of the best trained men that saw action that day. So she knew her husband was preparing. She knew he was practicing with his friends and neighbors for something. But did it ever fully impact her? Did it ever register what his preparation could truly mean for their family?
We know that her husband began to leave for Concord........ and then stopped to look at her as if he had something important to say.
After a pause... all he said was, "Take good care of the children", as all four of them were ill.
I think a lot about Mrs. Davis.
What did she do that morning... knowing her husband was leaving to confront British Regulars that have already spilled colonial blood?
Did she help him get his gear together?
Did she ask him not to go? How many times?
Did she cry?
Did she wrap up a snack for him to take?
How long did she stand in the doorway after he left?
I think a lot about the wife of Isaac Davis.
I just looked up her name for the first time.
Her name is Hannah.
Hannah Davis.
Well written, it made me consider those historic events from a different perspective. As a youth I learned of the facts of the events in school. Cold hard history. Even today, as I recall the history side as I ponder the thought process that these men were undergoing as they prepared to go to war against the best trained army in the world. What were they thinking, what were their concerns, did they have a plan B? Even then I failed to consider the spouse, the children, their survival and well being.
Funny you say this, when hear this story I think the same thing.
I can only imagine she did what my wife would do. After telling me (screaming) that it was not my fight and not my problem, she would remember it was. Then help pack my gear and send me off with a reminder to eat a good lunch.
Then again she would most likely go with me.
This is the part of the strikes where I am more likely to get choked up too. Being a wife of a Rifleman and having two young daughters, it would be hard for me to be without my husband. I always try to put myself into Hannah Davis' shoes and I can just see myself staring at my husband and tears rolling down my cheeks. I couldn't imagine not telling him that I love him one more time, and knowing that his last words were, "Take good care of the children." I would be that wife that would run after him to get one last hug and kiss before he heads off and I would like to think she did the same.
Hearing this part of the strikes makes the whole story come to life for me, and when I start telling the history I hope to see tears rolling down people's cheeks like there was on mine the first time I heard it.
The sadness is that these people, that first American generation, was forced to make a very difficult choice. One without a good "third alternative", that they have secured for us.
George Washington points it out: "Unhappy it is though to reflect, that a Brother's Sword has been sheathed in a Brother's breast, and that, the once happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with Blood, or Inhabited by Slaves. Sad alternative! But can a virtuous Man hesitate in his choice?"
These are the choices these men had to chose from.
To put it in the perspective of Issac and Hanna (thanks MS), they had to choose to separate their family by death, so that we would never have to face only those two choices.
The Davis family made the only choice possible, to keep you and I from having to face those two choices. They chose to sacrifice a great sacrifice so that our decision making process would be easier and safer. We no longer have to face the prospect of separating our families by death, to preserve our Liberties. At most, we have to separate our families by a weekend (not even that, if we play our cards right) and perhaps some time on the computer/phone.......Thank you Founding Generation for this great gift, that I need never turn to face my threshold, with musket in hand, to tell my wife..."Take care of the children". The Founding Generation and many after it, have made that choice for themselves, so that I need not have to.
The sacrifice is really that of a generation for the following generation. This has been the trait of Americans for generations......until the latest ones. Appleseed seeks to honor and repay the debt that we owe those previous generations and to make the sacrifice required to pass this same nation on to the next generation. Thankfully, those before us were willing to pay the bulk of the price that needs to be paid for our Liberties. They made a great down payment on our nation.....we only have to make the installments as we pass through.
They had but two choices to pick from. We have the third choice that they paid for in their blood and sacrifice, that being, we are the key holders of this nation, the caretakers of the great gift they have given to us.
Its a good job they were made of sterner stuff back then, the good old British stiff upper lip O0 O0 O0
Hannah nee Brown went on to bury 2 more husbands (Mr Jones and Mr Leighton after Mr Davis) and lived to the grand old age of 91. Much of what we know of the "tender moment" was recorded in her deposition to congress when people were campaigning to have a special case made for her for a "pension" in her old age.
