Hezekiah Wyman - A Myth?

[lysander6]

I really enjoy Mr. Bell's bog - Boston1775 - in which he provides a depth and breadth of analysis and writing not found elsewhere on the early part of the conflict.  He has run a series of essays on Hezekiah here:  http://boston1775.blogspot.com/search/label/Hezekiah%20Wyman



Even if it turns out his actions were the stuff of legend instead of reality, I will simply label the story apocryphal when I tell it.

Besides, my website is was named after him.  It is now zerogov.com.

[Xeyed]

Does it really matter?

I had a student call me out during my telling of the Samuel Whitmore story, that we were "embellishing" the story.

I handed her my copy of Paul Reveres Ride and pointed her to the Appendix, which led her to the dog eared page on Mr. Whitmore.  It was a start, there is lots of information on the internet about key participants on April 1775.

Made me do some thinking and research.

I read the "White Horseman"  mentioned in the Article from the Pearl which I found online.

http://books.google.com/books?id=JnFMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA323#v=onepage&q&f=false

Does it really matter? There is no way to prove or disprove the legend.

What we do know is that on April 19, 1775, the colonists of Lexington, Concord and the surrounding area stood up to tyranny and became Americans. They stood on Lexington Green, They advanced on the North Bridge, and Attacked at Merriams Corner. We will never know the stories of all 15,000 plus men who answered the muster call that day.

What is indisputable is that it happened. So whether Hezekiah Wyman was "real" or just a compilation of Americans who stood up for freedom really doesn't matter. What matters is that at the end of the day April 19, 1775 events were set in motion that led to the freedoms and liberties that  that we still enjoy 235 years latter.

Do we need to add a disclaimer to our Dangerous Old Men Stories? I don't think so. We are quoting form a well respected source in Paul Reveres Ride.

We honor by remembering and telling the stories of sacrifice and courage.

And one of the best is  Hezekiah Wyman "Death on a Pale Horse"

[Son of Martha]

Well, we really teach mythology rather than history in the first place.  H.W. probably wasn't real, which is quite a relief to me because I was pretty darn sure there were no rifles involved that day-- and his exploits can't really be explained otherwise.

Does it matter?  Not really...so long as we know.  Otherwise we will drift from trying to present some laudable historical events that folks should be conversant with into the history version of WWF-entertaining, but nothing to be taken seriously.  And we should know what parts are (likely) accurate and which are merely apocryphal so we don't look like morons when called on it by someone who does know which is which.

So "embellishing" the story isn't really good--and my first line takes on more than a throwaway significance.  People live and die by what they believe, and objective reality seems to have little more than a passing acquaintance with most of it.  The difference between a communist in Russia in 1917, a National Socialist in 1933 and how Americans see themselves (is that that "mythology" thing again?) is that we try really hard to see the truth, tell the truth and decide IAW the truth.  To be that way, we have to behave that way, so trying to discern what parts of the history "stories" are actually true rather than merely wopping good stories is important.  Doesn't mean we can't TELL the stories, just make sure to either qualify them or agree right away if someone points out that that probably didn't actually happen....

Thanks for the heads up Lysander.  I didn't know this.

SoM

[Rocket Man]

Laylopro  and I have talked a lot about Hezekiah.  The conclusion we've come to is that, like anything else historical, there's quite a lot of uncertainty.  But the overall story of the man is at worst plausible.

Do your own research, find the man in your own way.  I tell my version and ask folks to read up more about him.

The article in the Pearl is known to be inaccurate.  So is the "Fact" of his birthday being April 19th -- it wasn't so.  A lot of these myths were spread by his would-be relatives, both pro and con.  The Boston 1775 blog's comments on Isaac Chauncey Wyman are right on; he probably grafted onto a family myth just because he had the same name, and probably didn't even know any better.

However, there are some reliable records.  We know that Hezekiah existed, we know he accompanied David Lamson on his mission to intercept the baggage train.  We also know from written reports on the other side that there were a scant few militiamen on horseback that engaged the main body, and did so effectively.

Some other bits of the story ring true.  The pale mare, for instance, is totally consistent with a hunter's mindset, and only a hunter would know that.  It is also reasonable for Hezekiah to have had a rifled musket, or (my personal theory, form your own conclusions) was simply skilled enough from a life of hunting to use an issued musket at the ragged edge of its effective range.

