USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Chelsea > Documentary history of Chelsea : including the Boston precincts of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, 1624-1824, vol 2 > Part 41
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79
3 Hist., i. 483; Moore's Diary of the Amer. Rev., i. 66. Corcy, Drake's Middlesex Co., ii. 126, says, " Dr. Gordon states that this exploit was per- forined under the leadership of Rev. Phillips Payson of Chelsea "; and Moore's Diary of the Amer. Rev., i. 66, quoting the Pennsylvania Journal, of August 2, says, " The Rev. Mr. Payson, of Chelsea, Mass. Bay, a mild, thoughtful, sensible man, at the head of a party of his own parish, attacked a party of the regulars, killed some, and took the rest prisoners. This gentleman has been hitherto on the side of the government, but oppression having got to that pitch, beyond which even a wise man cannot bear, he has taken up arms in defence of those rights, civil and religious, which cost their forefathers so dearly." This account, though much exaggerated, at least gives a nearly contemporaneous report; but the testimony of Bernard Green, who was present, gave the honor to the Malden company. Drake, in his revised edition (1899), says: "The young men were all in the main action then going on in Lexington, and this affair was managed by some of the elders, led, say the town traditions, by David Lamson, a half-breed, though Gordon claims this honor for Rev. Dr. Payson, of Chel- sea," 403. It is not improbable that a gathering of the country people followed them in the pursuit, and that Mr. Payson was among them and took part in the affair. The Chelsea company that day was commanded by Captain Samuel Sprague. Of course Bernard Green gave the chief honor to the company of which he was a member; but that Rev. Phillips Payson was conspicuous in the business is hardly open to question.
Phillips Payson wrote from Chelsea, June 30, 1798, to President John Adams, asking to have his son of the same name appointed successor of Nathaniel Appleton, of Boston (office not named), and said: "The pre- tensions this application is founded upon are the sacrifice of interest I made in the support of the cause of my country in the year 1775, for which I never received a farthing by way of compensation for sufferings and losses occasioned by my local situation, exposed to the enemy and taken by our troops - a just estimate of my loss, made at that time, was nearly 2000 dollars. Nor would my son have needed the favor, but from the most unparalleled, cruel and fraudulent conduct of his partners in trade. Should your Excellency confer the charity I beg, I trust you cannot possibly miss of your reward from him who tells us, 'as you did it to the least of these, my brethren, ye did it unto me.'" Adams Papers.
It may be fairly said that Payson's letter does not bear directly on the question of his participation in the affair of April 19th; but the duty mentioned in the text, which follows, not usually imposed on clergymen, indicates that one of them at least had shown some aptitude for military affairs.
" Mass. Archives, cxl. 15.
1
427
CHAP. XLI] THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION BEGUN
there be occasion, or discharged from Service, as soon as the public good will admit of it, and that the Revd. Mr. Payson and the Revd. Mr. Thatcher be furnished with a set of beating Orders each for said purpose.5
" Original draft, Mass. Archives, cx1. 16; cxlvi. 39; JJour. Prov. Cong., 533. The Journals of the Provincial Congress and Committee of Safety, as edited by the engrossing clerk, omit some matters of interest found in the original drafts in the Archives (which I have often quoted), and do not appear in the printed volume. And in the House Jour., Dec. 26, 1775, it appears only by recital, that the order of May 3 was in answer to the appli- cation of several coast towns, including Chelsea and Malden, setting forth their exposed situation to the enemy's boats, and asking for detachments from the camps as gards; but as no troops could be spared from Roxbury or Cambridge, the former towns were directed to raise two companies for local defence. Later, the names of captains Benjamin Blancy and Samuel Sprague were substituted for those of Payson and Thateher.
D. P. Corey, Esq., informs me that Captain Blaney lived in the old mansion in Everett near the corner of Chelsea and Ferry streets. He also owned part of the Daniel Watts farm, on County Avenue, in Chelsea, known as the " Heard Estate." [Ante, vol. i. p. 387.]