Much information in the following links:
http://users.rcn.com/greenela/id59_m.htm#hannah_brown_davis_jones_leighton
http://users.rcn.com/greenela/id59_m.htm#the_wife_of_capt__isaac_davis_
http://users.rcn.com/greenela/id32___deposition_of_the_wife_of_capt__davis.htm
http://users.rcn.com/greenela/id32_letter_requesting_a_federal_pension.htm
The deposition is the one that gets me. In the morning she had the men of his company traipsing around her kitchen, in the afternoon they delivered three corpses to her front room to be buried in the following days, the three acton men that died, Issac, Abner Hosmer and James Hayward.
Good links, V. Thanks for posting them.
Indeed, as one of those links states, "The story never grows old..."
When I was in Acton, I sought out the Davis home - still there, and a family living in it!
What must it be like, to live in the house Isaac Davis lived in? To live in a room where his body - and that of two others - was laid out, and funeral service conducted?
The only sign of 'history' is a granite marker in the front yard...
MS,
Your restless night and thoughts on Mrs Isaac Davis, Hannah Davis, bring to the forefront, a beautiful historical perspective to offer to the families that attend Appleseeds, as Trisha attests. This story, told here on the forum or at an Appleseed, may have more impact on someone than all the facts and dates surrounding the Revolutionary War that could be recited.
I am trying to absorb the stories and learn them "by heart"; it is helpful to study them one person at a time, one thread at a time.
Thank you for sharing your personal reflections. I hope there will be more posts like this. IMHO everyone benefits from this kind of post.
Having been the parent of a soldier in a combat zone, I can tell you it's tough.
Tough enough that I'd rather do a deployment, than to deal with it.
Hannah Davis was no different than today's parents/spouses of soldiers.
Tough is what they are/were, and I respect them all.
Answers to the questions, based on how people tend to react in recent times. Also based on my own situation, with the support I get from Blueskys.
QuoteWhat did she do that morning... knowing her husband was leaving to confront British Regulars that have already spilled colonial blood?
Help him and the company get ready.
QuoteDid she help him get his gear together?
Almost certainly.
QuoteDid she ask him not to go? How many times?
Probably not.
QuoteDid she cry?
Almost certainly, but not in front of him, after he left.
QuoteDid she wrap up a snack for him to take?
Probably.
QuoteHow long did she stand in the doorway after he left?
A real tough one to answer. For a while, for sure.
She knew what could happen, and that's what did happen.
(And yes, typing this chokes me up, pretty hard.)
QuoteDid she wrap up a snack for him to take?
I don't know why, but that image is what really gets to me.
A concerned wife, worrying that her husband will be warm enough on a Spring morning. Thinking she should make him up something to eat.... carefully putting together some food, maybe his favorite.
Dangit guys, now y'all are getting me all choked up. Something about this post that is bringing everything all together. I'm now sitting here praying for family and friends, for all those out there bailing and trying their hardest to turn the tide of events. I can hardly sit here now on this dang computer thinking of all of this.
Our father in heaven, please protect us and give us strength. Protect us from evil and I pray that you turn aside any fear that may be in our hearts in these trying times. Give us strength such as Isaac and Hanna Davis had.
I'm gonna bail harder now since I don't want my wife to have to meet with a day like that Hanna went through. Dangit, my eyes are blurring so I'm gonna get off this computer and do some silent reflection and prayer. Be back later and bail.
Have faith all.
Don't forget the owl, apocryphal true but that lady had a lot of misery piling up in her life, which wouldn't have been easy without adding a revolution to the mix.
I did The Second Strike at Hartford last month. A couple of days before that, the Missus and I had visited Concord and Acton - we went to The Bridge and saw the Minuteman statue modeled after Isaac Davis by the sculptor, Daniel Chester French (yes that's Captain Davis on our RWVA patch), went to the Acton town hall to see his plow and to the library to see his sword and other artifacts and, like Fred, dropped by his house to see where that terrible goodbye took place.
Later, at the Hartford shoot, when I called home at lunchtime, my Missus asked me if I had done any of the history talks. I said, "Yuh...." (I knew where she was going with this.) Then she asked, "Did you talk about Isaac Davis?" I said, "Yuh...." And she asked - as I knew she would - "Did you blubber?" And, of course, the answer was, "Yuh...."
I'm tearing up now as I write this. As a father, I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this story.
But...believe it or not, there was a little comic relief that April morning long ago. Picture this - the young dudes in Isaac's Minuteman company wanted to look their best when they went up against the king's troops, so - wouldn't you know - they had Hannah help them powder their wigs! Dudes will be dudes, no matter what....
