Page:History of Gardner, Massachusetts (1860) - Glazier.djvu/89

Rh At a distance from shelter, without defence against the inclemency of the weather, it became necessary to press on without pausing, to the camp occupied by men possessing all martial advantages, except courage and a good cause. The heavy sufferings of the night were terminated by the arrival of the troops in the very center of Petersham. The followers of Shays, trusting to the violence of the storm and the obstruction of the highways, rested in careless security. The first warning of danger was from the appearance of the advanced guard of the forces of government, after a journey of thirty miles, in the midst of their cantonment. Had an army dropped from the clouds upon the hill, the consternation could not have been greater. Panic struck, the insurgents fled without firing a gun or offering resistance to soldiers exhausted by fatigue, and almost sinking under the privations and hardships of the severe service.

The rebellion being terminated, the infliction of some punishment for the highest political crime was deemed expedient. Some of those who had been in arms against the laws, were brought to trial, convicted of treason and sentenced to death. Henry Gale, of Princeton, was the only insurgent found guilty of capital offence, in this county.

On the 23d of June, at the hour fixed for his execution by the warrant, he was led out to the gallows erected on the common, with all the solemn ceremony of such exhibitions. A reprieve was there read to him, and afterwards full pardon was given.* Proceedings for seditions practices, pending