Manuscript
Page: Front

Log of Weapons Confiscated from Regulators

Page: Front | Back
Date: 1787 - 1788
Creator: Joseph Stebbins, Jr.
About this artifact

Colonel Joseph Stebbins of Deerfield took custody of, and recorded receiving weapons confiscated from, local men who had taken up arms against the government in 1786-87. According to the terms of the Disqualification Act passed by the Massachusetts Legislature in February, 1787, former Regulators lost their right to bear arms for three years. Men whose guns were confiscated received a receipt to ensure that their weapons would be returned. With the more lenient policies of a new governor and legislature, men began getting their weapons back as early as December of 1787, well in advance of the original three-year term.

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Courtesy Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield, MA