USA > New Hampshire > Rockingham County > Exeter > History of the town of Exeter, New Hampshire > Part 23
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
The next day they elected permanent officers. James Hackett was chosen captain ; a ship-builder by profession-resolute, per- emptory and courageous. In his youth he is said to have served in Major Robert Rogers's famous Rangers. John Ward Gilman and Nathaniel Gookin were the lientenants, and John Taylor Gilman, Gideon Lamson and Noah Emery, Jr. were the sergeants. Nearly all of these served in some military capacity later in the Revolution. John T. Gilman, then only twenty-one years of age, was one of the most active and energetic in getting the company so promptly in the field. He was afterwards a member of the Continental Congress and fourteen years Governor of the State.
The company was well armed and equipped for actual fighting. Twenty-five of their muskets were from the stock furnished to the Exeter Cadets by the royal Governor Wentworth, who little imagined that he was supplying arms to be turned against the authority of the mother country. They had also bayonets, belts and cartridge boxes well filled with ammunition, and a good drum and fife, but neither tents nor blankets. They attracted no little notice, by their soldierly bearing, and were handsomely compli- mented by General Heath. The company, as such, remained at Cambridge but little more than a week, when, the immediate exi- gency having passed, some of the members returned home, and the remainder probably joined some of the permanent military organizations then forming.
244
HISTORY OF EXETER.
Of the one hundred and eight men who marched to Cambridge on the morning of April 20, 1775, no complete list is known. It is unfortunate that the names of all the patriots who were so ready to respond to their country's earliest call to arms, cannot be handed down to posterity. The few which are known with cer- tainty, are here given :
James Hackett, Captain Eleazer Ferguson
John Ward Gilman, Lieutenant
Ebenezer Light
Nathaniel Gookin, Lieutenant
Jonathan Lougee
John Taylor Gilman, Sergeant
John Light
Gideon Lamson, Sergeant
Caleb Mitchell
Noah Emery, Jr., Sergeant
At a meeting of the town on the ensuing fifteenth of May it was
Voted, That the inen that went to Cambridge on the late alarm be paid ten shillings each, and that Mr. Hackett be paid ten dollars for his service.
Voted, To refund the money expended by the committee on that occasion ; and that the provisions which were purchased for the support of said men, and are now in the committee's hands, be taken care of ; that the powder, ball and flints be returned to the selectmen.
Voted, The thanks of the town to the committee for their good service.
The accounts of the selectmen show what the town expended on the occasion :
1775
April. Cash paid Timothy Chamberlain for bread supplied to the men that went to the Lex- ington battle £3. 10. 0
Cash paid the committee for the money advanced to the men that went to Cam- bridge 22. 10. 0
For purchasing lead for the town to make bullets 10. 0.0
1776 By paid 74 men for their service at Cam- bridge in April, 1776(5) as per town note Paid Eleazer Ferguson, Ebenezer Light, Jonathan Lougee, John Light and Caleb Mitchell in full for their service at Cam- bridge in the year 1775 1. 17.3
30. 7. 9
1777
245
HISTORY OF EXETER.
An account was afterwards presented to the State of New Hampshire by the town, containing these items :
To Captain Hackett's pay for his company to Cambridge in 1775 £137. 13.10 To Ephraim Robinson account to Cambridge in 1775 3.0.0
EXETER SOLDIERS IN 1775.
Of the men who filled the New Hampshire regiments in April and May, 1775, the names of the volunteers from Exeter, so far as they can be now ascertained, are here given.
Of Captain Henry Dearborn's company, in Colonel Stark's regi- ment it is stated in the fourteenth volume of the New Hampshire Provincial Papers that a part were from Exeter. The tax lists of the town contain three of the names on the roll of that company, Jonathan Gilman, Jeremiah Conner and Zebulon Marsh ; but these may not be all, as a considerable proportion of those in the army probably had not reached the taxable age.
