USA > Rhode Island > Revolutionary defences in Rhode Island; an historical account of the fortifications and beacons erected during the American revolution, with muster rolls of the companies stationed along the shores of Narragansett bay > Part 1
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.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8
Gc 973.34 R34f 1764895
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
Gc
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01079 0555
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/details/revolutionarydef00fiel
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
IN
RHODE ISLAND
AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE FORTIFICATIONS AND BEACONS ERECTED DURING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, WITH MUSTER ROLLS OF THE COMPANIES STATIONED ALONG THE SHORES OF NARRAGANSETT BAY
BY
EDWARD FIELD
PAST PRESIDENT OF THE RHODE ISLAND SOCIETY OF THE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
WITH MAPS, PLANS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS
19 PROVIDENCE, R.I. PRESTON AND ROUNDS 1896
1764895
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES IN RHODE ISLAND
-
..
PROVIDENCE BEACON
.
-
COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY EDWARD FIELD. All rights reserved
Norwood Press J. S. Cushing & Co. - Berwick & Smith Norwood Mass. U.S.A.
To the fHemorg OF MY MOTHER
14480
PREFACE.
THE history of the Revolutionary De- fences in Rhode Island has occupied my leisure time at irregular intervals for several years past.
Some of the earlier results of my study of the subject were embodied in a paper which I read before the Rhode Island His- torical Society on January 26, 1886, entitled, " Fortifications in and around Providence," and which was subsequently printed in the Narragansett Historical Register, No. 3, Vol. V. From this paper I have drawn largely for the material relating to the ac- count of the Providence defences; but I have now added much that was then to me unknown, and have corrected errors then made.
vii
viii
PREFACE
The authorities for the statements herein made have been mostly derived from the Rhode Island Colonial Records, including both Bartlett's printed volumes and the printed schedules of the proceedings of the General Assembly during the Revolutionary period and the manuscript records of the Council of War. I have also derived much information from Cullum's Fortification De- fenses of Narragansett Bay, Arnold's His- . tory of Rhode Island, the various printed town histories, and the town record books of Providence, East Greenwich, Warwick, Barrington, and Bristol; while the manuscript collections in the State Archives, the Rhode Island Historical Society, and the docu- mentary possessions of the city of Provi- dence have furnished me much new material. The muster rolls and company lists here printed have been carefully transcribed from the originals, and reference to the place where they may be found is given in each case.
In the study of the subject I have trav- ersed the entire coast line of the state and
ix
PREFACE
have examined and made plans of each one of the old earthworks now remaining, besides visiting most of the other historic places mentioned in the text. The plan of Fort Chastellux has been taken from Cullum's Fortification Defenses of Narragansett Bay, the Prospect Hill fort from Stone's French Allies, and Fort Liberty from a map of Newport made in 1776.
I take this opportunity of expressing my thanks to my friend Norman M. Isham, Esquire, for his generous contribution to these pages, in making the drawings and the map of the State of Rhode Island, which form a part of the illustrations of this book.
I am also indebted to the Honorable Charles P. Bennett, Secretary of State, for the privilege of reproducing the map of the operations on Rhode Island, now in his custody, and to the Honorable George M. Carpenter, the Honorable Amos Perry, Librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society, and to R. H. Tilley, Esquire, Libra- rian of the Newport Historical Society, for
x
PREFACE
the opportunity of using valuable manu- scripts, interesting relics, and for many other kindnesses. The full-page photographs, with one exception, the Butt's Hill fort, are the work of Samuel B. Burnham, Esquire.
In presenting this account of the action of the men of Rhode Island in the great struggle for American independence, I have sought to bring together such facts as would add interest to these old works scattered along the seaboard, and to point out their location, that they may be easily identified by those who care to visit such historic spots.
E. F.
-
PROVIDENCE, R.I.,
May, 1896.
.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
The Military Forces in Rhode Island - Army of Ob- servation - Form of Enlistment- Lists of Soldiers in Captain Stephen Kimball's Company, Captain Jeremiah Olney's Company, Captain Ethan Clarke's Company, Captain Joseph Knight's Company, and Captain Simeon Thayer's Company
PAGE
I
CHAPTER II.
