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 2
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quotas of the different states, it was neces- sary to offer some "encouragement to men to enlist," and they recommended to the several legislatures of the states that cer- tain bounties be furnished. Rhode Island promptly voted to give an "additional bounty of £4 to the £6 heretofore al- lowed," and a blanket each year; to this the several towns in the state made liberal allowances. Besides the state bounty of one hundred silver dollars, Hopkinton voted to add " fifty bushels of Indian corn." In Woonsocket, in 1778, those who en- . listed received from the town £35, in addition to the state bounty of £20, and were also furnished with "a uniform coat, 2 waist coats, 2 pairs of breeches, 3 shirts, 3 pairs stockings, 2 pairs shoes, I hunting shirt, and I pair of overalls." At another time, those who enlisted and furnished their own arms and accoutre- ments received a bounty of 48 shillings, while those who were without equipments received 36 shillings.
Woonsocket seems to have been gener- ous indeed with her soldiers. The town of Westerly approached her soldiery in a differ- ent manner. She appealed to them in a
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popular way, and voted " Three gallons of Rum to treat the soldiers enlisted and to encourage those that have a mind to enlist."
The method by which recruits were en- listed from Rhode Island into the Continental Army is illustrated by the plates. They refer to a special draft that was made on the state in the summer of 1780. The origi- nals are preserved among the manuscripts belonging to the city of Providence.
In July, 1780, General Washington called upon the state of Rhode Island for six hun- dred and thirty able-bodied, effective men for three months' service, and the General Assembly forthwith ordered that number enlisted into the Continental Army. Each town was ordered to supply a certain num- ber of men, the number which Providence was to furnish being forty-two.
On the 14th of July the entire number had been enlisted, of which William Phetti- place and Felix Holbrook were numbered 37 and 38 respectively. Three days before, these two men signed the prescribed form of enlistment paper, took the oath of engage- ment before a justice of the peace, and were mustered into service.
For thus enlisting they were entitled to a
·
W E the Subfcribers do hereby folemnly engage and inlift curfelves, as Soldiers, in the Battalions of the State of Rhode- Ifland and Providence Plantations, in the Service of the UNITED STATES OF AME- RICA ;` in whofe Service and Pay we promife ro continue from this Day until the Firft Day of January next, unlefs fooner difcharged by the Ge- neral Congrefs of the aforefaid States. And we alfo promife to fubmit to all the Orders- and Regulations of the Army of the faid States, and faithfully to obferve and obey all fuch Orders as we fhall from Timeto Time receive from our Officers,
Povidences July 911 1780-
William Lettiflax
-
-
.
the tered and found fet for service .
the within Monica Helling, Sobigfour and thirty the - Dat Required by Tagadathe Former
Providence & Juicy wave phponly 2
within howmed Jeby Stillrady of Book the bath.
1780
The above na ..
1
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bounty, which in this case was " fifty Spanish milled dollars," or "hard dollars," as they were sometimes called.
This bounty money was paid to the sol- dier by the town treasurer upon presentation of a certificate signed by one of the field-offi- cers of the regiment to which the recruit had been assigned.
COLONEL BOWEN'S CARTRIDGE BOX.
From the records of Hopkinton a good idea of the style of the cartridge or cartouch boxes used by the Continentals is obtained; for it was provided that the cartridge boxes to be furnished the Hopkinton soldiers
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"shall hold nine rounds each and made in good plain manner, the covering to be sheep- skin and the flaps to be horseskin." All of the cartridge boxes supplied to the Rhode Island troops were not like this, however. The writer has one, which formerly be-
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COLONEL SHERBURNE'S CARTRIDGE BOX.
longed to a soldier in a Smithfield company, and which held seventeen cartridges.
The cartridge box belonging to Colonel Jabez Bowen, one of the most active men in Providence during the Revolution, is of the
Provideme 11 July 1780
finished by Carte" Zachary Allen af. as one of the hunting of the Town of
1 For dence July 111/80 rauch, Exmer tonof Town Fread Fifty Hand Dollar it being for my Bounty ara 'elles and one of The Metaltions of The State and for The of the hw levies to be Main by this Town
William Buttiplace.
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regulation pattern of that period and held twenty-six cartridges.
