USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Easthampton > Historical address delivered at the centennial celebration, in Easthampton, Mass., July 4, 1876 > Part 8
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Belchertown pledges herself to support a declaration of inde- pendence. (See p. 29.)
N. Dwight presides over a Convention of the Committees of Safety at Northampton, (see p. 41,) Feb. 5, 1777.
Dwight was an innholder, and Feb. 17, 1777, the Selectmen and Committee of Safety, of both of which boards he was a mem- ber, met at his house to regulate prices, according to authority mentioned p. 51. The state of things calling for the act in ques- tion is thus described by Mr. Doolittle: "The people were threat- ened with a scarcity of food, by reason of the monopolies which had been set on foot. British agents and speculators were doing their utmost to create a suffering scarcity, by purchasing up all the provisions within their reach, that they might exact exorbi-
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tant prices. This state of things produced great distress through- out the four New England provinces."
Here are a few items from the price list. (For others see p. 52.) Raw hides 3d. and calf skins 6d. per lb. Best yarn stock- ings 6s .; good sal tpork £4 12s., and beef £3 14s. a barrel. Flax, good and well dressed, 1s. a pound ; good English hay 2s. per cwt .; good pine boards, £1 10s. a thousand; horse keep, 1s. a night ; journey, 2d. a mile ; "Shooing, tow and heal Corked all round" 6s.
March 31, 1777, Capt. Joseph Hooker certifies that Noble Bagg carried nineteen packs for Belchertown men to Danbury, Ct. This would indicate that early in the spring of 1777, at least as many as nineteen went from among us to the army. Recruits were soon wanted for the Continental army for three years service. (See p. 47.) Apr. 9, upon recommendation of a previously ap- pointed committee of fifteen, it was voted to tax the town to pay any who would respond to the call, a bounty of £15, until the quota was full ; also to give all non-commissioned officers and pri- vates 10s. a month for all past services. "In consideration of the Great Hardship Capt. Josiah Lyman went through in the Last years Campane at Quebeck, and also that he has bin in the war ever since it began, Voted that his poll and estate be freed from being taxed in this Levie, for Raising men to go into the Conti- nental service."
To gain an idea of the hardships in question, read the extract from Porter's diary, which begins on p. 37. Also the following, in which Porter gives an account of his journey from Whitehall to Ticonderoga, April 10, 1776. "Sun an hour high, set out with Captain Lyman and ten men, to attempt to break through the ice. Broke about fifty rods, till the ice was more than six inches thick; then gave out and returned back. About ten o'clock, Captain Lyman, with one man, set out upon the shore to reconnoiter. About two, returned, and brought word that a pas- sage might be forced upon the shore. He with ten men, imme- diately set out with a batteau for that purpose. About two miles ahead met Captain Shepherd, and a number of others in a batteau to meet us. They had cut through two or three miles of ice, a considerable part of it six inches thick. The men went on the outside to cut through with axes. We got to Ticonderoga about dark. It rained for more than an hour before we got there."
In 1777 and 1778, calls for troops came repeatedly, and there
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is no doubt Belchertown responded ; though the records of these years, after the votes given above, do not seem to enlighten us much as to enlistment. A call came June 8, 1779. (See p. 49.)
Thirteen men were required from Belchertown, for nine months' service. The town was called together. The selectmen in their warrant, contrary to custom, urge "that the people would uni- versally meet." It was unanimously voted to pay £16 per month, in Continental bills, to any who would go at the call. The men were subsequently provided by the two militia companies without drawing upon the town treasury.
August 23, 1779, Col. Caleb Clark was chosen to represent the town in conventions at Concord and Northampton, to regulate prices. (See p. 51.) As he could not go, Capt. Jonathan Bard- well was sent to Concord.
Nov. 1, 1779, £410 were voted as bounty and mileage to sol- diers about to depart.
Feb. 14, 1780. The depreciation in the currency at this time was such that £2,000 in bills were voted to Rev. Mr. Forward, whose salary on a silver basis had been £60. Shortly before, it had been ordered that certain bills made out on a silver basis should be paid in paper " 24 double."
Belchertown buys beef for the army at £1 2s. per pound. (See p. 50). Over and over again we find them taking measures to meet a levy of beef. At a time when a silver dollar would buy two bushels of corn, the town paid several citizens ten dollars each, in paper, for a day's work, which also shows the deprecia- tion of paper ; for had it been equal to silver, it would have made a day's work equal to twenty bushels of corn. More than a year before this, to those who had furnished clothing for the army, (see p. 50,) the town voted pay at the rate of £2 Ss. for a pair of shoes, £2 2s. 6d. for a shirt, and £1 16s. for a pair of stock- ings-six times the silver price.