In Captain Winthrop Rowe's company, in Colonel Poor's reg- iment, were the following persons, with their several occupa- tions and ages :
Jonathan Flood, husbandman, 31 Thomas Creighton, shipwright, 38
Noah Robinson, blacksmith, 19 Spencer Wallace, 30
Eliphalet Lord, hatter, 20 Asa Ireland, saddler, 22
Moses Clark, blacksmith,
19 William Mugridge, blacksmith, 17
Moses Rollins, 19 William McKim, barber, 47
James Beal, cordwainer,
21 Cato Duce.
In Captain Philip Tilton's company, Colonel Poor's regiment :
Joseph Marsh, blacksmith, 21 Benjamin Loud, barber, 20
Nathaniel Coffin, husbandman, 26 Joseph Leavitt, husbandman, 50
In Captain James Norris's company, Colonel Poor's regiment : Eliphalet Norris, blacksmith, 18
In Captain Samuel Gilman's company, Colonel Poor's regiment : Eliphalet Coffin.
In Captain Richard Shortridge's company, Colonel Poor's regi- ment :
246
HISTORY OF EXETER.
William Bennett Simon Gilman John Hilton Simeon Marshall
Thomas Speed Elijah Vickery Thomas Webster
Colonel Enoch Poor was himself of Exeter, as was the sur- geon of his regiment, Dr. Caleb G. Adams.
Returns of the following companies in Massachusetts regiments show that they contained Exeter men as follows :
Captain Jeremiah Gilman's company, Nixon's regiment, Sep- tember 30, 1775 :
Samuel Magoon.
Captain Hugh Maxwell's company, Prescott's regiment, Sep- tember, 1775 :
Edward Brown.
Captain John Currier's company, James Frye's regiment, Octo- ber 6, 1775 :
Michael Brown.
Captain Isaac Sherman's company, Baldwin's regiment, Sep- tember 26, 1775 :
Caleb Robinson, 1st Lieutenant
Samuel Lamson, Sergeant
Ebenezer Light, Sergeant
Joseph Brooks, Sergeant
Caleb Mitchell, Sergeant
John Light, Corporal
Jonathan Cass, Corporal
Thomas Carlton, Corporal
Isaac Grow, Corporal
Moses Lougee, Fifer
Daniel Barker
Daniel Leary
Joseph Purmort
William Cushing
Benjamin Leavitt
James Ross
Joseph Dolloff
William Leavitt
Elisha Smith
Simeon Farmer (Palmer?)
Jonathan Lougee
Samuel Smith
Eleazer Ferguson
Joseph Lovering
Trueworthy Smith
Caleb Gilman
Dudley Marsh
Josiah Steel
John Gilman
John Nichols
Isaac Stubbs
Josiah Gordon
Benjamin Norris
Bradstreet Taylor
Theophilus Hardie
Samuel Norris
Nathaniel Thing
Ebenezer Judkins
Abraham Perry
Captain Isaac Sherman was a native of Connecticut, and had been a school teacher in Exeter ; so that his acquaintance there enabled him to enlist so large a number in his company. It is probable that many of the men had gone to Cambridge on the first
247
HISTORY OF EXETER.
alarm, April 20, 1775 ; and remained there after their comrades of the Exeter company returned home ; and the fact that New Hampshire did not organize her regiments at once, would explain why they and others joined regiments credited to Massachusetts.
On the sixth of October, 1775, the selectinen of Exeter, in response to a mandate of the General Court for a census, returned fifty-one inhabitants " gone to the army."
In December, 1775, at the urgent request of General Washing- ton, New Hampshire furnished thirty-one companies of militia for service in the army, for the term of six weeks. Two of these companies came in part, at least, from Exeter. No rolls of them have been preserved, but the officers were as follows :
Twenty-second company : Benjamin Boardman, captain, Porter Kimball, lieutenant, Winthrop Dudley, second lieutenant.
Thirtieth company : Peter Coffin, captain, John IIall, lieutenant, James Sinclair, second lieutenant.
Each of these companies contained, also, three sergeants, three corporals, two musicians and forty-seven privates.
After their six weeks' service expired, a regiment was organized from the members of the thirty-one companies who were willing to remain, and Captain Peter Coffin was commissioned major thereof. How many other Exeter men served in it, there is no means of learning, as no rolls are known to be extant. The regiment con- tinned in service under Colonel John Waldron until after the evacu- ation of Boston in March, 1776.
The Exeter rates assessed in 1775 against the following persons, all of whom were in the military service, were abated : Jonathan Brown, Samuel Hardy, Thomas Lord, William McKim and Tim- othy Sanborn.
EXETER SOLDIERS IN 1776.
