USA > New Hampshire > Cheshire County > Keene > History of the town of Keene, from 1732, when the township was granted by Massachusetts, to 1874, when it became a city > Part 17
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By great exertions of their officers the British were ral- lied at the water's edge and reformed; and again they ad- vanced to the charge. Charlestown was set on fire and destroyed, but most of the inhabitants had fled, not more than two or three hundred remaining of a population of between two and three thousand.
Gen. Putnam, at the rear, was making strenuous efforts to fortify Bunker's hill for a rallying point in case of disaster; carrying intrenching tools from the redoubt for
1 Col. Swett.
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HISTORY OF KEENE.
that purpose, and urging forward reinforcements, very few of whom reached the front line; and there was great con- fusion on that part of the field. Putnam and Col. Gerrish had 1,000 to 1,500 men on Bunker's hill and behind it, only half a mile away, who gave Stark and Prescott no assist- ance and took no part in the action; 1 but suffered loss in the retreat.
The British advanced as steadily as at first. The patriot fire was withheld until they were even nearer than before, and when they were within thirty yards another deadly volley burst upon them, and again they broke and fled in disorder. The slaughter was even greater than before.
Again by the determined efforts of their officers they were rallied-in some cases by blows and other force- reinforcements were sent them, and Gen. Clinton hastened across from Boston to aid in the assault.
On the patriots' side a few scattering squads of rein- forcements joined them, but too late and too few to be effective. Their ammunition was now almost wholly expended. A few artillery cartridges remained and those were broken open and the powder distributed among the infantry.
The British officers knew the Americans had but little ammunition, and this information, spread among their troops, encouraged them to renew the fight. This time the assault was concentrated on the redoubt. Gen. Howe directed his men to lay off their knapsacks, advance in column, reserve their fire, and carry the works at the point of the bayonet.
The patriots could give no more such volleys as before, for they were out of powder; and they had almost no bayonets with which to meet such a charge.
To aid his movement and insure success, Howe advanced a strong column of the grenadiers of his right wing, with artillery, which, instead of attacking the New Hampshire troops at the rail fence, turned to the works on the hill, placed their cannon to enfilade the breastwork running
1 Gerrish was cashiered for cowardice, and "Col. Prescott never ceased to reprobate Putnam for his behavior that day." although he exhibited great per- sonal courage. Stark also denounced him for his lack of judgment.
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out from the north angle, and swept that part of the works with a fire so destructive that the Americans were .forced to abandon it. The British then advanced and entered the redoubt by the rear, and Prescott and his men were compelled to retreat.
During this last assault the New Hampshire men lay behind the rail fence, powerless to drive back the British right wing from want of ammunition. Half a dozen more rounds to each man would have saved the day. As it was, seeing the enemy on their right flank and themselves liable to be cut off, a retreat was ordered and our New Hamp- shire men retired over Bunker's hill in comparatively good order, holding the enemy in check and aiding Prescott and his men to escape. These, with the disorganized troops with Putnam and Gerrish, formed a crowd of fugitives retreating over and beyond the hill upon whom the British turned their fire, and the heaviest loss of the day on the American side was on that ground. Some of the enemy's vessels in Mystic river also had a cross fire on them as they passed the Neck, and there the gallant McClary, major of Stark's regiment, was killed by a cannon ball. He had "hastened to the rear for bandages and was return- ing to his command." The battle lasted one hour and a half.
That night the New Hampshire troops slept on their arms at Winter hill, one mile from Bunker's hill, and the next day began to intrench. All along the line defensive works were renewed, and the siege of Boston began in earnest. The British occupied Bunker's hill and intrenched.
The loss of the enemy was not less than eleven hun- dred men, killed and wounded, or about thirty-three per cent of their whole number engaged.1 Speaking of the ground in his front, Stark said: "The dead lay as thick as sheep in a fold."2 Of a veteran regiment of Welsh
1 Rev. Geo. E. Ellis in his "History of the Battle of Bunker's Hill," puts the British force at 5,000; but that is evidently an exaggeration of the number actually engaged. Gage reported a loss of 1,054, which, of course, would be as favorable as he could make it. Well informed Americans believed it to be not less than 1,500.
2 " An eye-witness counted the next day, in front of the wall, betwixt the Mystic and the swarded ground of the hill, ninety-six dead bodies, and this was after the officers and the wounded had been removed." (Adjutant General's
Report, page 272.)