Condition of the Army at Jamaica Plain - Method of encouraging Enlistments - Arms and Accoutre- ments - Rules adopted for their Care - Gun-makers and Bayonet-makers - Powder and Saltpetre Mills erected .
14
CHAPTER III.
The Providence Beacon - Fox Hill Fort - Rules and Regulations for its Conduct - Trial of the Beacon -- Notice to the Country - Master and Wardens of the Beacon - Tonomy Hill, Scituate, and Cumber- land Beacons - Watch at Tower Hill 42
xi
xii
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
PAGE
Intrenchments at Field's Point and Sassafras Point - Bombardment of Bristol - John Howland's Narra- tive - Works at Kettle Point and Pawtuxet - Fort Independence - Cost of the Work - Boom and Chain - The Redoubts on the Road to the Upper Ferry
56
CHAPTER V.
Beacon Hill Fort - General Spencer's Request - Provi- dence Companies detailed to work on Fortifications - Fort Sullivan - Hog Pen Point Fort - Action of the Town of Rehoboth - Defences in the War of 1812- Fort William Henry
70
CHAPTER VI.
Fortifications at Newport - Fort George - Fort at Brenton's Point - Newport Town-Meeting Author- ity questioned - Memorial to the Continental Con- gress - North Battery - Guards established at Warwick Neck and Pawtuxet - Lists of Officers and Men
CHAPTER VII.
Fortifications ordered at Bristol Ferry and Howland's
Ferry - Fort Barton - List of Officers and Men . stationed at Howland's Ferry - Coast-guards estab- lished - Tonomy Hill Fort - Fortifications at Bris-
79
xiii
CONTENTS.
tol Harbor - Alarm at Bristol - List of Barrington Men appearing - Fort Daniel - List of Officers and Men located at East Greenwich - List of Captain John Whipple's Company on Rhode Island - Kings- town Reds
PAGE
. 98
CHAPTER VIII.
Fort at Beaver Tail - List of Officers and Men guard- ing the Charlestown Shore- Story of the Wickford Gun - Order for the Guard at Quonset - Rum as a Munition of War- Distribution of Cannon in the State - Forts at Popasquash and Bullock's Point - Table of Defences in Narragansett Bay - Fortifica- tions at Warren - Colonel Angell's Regiment sta- tioned at Warren- Roll of Captain Tew's Company 117
CHAPTER IX.
Arrival of the British Fleet at Newport - Governor Cooke's Letter to General Washington - Evacuation of the Island of Rhode Island by the Americans - British erect Additional Works - Forts at Codding- ton's Point and Cove - Loss of the Spitfire - Wil- liam Pearce loses his Cider-The Owl's Nest - Butt's. Hill Fort - Dumplings Battery - Eldred's One-gun Battery - The Battery at the Bonnet . 127
INDEX OF NAMES . 149
INDEX OF SUBJECTS · 159
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
Providence Beacon
·
Frontispiece
Providence Grenadier's Hat
15
British Grenadier's Hat .
16
Facsimile of Enlistment Paper
opp.
20
Colonel Bowen's Cartridge Box . 21
Facsimile of Receipt for Bounty and Recruit .
. opp.
22
Colonel Sherburne's Cartridge Box
.
22
.
Elbridge Gerry's Gun and William Ellery's Gun . opp.
24
Wooden Canteen · 33
Group of Shot and Shell
. opp.
40
Robin Hill Fort, near Sassafras Point, Providence opp. 58
Robin Hill Fort
·
58
Fort Independence
62
.
Fort Independence, Field's Point, Providence . opp. 64
Prospect Hill Fort, Providence
73
Hog Pen Point Fort
76
Fort Liberty
.
80
Fort Barton
.
99
Tonomy Hill Fort (Beacon Hill)
.
102
XV
xvi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Tonomy Hill Fort and Observatory, Newport
. opp. 130
Coddington's Point Fort .
. 131
Bliss Hill Fort, Green End, Middletown
. opp. 132
Coddington's Cove Fort
· 133
Coddington's Point Fort, Newport . opp. 134
Bristol Ferry Fort .
. 137
Butt's Hill Fort, Portsmouth .
