History of Windham County, Connecticut, Part 9

Author: Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: New York, Preston
Number of Pages: 1506

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HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

mended, and soon afterward promoted, the former to the posi- tion of major and the latter to that of captain.

Other men than those mentioned went to the war from Wind- ham county. These were in the Eighth regiment, of which Jed- idiah Huntington, of Norwich, was colonel; John Douglas, of Plainfield, lieutenant colonel; Reverend John Fuller, of Plain- field, chaplain ; Dr. Elisha Perkins, of the same town, surgeon ; and Albigence Waldo, of Pomfret, assistant. A company of Canterbury militia, under Captain Ephraim Lyon, was sent to Norwich in August, upon an alarm occasioned "by vessels prowling about the Sound," and were retained to build a battery or redoubt at Waterman's Point. Ephraim Squier, of Ashford, with Simeon Tyler and Asa Davison, probably of Brooklyn, left their companies at Cambridge in September to join in the north- ern expedition of Colonel Benedict Arnold, but after suffering incredible hardships on their journey up the Kennebec and through the wilderness of Maine, they were among those who were ordered home again; and after ten weeks' absence they arrived in Cambridge on Thanksgiving day, November 23d, as the account says, "abundantly satisfied."

Everybody at home during this period was engaged in doing double duty, in farm work, gathering up supplies, or manufact- uring military munitions. Town and county civil affairs were almost forgotten. All thoughts and energies were absorbed in the war. The county court met in June, 1775, and licensed some fifty taverns, granted executions in a few cases, and adjourned. The arts of preparing munitions of war had made some prog- ress here. Hezekiah Huntington had wrought to such good purpose as to receive from the treasury of the colony in the autumn a bounty of thirteen pounds "for fifty-two guns well made and wrought," besides repairing and refitting great num- bers of old guns. Timothy Larrabee assured the assembly that he had applied himself to making saltpetre, and had succeeded in mastering the art, which he claimed could be carried on as well in the colonies as elsewhere in the world.

The Windham soldiers chafed under the restraints of camp life during the long period of inaction which followed the bat- tle of Bunker Hill. Forty of them marched home about the time of the expiration of their term of enlistment, without wait- ing to be discharged, ignorant of the fact that by so doing they were liable to be treated as deserters. Washington sent for

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

them, but Governor Trumbull, better understanding their motives, refused to give them up. The same men, however, re- enlisted soon after, and served in many subsequent campaigns with honor and fidelity.

The majority of Putnam's regiment are believed to have re- mained upon the field, re-enlisting in the Twentieth regiment of the continental army. Of this regiment Benedict Arnold was appointed colonel ; John Durkee, of Norwich, lieutenant colonel; Thomas Knowlton, major. Its companies were officered as fol- lows: Company 1, Ephraim Manning, captain ; Nathaniel Webb, lieutenant ; Brown, ensign. Company 2, Jedidiah Water- man, captain; John Waterman, lieutenant; Walter Clark, en- sign. Company 3, Thomas Dyer, captain ; Daniel Tilden, first lieutenant ; Nehemiah Holt, second lieutenant; Joseph Durkee, ensign. Company 4, Wells Clift, captain. Company 5, Thomas Grosvenor, captain; Joseph Cleveland, ensign. Company 6, Stephen Brown, captain. Company 7, John Keyes, captain. Company 8, John Robinson, captain. Other subalterns, whose companies cannot now be determined, were Lieutenants Mela- tiah Bingham, William Adams, Beriah Bill, Robert Hallam, Samuel Brown, Seth Phelps, Josiah Fuller, Nathaniel Bishop, James Holt, Daniel Putnam and Ensigns Briant Brown, Silas Goodell and John Buel. The chaplain of the regiment was Rev- erend Abiel Leonard; quartermaster, Lieutenant Ebenezer Gray; surgeon, Doctor John Spaulding; assistant surgeon, Luther Waterman. This regiment formed a part of the central division of the army, and thus in position became a sort of body guard to the commander-in-chief. The continued absence of Ar- nold left it in charge of Durkee and Knowlton, under whose efficient training it attained the same enviable position as to dis- cipline and soldierly deportment that Knowlton's own company had previously held. Other Windham county soldiers re-enlist- ed in Huntington's and Patterson's regiments, and a still larger number in a militia regiment sent to Boston early in January, to take the place of those whose term of service had expired. Of this regiment John Douglas, of Plainfield, was colonel; Doctor Elisha Perkins, surgeon ; Thomas Gray, assistant surgeon ; and Reverend John Fuller, chaplain.