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HISTORY OF KEENE.
fusileers, 700 strong, in front of the New Hampshire line, only 83 were present for duty the next day.1
Conclusive proof of the importance of the position and. work of the New Hampshire troops on that day, is found in the fact that the loss of the grenadiers2 and light infantry in their front was almost two-thirds of their whole number of killed and wounded, or about double the average of the British loss on that day.8
Rev. Geo. E. Ellis, already referred to, and one or two other writers represent that Putnam commanded the whole line to the left of the redoubt, but nearly all articles published soon after the event agree that Putnam had no command whatever except two companies from Connecti- cut. Stark and Reed each commanded his own regiment, but Stark, being the senior officer and having been placed by the votes of the field officers on the 26th of April in charge of all the New Hampshire troops, was really in command of the whole New Hampshire line, and should share with Prescott the honor of the chief command at Bunker Hill. ยท
"The battle began with the intention of flanking the redoubt by breaking the fence line. It ended by flanking the fence by carrying the redoubt. The New Hampshire and Connecticut men, with such Massachusetts men as were with them, were not beaten that day; they were simply flanked."4
We have the full conviction that the time will come, when the whole nation will give the honors of the battle of Bunker Hill largely to the common soldiers of New Hampshire, who, more than any other men, fought it. * *
* The men at the redoubt who patiently endured and suffered to the end, are worthy of all honor. But the battle was fought chiefly by the soldiers of New Hamp- shire, whose muskets killed and wounded probably two
1 "Our light infantry was served up in companies against the grass fence, without being able to penetrate ;- indeed how could we penetrate? Most of our grenadiers and light infantry, the moment of presenting themselves, lost three-fourths, and many nine-tenths of their men. Some had only eight and nine men a company left ; some only three, four and five." (Letter of English officer, dated July 5, 1775.)'
2 "All the grenadiers of the 4th, or King's regiment (one company), were killed or wounded except four; and of the grenadiers of the 28d, or Royal Welsh Fusileers, only three remained that were not killed or wounded. (Letter of Licut. John Clarke of the British army.)
S" A few days ago the shattered remains of the 18th regiment of foot, which was engaged in the action at Bunker's Hill, and reduced to only twenty- five men, arrived at Maidstone." (British newspaper, March 5, 1776.) + Tarbox's Life of Israel Putnam, page 197.
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out of three in that list of ten hundred and fifty-four, which General Gage reported to the home government.
"If a monument is to be erected upon that battle ground to any colonel, it should be to Colonel Stark of New Hampshire, whose services in the strife were more important than those of any other man bearing that title." 1 And he might have said, or any other title.
The loss of the Americans was about 450, or nearly thirty per cent of their whole number actually engaged in the fight; for the whole number in their line of battle, including the redoubt, according to the most careful in- vestigations, could not have been much above 1,700 men. Of those more than 1,1002 were from New Hampshire. Stark and Reed, according to their own reports, had fully 1,000 in their two regiments after allowing for all absentees. Capt. Reuben Dow, of Hollis, had a whole company in Prescott's regiment; and there were as many more, from that and other New Hampshire towns in the same and other commands, in the front line. Allowing 200 to Connecticut, leaves 400 as the number furnished by Massachusetts, which is more than twice as many as Col. Prescott himself estimated.
Nearly all the Massachusetts regiments named as being in the fight never reached the line of battle, but were present only at the rear and in the retreat.
Worn out with the fatigues of the night Prescott's men had slipped away for rest and for the refreshments which had been promised but never came, or were led away by Putnam with intrenching tools, until he was left, when the action begun, with about 150 men. In his letter to John Adams, written by request, dated August 25, 1775, Prescott distinctly states that his engineer for- sook him; that (speaking of the artillery fire that opened on them just before sunrise) "About this time, the above field officers (Col. Bridge and one or two others) being indisposed, could render me but little service, and the most of the men under their command deserted the party. The
1 Tarbox's Life of Israel Putnam, pages 339-40.
Recent investigations by Col. Geo. C. Gilmore, president of the board of trustees of the New Hampshire State library and special commissioner on this subject appointed by the governor and council, place the number of New Hamp- shire soldiers present in the battle above 1,600. But some of them were in the retreat only.
;
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HISTORY OF KEENE.
enemy continuing an incessant fire with their artillery, about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, on the seventeenth, the enemy began to land at a northeasterly point from the fort, and I ordered the train, with two field-pieces, to go and oppose them, and the Connecticut forces to support them; but the train marched a different course, and I believe those sent to their support followed, I suppose to * *
Bunker's Hill. * * About an hour after the enemy landed, they began to march to the attack in three columns. I commanded my Lieut. Col. Robinson and Major Woods, each with a detachment, to flank the enemy, who, I have reason to think, behaved with prudence and courage. I was now left with perhaps one hundred and fifty men in the fort." And the detachments of Robinson and Woods must have been small.
