Excerpt from History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, Now Called the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, 1637-1888, Vol. 2: 1738-1821Publication and to the historian of the Company, and has been helpful in the preparation of this second volume.It was originally intended that this volume should cover the entire period of the second century of the Company's existence, but the large number of members of the Company active in the Revolutionary War, and the prominent parts they took in the stirring events in and around Boston during that period, defeated the original intention. This volume, therefore, ends with the town government of Boston and the third volume will commence with the year 1822, when the city government of Boston was inaugurated.In 1783, just after the declaration of peace, the population of Boston numbered about ten thousand in 1821, forty-five thousand. Young men from various parts of New England rushed to its metropolis and established themselves in trade or mechanical pursuits. Many of them became members of the Artillery Company, some of whom, after a short residence in Boston, removed to other localities. It has been impossible to learn whence some of them came or whither they went. The facts recorded concerning these members are therefore comparatively few.The arbitrary system adopted in the former volume is continued in this. Each year, from 1738 to 1821, is complete in itself. The records of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company are given in full in this and the preceding volume, from the earliest preserved record (1698) until the year 1800. Subsequent, to the last mentioned date, those portions of the records which are of value in presenting a correct account of the Company are inserted in the text. During the present century, the records have been kept with much care, and enter largely into the details of Company affairs. Such matters as reports of committees on arrangements for anniversaries, names and number of guests invited, names of members admitted or discharged, and minor details of Company business are omitted, while the essential facts, constituting a portion of the history of the Company, have been recorded in their appropriate places.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.