. opp. 140
Fort Chastellux
. 142
Fort on Conanicut Island (Beaver Head)
144
Fort at Bonnet Point
146
Map of Rhode Island.
preceding Index
Map of the Island of Rhode Island, showing Military
Operations in Sullivan's Expedition in 1778 . opp. 142
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES IN RHODE ISLAND.
CHAPTER I.
The Military Forces in Rhode Island. - Army of Observation. - Form of Enlistment. - List of Soldiers in Captain Stephen Kimball's Company, Captain Jeremiah Olney's Company, Captain Ethan Clarke's Company, Captain Joseph Knight's Company, and Captain Simeon Thayer's Company.
AT the outbreak of the war of the Revo- lution, the active military force of Rhode Island consisted of the several companies of the Train Bands and of independent char- tered military organizations bearing high- sounding names like the Kingstown Reds, North Providence Rangers, Scituate Hunt- ers, Pawtuxet Rangers, Providence Grena- diers, Kentish Guards, and some others.
According to the standard of the times these companies were well equipped and
I
2
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
well disciplined. The officers were elected at stated times by the members of the com- panies and their choice communicated to the General Assembly, which body approving the choice, they were duly commissioned by the Governor. These officers were gener- ally selected with due regard to their skill and ability, and were men of some promi- nence in the community in which they lived. Except such as had seen service in the pre- vious wars, most of the soldiers' experience had been obtained at the general musters or trainings.
It is a fact that these trainings were more of a frolic than anything else. Training- day was a holiday, every one laid aside his work to witness the manœuvres of the troops, much jollification was indulged in, and much liquor drunk. The headquar- ters of the militia was usually at some one of the many taverns in the town, and the tavern-keeper always made provision for training-day by laying in an extra stock of liquors. It was customary for the newly elected officers to be generous in treating, not only the soldiers in the company, but every one else, and liquor was furnished in such overflowing abundance that some who
·
3
IN RHODE ISLAND
attended " training " took many more steps returning home than they had in coming. " We had our Training and Treating and the company was all here," wrote one tavern- keeper in his diary. Non-attendance at a training was met with a fine, and the money thus obtained was sometimes used to pur- chase powder for use in firing at a mark.
By a law of the colony, passed in 1774, each enlisted soldier was required to furnish himself "with a sufficient gun or fuzee " and a good bayonet for his gun. The equip- ments were therefore the soldier's own prop- erty and, so long as he furnished all that the law required, no question was raised as to type.
Immediately after the Concord and Lex- ington fight, the General Assembly of Rhode Island ordered an Army of Observation of fifteen hundred men to be raised "with all the expedition and despatch that the nature of the thing will admit of," and all the militia in the state was ordered to drill a half-day once in every fortnight. This Army of Ob- servation, as it was politely called, was raised for the purpose of repelling any "insult or violence that may be offered to the inhabi- tants " by the fleets and armies. which sur-
4
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
rounded them, - the fleets and armies of His Britannic Majesty. Those who entered the army did so by subscribing to this oath of enlistment : -
" I, the subscriber, hereby solemnly engage and enlist myself as a soldier in His Majes- ty's service, and in the pay of the colony of Rhode Island, for the preservation of the liberties of America, from the day of my enlistment, to the last day of December next, unless the service admit of a discharge sooner, which shall be at the discretion of the General Assembly; and I hereby prom- ise to submit myself to all the orders and regulations of the army, and faithfully to observe and obey all such orders as I shall receive from time to time from my officers."
This entire army was, therefore, enlisted in the King's service, but it is quite certain that His Majesty did not experience great happiness in having this colonial contingent so promptly in the field, for its meaning was far different from what appeared on its face.
This was the beginning of Rhode Island's contribution to the Continental Army, and during the whole struggle her contributions were both prompt and generous. It is un- fortunate that so little is known of the make-
5
IN RHODE ISLAND
up of the companies included in this first body of troops to be raised in Rhode Island for the defence of American liberties. There are few records of the soldiers who were engaged in service during the year 1775; the state archives are bare, and what few muster and pay rolls are now to be found relating to this period, are mostly in private hands. The names of all the commissioned officers may be found in the Colonial Records, but the state's papers contain no lists of the non-commissioned officers and privates.