Tracing the movements of our Keene men, we learn that, the night before the battle, Capt. Stiles, who was still in Stark's regiment, was detailed with half his com- pany to guard the premises-"Ten Hill Farm"-of Robert Temple, a tory, and was not relieved until 10 o'clock the next morning, when the party was ordered to Medford for refreshments and thence to Ploughed hill near the Neck, to wait for further orders; that they arrived there about half past 2 o'clock, just before the action began; that Gen. Putnam came at full gallop across the Neck to Capt. Stiles and addressing the men said, "Up, my brave boys, for God's sake; we drive them;" that Capt. Stiles imme- diately led his men in single file across the Neck and ar- rived at Breed's hill in time to take part in the battle. This is taken from a sworn statement made in June, 1818, by Samuel Bassett of Keene, fifer in Stiles's company, who was with this detached party. He carried his musket in the action and states that he discharged five or six rounds and received a flesh wound in his thigh (so slight that he was not reported wounded, as is often the case in battle), after which several minutes elapsed before the retreat be- gan.
The other half of Stiles's company remained with the regiment and went to the front, either with Lt. Col. Wy- man "early in the morning," or with Col. Stark in the
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afternoon. Asahel Nims, a sergeant in Stiles's company, was killed in the action-tradition says " at the rail fence." His brother Eliakim was with him at the time, in the same company. Stephen Day was mortally and Charles Rice severely wounded. Therefore there can be no doubt that the Keene company was present in the front line of battle.
Stark does not mention Stiles and his company in his report of the battle, probably for what he deemed sufficient reasons, namely, that Stiles had been detailed with half his company and had not rejoined the regiment; that he had more companies than he was entitled to and Stiles's was soon afterwards transferred to another regiment, and it appears that such an arrangement had already been made but not yet consummated; therefore he may have felt that he had no control over that company.
Lt. Col. Wyman had been sent, as stated, with 200 men to reinforce Prescott, but he has never been reported as having reached the redoubt, and from all accounts it is altogether probable that Putnam seized that detachment to work on his intrenchments on Bunker's hill; and that when Stark passed them on his march to the front he took Wyman and his men with him; for Stark was not the man to allow his regiment to be divided at such a time by an officer who had no authority, or to leave a part of it digging ditches at the rear when he was ordered into action with "the whole of my regiment."1 Major Dow, already referred to, also states that that detachment joined the regiment as it passed Bunker's hill.
That Col. Wyman did good service somewhere that day is evident from the fact he was soon afterwards recommended for promotion by Gen. Folsom, who stated that "he has behaved prudently, courageously and very much like a gentleman;" and the next year he was pro- moted to the rank of colonel and given the command of a regiment in the Continental army.
Besides the thirty-six men from Keene already named who were in the battle, John Brown 2 and Robert Worsley 3
1 Stark's Report.
2 Brown is on one roll as from Marlboro, but he was a member of the mili- tia company here in 1773, and his name appears on the records as a town offi- cer of Keene.
8 Worsley has been claimed as a resident of Marlboro, but his enlistment and service are credited to Keene.
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HISTORY OF KEENE.
were in the company of Capt. Benjamin Mann of Mason; and Joshua Ellis and Abraham Griffin (or Griffith), in that of Capt. Jonathan Whitcomb of Swanzey-all in Reed's regiment. Ellis was a son of Lieut. Timothy Ellis, seven- teen years old, and was severely wounded.
Timothy Crossfield, nineteen years old, enlisted in the company of Capt. Edward Burbeck, of the artillery, on the 1st day of July-fourteen days after the battle-as Eben- ezer Billings had done on the 29th of June from Stiles's company. Possibly Crossfield was in the battle; and he may have been one of the thirty who marched from Keene on the 21st of April, enlisting into some other company, as several others did. Gilmore has him on his list as in the battle, and from Stiles's company; but the latter state- ment is evidently an error as his name does not appear on any one of Stiles's rolls; and we find no other evidence of his having been in the service previous to July 1.
Thomas Douglass of Keene enlisted in Gould's com- pany, Sargent's regiment, in time to join Arnold's expedi- tion to Canada in August and he may have been in the battle-and even one of the immortal thirty-under similar conditions as Crossfield, but we have no farther record of him. Robert Worsley also joined the expedition to Canada.
These make in all forty men from Keene in the battle of Bunker Hill-forty-two if Crossfield and Douglass were there-and there may have been others whose names are lost. That was more than five per cent of the whole num- ber of inhabitants in the town at that time.