The other is of a different character, made to buckle around the waist, not unlike the sportsman's cartridge belt of modern times ; it is made of cloth, and trimmed with red and white braid. This was formerly the property of Colonel Henry Sherburne, commanding one of the Rhode Island regiments during the war. Some of the cartridges are yet remaining in it. The first belongs to the Rhode. Island, while the latter belongs to the Newport Histori- cal Society.
The guns with which the men were fur- nished were of various kinds, and were usually called firelocks. They were almost entirely flintlocks; for it was not until fifty years after the Revolution that the percus- sion lock came into general use, although invented in 1807. . At a time when every- thing in the shape of a firearm was in demand, it is quite likely that some of the soldiers were equipped with the old match- lock and snaphaunce, the precursor of the flintlock. These guns were of many pat- terns and calibers; it was on this account that the town of Westerly voted "That the
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store of lead now in the town be run into bullets for firearms of several sizes."
On the 6th of February, 1777, General Washington, from his headquarters at Mor- ristown, wrote to Governor Cooke : -
"SIR: - As the arrival of a sufficient quantity of small arms from Europe, in time to arm the Continental troops, is a matter of great uncertainty, proper steps should be immediately taken in your state to collect all that can be purchased from private people.
" The custom of hiring them for the campaign is attended with many bad con- sequences; the owners take little care of them, and carry them away and sell or change them, as they please.
" Particular attention should be paid to the quality of the firelock; no light trash arms should, on any account, be received in the public stores; if they are not sub- stantial, both in lock and barrel, they should be thrown upon the hands of the commissary who purchased them.
" I have the honor to be, sir,
" Your most obedient servant,
" Go. WASHINGTON."
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ELBRIDGE GERRY'S WILLIAM ELLERY'S GUN GUN
From the collection of the Newport Historical Society
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The gun on the left in the illustration was owned by Elbridge Gerry, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence from Massachusetts, and has engraved upon the brass stock plate "E. Gerry, 1774," while the other was the property of William Ellery of Rhode Island, another signer of the Declara- tion, who left it in his will to his son. Both these historic relics are now in the posses- sion of the Newport Historical Society, hav- ing been deposited there by grandsons of these distinguished patriots. They illustrate the type of firearms generally in use during the war, one being of the regulation musket pattern with bayonet attached, while the other, a much lighter arm, is usually called a "fowling-piece."
Anticipating the manner in which the troubles with the mother country would ter- minate, Jeremiah Hopkins of Coventry, as early as 1774, petitioned the General Assem- bly to grant him the benefit of a lottery for raising the sum of $200, to purchase works and tools; for, as he states in his petition, " he sufficiently understands the business of a gunsmith, so as to make guns, or small arms, with advantage to himself, and to others, by whom guns are much wanted at
,
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this time when they cannot be imported from Great Britain."
His petition was granted, and a committee appointed to see that his lottery was fairly conducted.
On September 12, 1775, Barnard Eddy, having been directed by a vote of the town of Providence to make a list of the men and arms, presented his report. It showed that there were 569 arms in the town, 502 of which belonged to the inhabitants, while 67 belonged to the public stock ; by what Eddy called a "Roof Account" in this report, it appears that there were 600 men in the town. A year later another cen- sus of the " arms and men " was taken, showing 726 men and 497 arms. These proportions doubtless show the condition of the colony in this important munition of war. Early in 1775 the manufacture of firearms was com- menced in Providence, and the archives of the city contain many of the bills rendered for those used in supplying the Providence companies. Elihu Peck made gun stocks, while Edward Martin, Stephen Jenckes, Thomas Bicknell, Prince Keene, and others made guns, bayonets, and ramrods. " 20 gun barrels with bayonets and ramrods "
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cost £28 or 28 shillings a set, while for "Stocking 30 guns," Elihu Peck's bill was £15-15-1I.
Edward Martin's bill, rendered the town August 4, 1775, included the items : -
54 sts gun trimmings @ 6/ £16- 4
88 prs swivels @ 9/ 3- 6
119 sets scabbard hooks & plates @ 5d 2- 9-7
21-19-7
It is confidently believed that the arms thus supplied were " no light trash arms " either.
These guns when turned over to the town were carefully guarded, and the following rules were adopted regulating their use : -
" I. That the Town Arms & Accoutre- ments be Devided into three equal Divi- sions : to be lodged in the hands of three dis- creet men one in each District of the Town - Viz. above or near the Court House, below or near the bridge and at or near Muddy bridge in Weybosset Street.
