Either somebody overheard
the remark, or the doctor repeated it elsewhere, for within a day or
two it was all over town, and henceforth, by general consent, half in
jest, half in recognition of the aptness of the title under the
circumstances, Perez was dubbed Duke of Stockbridge, or more briefly
referred to as "The Duke."
The conversation which his passing had momentarily interrupted, was a
very grave one. Sedgwick had passed through Springfield in his
carriage on the twenty-seventh of September, and reported that he had
found the town full of armed men. The Supreme Judicial Court of the
Commonwealth was to have met on the twenty-sixth, but 1200 insurgents,
under Captain Daniel Shays himself, were on hand to prevent it, and
were confronted by 800 militia under General Shepard, who held the
courthouse. The town was divided into hostile camps, with regular
lines of sentinels. At the time Sedgwick had passed through, no actual
collision had yet taken place, but should the justices persist in
their intention to hold court, there would certainly be fighting, for
it was justly apprehended by Shays and his lieutenants that the court
intended to proceed against them for treason, and they would stop at
nothing to prevent that.
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