There were repeated calls for clothing, to which this town responded ; one e. g., Apr. 21, 1780, for a shirt, and a pair of shoes and stockings, for every ten males in town over sixteen years of age, and half as many blankets. The selectmen were directed to procure these. Again, in 1781, they were required to furnish a quantity of these articles.
In June, 1780, the town was called together to consider how to meet a requisition for troops which had just come, and they chose ten men to see on what terms recruits could be hired.
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Three successive meetings were held, at the last of which a bounty of $1,000 in paper was voted, with $12 per month in hard money, including State pay. There is still preserved, a paper which shows that the town had to raise £8,400 to meet this demand, and it gives the names of those who hitherto had not done their share, upon whom this sum was levied. The £8,400 was in paper. The tax levy shows that at this time, Sept. 25, 1780, £1 in silver was equal to £72 paper.
Besides these men for the Continental army, three months' men had to be sent out at this time. Six months later, Dec. 25, we find the town appointing a large recruiting committee, to secure thirteen men for three years, or the war. They were finally secured by dividing those liable to military duty into thir- teen classes, each class furnishing a man.
Six months later the town was divided into ten classes for the same purpose.
May 21, 1779, the town voted in favor of calling a State Con- vention to frame a new Constitution and Bill of Rights; and, on Aug. 9, they appointed Dea. Joseph Smith a delegate to the Con- vention which met in Concord, Sept. 1st. It continued, by ad- journment from time to time, till March 2, 1780, at which time they submitted a Constitution for consideration by the people. After Belchertown had listened to the reading of it, they chose a committee of sixteen, Col. Howe chairman, " to make," or, I sup- pose, to propose " such alterations as they should think best." The Constitution was ratified by the people, and the first election of State officers ordered to take place on the first Monday of Sep- tember. On that day Dea. Joseph Smith was chosen the first representative of this town in "the Grate and General Court." After that Col. Caleb Clark represented his town at least three successive terms. Once, it is recorded, that they chose a commit- tee " to give the representative instructions, from time to time in the ensuing year, and that the representative shall act agreea- ble to the instructions." This was a frequent practice.
For purposes of drill and enlistment, the town had two militia companies, known at home as the East and West Companies. They were the 3d and 9th Co's of the 4th Hampshire regiment, of which at one time Col. Howe was in command. He was super- seded by Col. Porter, of Hadley, upon the return of the latter from the army. This regiment included what is now Hampshire East. Dec. 31, 1778, Col. Porter made a return to the adjutant-
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general of the condition of his regiment. From this return I glean some facts of interest. The Lt. Col. was Ruggles Wood- bridge, of So. Hadley, who had led a regiment at Bunker Hill. The Major was J. C. Williams, of Hadley. Of the 3d, which was our West Co., Jonathan Bardwell, Aaron Phelps and Henry Dwight were in command, and of the 9th, Elijah Dwight, James Walker and Edward Smith. All men physically capable, and not past a certain age, probably forty-five, were in the " training band." Those between this age and sixty-five, were on the "alarm list ;" probably not required to train, but liable to be called out if a great emergency arose. At this time the West Co. had 64 men in the training band, and 25 on the alarm list. The numbers of the East Co. were 73 and 23. The whole regiment had a train- ing band of 829, and an alarm list which brought the total up to 1,140. Besides these, there were at this time connected with the regiment 322 men in actual service, 193 of whom were in the Continental army, and 114 in the State militia.
Nearly all the men were on one or the other of these lists. At this time, within the bounds of this regiment, there were only 33 men between the ages of 16 and 60 not enrolled. The regi- ment had 753 good fire arms, 206 bayonets, 573 jack knives, 2,467 flints, 10,737 buck-shot, 14,778 bullets, 476 pounds of powder, 555 blankets, 321 canteens, 379 cartridge boxes of 15 rounds.