" 2nd. That they be by them respec- tively, safely kept, clean, & in good order, and not to be delivered out or lent on any occa- sion whatever but to the Order of some one of the Field Officers of the Providence
-
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Batalion, or to the Order of their Superior Officers, to & for the use of Persons In- habitants of the Town of Providence, on General Musters & Field Days of their Re- spective Companies - saving and Excepting Times of General Alarm - [when Necessity will not admit of being restrained by Rules]
" 3rd. That Such Officers, to whose Order the Arms &c. shall be delivered out as afore- said shall Immediatly after the Occasion for them be over, cause the same to be returned, in good order as when delivered out, which shall discharge his said orders, and if any Arms or Accoutrements, shall be missing & not returned, so many as are returned shall be indorsed on each order & the same shall remain in the hands of the Person who delivered out such Arms, and shall be his protection from any demand from the Town against him for any Arms & Accoutrements lost or missing as aforesaid, and be also security to the Town to demand & recover the Arms &c. or the value thereof from the drawer of the Order as aforesaid.
" 4th. That on all General Alarms, upon Orders from the Officers in Chief Present, or in writing - Each person having the care of said Arms &c. shall distribute the same,
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. to the Officers of the several Military Com- panies in Providence, taking down the num- ber delivered to each and if any remain after they are supplied to such Free Persons either White or Black, who he may know to belong to the Town of Providence and whom he may judge suitable to use them, taking their names down and what they receive - which Account rendered to the Town shall dis- charge him and make those charged with the receipt thereof liable to return them in good Order or Pay the Town the Full Expense & Value of Procuring others in their room - On Demand - unless the Town upon appli- cation shall think fit to remit the same or . any part thereof.
"5th. And if any Person belonging to a Neighbouring Town should happen to be in this Town at the time of any Alarm - and there should be a surplussage of Arms after the Inhabitants are as aforesaid sup- plied - In such case the keepers thereof may deliver out the Arms &c. remaining to any persons of Character known to them re- questing the same taking down their names &c. as aforesaid which shall render them lia- ble to return them-or Pay the Town in case of loss- in Manner as the Inhabitants
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of this Town are liable by the preceding Article.
"6th. That all Arms & Accoutrements which may suffer damage in The Actual Service of the Public, thro' unavoidable ac- cidents shall be repaired- at the Expense of the Town [notwithstanding any thing in the preceding rules] upon proper proof to the Town Treasurer.
" 7th. That the Town Treasurer, shall prosecute all persons delinquent-and not conforming to the above regulations within six days, after information shall be given him thereof by the keepers of Arms respectively - and each Keeper of sd Arms is hereby en- joined to give information of such delinquent to the Treasurer, within two days after the time expires - in which such Arms &c. may be returned.
" PROVIDENCE, November 20th 1775.
· " We the subscribers being appointed by the Town to procure a Number of Fire Arms & Accoutrements for Town Stock do report that we have Eighty Fire Arms & about One hundred Cartouch Boxes ready to deliver to the Town and a number of others which will be com- pleted in a short time - we also agree-
:
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able to the Order of the Town Report the within regulations for the same.
" And are the Towns Very Humble Servants,
" Benj. Thurber, Jona. Arnold,
" Elihu Robinson, Paul Allen,
" David Lawrence, Jno. Mathewson."
Nathan Miller of East Greenwich was an " Excellent Bayonet-maker " and when he was drafted to serve his turn in the guard at the Warwick Neck station, a general peti- tion was sent from that town and "adjacent parts of Warwick " praying that he might be excused from this duty, and the reason given was that his services were "much wanted in the Country at Present" to make these important articles of warfare. This petition was duly considered, and by order of General Spencer he was excused.
So great was the demand for skilled labor in the manufacture of war material, that the General Assembly was frequently resorted to for legislation, exempting men thus em- ployed from serving in the military force.
In 1776, George Tefft and Jeremiah Shef- field, members of the Kingstown Reds, one of the independent companies, were recom- mended to their officers to be excused from
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duty, as they were then employed in "mak- ing and stocking guns," and about the same time John Wells and Waterman Williams, workmen at the paper mill, were also excused from service, for the reason, as the record says, that " the state will be deprived of car- tridge paper, which is at present very much needed," if these men were taken from the mill and compelled to serve in the detach- ments on guard duty.