The withdrawal of the British troops from Boston to New York in 1776, inspired the Windham patriots with new courage and enthusiasm, and stimulated them to greater activity in prep-

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

arations for the summer campaign. The powder mill at Willi- mantic was now under full headway, sending out large supplies to the continental army. All the saltpetre which could by any method be fabricated was quickly swallowed up by this im- portant establishment, which was guarded day and night at the expense of the government. Black lead for its consumption was taken from the hills of Union. So great was the throng of peo- ple and teams resorting thither that David Young was ordered to open a house of public entertainment in its vicinity. Travel was also greatly increased by the passage of many regiments and long trains of military stores through the county on the way from Boston and the east to the seat of war at New York. Demands for supplies called out the utmost energies of the peo- ple. Commissaries and jobbers were scouring the towns for provisions, taking off all the pork, beef and sheep that could be spared from home consumption. Selectmen were now making requisitions for scales, clock weights, anything that could be transformed into ammunition. Orders for knit stockings, tow cloth for tents, and home-made shirtings and vestings kept thou- sands of nimble fingers at work. Great quantities of military stores were lodged in Plainfield, Windham and Canterbury. Depots were constructed for their reception, and carefully guarded, and teams were constantly occupied hauling them to and fro. A large number of prisoners, dangerous tories, cap- tured seamen and soldiers, confined in Windham jail and neigh- boring towns, required much care and attention.

On the 1st of August, Trumbull issued a special circular beg- ging for more recruits at the earliest moment. The call was sent to every town, and read from many pulpits at the close of service. Windham county responded with her usual prompti- tude and spirit. Many were enlisted in the First regiment, of which Andrew Ward was colonel; Obadiah Johnson lieutenant colonel, and William Douglas major. James Stedman, Nathan- iel Wales, 3d, Waterman Clift, Daniel Allen, Jonathan Nichols, Jr., James Dana, Elijah Sharp, James Arnold, Benoni Cutler, William Manning, Joseph Durkee and Obadiah Child were offi- cers in this regiment. Reverend Benjamin Trumbull, the his- torian of Connecticut, was chaplain, and Royal Flint, of Wind- ham, paymaster. The seventh company of the first batallion sent to the relief of the northern department was from Wind- ham county. Of this company Vine Elderkin was captain, Wil-

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

liam Frizzell first lieutenant, Abner Robinson second lieutenant and Lemuel Grosvenor ensign. In the third battalion, raised for service in New York, Comfort Sage, colonel: Company 1 was from Lebanon, James Clark, captain. Company 3 from Volun- town, John Dixon, captain. Company 5, from Killingly, Stephen Crosby, captain ; Josiah Robbins, first lieutenant; Jonathan Buck, second lieutenant; Sylvanus Perry, ensign. The sixth battalion, Colonel John Chester, contained at least three Wind- ham county companies: Company 4 from Ashford, Reuben Marcy, captain ; John Holmes, first lieutenant; Samuel Marcy, second lieutenant ; Daniel Knowlton, ensign, and 79 privates; Company 5 from Woodstock, Stephen Lyon, captain ; Josiah Child, first lieutenant; and Company 6 from Canterbury, Asa Baker, captain; Abner Bacon, first lieutenant; Aaron Cleve- land, ensign.

At the disastrous battle of Long Island in August, 1776, Wind- ham county men in the line suffered severely. More than a hundred and fifty officers and privates were missing from Hun- tington's regiment alone. Several men from Pomfret were killed, and others taken prisoners, among whom was Surgeon David Holmes. Durkee's and Chandler's regiments were de- tailed by Washington to cover the retreat from Long Island to New York. Knowlton, whose sterling qualities had made him a conspicuous figure and promised to secure his rapid promotion to the highest military honors, fell on the field at Harlem on the 16th of September, and was buried there on the following day, amid impressive martial ceremonies, and deeply mourned by all his comrades and soldiers. In the engagements which attended the gradual falling back of the American forces up into West- chester and across into New Jersey many sons of Windham fell. The militia regiments of the county were repeatedly called on to go to the defense of some point where it was expected the British were intending to make an attack. When Rhode Island was threatened, the Fifth, under Major Thomas Brown and the Eleventh under Major Samuel Mcclellan and the troops of horse under Major Backus started for the scene, but before they reached there Newport and its surroundings were seized by a strong body of British and fortified against the militia. During the autumn additional recruits were enlisted in the continental army, and the militia was re-organized in six brigades. The Windham county regiments were included in the Fifth brigade,