A return of Colonel Poor's regiment in 1776, shows that William Evans of Exeter, twenty-seven years old, enlisted January 1, and deserted March 29, and that John Gilman, Jr., aged twenty-two, was sick and absent July, 1776.
In June and July, 1776, Colonel Isaac Wyman's New Hamp- shire regiment was raised to reinforce the army in Canada.
Exeter was represented in it by Noah Emery, paymaster, and by several members of Captain William Harper's company, of whom we are able to specify only two : Jonathan Flood and John Steel, the latter of whom enlisted as a private, but is said to have been promoted to orderly sergeant.
248
HISTORY OF EXETER.
In July, 1776, a second regiment was organized from men obtained from the militia of the State, to reinforce the army in Canada, and placed under the command of Colonel Joshua Win- gate. In Captain Simon Marston's company were the following Exeter men :
William Bennett, Ensign James Creighton Simon Gilman
James Rundlett, Drummer
Levi Robertson
Moses Leavitt
Simeon Marshall
David Fogg Abraham Sheriff
Edward Eastham* Seth Fogg Elijah Vickery
John Wadleigh
Simon Drake
Kinsley H. James
Ebenezer Ferguson
Thomas Webster
Samuel Daniels
Simeon Palmer
Samuel Dutch
William Cushing
On the nineteenth of September, 1776, Colonel Pierse Long was commissioned commander of a battalion organized on the continen- tal basis, which, in November of the same year, was ordered to reinforce the army at Ticonderoga, and was there stationed when that post was evacuated on the approach of General Burgoyne in the year following. Adjutant James McClure was of Exeter, as were also the following persons :
In Captain Mark Wiggin's company :
Richard Dolloff
Joel Loud
Joseph Dolloff
Benjamin Perkins William Chelsea Joseph Kennison
In Captain John Calfe's company :
William McKim.
In Captain Nathan Brown's company :
Benjamin Hoyt William Hoyt Paul Lambert
In September, 1776, the General Court of New Hampshire voted to reinforce the army at New York with two regiments, the first of which was placed under the command of Colonel Thomas Tash. Captain Daniel Gordon's company of this regiment contained the following officers and men belonging to Exeter :
Zebulon Gilman, Lieut. Dole Pearson Caleb Thurston
Jonathan Norris, Ensign Josiah Rollins, Jr.
Benjamin Conner
Dudley Watson Samuel Smith Abraham Brown
David Jewett Daniel Barker Samuel Moody
James Gordon
Jonathan Woodman
John Nealey, Jr.
* This name, being uncommon, is frequently confounded with Eastman, and so written.
249
HISTORY OF EXETER.
In the month of December, 1776, an order was made for the drafting of five hundred men from the several militia organiza- tions of the State, into a regiment to be commanded by Colonel David Gilman. Peter Coffin was major and Samuel Brooks, Jr., quartermaster, both of Exeter. It is probable that some six or seven of the members of Captain Daniel Gordon's company were Exeter men, but it is not easy to identify them.
From a return of the men enlisted for the war in Colonel Cilley's regiment of the New Hampshire line, 1776, it appears that two of them were from Exeter, viz. :
Samuel Locke
Abner Thurston
EXETER SOLDIERS IN 1777.
Upon a re-organization of the New Hampshire troops in the continental service, in 1777, the roster shows the following officers from Exeter :
In Colonel Hale's (second) regiment :
William Elliott, Adjutant Ebenezer Light, Second Lieut.
William Parker, Surgeon Noah Robinson, Second Lieut.
Caleb Robinson, Captain
In Colonel Scammell's (third) regiment :
Nicholas Gilman, Adjutant Nathaniel Gilman, Lieutenant
Exeter men enlisted in the second regiment :
In Captain Carr's company :
Thomas Webster John Dolloff
Samuel Norris Robert Arnold
In Captain Titcomb's company :
James Creighton.
The following is a list of Exeter men hired or enlisted between January and March, 1777, for three years or during the war, belonging to the fourth regiment of militia, to complete the conti- nental battalions :
Henry Barter Trueworthy Dudley
James Beal Jonathan Flood
Joseph Gordon William Gordon
William Bell
Jonathan Folsom
Isaac Grow
James Creighton
Michael George
Simeon Haines
Samuel Davis
Cartee Gilman
Jonathan Hill
250
HISTORY OF EXETER.