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Many of the soldiers instead of cartridge boxes used powder-horns made from cows' horns, and many of these old relics are yet preserved, covered with quaint inscriptions and curious carvings made by their owner when in camp, at idle moments. The most interesting of these which has come to the writer's attention is in the collection of Revolutionary relics at Washington's head- quarters at Valley Forge. It is not a Rhode Island relic, but was the work of a Connec- ticut soldier, and is thus inscribed : -
" JABEZ ROCKWELL RIDGEBURY CONN HIS HORN
made in camp at Valley Forge. It was first used at Monmouth, June 28, 1778; last used at Yorktown, 17SI."
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It has passed through most of the thrilling events of the war and now finds itself back again near the place where Jabez Rockwell fashioned it for use.
In Providence, Barrington, and other towns, men were specially appointed, charged with making the town's stock of powder up into cartridges.
WOODEN CANTEEN.
Another necessary equipment was the canteen; those used during the Revolution were of wood of various capacities, holding from a pint to two quarts; they are frequently met with nowadays, and are often marked
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with the owner's initials and a date. In 1776, the town of East Greenwich voted to provide a sufficient number of " wooden can- teens with lines to sling them with," for the soldiers enlisted to fill up the town's quotas.
The town of Warren appointed Henry Ormsbee to furnish its militia with camp furniture, mess pots, mess pails, mess bowls, narrow axes, and baggage wagons, and the state provided that the allowance to the soldiers in camp for provisions should be " one pound of bread, one pound of beef or pork, a half penny for vegetables, half a gill of rice, one pint of milk, one quart of beer per day, and one pint of molasses per week."
In 1775 fish, butter, vinegar, and soap were also provided at stated intervals, but this was in the early days of the struggle; three years later no such rations were to be had. The position of the troops had been shifted from the hospitable neighborhood of Boston to the bleak and barren hills at Valley Forge, and, says one, "a part of the army has been . a week without any kind of flesh, and the rest three or four days," and Hamilton wrote to Clinton, "For some days past there has been little less than a famine in the camp."
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Nor was this condition confined to any one locality, for Captain Asa Waterman, a deputy commissary of issues, wrote from Provi- dence, May. 3, 1779, to Commissary Peter Colt at Wethersfield, Conn. : -
14480
" This morning waited on Major-Gen- eral Gates. He informed me the distressed condition this Department is in for want of Flour. The troops are very uneasy and constantly mutinizing for want of bread, and request I would do everything in my power to see them supplied. . The
· General further informs me he has rec'd intelligence of a number of troops embark- ing, which, by Information, is Destined for Newport, and if they arrive he must call in the Militia, and what he shall be able to do without Bread he can't tell."
Each town was required to have an am- munition cart, and to furnish its share of blankets, stockings, and other articles of clothing. The demand for blankets was incessant, and officers were specially author- ized to " borrow or purchase " all that they could, and were even directed by warrant from the Governor to take them from the homes of the inhabitants, but were required
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to keep strict account of those thus taken, for which the state would be accountable.
Committees were appointed to take an account of the powder, arms, and ammuni- tion throughout the colony, including private arms as well as those belonging to the pub- lic stock, and every man in the colony was ordered to equip himself completely. The old queen's arm, that had hung on the wall covered with dust and grime, was taken from its resting-place, cleaned, and brightened, and noted in the "list of arms fit for use." All was excitement and activity in the militia. "Not a day passes, Sundays excepted," says the Providence Gazette, "but some of the companies are under arms, so well con- vinced are the people that the complex- ion of the times renders a knowledge of the military art indispensably necessary." The Continental Army, when it took the field, was so curiously uniformed and equipped that it at once attracted the attention of the officers of the well-organ- ized regiments that had been sent out from England, and caused them much amuse- ment. " No regiment is properly uniformed or armed. Every man has a common gun," wrote one of the British officers.
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Many of the commissioned officers in the American army were ignorant of military methods. They had hurriedly left the plough, shop, or forge to take the position to which they had been chosen in the mili- tia, and what they knew of tactics and dis- cipline was mostly acquired after they had entered the service. The British were "often astonished at the number of military books found in the knapsacks of the officers." One of these books, which was carried in the knapsacks of two Rhode Island officers, is yet preserved.1
When the Barrington company took up its station in Boston in 1775, Thomas Allen was the captain and Viall Allen ensign. Neither had much, if any, military experi- ence, and, like others, they proceeded at once to obtain a book to study up the art of war.
