Chelmsford had several people who distinguished themselves during the Revolutionary War. Captain John Ford who cutdown British soldiers with his precision musket shots from atop Hardy Hill on the Battle Road in Concord is one of them. Also, Lt. Col. Moses Parker who fought at Breeds Hill until the gun powder ran out. Here’s the story of another who rallied the troops with his musical talents.
When the Chelmsford minuteman assembled in Chelmsford Center the morning of April 19, 1776 John Ford was in charge of one of the company’s, the 27th Reginent. The fifer of his company was Barzillia Lew, a free black man. Barzillia, pronounced BAR-zeal-eye means “my iron” in Hebrew.(1)
Born in Groton, Massachusetts a free black person he served with the British in the French and Indian War in 1760. In the mid 1760’s Barzillia moved to Chelmsford and worked as a cooper making barrels.(2)
Lew also served with Captain John Ford as a solder, fifer and drummer at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. It was said that during the battle, Lew kept American morale high with his fife version of “There’s Nothing Makes the British Run like ‘Yankee Doodle Dandy.’” In 1943, musician Duke Ellington wrote a piano piece in honor of Barzillai Lew immortalizing him.(3)
When the Revolutionary War ended, Lew returned to the Chelmsford area and built a farm in the Pawtucketville section of Dracut, now Lowell. Here, he and his wife Dinah raised their 13 children.
One of his descendants, a great, great grandson named Harry “Bucky” Lew was the first black professional basketball player. More importantly, Bucky Lew had direct influence on the full integration of major league sports in America.(5)
(2) https://aaregistry.org/story/barzillai-lew-colonial-soldier-born/
(3) https://massachusetts250.org/event/the-barzillai-lew-project-a-duke-ellington-concert/
(4) https://aaregistry.org/story/barzillai-lew-colonial-soldier-born/
(5) Book by Chris Boucher called Harry “Bucky” Lew. Page 5.
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