The bare bones of James Merrick’s life are as follows: He was the grandson of the first of my Merrick branch to settle in North America (Thomas Merrick). He was born in 1698 in Springfield, Massachusetts Colony, the son of James and Sarah Hitchcock Merrick. He married Martha Ely in Springfield in 1726. The couple’s first five children were born in West Springfield (four sons and a daughter). In 1734, Captain Merrick purchased 100 acres of Robert Olds farm in an area of Brimfield that eventually became Monson, Massachusetts. In 1736, Merrick purchased the remaining 20 acres of the farm after Olds died (History of Monson, Mass). James and Martha had two more sons in Monson. He was an active member of the church and a selectman. Captain Merrick lived in Monson until his death and is buried in Oak Knoll Cemetery in Palmer, Massachusetts (Find A Grave).
This all sounds like a quiet, bucolic life for a prosperous colonial farmer in Western, Massachusetts, but it was not always a peaceful time. There were four wars fought at least partly on Massachusetts’ soil during James Merrick’s lifetime, so the Colony of Massachusetts was at war for about 33 of his 92 years.
Men in the colonies, especially the border colonies such as Massachusetts during the 100 years preceding the Revolution, were frequently called upon to help defend their settlements from attacks by Native Americans and the French. Being part of a local town militia was a voluntary service asked of all able-bodied men. Beginning in 1670, colonial governments also formed Provincial Troops to fight with British regulars. Provincial troops were raised and paid for by each colony, and generally volunteered full time to serve for one campaign season (Provincial Troops in the French and Indian Wars).
Queen Anne’s War lasted from 1702-1713 as the French and British fought over territory along the northern frontier (History of Queen Anne’s War). James was about six years old in 1704 when the French and their Native American allies attacked the settlement of Deerfield (The Deerfield Massacre). 48 settlers were killed, the settlement was burned, and 112 hostages (including one of our relatives) were taken to Canada. Deerfield was 35 miles from Springfield. Springfield itself had been attacked and burned by Native Americans in 1675, and, especially after the Deerfield Massacre, the residents of Springfield and the local militia were always on guard and worried about surprise attacks.
“New England was recurrently a place of war, especially during the hundred years preceding the revolution…there were numerous skirmishes, entirely local and so obscure as not to have earned a name. All of them exacted a cost, in time, in money, in worry – and in blood.”
The Deerfield Massacre, American Heritage
King George’s War lasted from 1744-1748. Again, the British were battling the French forces along the border as each tried to push into the other’s territory. In 1746, 900 French and their Native American allies sent raiding parties into the Hoosiac Valley and captured Fort Massachusetts at North Adams (Fort Massachusetts). The fort was about 57 miles from Springfield. The Massachusetts’ government had to raise Provincial forces to help British forces protect the border lands. The colonial governments were forced to draft men when enough soldiers did not volunteer. Ensign James Merrick’s name was on a list of sixteen officers and men impressed (or drafted) to be “sent to the Western Frontiers for Defense in the Time of the Alarm in June 1747.” (History of Monson). No other details of his service have been found.
The French and Indian War lasted from 1754-1763. According to family tradition, then 58 year old Captain Merrick served under Major General Winslow in 1756. Winslow was in charge of Provincial troops who were preparing to attack Fort St. Frederic, New York. In March of 1756, Lord Loudoun arrived from Britain and he and Major General Winslow fought over Loudoun’s plans to integrate British and Provincial troops. According to Wikipedia, the jist of the problem was that Provincial troops enlisted under their own officers and expected to serve only under their own officers. Winslow feared that Provincial troops would not deal well with the hard discipline (including floggings and hangings) that were part of the regular British Army. Provincial officers were also afraid of losing their rank since they were commissioned by the Colonial government. Despite a near mutiny of provincial troops and officers, Winslow resigned and the remaining Provincial troops had to serve under Loudoun as the British demanded (Wikipedia). As a provincial officer, Captain Merrick would likely have been in the middle of this entire scuffle.
A year later, in 1757, Captain Merrick (still in the Provincial army) was (according to family history) stationed at Fort William Henry. The garrison at the fort was a combination of British regulars and Provincial troops. The fort was attacked and besieged by the French and their allies in August of 1757. After two days of a siege, the British commander surrendered. The terms of the surrender were supposed to allow the British troops to leave the fort and go to another nearby fort. The French were not able to control their over 2,000 Native American allies, and retreating British troops were scalped or killed, and women, children, and servants were taken prisoner (Seige of Fort William Henry). This event was the inspiration for James Fenimore Cooper’s book, The Last of the Mohicans. Unfortunately, there’s no record of Captain James Merrick’s experiences at the siege.
Captain Merrick’s sons, Lieutenant Gideon, Phineas, and Aaron Merrick, were all listed in various companies from the Brimfield/Monson are. Our County and Its People writes that “Capt. Merrick and his sons, James, Aaron and Gideon, are said to have served in the French and Indian wars” (Our County and Its People, pg. 268).
Finally, James, at age 78, was too old to join the militia during the Revolutionary War. But it was the fourth major war that took place at least partly on Massachusetts’ soil during his lifetime.
Captain James Merrick did not leave behind any stories about his military service. He “lived to tell the tale” but unfortunately didn’t write them down for us. Beyond the basic outlines, details of his service are all speculation – but we do have the recorded military history of the events that took place where we believe he was serving. The scant records of his military service allow us to at least learn about what he experienced if he was present at these events. It gives us an idea of how this patriot in our family tree defended and fought for his town and his colony.
See a diorama of the Fort William Henry Seige
Sources
Captain James Merrick; Find A Grave; retrieved 5/26/21
Fort Massachusetts; Historic North Adams
History of Monson; Monson Historical Society; Monson, Massachusetts; 1960; pg. 9; retrieved from Internet Archive 5/25/21
History of King George’s War; History of Massachusetts Blog; https://historyofmassachusetts.org/king-georges-war/; retrieved 5/24/21
History of Queen Anne’s War; History of Massachusetts Blog; https://historyofmassachusetts.org/queen-annes-war/; retrieved 5/26/21
History of the French and Indian War; History of Massachusetts Blog; https://historyofmassachusetts.org/french-and-indian-war/; retrieved 5/25/21
“Our county and its people” : A history of Hampden County, Massachusetts; Copeland, Alfred M. (Alfred Minott), b. 1830, ed
Seige of Fort William Henry; Wikipedia; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Fort_William_Henry; retrieved 5/28/21
The Deerfield Massacre; American Heritage; https://www.americanheritage.com/deerfield-massacre