By this time a lieutenant colonel, Artemas had his first taste of combat in the failed British assault on French-held Fort Ticonderoga. Even though the campaign did not succeed, Ward gained valuable experience as a provincial officer serving under seasoned commanders.
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...