A persistent search among the deposito- ries of such records has disclosed but four muster or pay rolls particularly identified with this year. Three of these companies were of the Army of Observation, while the fourth, Captain Joseph Knight's Company, was located in Scituate, and the period of service was for a time only a few days pre- vious to the raising of the army, the roll being dated April 20, 1775. As these lists contain the names of those who were the first to enlist in the great struggle for inde- pendence, and as many of the names men- tioned have been heretofore inaccessible, they are here given.
6
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
CAPTAIN STEPHEN KIMBALL'S COMPANY IN COLO- NEL DANIEL HITCHCOCK'S REGIMENT OF THE ARMY OF OBSERVATION, 1775.1
Stephen Kimball, Captain.
Jonathan Smith, Lieutenant.
Nehemiah Angell, Ensign.
Nathan Olney
Timothy Hopkins Isaac Medbury
Sergeants.
William Arnold
Othniel Arnold Philip Salsbury
Corporals.
Thomas Bickford
Thomas Pearce
Jabez Arnold
Homes Perkins
Elisha Ormsbury
David Remock
Squire Bucklen
John Swain
Benjamin Arnold
Perrigreen Smith
Charles Brown
Israel Shippey
Solomon Burlinggame
Thomas Thornton
Zachariah Basset
David Whitman
James Blancher
John Whitman
Joseph Bosworth Joseph Williams
Amaziah Blackmar John Walker
. Benjamin Boss
Nathan Walker
Rufus Chapman
Jeremiah Wescot
Caleb Colgrove
Comfort Weatherhead
1 Cowell's Spirit of '76 in Rhode Island, page 21 : A copy of the original, certified by Benjamin Boss, is among the Military Papers of the Rhode Island Historical Society.
7
IN RHODE ISLAND
Zephaniah Coman Morris Corkern Samuel Singleton Jonathan Dolbey William Edmans Bethuel Curtis Abel Ford Joel Hopkins
Oliver Hopkins
Ephrean Hopkins James Wescot Jotham Hawkins
Reuben Hines
Jeremiah Walling Hezekiah Medbury
Pain Hines
Abel Hornton
Abram Jones
CAPTAIN JEREMIAH OLNEY'S FOURTH COMPANY IN COLONEL DANIEL HITCHCOCK'S REGIMENT OF THE ARMY OF OBSERVATION, 1775.1
Jeremiah Olney, Captain. Amos Jencks, Lieutenant.
Nehemiah Field, Ensign.
Holiman Potter, First Sergeant.
Thomas Knight, Jr., Second Sergeant.
Benjamin Wood * Silas Howard
Corporals.
Naman Bishop Jere Burlingame
John Phillips,* Drummer. Nathan Waterman, Fifer.
' Cowell's Spirit of '76 in Rhode Island, page 20.
· The names thus marked are found on the list of Captain Joseph Knight's Scituate Company and may serve to indicate the town from which they enlisted when the Army of Obser- vation was raised.
8
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
John Manchester Collins Roberts * Joseph Collins * David Knight * Obadiah Bridges Samuel Eldrich
Oliver Weeks Joseph Bennett * Stukely Westcott
Edward Daw
Joseph Briggs *
Christopher Collins * William King Allen Briggs
Rufus Knight
Eleazer Clark
Peter Cappell
Eleazer Randall
Oliver Jencks Joel Whipple Abel Aldrich
Ichabod Richmond John Grant, Jr.
Stephen Edwards *
William Taylor, Jr. William Jeffers
Paskow Austin Simon Jeffers
Caleb Nichols
John Fuller
Caleb Steere
George King
Thomas Weaver
Stukely Thornton *
Elisha Sarle Thomas Colvin, Jr. Solomon Dailey John Booth Thomas Sarle, Jr. Benjamin Gorton William Edwards James Stone Edward Bennett *
Phillip Morris Jame's Wood Joseph Angell
Waterman Randall
Oliver Bisshop
Nathan White
9
IN RHODE ISLAND
CAPTAIN ETHAN CLARKE'S COMPANY, DECEM- BER, 1775.1
Ethan Clarke, Captain.
Thomas Cole, Lieutenant. Paul Harrington, Ensign.
Joshua Babcock
Henry Northrop
Sergeants.
Nicholas Clarke
Jonathan Hazard
Daniel Stafford
Corporals.
David Remington
Nathaniel Plumb, Fifer. Asa Clarke, Drummer.