John Hilton
Daniel Morse
James Rundlett
Benjamin Hoyt
Enoch Morse
William Sloan
William Hoyt
Benjamin Nealey
Thomas Speed
Jonathan Hopkinson
William Nealey
Daniel Sullivan
John Jepson
Eliphalet Norris
Bradstreet Taylor
James Kelley
James Norris
Abner Thurston
Ebenezer Light
Samuel Norris
John Wadleigh
Moses Lougee
Paul (a negro)
Thomas Webster
Samuel Magoon, Jr.
Noah Robinson
Jacob Merrill (Morrill?)
Moses Rollins
In addition to these we find on various rolls, of the three years' men in the continental regiments in the spring of 1777, these names, from Exeter :
Dennis Bickford Edward Leavitt Abraham Wadleigh
Edward Eastham John Niehols
Simon Gilman James Sloan
In the month of June, 1777, the State authorized a battalion to be raised for the defence of Rhode Island, to serve six months. The command of it was given to Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Senter. Joseph Leavitt and Enoch Rowe of Exeter were respec- tively sergeant major and quartermaster of the battalion. It is believed that there were other Exeter men in it; probably in Captain Robert Pike's company.
Later, in September of the same year, the alarm was spread of the incursion of Burgoyne, and orders were given to raise one- sixth part of the men of the several militia regiments for imme- diate service, to resist the invasion.
Among those drawn from the Exeter men in the fourth regi- ment were the following, most of whom served in Colonel Stephen Evans's regiment :
Benjamin Cass Nathaniel Ladd Abraham Sheriff
William Chelsea Eliphalet Lord John Swett
Zebulon Gilman, Capt. Joseph Lovering Ebenezer Swasey
James Gordon Benjamin Morse Nathaniel Thing
John Kimball Jonathan Norris, 2d Lieut. Daniel Tilton
Moses Kimball
Joseph Permort
These names are all found upon the tax lists of Exeter, and it is probable that there were others below the taxable age, but liable to do military duty, among those drawn.
251
HISTORY OF EXETER.
In addition to the foregoing, there were several Exeter gentle- men of position and mature years who volunteered and marched to Saratoga, under the command of Captain John Langdon of Portsmouth. Of this number were :
Col. Nicholas Gilman, as lieutenant
Maj. James Hackett
Capt. Eliphalet Giddings
Capt. Nathaniel Giddings Ephraim Robinson, Esq. Samuel Gilman
The taxes of the following persons were abated in 1777, upon the ground that they were " in the army," and probably all in the New Hampshire line.
Henry Barter
Isaac Grow, Sergt.
Joseph Marsh, Corp.
Jonathan Cass, Lieut.
Benjamin Hoyt
Caleb Mitchell
John Dean's boy
William Hoyt
Benjamin Norris
Ward C. Dean's boy
John Kimball, Jr.
Caleb Robinson, Capt.
Trueworthy Dudley
Moses Kimball
Elisha Smith
Jonathan Flood Ebenezer Light, Lieut.
Thomas Speed
James Folsom's boy
John Light
Josiah Steel
Jonathan Folsom Moses Lougee
Nathaniel Thing
Cartee Gilman James McClure, Adjt.
William Gordon, Sergt. William McKim
These, of course, were exclusive of the younger men, below the taxable age.
EXETER SOLDIERS IN 1778.
In the list of absentees from Colonel Cilley's (first) continental regiment, January 10, 1778, were the following residents of Exeter :
William Nealey, age 29, wounded ;
left at Albany.
Thomas Hammon, 32, deserted ;
" Exeter.
Enoch Morse,
16, sick ; " " Fishkill.
Abner Thurston,
20,
wounded ;
" Albany.
Absentees from Colonel Hale's (second) continental regiment :
James Rundlett, Sergeant,
23,
missing ;
left at Hubbardton.
James Beal,
22,
Thomas Creighton,
42,
" 'Ticonderoga.
John Nichols,
20,
Hubbardton.
William Bell,
22,
66
Albany.
Edward Wade,
23,
sick ;
252
HISTORY OF EXETER.
William Gordon,
24, missing ; deserted ;
left at Hubbardton.
Samuel Smith,
24,
Fishkill.
Henry Barter,
25,
William Leavitt,
25,
66
66
Jonathan Hopkinson,
26,
Dennis Bickford,
36,
Albany.