The people of Chelsea prepared for their defence. At the State House are two Mnster Rolls, one of about eighty names, probably comprising every ablebodied man in the town. These formed " the Company of Militia in Chelsea under the command of Capt. Samuel Sprague, that entered the service of the province of Massachusetts Bay, April 19, and continued in the same until discharged by their officers." Samuel Watts was lieutenant, and Samnel Clark, ensign. See appendix. A company so made up could only be temporary; and, as the rolls show, they were all discharged on or before May 16th. Captain Spragne's petition, April 16, 1776, shows that seventeen of the company were "appointed to keep guard at Pullen Point from April 19th, to May 16th, 1775." House Jour., 1776, 125. This com- pany was succeeded .by one more permanent. Samuel Sprague was captain, Joseph Cheever and William Oliver, lieutenants. Some of the privates were from adjacent towns. The Chelsea men were Abijah Hastings, Hezekiah King, William Oliver, John Pratt, Thomas Cheever, Joseph Green, Henry Blake, Jacob Baker, Nathan Cheever, Joshua Cumins, Jonas Dixson, John Gooding, Saml. Haseltine, Nathaniel Henderson, Thomas Pratt, Saml. Hut- ton Pratt, John Robbins, Solomon Shute, Alexander Shirley, and Edward Waite. Fourteen were from Reading, seven from Boston, three each from Stoneham, Lynn, and Chester, two from Salem, and one each from Charles- town, Malden, Marblehead, and Gloucester. The earliest enlistments were May 4th, 1775, and the times of service and amounts of pay as late as August Ist, may be seen in the rolls at the State House. Vol. xvi. 42, and in the appendix.
After April 19th, the people of Chelsea were apprehensive of attack by the British, and held guard, as the second part of the following account shows :
1774. Chelsea, Sept. 6th. The Town of Chelsea to Saml Sprague, Dr.
Sept. 6. To my Expense on a Commitee at Deadham, Dr. . . £2. 13.6
Sept. 9. To my Expense on a Commitee to Milton, . 3. 9. 6
Nov. 3. To my Expense on a Commitee to Deadham, . 1 7 0
428
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. XLI
Though the events of the 19th of April, as now seen, closed the door to conciliation, yet the Committee of Safety on the
1775, from April 26, to may 5, the Selectmen agreed witlı me, for to find the men that Garded the town, at 9/6 a Day;
April 26. To 6 men, one Day : men's names. Hezekiah King, - Ezra Pratt,
Eben'er Sargeant,
John Robbins,
Sam'll Watts, jr.,
Tileston Clark.
April 29. Ezra Pratt, .
Joseph Oliver,
Tileston Clark,
Edward Waitt, 2 12 6
Nathan Floyd,
Joseph Waitt, Jacob Breiden.
April 30. Joseph Tuttle,
. William Price, Ben'j Leathe, Peter Hinds.
2 12 6
May 5. Ezra Pratt, Edward Waitt, Jon'th. Fuller.
To find [ing] the men two quart Rum. 8
Old tener. £15: 8: 0
Errors Excepted.
SAM'LL SPRAGUE. In Lawfull money, £2: 1: 0: 3
This Chelsea company, whose officers were commissioned by the Pro- vincial Congress, June 26, 1775, was assigned to Gerrish's regiment. “ A list of the officers and soldiers of Capt. Samuel Sprague's company was presented to the Congress: which Ordered that commissions be delivered to the said officers, viz: Samuel Sprague, captain; Joseph Cheever, lieuten- ant; William Oliver, ensign; and that the company be joined to Col. Gerrish's regiment." June 26, 1775. Jour. Prov. Cong., 401.
Col. Gerrish's commission was May 19, 1775. Ibid., 244. Captain Sprague's company performed duty from April 19 to the evacuation of Boston, March 17, 1776, and perhaps later. It is said that it was at Bunker Hill, June 17th, with Gerrish's regiment, to which it belonged, and its colonel was severely criticised by a Court Martial, August 19, of whichi General Greene was president; but in the opinion of the judge-advocate too severely. Frothingham, Siege of Boston, 178, 179. For the charge against him and his sentence, see Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc., xv. 145.
It does not appear from what company or companies was selected the guard, entertained by John Pratt, one of Captain Sprague's men, at his house from April 20 to May 19, 1775.
