Description:
Struck patinated bronze medal commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Co. The medal was designed by Henry Guild & Son of Boston, and struck by J.H. Diehl. Obverse: standing figure of soldier, with epaulets, feather in hat and sash; sword; both hands grasp a long spear. “In Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Mass./ Robert Keayne/ 1st Commander 1638.” Reverse: [The seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts] and around it: “Ense Petit Placidam Sub Liberatate Quietem 1888.” Robert Keayne (1595-1656) was a prominent public figure in seventeenth-century Boston. He co-founded the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts and served as speaker of the House of the Massachusetts General Court. Keayne was a prosperous London merchant who joined his fellow Puritans in Boston where he built a fortune, he was accused of unfair business practices, and brought before the legislature, the Massachusetts General Court. It found Keayne guilty, fined him, and compelled him to confess his "sins." He proclaimed his innocence, and justified his actions in elaborate detail in his will. It bequeathed £2500 to Boston, to upgrade the infrastructure with an aqueduct, relieve the city's poor, and fund the First Town-House, a grand public meeting place, he attached a condition to the effect that the bequest would become void if there were any legal actions against his estate; there were none." He served as town Selectman for several years; and as a representative to the Massachusetts General Court, being appointed House Speaker in 1646.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2015.36.63 |
