COUNT HUM FORD 



33 



was Governor Wentworth, who made him Major of the Second Provin- 

 cial Regiment. This appointment aroused hostile criticism from 

 Thompson's fellow officers, who could not repress their indignation on 

 learning that a young man, not yet of age and without military knowl- 

 edge, had been raised above veterans whose long service justly entitled 

 them to advancement. It will be shown presently that this incident 

 prevented Thompson from engaging in the revolutionary struggle and 

 led him to foreign lands where his genius had a wider field for 



Birthplace at Wobvux, Mass. 



development, and where he soon became closely associated with the 

 most learned and accomplished men of Europe. 



In 1774 he left Concord with his wife and infant child and re- 

 turned to Woburn. Charges were circulated that he was unfriendly 

 to the cause of American liberty, and soon after the battle of Lexington 

 he was arrested, and confined at Woburn. His case was heard by the 

 Town Committee of Correspondence, by whom he was released. The 

 principal evidence presented against him was that he had employed on 

 his farm two British deserters, who, wishing to return to the British 

 army, applied to their employer to secure immunity from punishment. 

 Thompson complied by giving them a letter to General Gage, in which 

 he asked that his efforts in their behalf be not disclosed. 



VOL. LXXIII.- 