Best to all, Sean O'
.
Wow! I guess I've never been exposed to the great story telling. I never once stopped to think about Mrs. Davis. I am going to have to suggest that at the shoot I am going to Memorial Day weekend. ;D
On a recent re-reading of Paul Revere's Ride, one of the small details that I've missed previously is that Hannah Davis was 29 years old when the Regulars were invading Concord.
Same age as my wife.
MeanStreaker's history presentation at Athens last month was the first I had heard of Hannah in the personal moving way he presented her. Certainly had my attention and all others in attendence.
Thank you MS for the obvious study, rehersal, hardwork and heart you put into your role as Appleseed instructor.
Quote from: Fred on April 01, 2009, 09:34:20 AM
Good links, V. Thanks for posting them.
Indeed, as one of those links states, "The story never grows old..."
When I was in Acton, I sought out the Davis home - still there, and a family living in it!
What must it be like, to live in the house Isaac Davis lived in? To live in a room where his body - and that of two others - was laid out, and funeral service conducted?
The only sign of 'history' is a granite marker in the front yard...
Fred,
My husband (MisterAnderson) and I went to Acton and we tried to find the Davis home, but we were unsuccessful in doing so. We plan on going back (soon, I hope!) to visit friends who live in Woburn and we would love to show them the Davis home. Do you happen to remember what street the house was on?
Quote from: MamaBear on March 08, 2010, 08:58:44 PM
Quote from: Fred on April 01, 2009, 09:34:20 AM
When I was in Acton, I sought out the Davis home - still there, and a family living in it!
The only sign of 'history' is a granite marker in the front yard...
Fred,
My husband (MisterAnderson) and I went to Acton and we tried to find the Davis home, but we were unsuccessful in doing so. We plan on going back (soon, I hope!) to visit friends who live in Woburn and we would love to show them the Davis home. Do you happen to remember what street the house was on?
http://actonminutemen.org/IsaacDavisTrail.html (http://actonminutemen.org/IsaacDavisTrail.html)
Quote
The Isaac Davis Trailmarch
We start off at the Isaac Davis homestead at 39 Hayward Rd. in Acton
map
http://isaacdavis.org/trail_map.pdf
http://users.rcn.com/greenela/id135.htm
1895 Acton Memorial Stones description
QuoteAbout halfway back to the village, on the other road to West Acton, we dedicated the third stone, which had been set up to commemorate the day. This was in front of the premises of Captain Davis. The house of his day is gone, but portions of it, we are told, appear in the present buildings. The flat stone doorstep now in use is undoubtedly the original.
Photo of the marker and house in 2001
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/h/a/m/Lynn-C-Hammond/PHOTO/0003photo.html
(http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=6456.0;attach=20708)
Good morning,
If you don't expect Isaac Davis's house to look the way you imagine it, you won't be disappointed.
It's been changed over the years. Even the siding makes it look like a modern adaption of a period farmhouse, instead of the real thing. The 30' fiberglass sailboat up in its cradle and the basketball stanchion in the driveway don't readily lend themselves to the authentic recreation of an 18th century home.
That being said, I'm thrilled that someone is living in Isaac and Hannah's home now in the 21st century. I hope that family knows the story of the family who lived in it long ago. And I hope they appreciate the sacrifice once made by that family so that they and the rest of us could one day sail, play basketball, and otherwise live comfortably.
Despite the fact that it won't look like your expectation, please continue to visit the Davis's house - it's still a connection to a glorious past, and still a shrine to a great hero and heroine.
Best to all, Sean O'
Wow! I just expected general directions on how to get there- leave it to fellow Appleseeders to give you lots more info and PHOTOS!!! :D Love the pictures, Big H!! O0 O0
In my minds eye, that is not the home I pictured- but I do love the marker out front. Makes me want to go back just to have my picture taken next to it. Thanks, Sean O, for the information, and thanks again, Big H for the pics... It will surely help upon our return to New England! O0
Kori
Felt the need to offer something different for 'The Second Strike'. This is what came out of it. Seems to hold the crowd's attention. Good luck with it!
Quote from: Imker on June 01, 2010, 08:02:40 AM
Felt the need to offer something different for 'The Second Strike'. This is what came out of it. Seems to hold the crowd's attention. Good luck with it!