Capt. Stiles and his company remained in Stark's regiment until the 3d day of July. On that day, or be- tween that and the 7th they were transferred, with the company of Capt. Wm. Scott of Peterboro, to the regi- ment of Col. Paul Dudley Sargent of Amherst, N. H., in the service of Massachusetts. No roll of enlistment of the Keene company in Stark's regiment has been found, but the enlistments into Sargent's regiment were dated back to the time the men left home, those of most of our Keene men being April 21. Their term was for eight months.
The following roll does not appear in the New
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Hampshire Revolutionary Rolls, but is taken from those of Massachusetts.
"Roll of Capt. Jeremiah Stiles's company in Col. Paul Dudley Sargent's regiment, August 1st, 1775.
Men's names. Town.
Rank.
Time enlisted.
Jeremiah Stiles,
Keene,
Captain,
April 21.
Lemuel Holmes,
Walpole,
Lieutenant,
April 21.
John Griggs,
Keene,
Ensign,
April 21.
Samuel White,
Keene,
Sergeant,
April 21.
Ebenezer Cook,
Keene,
Sergeant,
May 15.
Ezra Metcalf,
Keene,
Sergeant,
April 21.
Asahel Nims,
Keene,
Sergeant,
April 21.
Benjamin Archer,
Keene,
Sergeant,
May 26.
Frederic Tubbs,
Marlow,
Corporal,
April 21.
Luke Metcalf,
Keene,
Corporal,
April 21.
Benjamin Ellis,
Keene,
Corporal,
April 21.
Niles Beckwith,
Lamster,
Corporal,
May 15.
David Hubbard,
Ackworth,
Drummer,
April 21.
Samuel Bassett,
Keene,
Freamer,
April 21.
David Adams,
Gilsum,
Private,
May 15.
Robert Busby,
Medford,
Private,
May 15.
Henry Bemis,
Packersfield,
Private,
April 21.
Elijah Benton,
Surry,
Private,
July 14.
Ebenezer Billings,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
Simeon Church,
Marlow,
Private,
April 21.
Thomas Church,
Gilsum,
Private,
May 15.
Iddo Church,
Gilsum,
Private,
May 15.
Nathan Closson,
Walpole,
Private,
May 15.
Thomas Clark,
Pomphrett,
Private,
April 21.
Stephen Day,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
Jesse Dassance,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
Thomas Dart,
Surry,
Private,
July 14.
Roger Dart,
Surry,
Private,
July 14.
Timothy Dewey,
Gilsum,
Private,
April 21.
Caleb Ellis,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
James Eddy,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
John Fletcher,
Walpole,
Private,
April 21.
Samuel Fletcher,
Marlow,
Private,
April 21.
Joshua Fuller,
Surry,
Private,
July 14.
Silas French,
Keene,
Private,
July 14.
Isaac Griswold,
Gilsum,
Private,
April 21.
Hugh Gray,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
William Gray,
Keene,
Private,
May 15.
Joseph Gray,
Keene,
Private,
May 15.
David Howard,
Marlow,
Private,
April 21.
Joseph Howard,
Marlow,
Private,
April 21.
Nathan Hayward,
Surry,
Private,
July 14.
John Baker,
Rockingham, Private,
May 15.
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HISTORY OF KEENE.
Nathan Huntley,
Marlow,
Private,
April 21.
Hannaniah Hall,
Keene,
Private,
May 15.
Benjamin Hall,
Keene,
Private,
May 15.
Samuel Hall,
Rockingham, Private,
May 15.
David Harris,
Keene,
Private,
May 8.
Tilley Howe,
Keene,
Private,
July 14.
Jehiel Holdridge,
Gilsum,
Private,
April 21.
William Joyner,
Walpole,
Private,
July 14.
Eli Lewis,
Marlow,
Private,
April 21.
Stephen Larrabee,
Keene,
Private,
May 8.
Thomas Morse,
Keene.
Private,
May 15.
Jeremiah Mack,
Marlow,
Private,
May 15.
Ezra Morse,
Dublin,
Private,
July 14.
Eliakim Nims,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
Charles Rice,
Surry,
Private,
April 21.
Aquilla Russell,
Walpole,
Private,
April 21.
John Slade,
Alstead,
Private,
April 21.
Daniel Stone,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
Joseph Thatcher,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
Elisha Willis,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
Daniel Willson,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
Daniel Wright,
Gilsum,
Private,
April 21.
Joseph Young,
Gilsum,
Private,
April 21.
William Bradley,
Keene,
Private,
April 21.
John Kelly,
Walpole,
Private,
April 21.
"Each man supplied himself with a gun and cartridge box.
"Asahel Nims Died in Battle June 17th 1775.
