The True Story of Bissell's Ride in 1775

HINSDALE, Mass. — The town of Hinsdale celebrates its 200th anniversary this year and that is a cause for joy, a statement of the enduring qualities of Berkshire County history.

The town naturally wants to honor the prominent citizens of its past, including a man named Israel Bissell, whose grave rests in the local cemetery. For some 70 or 80 years now, Hinsdale has believed that Israel Bissell was a Revolutionary War hero who carried an alarm message to Philadelphia in 1775 after the battles of Lexington and Concord.

It is unfortunate that no one has found any documentary evidence to support that claim, so it has become necessary to mount a search of the records to determine the facts. There are 345 miles from Watertown to Philadelphia, and the newspapers of the day show that the news of Lexington was carried that distance in five short days.

Some, but not all, of the messages copied along the way show the name "Israel Bissell," while others have a distorted version of "Train" or "Trail Bissell," suggesting errors in the copying of the name as it passed through many hands. There is no evidence that a man named Bissell actually accompanied each of the messages. In fact, it would have been physically impossible for a single horseman to travel such a distance in five days at the standard express-rider's rate of 2 to 4 miles an hour. Only by using relays of fresh riders and horses would such a ride have been possible, and no doubt regular post riders carried the message to Philadelphia in that manner.

Israel Bissell's name appears in the early versions of the message that a series of riders carried south, all the way to New York, Philadelphia, Annapolis, Williamsburg, Va., and Charleston, but he himself did not go with those papers and was safe at home in Connecticut. Not one of the recipients of the message has left us with any remarks to support the claim that a man named Bissell actually delivered it in person.

New evidence from Massachusetts archives shows clearly that the initial rider's name was not Israel Bissell at all and that he rode only from Watertown to Hartford, Conn., while other riders took the news south.

On the morning of the Lexington battle, Col. Joseph Palmer of Watertown gave a message to the post rider and charged him "to alarm the Country quite to Connecticut." He did not give an order to ride to Philadelphia, which would have been much too far and of little use as an alarm. From Connecticut, the contents of the message became simply an important news item to be circulated throughout the colonies.

The horseman was a post rider named Isaac Bissell and he lived in Suffield, Conn. He rode off and spent the next six days traveling through Connecticut, doing what he was ordered to do. Which is proof enough that he did not continue on to Philadelphia. His account in the Massachusetts Archives is quite clear about this. In July 1775, Isaac Bissell petitioned the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts for his six days of expenses "to Hartford," claiming two pounds and one shilling (Massachusetts Archives, vol. 138, p. 191a). The Congress approved payment and then adjourned, leaving Bissell unable to collect his money.

So, in March 1776, he petitioned Col. Palmer for help and wrote, "Sir you may Remember when Lexinton Fite was you gave me an Express to Cary to Hartford in Connecticut which I did," adding, "I think I Earn my money." He signed with the clear signature, "Isaac Bissell of Suffield." (Massachusetts Archives, vol 303, p. 162.)

Col. Palmer, who had given the original message, verified the rider's identity as Isaac Bissell and petitioned the government on his behalf. On April 23, 1776, the Massachusetts House of Representatives ordered payment to Isaac (not Israel) of two pounds, one shilling "in full for his Riding Express to Hartford iin Connecticut in April Last past." (Massachusetts Archives, vol. 283, p. 159)

The House published the resolution in its Journal for all to see (Journal of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts, vol. 51, part III, p. 165), a volume available at the Berkshire Athenaeum.

No one named Israel Bissell appears in the official record. The story of his remarkable ride was unknown until the 1920s and 1930s, when it surfaced in the secondary writings of several historians who invented the tale without providing any corroborating evidence. There is no account or petition from him, no record of payment for services, no document anywhere that attests to his being in Philadelphia and no statement from anyone who may have seen or known him. He is an unknown cipher.

His fame rests solely on an error in copying the name of Isaac Bissell of Suffield and the subsequent theories of historians who wrote their accounts before doing thorough research. If there was a man named Israel Bissell involved, some primary documentary source would be needed to prove it. So far none has been found. In the meantime, we should wish Hinsdale the best of fortune in her next 200 years. She may well continue without the myth of Israel Bissell's ride to Philadelphia, but, knowing how stubbornly persistent these legends can be, I would not bet any money on it.

Lion G. Miles of Stockbridge is a historian who specializes in Berkshire County history of the 18th century.

Sheffield Craftsman Offering Workshops on Windsor Chairs

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
10:30AM / Sunday, March 29, 2026

Andrew Jack uses hand tools in his wood working shop. 

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — A new workshop is bringing woodworking classes and handmade items.

Andrew Jack specializes in Windsor chairs and has been making them for almost 20 years.

He recently opened a workshop at 292 South Main St. as a space for people to see his work and learn how to do it.

"This is sort of the next, or latest iteration of a business that I've kind of been limping along for a little while," he said. "I make Windsor chairs from scratch, and this is an effort to have a little bit more of a public-facing space, where people can see the chairs, talk about options, talking about commissions.

"I also am using it as a space to teach workshops, which for the last 10 years or so I've been trying to do out of my own personal workshop at home."

Jack graduated in 2008 from State University of New York at Purchase, and later met woodworker Curtis Buchanan, who inspired him.

"Right after I finished there, I was feeling a little lost. I wasn't sure how to make the next steps and afford a workspace. And the machine tooling that I was used to using in school." he said, "Right after I graduated, I crossed paths with a guy named Curtis Buchanan, and he was demonstrating making really refined Windsor chairs with not much more than some some flea market tools, and I saw that as a great, low overhead way to keep working with wood."

Jack moved into his workshop last month with help from his wife. He is renting the space from the owners of Magic Flute, who he says have been wonderful to work with.

"My wife actually noticed the 'for rent' sign out by the road, and she made the initial call to just see if we get some more information," he said. "It wasn't on my radar, because it felt like kind of a big leap, and sometimes that's how it's been in my life, where I just need other people to believe in me more than I do to, you know, really pull the trigger."

Jack does commissions and while most of his work is Windsor chairs, he also builds desks and tables, and does spoon carving. 

Windsor chairs are different because of the way their backs are attached into the seat instead of being a continuous leg and back frame.

"A lot of the designs that I make are on the traditional side, but I do some contemporary stuff as well. And so usually the legs are turned on a lathe and they have sort of a fancy baluster look to them, or they could be much more simple," he said. "But the solid seat that separates the undercarriage from the backrest and the arms and stuff is sort of one of the defining characteristics of a Windsor."

He hopes to help people learn the craft and says it's rewarding to see the finished product. In the future, he also hopes to host other instructors and add more designs for the workshop.

"The prime impact for the workshops is to give close instruction to people that are interested in working wood with hand tools or developing a new skill. Or seeing what's possible with proper guidance," Jack said. "Chairs are often considered some of the more difficult or complex woodworking endeavors, and maybe less so Windsor chairs, but there is a lot that goes into them, and being able to kind of demystify that, or guide people through the process is quite rewarding."

People can sign up for classes on his website; some classes are over a couple and others a couple of weekends.

"I offer a three-day class for, a much, much more simple, like perch, kind of stool, where most of the parts are kind of pre-made, and students can focus on the joinery that goes into it and the carving of the seat, again, all with hand tools. And then students will leave with their own chair," he said.

"The longer classes run similarly, although there's quite a bit more labor that goes into those. So I provide all the turned parts, legs and stretchers and posts and things, but students will do all the joinery and all the seat carving the assembly. And they'll split and shave and shape their own spindles, and any of the bent parts that go into the chair."

His gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m to 2 p.m., and Monday and Tuesday by appointment.