May 8, 1780, the town chose a committee from each company " to bring to an average the service that has been done in the war by each company." These were the committee men : West Co., Dea. Joseph Smith, Dea. Ephraim Clough, Lt. James Walker, Elijah Dwight, Capt. Isaac Stacy. East Co., Col. Howe, Reu- ben Barton, Asa Shumway, Jacob Wilson, Dr. Estes Howe. As a basis of computation in averaging, it was voted "that all past service be called 20s. a month, equal to rye at 3s. a bushel ; " i. e., as I suppose, he who had paid 20s., or 7 bushels of rye for recruits, was credited with one month's service. The committee's report is still extant ; but does not show how much of each man's credit arose from actual service, and how much from 20s. a month. The West Co., 83 men, is credited with 123 years' service, or an average of a year and a half each ; the East Co., 101 men, with 101 years, or a year each. That is, 184 men had supplied the government 206 years of military service, either in person or by money for substitutes, between the opening of the war and May 8, 1780. Of the West Co., 55 out of 83 had rendered more service than
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was due, the others less. Of the East Co., it was half and half. In making the average, the men who served with Maj. Josiah Lyman in Canada, were credited with double the actual number of months' service, because of the hardships they endured. The determination of the service due from each, seems to have been based on the number of polls and the estate which each repre- sented. The following persons were those credited with the most service, either personal or by proxy. Of the numbers following each name, the first represents the months of service rendered ; the second, the months due ; the third, the number of polls the man represented, and hence, of course, the number he had who might help him meet his military obligations : Capt. Joel Greene, 81-12-2; Col. Caleb Clark, 72-42-3; Jacob Hanks, 62-18- 4; Nathan Parsons, 59-16-2; Maj. Josiah Lyman, 50-15-1; Capt. Jonathan Bardwell, 44-20-1; Lt. Joseph Graves, 40- 27-1; Israel Towne, 39-25-5; Dea. Joseph Smith, 41-25- 3; Lt. James Walker, 37-22-2; Dr. Estes Howe, 36-8-1.
The following list comprises all the persons of whose personal service the town clerk or myself can find any documentary evi- dence :
Of the Dwights, Elijah and Pliny were in the service two weeks, after the battle of Lexington ; and the former two months near the close of that year, and also at New York, in 1776, two months. Joseph Reed was out in 1777, 3 mos., 20 days.
In 1780, Wm. Kentfield was credited with a year's service ren- dered by his son Asaph. A pay-roll, still extant, establishes the fact that the following persons served about six months each in 1780, after July 4: James White, Samuel White, Thomas Fuller, Wm. Hannum, Reuben, Asa and Whitney Shumway, Eli- jah Parker, Stephen Darling, Joseph Towne, Caleb Stacy, Salmon Kentfield, Nath. Dodge, Nath. Doakes, Luther Clough, Enos Smith, Joel Greene, Eb. Chapman, Elijah Walker. In a paper which is extant, the Secretary of State certifies to the enlistment of four men, Samuel Pollesey, Benj. Burden, Zeph. Sturtevant, and John Hamblen, towards Belchertown's quota of three years' men, called for, March, 1782. To these must be added Capt. Jona- than Bardwell and Lt. Moses Howe, who led a Militia Co. to Bos ton, after Lexington ; Maj. Elihu Lyman, a native of this place, at least, who was with Arnold in Maine ; Maj. Josiah Lyman, who led a Company from Belchertown and vicinity to Quebec with Col. Porter, one of whom must have been Asa Smith,
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referred to in Rev. Mr. Forwards' letter before. That another was Lt. James Walker, there is evidence from a manuscript list of service done, as given below, in which the word Quebec is written against his name, with the service of the year 1776. Porter speaks of "Pepe " Gilbert and F. Davis of this Company, who died in Canada. David Bridges served five months as a substi- tute for Col. Howe.
Of course these were only a small part of those who saw actual service, but the fathers left few records to enlighten us. Who served in all that long campaign, with Porter and others, which ended in the capture of Burgoyne; or with Washington about Boston, and afterward about New York and up the Hudson, or in New Jersey, we can not certainly tell. For some further con- clusions on this point, see the Appendix (p. 98). Mr. Doolittle makes the statement that, of the citizens of this town, " twenty died in the service of the Revolutionary war."
A town meeting was called June 3, 1783, "to see if the town will come into the same or similar resolves with the town of Bos- ton, agreeable to their request, with respect to the refugees re- turning back among us." They met and "voted that this town will at all times, as they have done, to the utmost of their power, oppose every enemy to the just rights and liberties of mankind; and that after so wicked a conspiracy against those rights and liberties by certain ingrates, most of them natives of these States, and who have been refugees and declared traitors to their country, it is the opinion of this town that they ought never to be suffered to return, but to be excluded from having lot or portion amongst us." This was the spirit of the people towards the tories. Whether the resolve applied to any of our citizens, I am unaware. It seems there were lands within our borders owned by tories ; for March 22, 1779, "Pliny Dwight was chosen Agent to look after Refugee or tory lands, to see that there be no waste of it among the timber, or in any other way ; and to prosecute trespass, if there is any."