"Benjamin Archer appointed Serg't June ye 18, 1775.
"Ebenezer Billings Inlisted into the Train of Artillery, June the 29th 1775.
"Stephen Day Died August 17th 1775. (Entered later.)
"The above is a True Muster Roll of my Company according to the Best of my Knowledge.
Jerh Stiles, Capt."
(Jonathan Wheeler, Keene, appears on a later roll.)
When the news of the battle reached New Hampshire the committee of safety ordered Col. Poor with nine com- panies of his regiment to the front; and Gen. Folsom arrived at Medford on the 20th and took command of the New Hampshire troops. Poor was stationed at Med- ford, but Stark and Reed held Winter hill and carried forward their intrenching; and the works thrown up by them were more formidable and complete than any others on the line. Stark's regiment was considered the finest in
.
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the army, a model in discipline and efficiency, and Reed's was one of the best.
The British intrenched on Bunker's hill and on Boston Neck; and an attack was expected at any time.
The quarrel between Gen. Folsom and Col. Stark caused them both to be passed by, and congress appointed John Sullivan the brigadier general for New Hampshire. Early in July, Gen. Sullivan appeared at Cambridge with his appointment and was assigned to the command of a brigade composed of the three New Hampshire regiments, with three others from Massachusetts under Cols. Nixon, Mansfield and Doolittle, numbering in all about 3,000 men, in the division of Gen. Charles Lee, who commanded the left wing of the army. The New Hampshire regiments now numbered 1,664 men and the whole army about 17,000. It was at this time that the Keene company was transferred from Stark's to Sargent's regiment, in the centre division of the army under Gen. Putnam, and was stationed at Cambridge.
The term of enlistment of our Keene men expired with the year and Col. Wyman, with Capt. Stiles and most of his men, came home.
The Sixth regiment of the state militia remained the same in extent of territory as in 1773, and was still com- manded by Col. Josiah Willard of Winchester, who had strong tory proclivities. To depose him from that com- mand and yet not humiliate him to the extent of driving him over to the enemy, the provincial congress divided his regiment into three, forming all the towns in the south- west corner of Cheshire county, including Surry and Gil- sum, into one regiment, numbered the Thirteenth, and appointed Samuel Ashley of Winchester colonel, Joseph Hammond of Swanzey lieutenant colonel, Isaac Butterfield first major, and Timothy Ellis of Keene second major.1 The other towns in Willard's regiment, north of Westmore- land and Gilsum, were formed into the Fifteenth, with
1 Those numbers were soon afterwards changed. In 1779 and in 1784 Keene, with all the corner towns, was again in the Sixth, but in 1792, Keene, Westmoreland, Walpole, Surry, Gilsum and Sullivan were numbered the Twenti- eth regiment, while Hinsdale, Winchester, Richmond, Swanzey and Chesterfield retained the old number, 6; and in both cases the numbers remained the same as long as the system lasted.
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HISTORY OF KEENE.
Benjamin Bellows of Walpole, colonel; and the Fourteenth was commanded by Col. Enoch Hale of Rindge.
During all these months the colonies were struggling with the great problems of government and carrying on war without powers delegated by the people, or a con- stitution to govern their conduct. The laws of the old regime were dead letters, the courts were suspended, and there was great confusion and uncertainty in the adminis- tration of civil affairs.
There was no authorized power to issue money, but money must be had. Taxes were levied by the towns and by the colony; the people were patriotic and disposed to pay, but currency was distressingly scarce and payment was almost impossible. The colony of New Hampshire had no means of paying its soldiers, or of purchasing military supplies and provisions.
On the 26th of May, 1775, the convention at Exeter authorized its committee of supplies to "Borrow on the faith of this Colony any sum not exceeding ten Thousand Pounds L M as the Committee find necessary to answer the directions from the Commt of Safety. And this Conven- tion for themselves & Constituents plight their faith and Estates to said Committee of supplies as their Bondmen to all intents & purposes for the payment of whatever sum they hire or Borrow in consequence of this vote." On the 9th of June the convention authorized the receiver general of the colony "to give his Notes of hand on the faith of this Colony" for ten thousand and fifty pounds, and, in July, another issue of ten thousand pounds was ordered; and these emissions continued from time to time.
The general congress had nothing but the faith of the people in a tentative and unorganized government of a rebellion upon which to base the issue of money, but "Necessity knows no law," and in June it issued $2,000,000 in "bills of credit," followed soon afterwards by other is- sues. In these ways, notwithstanding the disastrous ex- perience of the colonies with paper money in former years, the people were supplied with a transient currency; but they were distrustful of it and its value soon began to de- preciate.
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