(Pages 209-300), (pages 301-325), (pages 326-374) of History of Hingham1893
Hingham Military History (cont'd. pages 301-325) Adna Bates, Private, Jared Lane, Private, Daniel Cushing, " Henry Lambert, " James Chubbuck, " Micah Nichols " Theodore French, " Ambrose Nichols, " Thomas Gill, " Luke Orcutt, " Samuel Gill, " Ephraim Orcutt, " John Gill, " Hezekiah Ripley, " Gideon Howard, " James Stodder, " William Hobart, " Daniel Stodder, " Caleb Hobart, " Jacob Stodder, " Jeremiah Hersey, " Isaiah Stodder, " Hawkes Hobart, " Benj. Stetson, " Edmund Hobart, " Stephen Tower, " Japheth Hobart, " Peter Tower, " John Hunt, " Timothy Thayer, " Benj. Joy, " Benjamin Ward, " Israel Lincoln, " Benjamin White, " Beza Lincoln, " Levi Tower, "These men were in the army at this time from about December 19, 1776, to April 2, 1777, and perhaps longer. Captain Cushing, like Lieutenant Burr, was an experienced officer; his company marched from Hingham on the former of the above dates through Abington, and afterwards by way of Pawtucket and Providence, through Rhode Island and Connecticut, their long journey leading them to Hartford and Waterbury among other places. Finally they entered New York, arriving at Westchester January 7th. Brief as are the records in Lieutenant Burr's diary, they interest us not a little, for the personal glimpses which are afforded by them of the marches and skirmishes and experiences of our own townsmen.
Thus he says under date of Jan. 19: "One of our men killed by a cannon ball from the enemy." On the 21st, "Alarmed by the Hessians -- they driven back." 23d, "Skirmish -- one Lt. and 4 men killed." 27th, "Lay in ambush -- our cannon played on Fort Independence." He tells of marches to Tarrytown, where André was subsequently captured, and other places in the vicinity; and at last, in February, of the entry into Morristown in New Jersey. Here were the headquarters of Washington during the winter succeeding his brilliant achievements at Trenton and Princeton. Here too our old fighting chaplain appears again, and Lieutenant Burr says, under date of February 12: "Sunday Mr. Thaxter preached from Psalms 118-18 & 19 v." March 2d, he held forth to his friends and fellow soldiers from home. March 9th, the diary tells us that there was a "Skirmish between 2000 of the enemy & 1000 of our men -- our men beat them back;" and so on. In July Colonel Marshall's and Colonel Whitney's regiments were ordered to Canada. In both there were Hingham men, although there is such confusion in the rolls as to make it practically impossible to give names and time of service.
The town continued as earnest at home in the support of the patriot cause as it was active in the field. March 18, 1776, Theophilus Cushing, John Fearing, Thomas Loring, Israel Beal, and Peter Hobart were chosen a Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety; and May 23d, Benjamin Lincoln, Hezekiah Cushing, and Dea. Joshua Hersey were appointed a committee to prepare instructions for the representatives, Enoch Lincoln, Theophilus Cushing, and John Fearing, just chosen. This they did in the following terms:--
To Enoch Lincoln, Theophilus Cushing, and John Fearing:
GENTLEMEN, -- You are delegated to represent the Town
of Hingham in the next General Court to be held in this colony; and although
we entertain the highest sense of your integrity, patriotism, and ability,
of which we have given full evidence in appointing you to this weighty
trust, yet as matters of the greatest importance relative to the freedom
and happiness not only of this but of all of the United Colonies, on which
you may wish to have the advice of your constituents, will come before
you for your determination -- you are instructed and directed at all times
to give your vote and interest in support of the present struggle with
Great Britain. We ask nothing of her but "Peace, Liberty, and Safety."
You will never recede from that claim; and agreeably to a resolve of the
late House of Representatives, in case the honourable Continental Congress
declare themselves independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, solemnly
to engage in behalf of your constituents, that they will with their lives
and fortunes support them in the measure. You will also, as soon as may
be, endeavor to procure a more equal representation of this colony in General
Assembly; and that it be by fewer members than at present the several towns
have a right to return; and when this is affected you will give your vote
for calling a new house.
BENJAMIN LINCOLN, Town Clerk.
