Page:Samuel F. Batchelder - Bits of Harvard History (1924).pdf/332

 into decay, and freely admitted the snow and bitter winds of the hilltops. So bad indeed was their state that strong efforts were made to follow the precedent of two years before and take the Harvard buildings once again for barracks. But to turn over the halls to the patriot heroes was one thing; it was quite another to vacate them for the sake of a despised and vanquished foe. The college authorities objected most strenuously, on the pretext that such action was unnecessary. In the end they succeeded in a compromise, whereby the only building given up was the small structure on the site of the present College House. This was appropriated for some of the superior officers. For the rest, Ensign Anburey wrote:

The probable ultimate fate of most of the barracks is here suggested. As all the vicinity of Boston had been swept bare of firewood, it is most likely that these rough sheds, as they dropped to pieces, were gradually appro-