The following is a true copy of a Parole, given by Shays to a number of persons, whom he had made prisoners.

Hampshire ss.

WE the subscribers, inhabitants of said county of Hampshire, do upon the parole of honour solemnly engage and declare, that we will not in future take an active part in favour of government against the people who stile themselves Regulators, either by bearing arms, aiding and assisting with provisions, or giving intelligence, or by counsel, or any way directly or indirectly, to aid and assist the said government troops, or adherence for and during this termination of the present contest between said Government and the Regulators. In witness whereof, we have hereunto voluntarily set our names this 30th day of January, 1787, at head-quarters, Pelham.
DANIEL SHAYS.
N.B. If an exchange of prisoners should take place, and the under named are exchanged, they are no longer holden by virtue of this parole.

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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Parole is defined as a promise made with or confirmed by a pledge of one's honor. The men who signed this parole promised they would not help the government by bearing arms, providing supplies, or giving information to anyone who was acting on behalf of the forces against the Regulators. The men would not be held to this pledge if there was a prisoner exchange. William Butler began publication of the Hampshire Gazette on September 6, 1786, in Northampton, Massachusetts. The mission of the newspaper was to inform the public about the issues pertaining to the ongoing conflicts. Butler was decidedly on the government side of the issues.

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