The town of Chelsea to Jolin Pratt, Dr., for entertaineing the gard, ap-
2 5 0 .
1
F
429
CHAP. XLIJ THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION BEGUN
24th, " Resolved, that the inhabitants of Chelsea and Malden be, and hereby are, absolutely forbidden to fire upon or other- wise injure any seamen belonging to the navy under Admiral Graves, unless fired upon by them, until the said inhabitants of Chelsea and Malden receive orders from this committee or the general of the provincial forces to do so." "
pointted By the town, at my house in firewood, Candels, Provision, &c: from April 20th, to May 19th [1775].
ditto, for one Cord Wood, . 1: 0: 0: ditto, for fore Pounds Candels, 0: 3: 2 0: 2: 8
April 20th, fore men to Supper,
ditto, 21st, - fore men, 0: 2: 8
ditt, 22nd, - five men,
0: 3: 4 ditto, 23rd, - 3 nien,
do., -24th, -2 men, 0: 1: 4
do., - 27th, - fore men, 0: 2: 8 do., - 28th, -3 men, 0: 2: 0
0: 2: 8 do., - 29th, - 4 men,
0: 4: 0
do., 30th, - 6 men,
May Ist, - 3 men,
0: 2: 0
2 8
May 5th, - 3 men,
0: 2: 0
May 13th, - 4 men,
May 14th, -2 men,
0: 1: 4
May 16th, - 3 men, 0: 2: 0 May 17th, -3 men,
0: 2: 0 May 19th, -4 men, 0: 2: 0
3 5: 2 Chelsea, March 5th, 1776. .
The selecimen allowed £2. 10, on this account.
Ile probably lived at Revere not far from the Meeting-House, where he entertained the Conneil, which ordained the Rev. Phillips Payson. [Ante, p. 286.| The town, in 1783, sold him a house plot " by the Mills on the Town Landing." The selectmen allowed him £2 10, March 8, 1776. Ilis petition for payment for provisions furnished the forces sent to Chelsea, May 27th, to remove the stock from Hog Island is referred to in the House Jour., 1776, 222.
" Jour. Prov. Cong., 522. This was merely politic. War had begun. Strategie points were considered, April 22, only three days after the figlits at Lexington and Concord; and so swiftly had the yeomanry gathered about Boston, that on the 22d, Colonel Stark was ordered to march to Chelsea with three hundred men to defend the inhabitants. Frothing- ham, 92. May 28th, the day after the affair at Noddle's Island. "Col. Doolittle was ordered to Chelsea with 400 men to relieve Col. Nixon and his party with other troops that went from this camp: and he is to con- duet in such manner as he may judge will contribute to the general safety. If the cannon, which are in the schooner which was taken yesterday, can be secured without too much exposing the troops, he may bring them off: or otherwise conduct as his best judgment shall direct." Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc., xv. 103.
0: 2: 0
May 2nd. - 4 men,
May 9th, -2 men, .
0: 1: 4 0: 2: 8
430
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
, [CHAP. XLI
Two days later, " Resolved, That the resolve of the 24th instant respeeting the inhabitants of Chelsea and Malden be reconsidered, and Ordered, that it be immediately remanded ; also, that the inhabitants of Chelsea and Malden be hereby desired to put themselves in the best state of defenee, and exert the same in such manner as under their eireumstanees their judgments may direet." 7
It was also the poliey of the patriots to distress the King's army in Boston by depriving it of fresh provisions; and as Chelsea Ferry was one of the avenues by which they reached that army, the seleetmen were desired to take effectual methods for preventing them being earried thither, May 7, 1775.8
People suspected of toryism were narrowly watched. Dr. Samuel Danforth, who married a daughter of Hon. Samuel Watts, and owned in her right one half of the Carter farm, and by purchase mueh other land in Chelsea, which produced an abundance of hay greatly needed by the British troops shut up in Boston, was suspected. Henee the following:
" Malden, May 8th, 1775. The joint Committee of Malden and Chelsea, Voted, Capt. John Dexter, Thomas Hills, and Jonathan Williams be a Committee to wait on Gen. Ward, and inform him that Doct. Sam: Danforth, of Boston, passes backwards and for- wards to that place, and from his well-known Conduct and Be- haviour, we have reason to suspect his Attachment to our most Righteous Cause, likewise his securing Hay and moving it down to Winnisimmet ferry in order to be removed to Boston: and that the Committee has taken care that said Hay shall be removed to some more secure place. John Dexter, Chairman." 9
Rumors like the following kept the people in apprehension of incursion into the country by the British :
" Elijah Shaw declares that Gen. Gage's officers have said in his hearing that they shall soon come out, and that a soldier