Ebenezer Hill
James Shote
Robert Perigo
Lubius Lewis
George Tanner Jonathan Lewis
John Gardner
Moses Roger
Arnold Coon
Samuel Bissell
William Watson
Amos Smith
John Popple
George Griffith
George Popple
William Harvey
James Bliven Thomas Duglas
Jonathan Goodbed Benedict Brown
Joshua Church Daniel Scranton
Oliver Frink Stephen Johnson
Walter Wordin
Nathan Whiting
' The roll of Captain Clarke's Company is in the custody of the Providence Record Commissioners, and is one of the " Warner Papers," so called ; it has never before been printed.
IO
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
David Skinner
Jonas Tummage
John P. Babcock
John Pomp
Joseph Latham
Gideon Smith
Nathan Crandal
Jesse Willis
Isaiah Button London Thompson
William Congdon
Richard Wilson
Peleg Watson
William Coyhues
CAPTAIN JOSEPH KNIGHT'S SCITUATE COMPANY, APRIL 20, 1775.1
Joseph Knight, Captain.
Samuel Wilbor
Obadiah Rolfe
Benjamin Wood
Ezekiel Wood
Isaac Horton
Caleb Fiske (doctor)
John Hill John Phillips
Nathan Walker
Constant Graves
James Parker
Stukely Thornton
John Bennett, Jr.
James Andrews, Jr.
Jeremiah Almy Christopher Collins
Joseph Remington
Joseph Bennett
Nathan Ralfe
Thomas Knight
John I. Kilton
Peleg Colvin
Jonathan Knight, Jr.
Eleazer Westcott
Joseph Briggs
Caleb Steere
David Knight
Collins Roberts
Joseph Collins
Daniel Fisk
William Taylor
William Knight
1 This list is found in Beaman's History of Scituate, page 43. This company was not a part of the Army of Observation, for it was not until the next month that the army was raised.
IN RHODE ISLAND
John Manchester Edward Bennett Thomas Parker John Edwards, Jr.
Nathan Franklin Uriah Franklin, Jr.
Ephraim Edwards
Stephen Edwards
Simeon Wilbor Isaiah Austin
Francis Fuller, Jr. Benjamin Whitmore
Samuel Eldridge
Christopher Knight Samuel Hopkins Benajah Bosworth
William Stafford
Daniel Angell
Furmer Tanner
There is yet another roll which gives the names of many of those who enlisted in this Army of Observation. In September, 1775, Captain Simeon Thayer's Company formed a part of the detachment sent under the com- mand of Colonel Benedict Arnold in the expedition against Canada. This company consisted of ninety-one men, rank and file, and was made up from the different regi- ments then in camp at Prospect Hill near Boston.
Many of these men were from the com- panies in Church's and Hitchcock's Rhode Island regiments. The following list 1 gives the names of such Rhode Island soldiers as were in this company from September I,
1 Collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society, Vol. VI. opp. page 102.
12
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
1775, to January 1, 1776, and the compa- nies in which they were serving at the time Thayer's Company was detached.
Simeon Thayer, Captain.
Lemuel Bailey, First Lieutenant. Tew's Co.
William Humphrey, Second Lieutenant. Aldrich's Co.
Thomas Page, First Sergeant. Thayer's Co.
Thomas Ellis, Second Sergeant. Thayer's Co.
Moses Bryant, Third Sergeant. Field's Co. Samuel Singleton, Fourth Sergeant. Kimball's Co. Moses Cockran, First Corporal. Kimball's Co.
James Hayden, Second Corporal. Thayer's Co.
Silas Wheeler, Third Corporal. Field's Co.
Thomas Low, Fourth Corporal. Thayer's Co.
Eleazer Thayer, Private. Thayer's Co.
John Thompson,
John Latham,
Field's Co.
Elijah Fowler,
Tew's Co.
John Bridges,
C. Olney's Co .*
Moses Hemenway,
Thayer's Co.
James Welch,
Field's Co.
James Monk,
Thayer's Co.
Silas Hooker,
William Gouge,
Jacob Good,
John Robinson,
Cornelius Higgarty, “
Field's Co.
Abraham Jones,
Kimball's Co.t
* Dismissed.
t Discharged at Cambridge.