A letter from Rev. Mr. Forward to Col. Porter, will illustrate the state of things referred to on p. 43, 44. It is dated Ang. 12, 1776, and says: "I have only time to beg a favor of you for Asa Smith. I mean not to exculpate him for deserting. But he is heartily sorry, and his return is voluntary. He has been so long in the woods, that he has been in this town but twenty days; and now pushes off with speed. And, sir, may I not suggest that the
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disasters of the army were such as were disheartening; and he, being at Chambly, and heard rumors worse perhaps than were true, and expected the worst ; and that flight was the only way to preserve life ; I say, may not these considerations be plead as an argument to recommend him to favor. He behaved well last year; and I doubt not will behave well again if he is received to favor. I dare say he will die, before he will turn his back again ; but punishment will dishearten him. I beg therefore that he may be forgiven, and received to favor." As, in the average papers spoken of above, no mention is made of him, it may be that he did die rather than " turn his back."
At this distance in time, and with incomplete data, we can not determine exactly the relative rank of the fathers in point of in- fluence ; but the foregoing pages show who were some of the mil- itary and civic leaders. These additional facts may also be men tioned :
" During the Revolutionary period, Capt. N. Dwight and Daniel and Joseph Smith were Selectmen five years each, Israel Cowles three, Col. Clark, Col. Howe, Maj. Lyman, Dr. Estes Howe and Lt. Henry Dwight twice, and several others once. The military needs of the period demanded frequent town meetings. During this period Daniel Smith presided over seventeen town meetings, Maj. Lyman over sixteen, Joseph Smith over ten, Capt. John Cowles over eight, Dr. Howe over six, Col. Howe and Col. Clark over five, Capt. Zach. Eddy over four, and N. Dwight over three. The latter was Town Clerk by far the larger part of the time, though Elijah Dwight held that office for a while. The names of Committees of Correspondence and of other important committees are elsewhere given. In the Provincial Congress our members were Col. Howe twice, Capt. N. Dwight, Col. Clark and Dea. Jo- seph Smith. Dea. Smith was member of the Constitutional Con- vention, and of the first State Legislature, and Col. Clark of the next three Legislatures.
Dea. Smith's influence was perpetuated in his sons, three of whom, Amasa, Eli and John, were converted in a revival which visited the place soon after the close of the war, and became cler- gymen, in which office they spent long lives. One of them, John, attained to special eminence in his profession, during the last twelve years of his life filling the post of Professor of Sacred Lit- erature and Theology in Bangor Theological Seminary.
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APPENDIX.
AMONG the papers of the town is a series of four entitled: " A list of the service done in the present war for each year." 1775-1779. They are au- thenticated by the signature of Elijah Dwight, then Town Clerk, who en- dorses them as follows, under date of March 12, 1781 : " The within Account passed by the Town as a Town Debt." Appended to the names is the num- ber of months' and days' service rendered in each of the five years, and at the end the " value of the service with the interest." I have thought it would be of interest to the families of the town to know with what service the an- cestors of each are credited, even if it can not be precisely determined how far the figures represent service personally done, and how far service paid for. The following is the list described, condensed as much as possible. After each man's name comes the number of months' " service done," and also the number of polls which he represented, if more than one. It is plain that a man with sons taxable, but under age, could, with their aid, render a given amount of service more easily than if alone. For the sake of brevity, sur- names are not repeated ; and, to secure against confusion, are given in italics. For explanation of the reference marks, see pp 99, 100.