7 Jour. Prov. Cong., 523.
8 Ibid., 538. To relieve themselves [the ministers] of the grave charge of neglect, they resolved to send immense quantities of stores to Boston, and purchased, among other articles, five thousand oxen, fourteen thou- sand sheep, a vast number of hogs, ten thousand butts of beer, five thou- sand chaldrons of coal and even fagots for fuel. Frothingham, Siege of Boston, 276.
9 Mass. Archives, cxciii. 132.
431
CHAP. XLIJ THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION BEGUN
requested him to convey him into the country, for the troops would soon make a push towards Dorchester neck or Chelsea; but he refused. Hle further declares, that Earl Percy swears he will be revenged ou some of our men: and further says that the troops have robbed him of 11 cows, 3 calves, a yearling heifer, 48 sheep, 61 lambs, 4 hogs, and poultry, hay 5 tons, and ahnost all his furniture." 10
The farmers around Boston, at Chelsea, Noddle's and Hog Islands, and other places accessible to British foraging parties, were in a difficult position. May 12, 1775, H. Prentiss writes to Oliver Wendell, owner with Jonathan Jackson of the stock on Hog Island: " Mr. Harris is very uneasy, the people from the Men of War frequently go to the Island to buy fresh pro- vision, his own safety obliges him to sell to them; on the other hand the Committee of safety have threatened, if he sells any- thing to the army or Navy, that they will take all the cattle from the Island, and our folks tell him they shall handle himn very roughly." 11
For their relief the Committee of Safety, May 14, 1775, " Resolved, as their opinion, that all the live stock be taken from Noddle's Island, Hog Island, Snake Island, and from that part of Chelsea near the sea coast, and be driven back ; and that the execution of this business be committed to the com- mittees of correspondence and selectmen of the towns of Med- ford, Malden, Chelsea, and Lynn, and that they be supplied with such a number of men, as they shall need, from the regi- ment now at Medford." 12
Another conflict was approaching. May 24, 1775, the Com- mittee of Safety " Resolved, That it be recommended to Con- gress immediately to take such order respecting the removal of the sheep and hay from Noddle's Island as they may judge proper, together with the stock on the adjacent islands. That the commissary-general be directed to supply twenty-five men of Captain Sprague's company stationed at Chelsea." 13
10 Jour. Prov. Cong., 541, n.
11 Essex Just. Hist. Coll., xiii. 181. See letter, June 26, p. 432.
17 Jour. Prov. Cong., 545.
13 Ibid., 557. Also 252, 554.
432
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. XLII
CHAPTER XLII
REMOVAL OF LIVE STOCK FROM THIE ISLANDS
T HE British fleet in Boston harbor and the troops within the town, remote from a base of supply, depended mainly on the farms along the coast for hay and fresh provisions. The chief sources of these were Noddle's and Hog islands, now East Boston and Breed's island. Of the former Henry Howell Williams, later owner of Winnisimmet Ferry and farm, was; lessee; and the live stoek on the latter was Oliver Wendell's,1 though Jonathan Jackson appears to have had some interest in the island.
1 His agent was William Harris, ancestor of the Revere family. His farm, successively that of Jonathan Tuttle, Jacob Chamberlain, and Samuel Watts, was on Beach street about a hundred rods easterly of the Unitarian Church. The old mansion on the northerly side of the street, was torn down within a few years. This letter, nine days after Bunker Hill fight, shows the people's anxiety about their cattle, and that the removal, May 27, was not complete.
Chelsea, June 26, 1775.
