General William Shepard

Major-General William Shepard was born in Westfield on Dec. 1, 1737 He attended the common schools, engaged in agricultural pursuits, and served in the French and Indian wars for six years. He was a member of the Committee of Correspondence for Westfield in 1774, and was a lieutenant colonel of Minutemen in April 1775. He entered the Continental Army in May 1775 as Lieutenant Colonel and was commissioned Colonel of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment on October 6, 1776, serving throughout the Revolutionary War, including winter at Valley Forge, PA. where he commanded the 4th Division of the Massachusetts militia, under the overall command of General John Glover.

He fought in 22 battles during the war and defended the Springfield arsenal during Shays’ Rebellion in 1787, is among 50 to 60 Revolutionary War veterans buried in the historic Mechanic Street cemetery.

Following the war Shepard became involved in politics and was elected to the state Legislature, four times to the U.S. House of Representatives; he was elected as a Federalist to the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Congresses (March 4, 1797-March 3, 1803) He also served as a member of the Governor’s council of Massachusetts (1792-1796). He returned to Westfield and continued his agricultural pursuits .He died on November 16, 1817 and was intered at the Mechanic Street Cemetary (Old Burying Ground).

This collection highlights Gen. Shepard's military correspondence, orderly book in Glover's army and has a few images of Shepard's home and gives pages from his family bible.

For more information on the Archives' holdings on General Shepard see: westath.org/archives-a-z

For more information on Shay's Rebellion see: STCC's site http://shaysrebellion.stcc.edu/

The correspondence are largely in chronological order.