Abbot, Nathan, 6; Bagg, Noble, || 13; Bardwell, Elijah, 13, John,# 19, Jona- than, Jr., 15-2, Joseph,t 12-2, Joseph, Jr.,* 3, Martin, t 12, Simeon,| 68; Barton, Moses, 14, Nathan, 11, Reuben,* 18; Bartlett, David,* 9-2, Solomon,; 11; Billings, Joseph, t 9, Benj. Jr.,| 24; Blanchard, Geo., 9; Bliss, Ebenezer,|| 8, Wm.,t 19 ; Bridgman, Joseph, 21, Oliver,| 27; Bridges, Jonathan,|| 10; Capen, Purches, 15; Chapin, Elijah,| 30-4, Luther,* 5; Chapman, Throop, 19; Clark, Col. Caleb,§ 72-3; Clough, Dea. Ephraim,# 28-3, Jonathan, 7; Cowles, Israel,|| 14, Israel, Jr.,§ 13, Capt. John,# 26, John, Jr.,t 8 ; Darling, Stephen,* 9-2; Davis, Sam'1, 4; Dodge, Caleb,t 10-2; Dwight, Capt. Na- thaniel,# 26, Capt. Elijah,|| 24, Justus,* 30, P'liny,t 39, (father and three sons,) Lt. Henry,* 15; Eddy, Thomas,* 6; Fairfield, Thad.,| 11; Fay, James, | 3, Paul,|| 4; Gates, Thomas,|| 3; Goodale, Elisha,| 10; Graves, Lt. Joseph, 38, John,* 6; Hannum, Caleb,* 11, Q M. Gideon,§ 25-4, Moses,§ 30-2, Phineas,* 6, Sam.,| 6; Howe, Col. Samuel,* 23, Lt. Moses,# 10, Dr. Estes,; 38, Elijah,t 11; Hulett, Lt. Mason, || 11, Thomas,|| 8; Kentfield, David,# 26, Wm ,t 9, Jonathan # 11, Rufus, | 20, Salmon,t 7-2; Kingsley, Calvin, t 23-2; Knowlton, Roswell,t 14; Lee, Phineas, t 7-2; Livermore, Isaac, 3 ; Lyman, Maj. Josiah,§ 44; Moody, Ebenezer,!| 16; Morgan, Benj , 16-3; Nash, Jonathan,|| 3, Reuben, § 8; Needham, Daniel, 3; New'on, Asa,t 5; Olds,# Widow -18; Justin, 7; Palmer, David, 6; Parker, Elijah, 11; Parsons, Adjt. Nathan,#
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APPENDIX.
47-2; Phelps, Lt. Aaron,|| 17, Eliakim,* 17; Pratt, Abraham, 2, David,t 9, Jabez, 4, James,§ 8, Micah,t 7; Prentice, Moses,* 11; Ramsdell, Joseph,t 7 ; Read, Joseph, 4; Rice, 'Timothy, 7; Root, Elisha,|| 12, Hezekiahi,§ 29-2, Orlando, 8; Ruggles, Timothy, 19; Sawin, James, 9; Shumway, Asa, t 8, Cyril, 4, Sergt. David,|| II, Levi,|| 17, Nathan,t 15, Solomon,t 10, Stephen,| 4; Sikes, Joseph, 6; Smith, Lt. Daniel,# 21-2, Lt. Edward, 17, Hezekiah,* 14, James,* 7, Dea. Josepli,§ 26-3, Joseph, Jr., 9, Lemuel,* 13, Thomas,* 6 ; Stanley, Abisha,* 8; Stacy, Capt. Isaac,; 27-3; Stebbins, Lt. Gideon,|| 20; Thayer, Enoch,t 5, Noah, 8; Thurston, Thomas, 7, Paul,* 12; Torrence, Thomas,t 10, Wm., 5; Towne, Israel,|| 39-3, David,§ 19-2, Francis, 7; Walker, Lt. James,|| 24-2; Warner, Ebenezer,|| 12, Elisha,# 17, Jonathan,* 10, Josiah,| 7, Seth,* 30; Ward, Jesse, 6, John,§ 22-2, John 3d,* 8, Obadiah, Jr.,§ 8, Samuel,; 8; White, James," 2; Whitney, Benj.,§ 29-4, Benj. Jr.,* 8; Williams, Darling, 7, Joseph,# 19-3, Thomas,| 12; Wilson, Asa, 7, Jacob,* 12, Samuel,§ 13-3, Thomas, 8, Jacob 3d, 1.
On one of the sheets the Town Clerk adds to his endorsement as before given, " with additions to be made of those that have not brought in their ac- count." These names are on the list, but no amount of service specified ; Sam. and James Blair, Simon Blanchard, Benj. Burdon, James Clark, Reu- ben Coates, Jona. Flynt, Nath. Goodale, Lt. M. Gray, Sethi Hulett, Asa, Eben and Josiah Hill, John Jordan, Enoch Olds, Nath. Perry, Elijah Thayer, Eli- jalı Turner, Elihu Warner, and Capt. Joel Greene, who is credited in the av- erage papers with 81 mos. (2 polls), and who was also, at a later period, six montlis at least in service, as were several others in the list above. Mary White, Rachel Hannum, and Elizabeth Crawfoot, are named as widows to whom the town was indebted. Perhaps their husbands died in the service.
