The day was Sunday, September 1, 1675 and King Philip's War
was raging. The Wampanoag tribe was advancing upon Hadley,
Massachusetts after creating a diversion, luring colonial troops away
from the town. Hadley residents were in church (because they were
Puritans and that's what Puritans did all day on Sunday) when an old man
whom no one had ever seen burst in. The man had long white beard, white
hair, and was wearing outdated English clothing. He warned the
townspeople of the attack and then organized and led a successful
defense against the Wampanoags. After the battle, the man disappeared
and was never seen in Hadley again. The townspeople believed that God
had sent an angel to rescue their town.
John
Russell, the pastor in Hadley at the time, told the truth about the
Angel on his deathbed. The Angel of Hadley was actually Willam Goffe,
one of the judges who sentenced King Charles I to death in 1648. When the
monarchy was restored in 1660, Goffe fled to America and one of his
hiding places was a secret room in the home of John Russell in Hadley.
The more interesting truth behind the Angel of
Hadley legend is actually very surprising. It never happened. The legend
was started by Ezra Stiles, former President of Yale University, in his
book A History of Three Judges of King Charles I. Several authors
have since used the legend in one way or another, including Nathaniel
Hawthorne.
Source: Emerson College Digication
Damien's note: In the usually (ahem!) reliable way of Wikipedia, this tale is accounted "possibly apocryphal." Ya think?
One thing I always wonder about stories such as this, in which God intervenes by sending an angel or some such to lead people into battle, is why God didn't simply stop the attack by leading the attackers in a circle and never into battle at all. But then, I'm not God, so what do I know about the divine wisdom in choosing to lead people into battle instead of leading them into peacemaking.
One thing I always wonder about stories such as this, in which God intervenes by sending an angel or some such to lead people into battle, is why God didn't simply stop the attack by leading the attackers in a circle and never into battle at all. But then, I'm not God, so what do I know about the divine wisdom in choosing to lead people into battle instead of leading them into peacemaking.
God does work in mysterious ways after all.
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