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

of which Eliphalet Dyer was made the general. He soon after resigned the appointment, and John Douglas was appointed in his stead. William Danielson, of Killingly, was now appointed colonel of the Eleventh regiment, and Samuel Mcclellan lieu- tenant colonel. Company officers were as follows: Company 1, Daniel Lyon, captain ; Benjamin Ruggles, lieutenant; Nathan- iel Brown, ensign. Company 2, Caleb Clark, captain ; John Wells, lieutenant ; Stephen Griggs, ensign. Company 3, Amos Paine, captain ; Thomas Baker, lieutenant; William Lyon, ensign. Company 4, Joseph Cady, captain ; Jonathan Cady, lieutenant ; Elisha Lawrence, ensign. Company 5, Ephraim Warren, cap- tain ; Daniel Waters, lieutenant. Company 6, Stephen Tucker, lieutenant ; Phinehas Walker, ensign. Company 7, Paine Con- verse, lieutenant. Company 8, Zebulon Ingalls, captain ; Wil- liam Osgood, lieutenant; Robert Sharpe, ensign. Company 9, John Green, captain ; Obadiah Clough, lieutenant; Daniel Larned, ensign. Company 10, Jonathan Morris, lieutenant ; Richard Peabody, ensign. Company 11, Samuel Chandler, captain ; John Holbrook, lieutenant ; John Whitmore, ensign.

During the autumn of 1776 Windham county was interested in fitting out at Norwich the schooner "Oliver Cromwell " for privateer service. This vessel had been built at Essex, Conn., by Uriah Hayden, during the previous year. She was built for the colony of Connecticut, and furnished with twenty-four guns. She was afterward presented to the general government, being one of the first if not the first gunboat ever owned by the United States as a nation. At the time of her fitting out at Norwich William Coit of that town was her captain, and among the crew were Phinehas Cary, Solomon Lord, Eleazer Welsh, Eleazer Spofford, Lemuel Stoddard, Hezekiah Abbe and Arad Simmons, of Windham, and Thomas Holbrook, of Lebanon. Doctor Sam- uel Lee, of Windham, was appointed surgeon on board, but was soon after succeeded by Doctor Albigence Waldo. Doctor Lee, with Doctors John Clark, Elisha Lord and James Cogswell, and other physicians from different parts of the state were made a committee for examining persons who offered themselves for the army.

The spring of 1777 found the citizens of Windham county pre- paring themselves for the long continued war which was now in prospect. Again meeting and deliberating in their public town meetings, which had been almost suspended during the two

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

previous years, they prepared to meet the demands which fell upon them to furnish recruits for the army, bounties for soldiers and provision for their families in their absence. The deprecia- tion of the currency and the increased price of the necessaries of life, the scarcity of breadstuffs and salt, were among the im- portant questions with which they had to deal. The citizens were required to take the oath of allegiance to the state. Com- mittees were appointed by the towns to provide for their public needs and to confer with similar committees from other towns in regard to questions of common interest.

The Windham County Association of Ministers now gave voice to their sentiments in regard to the general situation as follows: "Considering the peculiar circumstances of our land during the present calamities of war, wherewith the holy and righteous God is pleased to exercise us; the decline of religion and prevalence of iniquity ; think it our duty to stir up our- selves and the people of our charge to additional attention to our duties, and propose to General Association to recommend pro- fessors of religion to renew their covenant with God that family religion and order might be maintained." A committee was ap- pointed to prepare a suitable address which was published, and a thousand copies of it were distributed among the twenty parishes of Windham county.

In the early part of the year 1777 the second company of the Fourth Regiment of Light Horse was reorganized with Perley Howe of Killingly, captain, Asa Wilder, lieutenant, Stephen Tucker, cornet and Davis Flint quartermaster. Some enter- prising citizens of Brooklyn having offered to furnish three or four light field pieces, fitted for service, Daniel Tyler, Jr., and thirty-five others formed an independent matross company, sub- ject only to be commanded by the commander in chief or either of the major or brigadier generals of the state of Connecticut. Arrangements for the manufacture of saltpetre and powder were now so far perfected that ammunition was more plenty. Private individuals in every town were engaged in the manu- facture of saltpetre, and this work had become so general that the powder mill at Willimantic received from the towns of the county 42,666 pounds of it during the three months ending with February. This was received in various lots, ranging in quan- tity from twenty up to nine hundred pounds. Eight hundred and eighty-one pounds of scale and clock weights, shot and bar