Noah Marsh,
22,
John Hilton,
20,
Jonathan Hill,
17,
Jerseys.
Cartee Gilman,
41,
missing ;
" Hubbardton.
Simon Gilman,
28,
66
66
James Creighton,
27,
wounded ;
Albany.
It is to be recollected that this regiment suffered greatly by casualties, and more by capture at the battle of Hubbardton, Ver- mont, after the evacuation of Ticonderoga ; and those described as missing and left at Ticonderoga or Hubbardton, were probably prisoners. Those described as "deserters," were probably not such in the usual acceptation of the term, but simply missing, in the haste and confusion of retreat ; and apparently had rejoined the colors before June, 1779.
When the invasion of Rhode Island, then held by the British, was projected in 1778, a number of Exeter gentlemen entered into a written engagement with General Sullivan, who was to lead the expedition, in the terms following :
HAMPTON FALLS, April 12th, 1778.
We severally engage, if called by the Hon. Major General Sullivan before the close of the ensuing campaign, we will imme- diately repair to the quarters properly equipped for battle, as volun- teers from Exeter in New Hampshire.
Samuel Folsom
James McClure Benjamin Lamson
James Hackett
Caleb Sanborn
Peter Coffin
I swear I will go or send a better man Esq. (William) Parker goes himself or send a hand
Nathaniel Giddinge
Thomas Odiorne
Ward C. Dean
Eliphalet Giddings James Thurston
Samuel Gilman
66
1
This paper is given as a proof of the patriotic feeling which animated the most responsible and respectable citizens of the town ; though it is presumed that no call was made under it for the military service of the subscribers.
253
HISTORY OF EXETER.
EXETER SOLDIERS IN 1779.
The following Exeter soldiers were enlisted between April and August, 1779, to fill up the New Hampshire continental regiments, to serve during the war :
John Bartlett Richard Cook
Samuel Loek
Alexander Patterson George Patterson
It appears from the roll of absentees of the second New Hamp- shire regiment, June, 1779, that John Sanborn, a farmer, aged thirty-three, was a private, residing in Exeter.
Five Exeter men were enlisted for service in Rhode Island under General Gates, August 28, 1779, for the term of six months, viz. :
Jeremiah Folsom
Nathaniel Lovering
Jonathan Lyford
A return of the men enlisted for the war in the third New Hampshire regiment, dated December, 1779, shows the following Exeter soldiers, viz. :
Abraham Comings
Daniel Morse
Richard Cook
John Wadleigh
Jonathan Flood
EXETER SOLDIERS IN 1780.
In July, 1780, Exeter furnished the following recruits for the New Hampshire regiments in the continental army, to serve till the last day of the succeeding December. Their ages, when known, are given :
Prime Coffin, 30
Richard Loveren, 20
William Cushing,
20
Joseph Parsons, 20
Joseph Dolloff, 21
Dole Pearson,
Ephraim Dudley, 21
William Robinson, 26
Trueworthy Dudley, 19
Daniel Taylor,
Luke Libbey,
22
Stephen Watson, 18
Prince Light,
37
Jonathan Thing Levi Thing
In the same year Henry Dearborn paid bounties to the follow- ing Exeter recruits to fill up the continental army :
254
HISTORY OF EXETER.
Michael George Samuel Marsh Benjamin Morse
Daniel Sullivan John Weeks
In July, 1781, Exeter sent the following six months' men to serve in the continental army at West Point :
Daniel Bickford
Richard Loveren
EXETER SOLDIERS IN 1781.
From a return made by the selectmen of Exeter May 25, 1781, it appears that the following persons from the town had enlisted in the New Hampshire regiments before Jannary, 1781, to serve during the war :
Henry Barter
Samuel Marsh
Richard Cook
Benjamin Morse
James Dockum
Daniel Morse
Zephaniah Downs
Enoch Morse
Jonathan Flood
William Nealey
Michael George
James Norris
Cartee Gilman
Samuel Norris
Ezekiel Gilman
Alexander Patterson
Joseph Gordon
George Patterson
William Gordon
John Powell
Jonathan Hill
Daniel Sullivan
John Hilton
John Wadleigh
Samuel Lock
Thomas Webster
Moses Lougee
John Weeks
And these enlisted since January, 1781, for three years :
Ephraim Dudley John Edwards Eliphalet Rollins
On September 18, 1781, the selectmen of Exeter paid travel money to the following soldiers in Captain Jacob Webster's company in Colonel Daniel Reynolds' regiment of militia :
William Cushing Trueworthy Dudley
Stephen Marsh
Phineas Richardson
Josiah Gordon Benjamin Loveren
Daniel Watson
The whole number of different men furnished by Exeter during the Revolution, for service in the army, was not less than two hundred ; a pretty fair proportion from a town of less than eigh-
255
HISTORY OF EXETER.
