Captain Park Holland wrote this reminiscence account of Shays’ Rebellion (1786-1787) in 1834. A severe recession followed the American Revolution, leaving many in Massachusetts in deep debt. The value of paper money became almost worthless and coinage was scarce, making payments nearly impossible. A number of towns petitioned the state government for relief funds and as they were not forthcoming and the number of lawsuits mounted, faith in the judicial system failed and thousands marched to close courthouses. In August of 1786, Daniel Shays successfully led a group of insurgents, known as “Regulators,” to Northampton to prevent the court there from sitting. In September, a company of militia was called out from the Connecticut River Valley towns to defend the Supreme Court in Springfield from the mob. Holland fought on the side of the government, in Benjamin Lincoln’s army. He was not in Springfield, Massachusetts, on January 25, 1787, but relates the movements of Lincoln’s army as it pursued the Regulators. Holland was generally sympathetic to the Regulators. He understood what the lack of hard currency was doing to his fellow citizens and what caused men to act to close the courts. He also identified with many of the men who were fighting because they were veterans of the American Revolutionary War, as was he. In fact, one of the Regulators who was killed at the Springfield arsenal had served in the same regiment as Holland.
Holland, Capt. Park. Excerpts from Remembrance of Captain Park Holland and his participation in Shays’ Rebellion. 1834. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l07-053/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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