Mr. Wendell :
Sir, the people in Chelsea have been and now are moving their effects back into the country, and it is the opinion of all, that we are in danger of another visit from the Regulars. I do wish, if it is agrceable to your judgment, that you would give orders to carry your cattle further back, for I am afraid that, unless they are removed, you will lose them. I delivered two cows according to your order. I have got some people to go on the Island, and hoe the corn and potatoes, and garden to hialves, and I do design, God willing, to mow what I can. The cow that was sent last summer to Mr. Williams is calved, and the calf is dead; the cow being hurt, as I suppose. I should be exceeding glad to be directed by you, at this difficult time, that I may know how to proceed, for I should be sorry to see any further loss to you.
I am, Sir, your humble Servt,
WM. HARRIS. P.S. I have brought one cow and calf up to Mr. Upham's. [He lived in the northerly part of Revere, near Saugus.] I have sold one calf to Mr. Stowers, also, sold 126 of wool, at 8 s. 3.
[Directed : ] To Mr. Oliver Wendell, in Kingston. To care of Mr. Appleton, at Salem.
Hist. Coll. Essex Inst., xiii. 192, 193.
.
-
433
CHAP. XLII] REMOVAL OF LIVE STOCK
Though Williams had suffered obloquy as a " Hutchinson Addresser," he was respected by all parties, and once was quartermaster-sergeant in the patriot army at Cambridge. Ilis situation at Noddle's Island was perplexing. His most profit- able business had been supplying the King's troops rendez- voused at Boston, in time of war, and merchant vessels, in time of peace, with fresh provisions from his fields and stock yards. This all could do before April 19, 1775. But after that, compliance would compromise them with the patriots, and refusal subject them to forced contributions by the King's foraging parties. As we have seen, April 22, Colonel Stark was ordered to Chelsea with three hundred men to defend the inhabitants. [Ante, p. 429, n 6.] 2
General Gage's army, cooped up in Boston, was in sore need of fresh provisions, and if he could not purchase, he resolved to seize them. With equal resolution the patriots, supported by the recommendation of the Committee of Safety already quoted, determined to remove them beyond the reach of forag- ing parties, or to destroy them.3 They soon got to their work, and with the aid of Colonel Stark's party, between the 27th of May and June 2d, not only removed or killed much of the stock on the islands, but destroyed military supplies and sev- eral houses, including Williams's, which might be useful to the British.4
" Chelsea at that time comprised Rumney Marsh, now Revere; Win- nisimet, now the city of Chelsea; and Pullen Point, or Point Shirley, now Winthrop. When Chelsea was spoken of, Revere was referred to, which was the principal settlement. Failure to understand this has sometimes led to misapprehension of facts. For a view of the region, see Atlantic Neptune, Map 116, 1; ii. Plate 9, in B. P. L.
3 It appears that General Ward and Dr. Warren had examined the situation.
4 Williams's house was burned, May 30th. Frothingham. 110. He claimed damages for "53 Tons hay, burnt in the Barns, 20 Tons hay, in stacks; also, 43 Elegant Horses, 220 sheep, nsed as provisions for the army," ete. Sumner's East Boston. 382. Some of his stock was saved; and, May 31, the General Orders directed. "That the stock, which was taken from Noddle's Island, belonging to Mr. Henry Howell Williams, be delivered to his father, Col. Joseph Williams, of Roxbury, for the use of the said Henry H. Williams." Henshaw's Orderly Book. 103.
In the House Journal, October 21. 1775, p. IS5, is " A Petition of Henry Howell Williams, setting forth the losses he suffered by Fire and otherwise on Noodle's Island, by a number of armed Provincial troops, on the 7th of May and at other times, and praying for Relief. Read VOL. 11 .- 28
434
HISTORY OF CHELSEA
[CHAP. XLII
The principal removal of live stock from Hog and Noddle's islands, May 27, 1775, belongs to the history of East Boston rather than to Chelsea. But it was from that part of Chelsea now Revere, that Colonel Stark's detachment crossed to Hog Island and thence to Noddle's Island, from both of which he drove a part of the live stoek to the main land, out of reach of British parties; and it was from the Revere shore of Chelsea River that the British were repulsed. This part of the story belongs to old Chelsea.
