SAMUEL WHITMORE: GENTLEMAN FARMER, AMERICAN PATRIOT AND TIMELESS INSPIRATION

Know Your Heritage:   Samuel Whittemore: Gentleman Farmer,   American Patriot and Timeless Inspiration

 

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.                          Psalm 144:1                   As Americans, we know about the significance of Lexington and Concord and “The Shot Heard around the World.” Many of the names of those involved on that faithful day have disappeared with time, but one name should stand out as a source of inspiration to all American Patriots; Samuel Whittemore.   There is some debate as to where Samuel Whittemore was born. However, he was probably born in England in 1694. Whittemore served in the British Army and rose to the rank of Captain. Captain Whittemore was drawn to the new world and he loved with his wife and his eight children to the Massachusetts  Colony. He settled in the community of Menotomy to pursue his dream of working the land as a farmer. However, Captain Whittemore’s dream of peace and tranquility would be short lived. You see, Samuel Whittemore’s hands were trained for war and his fingers for battle.    In 1763, when Captain Whittemore was 64 years old, he took up arms to fight against the French on behalf of the British. Five years later at the age of 69, he again took up arms as a Colonial militiaman to fight in the Indian Wars. Pretty impressive considering his age but this isn’t the end of Samuel Whittemore’s story… Captain Whittemore would go on to be the American Revolution’s Caleb.   In the book of Joshua, Chapter 14, we read about Caleb. Caleb was a powerful Israelite man, best known for his unwavering faith and loyalty to God during the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land. He was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses to scout out   Canaan and, unlike the majority, he believed God's promise that they could conquer the land. Caleb made a special request of Moses. He asked to occupy the land of the Anakim. The land of the Anakim was a heavily fortified city inhabited by giants. However, Caleb was not afraid. Did I mention Caleb was 85 years old at the time...   So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘The land on which your foot has walked shall certainly be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.’

 

And now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. I am still as strong today as I was on the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out just as the Lord has spoken.Joshua 14:9-12   In the 1760s, the trouble between the American Colonies and the British King had been brewing for decades. The Massachusetts Bay colony was a hot bed of resistance against the king’s tyranny. Samuel Whittemore had long since given up his loyalty to the British crown. He was now an American and wanted his children, grandchildren, and future descendants to have a voice in making their own laws, free from the whims of a distant king.   By all accounts, the morning of April 19, 1775 was cold and damp. As was his custom, Samuel Whittemore was out of the house before daybreak, working on his farm. Whittemore had heard rumors in Menotomy that the Redcoats had orders to march on Lexington and Concord. Whittemore did not think much of it. Tensions were high and it was common to hear such talk. His thinking changed when he saw the first group of 700 Redcoats march through town. As he made his way back to his house, he saw another group of British soldiers marching towards Lexington and Concord. This time there were more than a thousand in number. He knew the British would be marching back. Much like Caleb, Sam Whittemore knew what he must do.   I am still as strong today as I was on the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in.   Even though he was almost 81 years old, Samuel Whittemore returned to his home and prepared for battle. He first buckled on his sword and belt. The sword was French and had been taken from a French officer by Captain Whittemore during the French and Indian War. He then retrieved a matched pair of flintlock pistols which had also been liberated from a French Officer who had met with “sudden death” (as told by Whittemore). Lastly, he loaded his trusty musket and made his way out the door.     You see, much like Caleb, Samuel Whittemore knew who he was. He knew America was the land promised to his people by the Almighty God and Sam Whittemore was willing to go to war with giants to keep it.               Whittemore took up an ambush position behind a stone wall along the Lexington Road. Other Menotomy Minute Men formed skirmish lines in preparation to meet the British head on. The Minute Men plead with Samuel to move to a safer spot, but Sam proclaimed, “If I can only be the instrument of killing one of my country's foes, I shall die in peace.”   When the British drew near, the Menotomy Minute Men  started firing and then retreated out of range to reload their weapons.   However, Sam never waivered from his spot behind the stonewall. He waited in his ambush position until the Redcoats were almost right in front of him. At the last possible second, he leapt out. He first fired his musket, he then drew the brace of pistols and at almost point-blank range, fired both pistols. The result was two dead redcoats and one mortally wounded dying on the ground.   In between the chaos and smoke, a British soldier was able to close the distance on Samuel. The redcoat fired his musket at Whittemore’s head. The musket ball tore through his cheek, and ripped off most of one side of Sam’s face. The concussion of the muzzle blast threw Whittemore to the ground where a group of British soldiers surrounded and attacked him.   For a time, Sam managed to fend off the British bayonets with his sword until a soldier struck him on the head with a musket butt. The soldiers then went mad with rage and bayoneted Samuel 13 times. The people of the town overheard the redcoats as they exclaimed, “We have killed the old rebel bastard!”   The British left Menotomy and continued their retreat towards Boston. They paid the price though. The British left 40 of their soldiers dead on the ground and 80 wounded. About four hours later after the last British troops finally disappear in the distance, the Menotomy town people and Minute Men came out of their homes and off their farms in order to collect their wounded and dead.   Many fully expected to find Sam Whittemore's body, since a number of them witnessed his fight and saw him fall. Imagine their shock and surprise when they discovered him alive and in the process of reloading his musket, hoping to get one last shot at the retreating Redcoats.               Using a door as a makeshift stretcher, the towns people loaded Sam up and carried him to nearby Cooper Tavern. Dr. Nathaniel Tufts from Medford attended Whittemore’s extensive and rather horrific wounds. The townspeople recounted all of this in quite graphic detail in their letters and journals.

 

Certain that Whittemore would die from internal bleeding and injuries, Dr. Tufts remarked that even attempting to dress so many wounds was useless. Only because friends and family insisted did he patch Sam up the best he could before sending him home to die.   However, Samuel Whittemore did not die. He lived to see the Colonies throw off the chains of tyranny and declare their independence from the British Crown. He lived another 18 years dying at the age of 99… of old age.   At the time of his death, Samuel Whittemore had 185 children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great great-grandchildren. He left them an inheritance of the land, the example of a warrior and the legacy of liberty. At the time of his death, they were free Americans and not the subjects of a counterfeit king.   The land on which your foot has walked shall certainly be an   inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully. In fidelity to our God, men like Samuel Whittemore have left to us the same inheritance, example and legacy.               We all grow older and hopefully wiser. As we do, let us remember the  stories of Caleb and Samuel Whittemore. There is no time like the present to be a patriot and a warrior in  service to our Lord, King Jesus.               May we be prepared and willing to face the giants… in whatever form they may come.

  From the Scriptures for America Dragon Slayer newsletter, 2025 Vol. 8.

AH: Despite the errors, I thought it was worth posting this article concerning this little-known and remarkable historical figure.