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

lead were also reported as received at the mill. The recruits of Windham were scattered among the various departments of the continental army and at the scenes of conflict in different quarters, sustaining losses here and there as might be expected. Captain Stephen Brown, of Pomfret, successor of Knowlton in command, was instantly killed by a shot from a ship while gal- lantly defending Fort Mifflin. Captain Daniel Clark was killed in battle at Stillwater, September 19th. Chaplains Fuller and Leonard also died. Mrs. Putnam died in the hands of the enemy as a prisoner of war. Colonel William Douglas died during this year. These losses of some of the most prominent of Wind- ham's patriots caused great depression of the public spirits. To add to their discouragement the powder mill at Willimantic blew up, killing one man and destroying valuable machinery and material. This occurred on the 13th of December. Then followed the winter of 1777-78, when the patriots of Washing- ton's army were suffering memorable hardships at Valley Forge. Windham shared in the depression which affected the whole country in that dark hour. The people had spent their means and energies in the common cause, and were reduced to a con- dition of extreme want. However, they managed to hold up their hands and to meet the demands of the country upon them, both in the matter of supplying their quotas of men and in con- tributing means to sustain the patriot cause. The Articles of Confederation recommended by the congress were approved and formally adopted.

In the spring of 1778 prompt and liberal provision was made by all the towns for raising their respective quotas, and bounties were accordingly offered as liberally as the means of the people would warrant. The outlook was more encouraging. Favorable news from France revived the spirits of the downhearted patriots, and soldiers went out again with hopeful hearts, while the people at home labored with new courage, hoping that brighter days were at hand.

But while the national skies seemed brightening over theil heads, a new source of grief called for their deepest mourning. Rumors of the terrible Indian descent and massacre in the Wy- oming Valley came to them like the bursting of a thunder storm from a fair morning sky. Among the many of the sons of Wind- ham county who had been most barbarously tortured and butch- ered were Robert Durkee, Robert Jameson, Anderson Dana,

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

George Dorrance, James Bidlack, Thomas and Stephen Fuller, Stephen Whiton, John Abbot, Samuel Ransom, Elisha Williams, Timothy Pierce and John Perkins. Their homes had been burned, their farms ravaged, and their families taken prisoners or driven out naked and starving into the wilderness. Aged fathers and mothers here waited in harrowing suspense to hear from their lost children, and after many anxious days received the remnants of these stricken families as one by one they found their way back to the old hearthstone. Among the many in- stances of suffering arising from this calamity, the brief records of a few have been preserved. Mrs. John Abbot and Mrs. Thomas Fuller, each with nine children and utterly destitute, begged their way back as best they could to their Windham homes. Mrs. Stephen Fuller came on horseback, with her little daughter Polly. Mrs. Anderson Dana, with her widowed daugh- ter, Mrs. Whiton, who had been married but a few weeks, and six younger children, toiled back to Ashford, bringing with her what she could save of the valuable papers belonging to her husband. Mrs. Elisha Williams left on that field of carnage her husband, two promising sons, and a daughter's husband, and with her five surviving children sought refuge at her father's house in Canterbury. Mrs. Esther Minor Yorke, with her twelve children, barefoot and starving, after many months had passed and they had been given up for lost, reached her old home in Voluntown, having with great difficulty escaped from their In- dian captors and accomplished the perilous journey, the baby dying on the way from cold and exposure. Another hunted fugitive, Rufus Baldwin, arrived at about the same time from Newport, New York, where he had killed an Indian and was obliged to flee for his life, traveling through the wilderness to Canterbury with only a chunk of raw salt pork in his pocket to subsist upon.

In the attempt made by Sullivan and the French fleet under D'Estaing, August 10th, 1778, to recapture Newport, the militia of Windham county had a part, and several of them were killed and others wounded. Others suffered from exposure to the severe storm which prevailed at that time and contributed so much to the failure of the enterprise. Requisition was made by Governor Trumbull upon Ebenezer Devotion, of Scotland Parish, for one hundred barrels of musket powder.

