War of 1812

The War of 1812 left little mark on Billerica's records. Henry Hazen, writing in 1883, found that "of the part which this town took in the War of 1812, and in the Mexican War, the town and State archives contain no record," and judged that Billerica probably had soldiers in both but that "the number was small, and the scenes of action were too remote to leave any distinct impression." No town meeting vote on bounties, quotas or soldiers' families during the war has been found, in contrast to the many such votes of the Revolution.

The town's politics help explain the silence. John Farmer, writing his memoir of Billerica in 1816, the year after the peace, said that "the political character of the town has ever been decidedly federal," that is, Federalist, the party that controlled Massachusetts and opposed the war with Great Britain. Billerica had grown large enough by 1809 to send two representatives to the General Court, and Josiah Crosby, its representative from 1810, still held the seat when Farmer wrote.

A few men of Billerica families are known to have served. Two sons of Reuben Durrant, who had kept the tavern at the Corner since 1792, were soldiers: Joel Durrant, born in 1780, "d. in the Army, at Governor's Island," in New York harbor, in 1812, leaving a wife, Lydia Conant of Concord, and three children; and his brother Joseph, born in 1784, who had moved to northern Vermont, later "drew pension for wound received in the War of 1812" and died at Middlebury in 1853. Hazen's register also records that William Richardson, a son of Asa Richardson and Sarah Tufts, "was a soldier in the war of 1812"; he was afterward known as Captain Richardson, kept the store and tavern at the Centre, served as a selectman in 1821 to 1823 and became postmaster in 1824.

No Billerica company is known to have been detached for the defense of the coast in 1814, when the governor called out militia to guard Boston and the seaports, and no roll naming the town has been found. The war came during a period of change at the North Billerica falls: the Building of the Middlesex Canal had been completed in 1803, and in 1811 Francis Faulkner came from Acton and began making woolen goods there, the second enterprise of its kind in New England. Neither the canal company's use of its Billerica works nor Faulkner's mill has been tied to the war in the sources consulted.

People

• Joel Durrant: Son of Reuben Durrant of the tavern at the Corner; died in the army at Governor's Island, New York, in 1812.
• Reuben Durrant: Billerica tavern keeper whose sons Joel and Joseph served in the War of 1812.
• William Richardson: Son of Asa Richardson and Sarah Tufts; Hazen records that he was a soldier in the War of 1812; later Capt. William Richardson.

References

1. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 283: of the town's part in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War "the town and State archives contain no record"; probably few soldiers.
2. Hazen, Genealogical Register, p. 44: Reuben Durrant, tavern keeper at the Corner from 1792; his son Joseph, b. 1784, drew a pension for a wound received in the War of 1812.
3. Hazen, Genealogical Register, p. 45: Joel Durrant, son of Reuben, b. June 22, 1780, m. Lydia Conant of Concord, "d. in the Army, at Governor's Island, 1812."
4. Hazen, Genealogical Register, p. 119: children of Asa Richardson and Sarah Tufts; William, b. February 24, 1784, "was a soldier in the war of 1812."
5. Hazen, p. 280: Francis Faulkner came from Acton in 1811 and began the manufacture of woolen goods at North Billerica, the second such enterprise in New England.
6. John Farmer, An Historical Memoir of Billerica (1816), p. 20: "The political character of the town has ever been decidedly federal."
7. Farmer, Historical Memoir (1816), p. 21: two representatives from 1809; Josiah Crosby, Esq. representative from 1810 and still serving in 1816.
8. Records of the Massachusetts Volunteer Militia called out by the Governor to suppress a threatened invasion during the War of 1812-14 (1913): the published rolls of the 1814 call-out; no Billerica entry found.