The work they purchased was entitled, An Easy Plan of Discipline for a Militia, by Timothy Pickering, Jr. It was "printed in Salem, New England," by Samuel and Ebenezer Hall, 1775, and was, doubtless, published to meet the demand then being
1 The property of the Hon. Thomas W. Bicknell, of Provi- dence, R.I.
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made. On the stained fly-leaf there is writ- ten " Thomas & Viall Allen. Theire Book Bought at Watertown, 1775." From this book Thomas Allen and Viall Allen ob- tained their first military knowledge. The excellent use they made of it is shown in the result; for the former rose to the rank of brigadier-general, while the latter obtained a captain's commission. The English and Hessian officers continually ridiculed the character of the officers in the Continental troops. Among them "are many so-called colonels, lieutenant-colonels, majors, and other officers, who, however, are nothing but me- chanics, tailors, shoemakers, wigmakers, bar- bers, etc.," so wrote Colonel Von Heesingen, commanding a Hessian regiment. And all of this was, to a great extent, true. Na- thanael Greene operated a forge; Stephen Olney was a farmer; Silas Talbot was a stonemason; Ezekiel Cornell was a me- chanic; William Barton, a hatter. Notwith- standing this sarcasm, however, these critics found later that shoemakers, wigmakers, and barbers made good officers, and were, in the · end, more successful than the output from the military schools of Europe.
With the raising of troops came the great
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question of supplying them with the mate- rial necessary to maintain an army in the field. There was no depot of supplies from which the army could be equipped, and each state was left to its own resources.
In Rhode Island each town provided equip- ments for its quota, while the colony itself undertook to furnish the armament for its forts and batteries, powder, shot, lead, and flints.
Early in January, 1776, the firm of Jacob Greene and Company had supplied to the colony " six new double-fortified four-pound cannon with their carriages, together with one hundred and thirty round shot, six bags of grape shot, some sliding and bar shot, with ladles, rammers, sponges, worms, &c.," the whole valued at £100 sterling. The projectiles named in the list include nearly all of those used in heavy guns at that period. There was another, however, called a "carcasse," which was a shell filled with combustibles to be thrown in bombarding a town or against shipping. Many of these latter projectiles were used in the bombard- ment of Bristol. All of those shown in the group were probably discharged in the bat- tle on Rhode Island in August, 1778. The
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large shell was taken from the ground near the base of Bliss Hill, in Middletown, and was quite likely thrown from the American work on Honeyman's Hill, and fell without exploding. The bar shot on the right was dug up in Thames Street, Newport, while the other was taken from the water of New- port Harbor, directly in front of the North Battery (Fort Greene). The two sections of shot are what formed one end of a chain shot, two balls being connected with a short section of chain which was cast into the shot.
All of these, with the exception of that taken from the harbor, have been found in the earth around Newport, and are among the valuable collection of relics in the pos- session of the Newport Historical Society.
The most necessary munition of war was gunpowder, and, to encourage the manufact- ure of it, a premium of £30 was voted to any person who should erect a powder mill and manufacture five hundredweight of good
powder.
r. The ruins of one of these powder
mills formerly stood near the Goddard or Waterman road in Johnston, not far from the little hamlet known as Cæsarville. The trench, which can now be seen crossing the road, serves approximately to identify the lo-
. .
GROUP OF SHOT AND SHELL From the collection . of the Newport Historical Society
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cation of this mill. This property was pur- chased of the state by Isaac Olney, and by him, in 1797, sold to William Goddard. The deeds of this transfer refer to it as " the lot on which the Powder Mill stood." It has been sometimes called the Mud Mill lot, and is perhaps better known by that name. A bounty of three shillings a pound was al- lowed on every pound of saltpetre made in the colony previous to August 26, 1776. But the manufacture of gunpowder was a new industry for the colony. Heretofore it had mostly been imported, the people de- pending largely on the other countries for their supply. These sources of obtaining it were now liable to be cut off, and, as it was not likely that the mills so hurriedly erected and equipped would be able to produce a quantity and quality that could be relied on, the colony agreed to purchase all the gun- powder imported before the first of April, 1777, at three shillings a pound.
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