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

The attempt to recapture Newport was unsuccessful and the prospects of American independence were shrouded with doubt. And with little improvement of the situation time wore on. The people all over the land were weary, depressed and discouraged. Their property was becoming worthless and the comforts and even necessaries of life almost unattainable. Other factors helped to make the situation still more discouraging. There was demoralization, degeneration and defection. Young men came back wrecked in health and character, dissolute in habit, and infidel in principle. Even Windham county, with all its self- sacrificing and almost unanimous patriotism, was not without its ARNOLD. Nathan Frink, a successful lawyer, seeing no hope of future success on the patriot side, left home and friends and offered himself and his services to the British commander in New York, causing overwhelming sorrow, shame and resent- ment among his family and friends, and bringing the gray hairs of his father indeed " with sorrow to the grave." Even among those who claimed to be patriots there were things that caused sadness and discouragement. Selfishness prompted men to keep back their goods for a price, though they knew their soldiers were starving and naked. The brief sessions of the county court were chiefly occupied with hearing complaints against various people for selling cattle and swine at foreign markets or for unauthorized prices, and for other breaches of wholesome laws made to encourage fair dealing and restrain and punish sharpers and oppressors.

Yet in the face of all these discouragements and difficulties, Windham county continued steadfast, trusting in the justice of the patriot cause and in that Providence which had so wonder- fully led and sustained the people of America. In darkest days she stood firm and unwavering, striving with unceasing diligence to strengthen the hands of government and carry forward the war. Year after year the towns taxed themselves heavily to pay bounties, furnish clothing, and provide for the families of the soldiers. General Douglas, of Plainfield, Colonels Williams, Danielson and Johnson, though now advanced in years, led the militia many times on alarm of danger, and Major Backus time after time hurried his troops of horse to the relief of New Lon- don and Rhode Island. McClellan not only served almost con- tinuously in the field, but paid his regiment out of his own pocket when the public treasury was empty. General Douglas,

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

Colonel Johnson, Major Ripley, Commissary Waldo, and indeed very many of those leading men who had money at command, advanced it repeatedly to pay off bounties or to fit out expedi- tions.

Men went out to battle and council and provide for public de- mands, and the women labored as efficiently in their own special fields of action and usefulness. The burdens and distresses of the war fell very heavily upon them. They sent out husbands, brothers and sons to the battle field, and then labored heroically to fill their place's at home. Farm work was added to their or- dinary domestic duties. They had to take care of their stock as well as of their children, to plant and reap as well as to spin and weave, to cure herbs for their own tea, and manufacture their molasses out of corn stalks. These various demands upon them stimulated ingenuity, so that whatever the call they were ready to meet it.

With such support and sympathy from town and fireside the soldiers sent out from Windham county could hardly fail to do her honor. Their early reputation for courage and good con- duct was abundantly sustained. Many who had sallied out at the first cry from Lexington remained in service throughout the war. The officers of Putnam's first regiment, the Connecticut Third, of 1775, thus served with but few exceptions. Lieuten- ant Thomas Grosvenor went on from rank to rank, succeeding Durkee in command when that valiant leader was compelled by ill health to retire from active service. Lieutenant Ebenezer Gray served the whole seven years, attaining the rank of lieu- tenant colonel. Captain Mosely was often called to command the militia in special service at Rhode Island or New London. Captains Dana, Clark, Cleft and Manning, and Lieutenants Dan- iel Marcy, John Keyes, Daniel Allen, John Adams, Melatiah Bingham, Benoni Cutler, Josiah Cleveland, Nathaniel Webb, William and Stephen Lyon served with distinction through suc- cessive campaigns, and were honored by various promotions.

The system of enrollment at that time was so confused and imperfect that it would be impossible to learn the whole number sent out from any section, and very difficult to form even an ap- proximate estimate. It appears, however, certain that the sev- eral towns of Windham county fulfilled every requisition for continental or militia service. The burden of the war was borne by the whole population, and a complete muster-roll of Wind-

HISTORY OF WINDHAM COUNTY.

ham's revolutionary soldiers would probably include the name of nearly every family in the county, while many families sent very large representations. It is said that seventeen cousins by the name of Fuller were in the service from Windham's Second Society. The Adamses and Clevelands were almost without number. Peter Adams, of Brooklyn, and Ephraim Fisk, of Kil- lingly, each had six sons in the army, and Barzillai Fisher and Lusher Gay each had four.

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History of Windham County, Connecticut, Part 9

Author: Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: New York, Preston Number of Pages: 1506

Author: Bayles, Richard M. (Richard Mather)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: New York, Preston
Number of Pages: 1506