If you want you can avoid or qualify the more hazy details.  The point of the story really doesn't matter whether he shot down a dozen Lobsterback officers and then rode off in the moonlight, or if he was just another regular guy who decided to get involved and do what needed doing. 

In the meantime, anything new and concrete that we unearth, let's share it.   

[LayloPro]

I'll throw this out there in the firepit......
There are often times in "family history", embellishments given for a particular set of reasons.....some may want to be "related to someone important", or to have some familial connection to a famous event.....
That's human nature.

When I first heard the story of HW, it actually got my attention.....in actuality, it was the story of his wife that got my attention.....I knew her!!
Good Grief, I had married her!! 
Or at least, a more current version of her......

After we got home from that AS, my search began.....

Because that one story, more than anything else, arrested my motion in searching for something to latch onto in an effort to help bring this country back on keel.....what we do here @ AS.....

If I didn't believe in that, it's highly doubtful I would be investing as much time & energy in doing this as much as I do......

What I see in Hezekiah, is perhaps more a study of a man who not many knew, either of, or paid much attention to....we have had movies made of much this same sort of "hermit hero", who arises at the right moment to help save the day.....
And, it is entirely possible that he could have had a "rifle " (Jaegarriffle/ "twisted rifle") from the Deutsch gunsmiths a few states to the south.....
If he was in fact a hunter (meat provider) this would make eminent sense to me for that day & time.....the reports all agree that he aimed, fired, and someone dropped.....
I know if we asked Nickle, he'd just say: "Sounds like a New Englander to me!"

In telling our tales of our Dangerous Old Men, we are attempting to let our audience know that indeed, one person -can- make a difference......that in fact, if they so choose and act, -they- can make a difference, in a positive way, in their own world.....
And become their own version of a long ago hero......

As far as Bell goes, I am somewhat suspect to grant much credibility to a fellow who blogs online about children's fantasy books, besides the Boston 1775 blog he did.....if it's entertaining to y'all, cool deal, enjoy reading!....but as a self-described "historian", he leaves a lot to be desired....particularly in any real form of academic sourcing......Since most of his stuff is written discrediting the accuracy of what used to be referred to as "dime store novels", he's fairly safe....but his census reading is "loose", at best....

My $.02, YMMV
LLP

[crak]

I read that awhile ago and almost posted a similar post.

But on reading the entire series over, all he seemed to disprove thoroughly was the validity of a descendant, the authenticity of said descendant's heirloom musket, and Hezekiah's age.  If I'm remembering correctly, he found someone similarly named within a few years in the records with evidence of the white horse in his will.

[LayloPro]

Well, sir,
in as much as there were "several" attempts at putting his age down as somewhere between "that day was his 55th Birthday", and eighty!! It would, as always now in our "Google age", have made sense to simply check & see if there was a family website.....good luck for us, there is....and he was 55 that year, but not that day....his birthday was Aug 5, 1720....
His wife's name was Sarah (Reed)....and she died on October 16, 1775.
HW was christened, signed his will, and died on June 28, 1779. Busy day, eh?

The described descendant seems to have suffered from the same malady I first described of "wanting to be associated with someone famous", or simply the "wrong one"......normal human nature.....but the writings Bell referred to are the type that were used for mostly "entertainment purposes", not any kind of actual historical documentation......

Even when researching family lines, with a "common for the area name" like Wyman in this case, many early researchers did not have the wherewithal to make the connections correctly...when you add in the tendency to have such wonderful names like John, Sam, William, and Charles (just to name a few of the "easy ones" in the 17th century), researching a particular family can be dicey at best. Again, the use of source records & material are the keynotes between an amateur, and some one who really is intent on finding the truth. The will that Bell found (gee! Source material!) from the HW in Woburn, stated indeed, he left behind his white horse (a mare), and his gun.
Again, nothing earth shattering, many in the country side would have -had- a horse (mares preferred) and a "gun".....

Now, a quick question for you, Chris.....one of the records (??) stated that HW's house in Woburn was able to look at the Green of Lexington.....since I am a bit lazy right now, & not into looking it up; isn't what was Woburn about 3 miles or so from Lexington?
Would that house have been able to see accurately what was happening on the Green?
That part of the story sounds a tad "fishy", if you will.....