13
IN RHODE ISLAND
Pasco Austin, Private.
J. Olney's Co.
Joseph Bosworth, «
Manie O'Daniel,
Field's Co. t
Elijah Jones,
J. Olney's Co.
James Stone,
John Holley,
Talbot's Co.
John Cambridge,
Thayer's Co.
David Lawrence,
C. Olney's Co.
It will thus be seen that thirty-three of these men belonged to Rhode Island com- panies.
·
14
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
CHAPTER II.
Condition of the Army at Jamaica Plain. - Method of encouraging Enlistments. - Arms and Accoutrements. - Rules adopted for their Care. - Gun-makers and Bayonet- makers. - Powder and Saltpetre Mills erected.
THE Army of Observation was at once despatched to the seat of war at Boston, and went into camp at Jamaica Plain. Here Nathanael Greene, who had been elected Brigadier-General, assumed command.
He found his troops in commotion and disorder; but, through his skilful manage- ment and great personal influence, order was restored and a high grade of discipline there- after maintained.
Notwithstanding the hurried way in which the Rhode Island brigade had been placed in the field, it was the best equipped force in the army. Chaplain William Emerson, of Concord, Mass., an observing man, who vis- ited from time to time the various com- mands and made notes of what he observed, says, "the Rhode Islanders are furnished with tent equipage, and everything in the
15
IN RHODE ISLAND
most exact English style." With the dis- cipline which Greene's personality inspired, and the completeness of its equipment, the Rhode Island division of the Continental Army was marked and noticeable.
PROVIDENCE GRENADIER'S HAT.
No complete uniform such as was worn by the Rhode Island troops has been found in the various collections in the state, but the uniform hat here represented was the kind worn by the independent company called the Providence Grenadiers, chartered in 1774, and one of the companies that assisted in the construction of the fort on Prospect Hill,
16
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
in Providence, in 1777. It is among the col- lection of the Rhode Island Historical So- ciety. A similar hat, differently decorated, worn by the Newport Light Infantry, another independent company chartered about the same time, may be seen in the interesting collection of relics owned by the Newport Artillery. Nothing whatever is known of
BRITISH GRENADIER'S HAT.
the other Grenadiers' hat, but the symbols of royalty which adorn its front show plainly enough that it was once the property of a sol- dier of His Britannic Majesty. This also be- longs to the Rhode Island Historical Society.
About the first of July the army from Rhode Island consisted of three regiments, comprising 107 officers and 1085 enlisted
17
IN RHODE ISLAND
men, - nearly the whole number that had been called for. It is within bounds to say that during the years of the war, every loyal able-bodied man in Rhode Island between the ages of sixteen and sixty, performed his share of military service, while there are in- stances where those even younger and older served faithfully in the army and in the
coast-guard. Within the little state there was one hundred and thirty miles of coast and two navigable rivers ; the British ships in the lower bay impeded navigation, and all of the seaport towns were subject to depreda- tions by parties from these vessels. They landed all along the shore, drove off and killed the cattle belonging to the farmers, stole their produce, poultry, and other live- stock, and when any resistance was offered even destroyed the homes of the country people.
One of the coast-guard stationed near the present village of Wickford said that one night he " counted five fires in various direc- tions, which afterwards were ascertained to have been the burning of houses and barns by the enemy." Every house, save one, on the island of Prudence was thus destroyed. A chain of these guards was kept up all
18
REVOLUTIONARY DEFENCES
along the shore, made up of detachments from the several militia companies. It was not necessary at all times to keep a large body in this service, but from time to time the members of companies were summoned to make their appearance to perform "a tower of duty," or relieve others who had already served.
The inhabitants were continually on the watch against these attacks and forays, but when the British army landed at Newport the dangers were increased tenfold; every householder along the seaboard became a guard over his own home and fireside, and was often called upon to stand his watch over that of his neighbor. Soon after the three regiments were despatched to Boston, the work of raising troops was begun. Each town was enlisting its quota and making pro- vision for putting them in the field, armed and equipped for active service. Early in the war, on the 30th of December, 1776, " the Committee of the Four New England States at their meeting in Providence," held for the purpose of "taking into considera- tion the bounties and allowances offered by Congress for enlisting the Continental bat- talions," found that in order to fill up the
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.