Artemas began his military career when he was commissioned as a major on January 28, 1755. He did not see active service for two and a half years after his appointment, but instead carried out his duties in the Worcester militia and continued to serve in several political offices. Artemas had no prior military experience, so his commission as a major was likely due to his family's position and his education at Harvard.
Thomas Walter Ward II died heavily in debt, and the Worcester County Institution for Savings foreclosed on the Ward farm. Henry Galbraith Ward, a relative who had summered at the house as a child, bought the 135 acre farm and its buildings for $4500. He neither lived at the house nor planned to...