Interesting subject, and one I truly enjoy....
TTYS
LLP

[Fred]

.....the reports all agree that he aimed, fired, and someone dropped.....

    Which does not mean or imply or require that he possessed a rifle - nor, of course, does it prove the latter.

    Any of us, once skilled and practiced with any 12 gauge shooting slugs, could take aim at a body of men 200 yards away, fire, and see someone drop.

    For a rifleman, it's the one he's aiming at; for the slug-gun shooter, anyone at random, so long as he wore a red coat, will do...

[crak]

Lol there's no way he saw the green from Woburn.

[LayloPro]

Yeah, I didn't think so......three miles is kind of hard to see when you only have a possible 15' of elevation, and most of the trees around are at least twice that......

And also true on the "to whom it may concern" shots that were so plentiful that day......what I have a problem with is the family tradition that says he kept charging up to point blank range, (or there abouts) firing his musket again and again, and never once, being hit (or far more likely, his horse!)....that to me smells of "family tradition", or as the one writer called it: "Actions nigh near fabulous...."

No more different than Judge Roy Bean, who may, or may not, have been as such as he was portrayed in the movie with Paul Newman.....but I always liked the title disclaimer...."These stories may be true, or not....but if they aren't, they ought to be...."

Be well, all.
LLP

[lysander6]

"These stories may be true, or not....but if they aren't, they ought to be...."

Great quote!  This is simply a cautionary tale to be careful what we say and do.  I will continue to employ the story of HW.  In the great Homeric tradition of the Greek tragedians, their heroes WERE larger than life.  It framed the narrative and excited the listener.  When you continue to delve deeper and deeper into the history as is our wont, these things are going to be discovered.

[nyrasgt]

John Ford's "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence:"
  "When the legend becomes, fact, print the legend."
   Stories are true, for someone, in April, 1775 or thereabouts.
We're still only here because of what THEY did, and risked.
"No brag...just fact." From "The Guns of Will Sonnett," Walter Brennan,
Excelsior,
mad Mark

[AFTERMATH]

Legends are perpetually surrounded by controversy.
But the fact is; all legends are based upon at least a shred of truth.
That being so, we can only relate what we've heard.  All of April 19th, 1775 is hearsay.
None of us were there, and as far as we know all first hand accounts could be embellished as well.
Everyone observes things through their own eyes, and therefor everyone has a different perspective of the events that they experienced.
What we percieve may not be exactly what we observed; but it is often difficult to disect.  How else can two people who saw the same thing produce two different accounts?  They may not even intentionally do so, but they do. 
The British, have an entirely different perspective of the events.
And of course no accounts are likely to survive.  England has always had a way of writing history in thier favor.
Then again, don't we all?

[LayloPro]

AM,
I thought it was always "The victor writes the history books...." 

The British, have an entirely different perspective of the events.
I'd be willing to bet if you asked their families, the dead ones in particular were not real pleased with the way things turned out.....


LLP

[AFTERMATH]

AM,
I thought it was always "The victor writes the history books...." 

The British, have an entirely different perspective of the events.
I'd be willing to bet if you asked their families, the dead ones in particular were not real pleased with the way things turned out.....


LLP

We did write the books....  They just never read them!

[LayloPro]

 

[Gordon]

Well, we really teach mythology rather than history in the first place.

"Myth" is not a four-letter word (and yes I can count ascii-characters).

SoM is right, teaching mythology is a big part of what we do.

"Myth" is one of those words in our language which has been destroyed. A genuine "myth" is a story carried by a community which purports to involve some history of that community. But for a myth, the actual historicity of the story is not the point. Genuine "myths" are what communities use to define themselves, brings meaning, and express their worldview. Closely related to another detroyed word, "hero", that is, an actor in a myth whose deeds should be emulated.

So yeah, in this sense HW is totally a "myth", and an excellent one.

Of course these days when folks say "myth" they simply mean "falsehood". Like, "Myth: Coffee give is bad. Fact: Coffee is good for you". In this way, an extraordinarily important word, and hence idea, is lost in our langauge and culture. No wonder our popular "culture" produces songs saying "we don't need another hero".

