Beverly, MA Library talk - April 25 9:30AM

[Sprocket]

Let me start by saying this is NOT and RWVA member that I know of but I will be attending the talk and taking notes.  I'll be inquiring about giving the strikes and/or DOM&W at another date.

Ping me if you can make it and we can grab a coffee beforehand.

See below for details

Beverly, MA Library talk

Monday April 25, 2011
9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Main Library
Sohier Room
'The Lost and Legendary Riders of April 19th'
Beyond Paul Revere and his companions, Americans have passed along stories of other notable riders who spread the alarm about the British on April 19, 1775. Historian John L. Bell investigates the facts and fiction behind such figures as Hezekiah Wyman, the dreaded "White Horseman"; Abel Benson and Abigail Smith, children said to have helped raise the alarm in Middlesex County; and Israel Bissell, the post rider credited with carrying news of the fight all the way to Philadelphia.

[dwarven1]

I'm looking forward to reading the notes. I'll be working on Monday morning so there's no way I can attend.

[Sprocket]

John L. Bell gave the lecture - this was by no means a discussion but it had some interesting points.  I would label the lecture as "Mythbusting Historical Events & People".

Apparently Hezakia Wyman is fictional based on the fact there there is no record of him being in a militia - there were also some other interesting points about "Death on a Pale Horse".  One woman from the Middleton Historical Society told the room that they have their own pale rider that eventually had to walk his horse home.

Pure speculation on my part but "The Pale Ride" could just very well be several pale riders...

Some other lesser known stories were dissected and debunked.

A gentleman from the Bunker Hill Historical Society (or similarly named group of re-enactors) explained that the term "That's the way the ball bounces" is a reference to the inaccuracy of firelocks...

I contacted the event coordinator and expressed interest in speaking and we agreed to touch base via email to stay in touch - the program series is ending for the summer with all the slots booked.  I suggested doing a couple talks to frame the events up to April 19, 1775 and the events of the day itself next year as part of the lead up to Pats Day.  More to follow as events warrant.

Overall it was worth my time and reinforces the thought that we shouldn't let facts get in the way of a good story as long as the story motivates others to take action.

[crak]

There is a blog series about debunking Wyman.  Can't look it up atm, but despite showing the fictional origin of some parts of the story (wading through the redcoats with a saber, seeing the green from Woburn) and discrediting some guy who claimed to be a descendant  with his musket, he did find a death record of roughly the right age with a pale horse in the will! 

[Sprocket]

The lecture was given by J.L.Bell of Boston1775.net fame - he did have some research suggesting Hezekia Wyman existed but dismissed it based on his lack of formally signing up for militia or other army service during the revolution specifically.  I resisted asking about records for the French-Indian War, etc. due to the flow of the Q&A session.

One thing he explained was the use of stories titled "Legend" - such as the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.  These stories include real places with untraceable historical facts and include a big moral message - The Scarlet Letter was another example.  It seems that when the readers understand the Legend is fiction, they accept the story and go from there.  Whereas when the reader forgets or misunderstands the story to be more factual than they were intended the story becomes more accepted as facts and propagated from there.

The speaker also qualified a lot of points made to be his interpretation of the facts as he found during research.  I took that to read: "take with a grain of salt" which led me to think of Milton at the end of Office Space - "Large grains of salt..."