“In the eighteenth century, ministers were leading members of their communities. Beyond their role in interpreting scripture, they often were among the most well-educated and active in all aspects of town life.”
A prominent minister from Concord, the Rev. William Emerson, spoke passionately about the cause of political liberty in the American colonies. While not opposed to take up arms to secure those liberties, he also counseled caution as tensions rose in the spring of 1775.
"Let every single Step taken in this most intricate Affair, be upon the Defensive," cautioned Concord's minister, Rev. William Emerson on 13 March 1775. "God Forbid that we should give our Enemies the Opportunity of saying justly that we have brought a civil War upon ourselves, by the smallest offensive Action."
Rev. William Emerson
Sources
Gross: Gross, Robert A. The Minutemen and their World, Revised and Expanded edition, (New York: Picador, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022), 108.