We modern Americans, "Doofus Americanuses" ("D.A.'s"), have only a crude, semi-concscious sense of genuine mythology. And yet I believe we all hunger for it. One of the keys to success of Appleseed is our ability to to awaken and focus that hunger in the average D.A. and give him/her a taste of satisfying it.

Of course I'm not saying we should use the word "myth" at Appleseeds! The average D.A. would not respond well to, "Listen up everyone, we've got some cool mythology coming up!" --- Uhmmm, no! Again, this great word and the idea it represents are largely destroyed for the populatin at large. But an awareness of the idea might help us do our job more effectively.

And besides the mythic value of the stories we tell, we really do want to be as accurate as possible. Indeed, it's the combination of mythic qualities of the Story together with historical accuracy --- the fact that this really happened --- that gives the story of the Strikes so much power.

I'm telling you, there are a lot of DA's out there that hunger for this potent mythology. They just don't know it yet.



Lysander, thanks for the heads-up on Hezekiah Wyman.

[Celt]

"I never let facts get in the way of the truth"  Randall Wallace (writer of the screenplay for Braveheart)

[The Wolfhound]

In my limited retelling of the Dangerous Old Men (not always in an Appleseed setting because I love this kind of history) I start out "There are stories of a man named Hezekiah Wyman......."   Now for Samuel Whitemore, I just start out "now this man is my hero..."  I accept Whitemore as substatially more proven but not any more relevant.

[Sly223]

As with all urban legends, some of the story lines may be embelished. I think the Idea is Romantic. I think there is alot more truth than legend. Sometimes we give too much credit to peoples imagination, because we can't get past our own!

[eaglescouter]

I prefer the term "legend" instead of "myth".  Legend implies that the story has more significance and has some basis in reality. 

[fepowered]

I prefer the term "legend" instead of "myth".  Legend implies that the story has more significance and has some basis in reality. 

It is because of the common popular usage of the word Myth that many people feel this way. 
Myth does not indicate whether it is based in reality or fantasy.   A legendary story based on a historical event or events can be a myth when it is a traditional belief or story told from the perspective of a group of people.   
One of the definitions of legend is "a popular myth of recent origin".  A Legend may be a historical account which is not verifyable.
In a nutshell, the "story" of Hezehiah Wyman which we tell is both a Legend and a Myth.  Neither label infers that it is not a true account of his actions...

[fepowered]

Even if it turns out his actions were the stuff of legend instead of reality, I will simply label the story apocryphal when I tell it.

Does it really matter?

For the purposes and mission of Appleseed, No...  It does not matter if the account we tell is 100% historically accurate. 
It is most certainly a Legend and part of the Mythos of April 19th which is not to say that it is a false account.
It is the message of individual action which the story imparts on the listener which is most important and with what we should be most concerned with.

[Piker]

Does it really matter?

I had a student call me out during my telling of the Samuel Whitmore story, that we were "embellishing" the story.

I handed her my copy of Paul Reveres Ride and pointed her to the Appendix, which led her to the dog eared page on Mr. Whitmore.  It was a start, there is lots of information on the internet about key participants on April 1775.

Made me do some thinking and research.

I read the "White Horseman"  mentioned in the Article from the Pearl which I found online.

http://books.google.com/books?id=JnFMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA323#v=onepage&q&f=false

Does it really matter? There is no way to prove or disprove the legend.

What we do know is that on April 19, 1775, the colonists of Lexington, Concord and the surrounding area stood up to tyranny and became Americans. They stood on Lexington Green, They advanced on the North Bridge, and Attacked at Merriams Corner. We will never know the stories of all 15,000 plus men who answered the muster call that day.

What is indisputable is that it happened. So whether Hezekiah Wyman was "real" or just a compilation of Americans who stood up for freedom really doesn't matter. What matters is that at the end of the day April 19, 1775 events were set in motion that led to the freedoms and liberties that  that we still enjoy 235 years latter.

Do we need to add a disclaimer to our Dangerous Old Men Stories? I don't think so. We are quoting form a well respected source in Paul Reveres Ride.

We honor by remembering and telling the stories of sacrifice and courage.

And one of the best is  Hezekiah Wyman "Death on a Pale Horse"

Love the last lines in that article from the Pearl, Mrs Wyman says:

"Where have you been, husband?"

"Picking cherries!" replied Hezekiah-but he forgot to say that he had first made cherries of the redcoats, by putting PITS into them.