History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

510 HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTON. [ITSr.
Movements of Gen. At two o'clock Oil tlie Diorning of the 28"",
L'^'^o''!- Gen. Lincoln marclied from Springfield in
pursnit of Sliays. When he reached Amherst
he found that Shays had retreated to Pelham, and
taken a strong position on two high hills. Nearly all the
men of Amherst carrying with them such provisions as
were most available, followed the insurgents to Pelham,
and Lincoln, having searched the houses and finding nothing,
turned off to Hadley, where he encamped, remaining
there till the 3'^ of February. While Gen. Lincoln remained
in Hadley, his headquarters were at the house of
Gen. Elisha Porter, High Sheriff. The troops, said to be
over three thousand one hundred in number, were distribu-
ted throughout the village ; some of them were billeted in
almost every house. The field-pieces were placed on the
north side of the meeting-house. Prayers were held in the
street nearly opposite Gen. Porter's house, and the soldiers
were assembled there every day. A heap of snow about
six feet in height served for a pulpit. As the voice of Dr.
Hopkins, the minister of Hadley, was too feeble for the
task. Dr. Lyman came over from Hatfield, mounted the
pulpit and offered earnest and fervent prayers in a voice
that could be distinctly heard by the entire army. The
troops were exercised daily. ^
Negotiations with While at Hadley, Gen. Lincoln forwarded
^^^y^- a dispatch to Shays under date of January
30*'', in which he was told that he was in a
tight place, and that the best way out of it was to surrender
at discretion. In this letter Lincoln said to him —
:
"Your resources are few, your force is inconsiderable, and hourly
decreasing from the dissatisfaction of your men ; you are in a post
where you have neither cover nor supplies, and in a situation in which
you can neither give aid to your friends, nor discomfort to the supporters
of good order and government. Under these circumstances you
cannot hesitate a moment to disband your deluded followers. If yoii
should not, I must approach and apprehend the most influential char-
acters among you. Should you attempt to fire upon the troops of the
government, the consequences must be fatal to many of your men, the
least guilty. To prevent bloodshed, you will communicate to your privates,
that if they vdll instantly lay down their arms and surrender
themselves to government, and take and subscribe to the oath of alle-
1 Hampshire Gazette, Jan'y SO"", 1834.