teen hundred inhabitants. Most of them served for brief periods, to be sure, but many of them were out on two or more expedi- tions. A few were probably not inhabitants of the town, espe- cially in the later stages of the war, when it became difficult to obtain recruits, but it is believed that their number was more than counterbalanced by that of the Exeter men who were hired to fill up the quotas of other places.
The town was not unmindful of those who went forth to fight its battles, but dealt generously with them and the families they left behind them.
At a meeting of the town held on July 8, 1776, to expedite the raising of men for the reinforcement of General Sullivan's army in Canada, a bounty of two pounds, two shillings, over and above the colonial bounty, was promised to each good and able man that should enlist and pass . muster.
On the nineteenth of January, 1778, it was
Voted, That the selectmen be a committee to supply such fami- lies of the non-commissioned officers and private soldiers belong- ing to this town as now are or shall be engaged in the continental service, with such necessaries of life as their circumstances require.
A subsequent resolution provides similar assistance to the fami- lies of such as have died in the service, and to that of Captain Caleb Robinson, at the discretion of the selectmen.
On the thirtieth of March, 1778, it was voted that Captain Trueworthy Gilman, instead of the selectmen, be a committee to furnish aid to soldiers' families ; and on the twenty-ninth of March, 1779, Captain Eliphalet Ladd was chosen to supply the families of soldiers, agreeably to the resolution of the General Court for the purpose.
On the twenty-seventh of March, 1780, it was voted that the selectmen supply the families of the soldiers with money, not exceeding one-half of their wages monthly.
On March 21, 1782, the town appointed the selectmen a com- mittee to supply the families of the soldiers of the town now in the continental service.
The accounts of the selectmen show the following disburse- ments under the foregoing votes :
1778. Supplying soldiers' families £ 570. 0.0
1779. Cash paid committee to hire soldiers to go to Rhode
Island, under command of Col. Mooney 1253. 0. 0
256
HISTORY OF EXETER.
paid hire of 3 continental soldiers
£180. 0. 0
" continental and state bounty to 5 soldiers 675. 0. 0
supplying soldiers' families 2262. 18. 7
paid S. Folsom money paid to hire soldiers 24. 0. 0
1780. paid committee for hiring soldiers cash paid wives of five soldiers
513. 0. 0
240. 0. 0
committee to hire soldiers
6000. 0. 0
66 66 66
66
12,119. 14. 0
66 66 66
18,510. 15. 0
These last enormous sums, fortunately, were equivalent to only a comparatively moderate amount in hard money.
Nor, after the war was over, did the town forget the veterans, who had followed the fortunes of Washington in the regular mili- tary service. On March 29, 1784, it was
Voted, That every soldier who has been in the New Hampshire line of the continental army from this town and who has received no town bounty, shall not be taxed in the town for his poll for so many years as he served in the line.
The list of officers belonging to Exeter was not a small nor insignificant one, especially if we reckon not only those who belonged to the continental line, but also the much greater number who took the field on various expeditions or emergencies. It included in the regular continental service alone, one brigadier general, one major, one captain and A. A. general, three surgeons, three commissaries, two captains and two lieutenants.
A considerable number of the men in service perished from cas- malty or disease. Many received wounds ; and the names of two, whose injuries were of exceptional severity, were for years upon the State pension list. A few lived well into the present century, and, it is to be hoped, enjoyed, in the decline of life, substantial tokens of the gratitude of the country which they risked their lives to sustain.
The jail in Exeter, during the Revolution, was made a recepta- cle for foreign prisoners and for tories from this and other provinces, especially New York. It was not a very safe place of confinement, as was proved by the notorious Henry Tufts and others having made their escape from it. A guard had to be fur- nished in 1777 for two months, when it was filled with prisoners, to keep them secure, and the following Exeter men were employed in that capacity :
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.