History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts - citizen hylbom blog

448 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
17, 1830. The address delivered by Kev. Convers
Francis on this occasion was embodied in his his-
tory of the town, published soon afterward. A.
centennial celebration was held, July 4, 1876, at
Wliite's Hill Grove, and an address was delivered
by William H. Ingraham, Esq., president of the day.
The oration by Rev. J. F. Lovering contained
many interesting passages from the early records of
the town.
Between the hours of one and two in the after-
noon of .luly 21, 1811, occurred the most destruc-
tive fire ever known in Watertown. Originating
in the stable of the Spring Hotel, a strong south-
west wind communicated the tlames to nearly every
building in its range to leeward for nearly a mile.
The new and beautiful meeting-house, erected by
the First Parisli in 1836, the interior of which was
elegantly fitted up, took fire from some sparks that
lodged in the upper part of the building, and,
together with its valuable organ, was entirely con-
sumed. Besides injuring tJie hotel (which was of
brick), the fire destroyed the grocery store of John
Clark, the bakery and dwelling of Francis Leathe,
John Lenox's barber-shop, and the dwellings of
Messrs. Loud, Dana, Stratton, William Sherwin,
and Colonel Livermore.
xVt tlie first towu-nu-ctini,' in Watcrtown to act
upon matters relatiiii: in the \V,ir of Ihc Kcbcllidii,
held April -ll, 1S61 , scvcnd patriotic speeches were
made by the clergymen of the town and others,
and §5,000 were appropriated to aid in forming a
new military organization. The company thus ini-
tiated had its full complement of men in one week's
time, went into camp at Cambridge July 3, and
served through the war as Company K, 16th Regiment
Massachusetts Volunteers. It left camp
August 17, 1861, under Colonel Powell T. Wyman;
it was in the campaign before Richmond
(losing its colonel at Glcndale), Second Bull Run,
Fredericksburg, Cliancellorsville, Gettysburg, the
Wihh'Mirss, .S|)(ittsylv,iniM, and Petersburg, and
has in>ri'ihc(l ii|jiin ils banner the names of twenty-
nine lull le-licl