Several versions of this transaction are chiefly based on unsupported rumors; but even these, as spaee may allow, will be given in the appendix. Of later accounts, that of General
and committed." Mass. Arch., clxxx. 44, 188. Nothing more was done at the time, though, as a partial remuneration, he received from General Washington a part of the army barracks at Cambridge, when no longer needed, with which to build a shelter for his houseless family. Four- tecn years later, however, the General Court directed the Treasurer of the Commonwealth to issue to Mr. Williams his note for £2000, with interest, for his losses, the same to be charged to the United States. Sumner, 385.
A Chelsea eitizen was among the losers: "To the Honorable, the Gen- eral Assembly, now setting at Watertown, in the Colony of the Massa- chusetts Bay : -
The Petition of Alexander Shirley, of Chelsea, in the Colony, aforesaid, Humbly Sheweth -
That, on the 27th day of May last, when a party of our soldiers went on Noddle's Island to bring the stock from thence, after they had brought it of [f], they set fire to my Hous, & Destroyed all my substance, goods, & provisions, & every thing I had, to amount of Seventy pounds, Lawfull Money, at least, whereby your Petitioner was reduced to Extreme poverty, having a large family of Children, & nothing to support them withal, whereby your petitioner and Family has Suffered Greatly, wherefore, your petioner Humbly prays, that this Honorable Court would be pleased to take his distressed condition into their Serious Consideration, and grant him such relief, as they in their wisdom shall think fit, and your petitioner, as in duty bound, shall ever pray.
ALEXANDER SHIRLEY.
If this Honorable Court is pleased to allow me anything, I Desire it may be paid into the hands of Deacon John Sale, for my relief. A. S.
This may Certify, that I, the Subscriber, lived on Noddle's Island, when Mr. Alexander Shirley lost his goods, as set forth in his petition, and am knowing that he Lost to the value of what he sets forth, and a great deal more.
Witness my hand.
ISAIAH TAY.
Chelsea, march, 1776.
Mass. Arch., clxxx. 332. He was taxed in 1755 for rents at Point Shirley, £1. 8.
435
REMOVAL OF LIVE STOCK
CHAP. XLIII
Sumner in his History of East Boston, drawn in part, he says, from original papers in his possession, is the fullest; and though not free from exaggeration, I quote the largest part of it. But first I prefer to give the less complete but more ac- curate account of an actual participator in the affair: Asa Farnsworth, of Groton, who as a minuteman marched, April 19, 1775, to Lexington, and the next day to Cambridge. Ile was deeply religious, patriotic, and sensible. He kept a diary, from which I make the following extracts, and the whole of which may be found in the 2 Proceedings of the Mass. Hist. Soc., XII. 74.
The first entry of the diary here extracted was made at Cambridge :
" Friday May ye 26 in the morning I Etended prayers And at night: i hope that 1 Git good in this Day of grace. At night I and about ten of our Company marcht. with A party of men betwixt two and three hundred for Noddels island; heded By Col Nixson 5 we marched throu Mistick Moldin and to Chelsea
" Saturday, May ye 27. went on hog island And Brought of Six hoses twentyseven hornd. Cattel And fore hundred And Eleven Sheep about the midel of the afternoon went From hog island to Noddles island and Sot one Hous and Barn on fiar kild. Some hoses and Cattel Brought of two or thre Cows one horse I with five men got of the horse And Before we got from Noddels island to hog island we was fird. upon by a Privatear Schooner But we Crost the river and about fiften of us Squated Down in a Ditch on the mash and Stood our ground. And thare Came A Company of Regulars on the marsh on the other side of the river And the Schooner : And we had A hot fiar untill the Regulars retrected. But notwithstanding the Bulets flue very thiteh yet thare was not A Man of us kild. Suerly God has A faver towards us: And He can Save in one Place as well as Another we left the island about Sun-Set and Came to Chelsea: And on Saturday about ten At night Marchd, to Winnisimit ferry whare thare was A Schooner and Sloop Afiring with grate fury on ns thare But thanks be unto god that gave vs the Vietry at this time for throu his Providence the Schooner that Plad. upon ns the day before run Agronnd and we Sot fiar to hur And Consumed hur thare And the Sloop receved unich dannnage. in this ingagment we had
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.