It is certain that some of the above was hired service ; for Captain Elijah Dwight, Town Clerk, certifies that his father, Nathaniel, hired a man for 8 mos., in 1775, and that his brothers, Justus and Pliny, each hired one a year to go to Quebec; and this hired service is eredited to them in the list. Moreover, in several instances, men are credited with more months' service in a year than the year has months, and that in the case of men representing but one poll ; so that it is certain " service done " in this list, includes service hired. Each of the Dwight family are credited with 18 months' service in 1777, Joseph Graves with 36, Moses Hannum, 18, David Kentfield, 18, Dr. E. Howe, 28, Calvin Kingsley, 19, Tim. Ruggles, 19, and Rufus Kentfield, 19; Simeon Bardwell with 55 months in the first three years ; Pliny Dwight with 20 months in '76, and Throop Chapman with 15, Oliver Bridgman with 19, and Col. Caleb Clark with 60, in '78.
Capt. Elijah Dwight, in a paper still extant, certifies that he and his brother Pliny were "gon a fortnet after Lexenton fight." Twenty-one men are cred- ited with about that amount of service that year, most of them with 15 days. l'utting this and that together, the author concludes that they went in person to Boston, in the first uprising, with Capt. Jonathan Bardwell and Lt. Moses Howe, who, according to Dr. Holland, led our company. The names of these are marked in the list with a dagger, thus (+).
Lt. Howe is credited with 8 months', 15 days' service in 1775. So also are fifteen others. Is it unreasonable to conclude that they served with him about Boston ? Their names in the list are marked with the double dagger, thus (#).
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APPENDIX.
Fourteen others are credited with nearly the same amount of service, that year, either more or less, whose names bear the section mark, thus (§).
All others who rendered service in 1775, are marked with parallel lines, thus (II). Their period of service was from one month, upward.
Most of these who served in 1775 did so also in 1776 or 1777, or both. Those whose first service was in 1776, are marked with a star. All in the list, with no reference mark by their names, rendered their first service in 1777, with the exception of Davis, Needham, Jesse Ward and A. Pratt, who began in 1778.
Judging from what was true in the last war, and from the fact that little is said about raising bounty money till 1778, the author concludes that service credited to a man in the first years of the war, is more likely to have been ac- tual service than that credited to him in its later years, though it is certain that some of the latter was actual service, and some of the former hired ser- vice. For example, N. Dwight is credited with 8 months, 15 days in 1775 ; but his son Elijah certifies that it was hired. During a part of that time, he was in the Provincial Congress, "armed cap-a-pie," according to the instruc- tions of his townsmen. Simeon Bardwell, also, that year, is credited with 17 months' service, though he represented only himself; he must therefore have paid for a part, at least. It is, hence, certain that not all the service even of the first year, was in person, though a large part of it doubtless was.
The list which has now been undergoing analysis, fails to mention the fol- lowing who are credited with more or less service in the "average papers" referred to on a previous page. Capt. Jonathan Bardwell, (who led the first company from town and is credited with 44 months,) Jacob Hanks, John White, J. Robinson, J. Mosley, Jacob Wilson, Jr., O. Ward, Jos. Williams, Jr., Jas. Hulett, Elijah Fay, Wm. and Joshua Allen, Abner Eddy, Elijah Lee, Matthew Moody, Eldad Parsons, Dr. Amasa Scott, Oliver Wright, Sam. Wor- thington, Widow Elizabeth Eaton.
The papers give some reason to suppose that, among thie Canada soldiers with Captain Lyman and Lt. James Walker, were Lt. Gideon Stebbins, Adjt. Nathan Parsons, Dea. Joseph Smith and Elisha Root. As a fact of interest it may be said that these papers show that Major Joseph Hawley, of North- ampton, was among the non-resident land-holders here, paying taxes on 850 acres.
The names of the twenty dead who made the greatest sacrifice, sealing their patriotism with their lives, do not appear liere, unless some of them died after 1781. If their names could be ascertained, they would deserve to stand at the head of our list of Revolutionary heroes. No one can be better aware than is the author, of the unsatisfactory state in which this review leaves the question as to who of our citizens actually performed military ser- vice ; but this is presented as the best approximation to an answer which con- siderable examination and study has enabled him to give, and he thought that those interested in the patriotic doings of their fathers, would find pleasure in an examination of the list. Though no doubt many months' service were done by proxy, yet it is probable that the greater part of those whose names are given, saw actual campaigning at one time or another.
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