I think I'm going to use this at Harvard next month... just up the road from Acton. Thanks.
I heard Colycat do a bit at Ft. Stewart that is now a part of my second strike - below is what I stole from him as best I could recall:
As I mentioned earlier, Hannah Davis kept a diary. It stands, to this day, as a record of sacrifices made for our Liberty.
Hannah wrote of the Acton Minute Men tramping into her kitchen - "filling that small feminine space with the strong masculine presence of their muskets, bayonets, tomahawks, and powder horns".
She wrote that Isaac said only "Take good care of the Children" before disappearing into the darkness. That's an odd thing for him to have said - isn't it? I mean, he knew that she would take care of the children; she was their mother after all and a woman of fine character. Did he know he was going to meet his death?
I think that through Hannah's diary, Isaac is in fact speaking to every one of us - are we taking good care of the children? Are we doing everything we can to ensure their Liberty? Isaac Davis gave his life for ours. All we have to do is remain alert, informed, and involved in the political process handed down to us by his generation. Are we succeeding?
Hannah wrote "I knew in my heart, that I would not see him again in this world". She was partly mistaken on that point, for she saw him hours later on her parlor table, laid out beside Private Hosmer and another Minuteman - a grim reunion to be sure.
She knew in her heart that she would not see him alive again, yet she let him go. To lose a husband in New England in 1775, with a house full of sick children would have been a hardship of desperate measure and still, she let him go. Hannah Davis placed a high price on Liberty and she paid in full on April 19th, 1775.
Congress twice suggested recompense for Hannah's loss and twice denied her. To do so would have been a violation of the Constitution and a failure to respect what Isaac Davis died for. To take from one by force of law and give to another; no matter how deserving, is a form of slavery and they would have none of it.
Say the above with conviction and some well placed pauses and look for the dry eyes.
PH
Ladies and Gents,
I must concur that Alan's version of Second Strike, told from Hannah Davis' point of view,
is the most moving and emotional telling I've ever heard - read Alan's version, which he first
road-tested at SaraSpa in April (was privileged to attend the premiere).
madMark
Second Strike is my "baby" so to speak. I have practiced and perfected it down to the cadence in which I tell the story. We all think our OWN version of the strikes is the best- but I have to say, that when I read Imker's version....wow. It was superb. I often toyed with the idea of doing a second strike from the perspective of Hannah, but I never knew where to begin or how to tie it all together so as to not completely confuse my audience. ++)
This was a fantastic read and I can only imagine what it must be like to hear it in person!
Excellent job!
MB
MamaBear
I too must agree, I was fortunate to have it forwarded to me, from my friend nyrasgt after it was done by Imker at Saratoga Springs, NY,, The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I had to wipe my eyes before I had finished it,,,
I worked the Shoot at Van Etten, NY this past weekend and he did it for us there, again same reaction, it is very moving indeed, Thank You Imker,,,
sgtrock
We have Hannah Davis happening in our country every day. Wives saying goodbye and not knowing if there husband will come back alive or in one piece. I have never forgotten when a friend and I were leaveing from St. Louis to Oakland,Ca to go to Vietnam in Jan of 1970. As we were going to board his girlfriend grabbed him and pleaded with him not to go she was crying saying please don't go. He finally got her to let him go and we left. I always wondered what I would have done if I were in his place. His nickname was Sonny and girlfried Karen, we flew over together and were seperated in Long Bien, he went to the 25th Div. and I went to the 1st Air Cav. Div.
I didn't see him again until we returned home, he had been wounded by a booby trapped 105 round that killed most of his squad, he got sharpnel from his ankle to his neck. He was awarded five bronze stars and a purple heart that I know of. He returned home married Karen and raised a family, a quiet man. I had moved away from the area and got to see him a week before he died of cancer, he was ready to go. His son is now in the Army and looks just like him.
I really have trouble getting past the story of Hannah Davis, the history of America continues and repeats every day around us.
JG
Quote from: Imker on June 01, 2010, 08:02:40 AM
Felt the need to offer something different for 'The Second Strike'. This is what came out of it. Seems to hold the crowd's attention. Good luck with it!
Imker, that was a very powerful rendition of the Second Strike. Wow.