Asa's Legacy

It was a different time for Americans, back in 1738, when our country was young and a strong pioneering people faced obstacles and challenges that would be unimaginable to most of us today.

Conditions were harsh. The hills and plains were covered with vegetation and swamp that needed to be cleared and there was a never ending fear of the unknown--of whether there would be enough food harvested to make it through the winter, enough firewood to warm the body, enough faith to feed the soul and enough strength to fight the predators.

But, it was then and there, that Asa was born--the first son to a common laborer and his young wife, who were documented as being "free persons of color"-- who had been born in this country to parents who had the hope of living free from repression, within a land where they could freely and openly practice their faith.

It was a life lost and a life gained as the sounds of new life entering a world were heard--the newborn wailing in harmony to the quiet sobs of his father, grieving over the lifeless body of his one and only love, the woman who had carried his child into this world.

Asa never learned to read or write but it didn't seem to bother him much, as neither had his lighter skinned friends and neighbors, who lived in the small Massachusetts town where he was born. Most children of that time didn't have the luxury of concentrating on full time educational endeavors or engage in other childish ways as they do today.

But he did learn how to survive in an uncertain world, raised by his father who taught him how to farm, to fish, to hunt, to gather food and how to make a warm fire. He became proficient in tilling and sowing fields and building fences. Developing a strong work ethic, coupled with a strong of loyalty, he acquired attributes that would endure throughout a lifetime. And, by the age of ten, when he found himself orphaned and alone, he knew how to care for himself.

By the age of thirteen and lured by a shining British pound, he joined the British Army. Tall, dark complected and stately, he served as body servants to the military officers and served most of his career within the British Military, stationed in Canada.

Military ways were familiar to him. Afterall, he was with his father, a militia soldier, at Scarborough, Maine. where he served with twelve other men, protecting the colonies and colonists from Indian Attacks during the Colonial Wars.

In 1775, at the age of age of thirty seven, while stationed in Louisbourg, Canada, he heard the whispers of rebellion brewing from within the colonies where he had grown up. A call was put out to all loyal patriots to stand beside their fellow men to fight for the freedom of America.

Desertion from the British military was risky and if caught, deserters were immediately hung. But Asa placed his fears aside and with his cousins, set off for the long walk home. It wasn't long before the British discovered their disappearance and patrols were sent to apprehend them. Asa and his cousins ducked in and out through the thick of the forests to a river, where they clung to the bottom of a bridge while patrols scoured the area, actively seeking them. Cold and weary from dangling in the icy water, they finally crawled out, after the British gave up the futile search, and began the long trek back home to Massachusetts, on foot.

It was a long, dangerous journey, through snow and mud covered swamps and mountains. A confrontation occurred with Indians and one cousin was captured. Finally, in the early summer of 1776, he and his surviving cousin stumbled into Cambridge, Massachusetts, barefoot, ragged and hungry--and straight into the arms of his friends, with whom he maintained a lifelong relationship.

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, Thomas Jefferson had written the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness." which echoed strong and clear throughout the colonies.

I suspect those words meant more to Asa and other persons of color, who lived within the colonies, such as Revolutionary War Hero, Salem Poor, Peter Salem and countless others, than it meant to others for they immediately joined their fellow neighbors and fought side by side with the local militas against the British. However, shortly thereafter, George Washington took command of the American forces and disallowed the black soldiers the opportunity to formally enlist.

Finally, in February of 1777, Washington rescinded his order and Asa immediately enlisted within the 6th Massachusetts Regiment. From that time, until June of 1783, when the troops were released after the British surrendered, he served as one of the longest serving soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

Service wasn't easy and conditions were difficult. Soldiers had to walk from Essex County, Massachusetts to West Point, New York several times a year to report to duty. The military often didn't have enough food to feed the troops or enough clothing to keep them warm. But they never lost sight of their final objective, despite the difficulties.

Asa served alongside General Putnam, as his body servant. Putnam was familiar with Asa, having grown up with his father, when his father was a child and the General and the Body Servant were fiercely loyal toward one another. Asa continued to serve under him until December of 1779, when the General suffered a stroke.

He fought in the battle of Saratoga, on the outskirts of New York City and was at Cherry Valley, New York during the ugliest and bloodiest battle of the war, in which many in his unit were slaughtered by Indians who were allied by the British and who also massacred the civilians of the small community. Helplessly, he and others were trapped within a fort, surrounded, while hundreds of Indians and British soldiers attacked the small community.

At the age of forty five, he returned home and married an Irish woman. During a time when most men were preparing to retire, he was just beginning life and starting a family. He worked in the fields, alongside his children and never complained. He was grateful and he was free. He appreciated life and he loved America.

In 1812, his sons set off to fight in another war to protect America from yet another attack by the British. Asa was a seventy-four old widow. Disabled and crooked from years of hard abuse upon his body, he was left alone to fend for his younger children. Unable to provide for them, tears filled his eyes as they were taken from his home and bonded out to families which resided in Maine. A pauper, he remained behind, in his small village, cared for by the town and residing with family members of General Putnam, who cared for him until his death.

In 1817, wheels creaked as they approached the small framed home where Asa slept in a bedroom. Onlookers gaped as they saw the dignified Supreme Court Justice step from the carriage and enter the house, where he sought to speak with Asa.

Asa was too infirm to travel to Salem to apply for a military pension, so Supreme Court Justice Samuel Putnam traveled from there to his village where he personally took Asa's affidavit. They spoke for a long while, of Asa's life, growing up in the village, of Putnam's grandfather and of Asa's children. Asa lamented he had no legacy to leave behind for his children.

Little did he know. Legacies of wealth and splendor waste away quickly and are seldom enduring --however legacies of strength, honor and perseverance endure forever. Asa gave his children and grandchildren. for generations to come, the gift of freedom and the precious rights we hold today, through the strength and sacrifices he made during his lifetime.

His legacy has endured in each and every generation of his family, from him, to his son Aaron, who became a major landholder and the father of the first "non white" elected official in Maine, to his son Moses, who stood strong as an abolitionist in Illinois, prior to and during the Civil War, to his son David, who served as a First Sergeant in the Thirteenth U.S. Infantry alongside General William Tecumseh, to his son Harry, who served as a Sergeant in the 39th Telegraph Unit in World War I, to his son, Harry, who served as a Sergeant during World War II, to his son, Jim, who served as a Sergeant during the Vietnam War and his daughter, who served also during that time and finally to the last generation who served during the Iraq War.

Asa left behind a legacy of appreciation for freedom, strength to stand up in order to preserve it and to protect America, at all costs...and the framework of ethics for survival in life-- a strong work ethic, of honest dealings with others, of charitable living and of loyalty to family and friends.

Asa didn't think he left much behind, but hindsight is far better than foresight. If he were to be here today, I am certain he would agree with his descendants, there is no greater legacy that that Asa's Legacy.