It is impossible not to notice the signature, or avoid giving a thought to the man who wrote the words, "Benjamin Lincoln, Town Clerk," at the foot of this document. Within a period of a little more than a year he had as colonel of his regimen been hurrying his men to Lexington and to the investiture of Boston; been chosen by the Council the first of the Committee, upon which were also Major Fuller, of Newton, Mr. Singleton, Mr. Durfee, and Mr. Dexter, to consider the very important matter of providing each of the soldiers composing the army then rapidly gathering around Boston with the coats which had been promised as a bounty to each man upon enlistment, -- from which comes the term "Coat Rolls" as applied to the lists of the Massachusetts troops raised to besiege Lord Howe; been sent to Washington by the Council upon the matter of sea-coast defence; been promoted to be brigadier-general in the colonial establishment; in May, 1775, served as a member of the Provincial Congress of which body he was also secretary, and in July represented the town in the General Court at Watertown, besides being a member of the Committee of Correspondence, -- one of the most active patriots of the day, yet finding time to attend faithfully to the humble duties of clerk of his native town. Hingham has ample justification for hem' pride in Major-General Benjamin Lincoln, of the Army of the Revolution. Only the briefest sketch of his life can be here given. Born in Hingham, Jan. 24, 1733, he was the son of Colonel Benjamin Lincoln, commander of the third Suffolk regiment and a member of his Majesty's council. At twenty-one years of age young Benjamin was one of the six constables of the town, which office he held two years. In 1755 be became adjutant of his father's regiment, and in 1757 was chosen town clerk, succeeding his father in that office, who in his turn had, in 1727, succeeded his father, also Benjamin Lincoln. In 1763 Mr. Lincoln became second major of the regiment. In 1766 he was elected one of the selectmen, and held this office during the next five years. He became Lieut.-Colonel in 1772, and was in command of the regiment at the opening of the Revolution. In 1772 he represented the town in the General Court, and was re-elected in 1773 and 1774. As already seen, General Lincoln was one of the earliest and most prominent in opposing the encroachments of the Crown upon the liberties of the people, serving upon the town's Committees of Correspondence, Safety, and Militia. His services in the Provincial Congress and his activity and usefulness in the opening months of the Revolution have been referred to previously. February 8, 1776, he was commissioned brigadier-general by Massachusetts, and in the May following major-general. During the first year of the war General Lincoln rendered most valuable service to the army as a member of the committee on supplies; and the miscellaneous papers at the State House afford many instances of most important orders signed by him in that capacity. He planned and commanded the successfully executed movements which finally drove the enemy from Boston harbor in 1776. During the same year he commanded the reinforcements of militia sent by the province to Washington. So urgent were the requests of the latter for assistance that every fifth man was ordered to respond, the sea-coast towns being exempted at this time. While in New York, General Lincoln commanded one of the four divisions of the army. Toward the close of the year he was appointed to the command of the militia raised in Massachusetts and Connecticut for the defence of Rhode Island. On the 19th February, 1777, Stirling, St. Clair, Lincoln, Mifflin, and Stephen were commissioned major-generals in the Continental service. In the following July General Lincoln was selected by Washington to command the New England militia raised to aid the Northern army operating against Burgoyne. Gaining the rear of the British, Lincoln despatched Colonel Brown to attempt the recapture of Ticonderoga and the posts in the vicinity. The expedition accomplished important results. On the 29th September General Lincoln with two thousand men joined the main army under Gates, and October 8 he was severely wounded in the leg during a skirmish. Before returning to Hingham, it became necessary to remove a considerable portion of the main bone, and under the painful operation it is said that he exhibited most, uncommon patience and fortitude. It was years before recovery from the wound was complete, and it occasioned lameness during the remainder of his life. General Lincoln reported for duty at the headquarters of the army in the following August, to the great gratification of Washington. At the request of the delegates from South Carolina and Georgia he was designated by Congress to take command of the southern department. He arrived in Charleston in December, 1778, and was compelled to form an army and raise supplies. In this he showed unconquerable energy and perseverance. For nearly a year he kept the English under Prevost below the Savannah, and being joined by D'Estaing with the French fleet, he invested Savannah on September 98, 1779. October 9th, the combined forces in three columns and led by D'Estaing and Lincoln in person, made an assault on the enemy's works. The allies were defeated with great loss; it was here that, Count Pulaski was killed, with many other gallant officers. The siege was immediately raised and the French sailed away, leaving Lincoln to contend alone against the victorious army. A more unfortunate ending to what promised to be a brilliant campaign can hardly be conceived. The fault lay with the impatience of the French commander, at the necessarily deliberate approaches which the siege required, and his determination to abandon the attempt unless an immediate assault was undertaken. After the disastrous failure to capture the place, General Lincoln retreated to Charleston, where he passed the winter in vain endeavors to hold an army together and inspire the population with the spirit of patriotism and resistance. By March he had only fourteen hundred men left, while the town and the surrounding country were full of Loyalists. In April Sir Henry Clinton invested Charleston with five thousand men, and on May 11th after a resistance of forty days, General Lincoln surrendered with his whole army. His conduct of the campaign has received severe criticism; but whatever its merits or demerits, he lost the confidence of neither the army nor the country, and when in the following spring he again reported for duty, it was to receive from Washington an important command. In July he threatened New York, but finding it impracticable to attack the English there, withdrew under Washington's orders, and with his division marched across New Jersey and into Virginia, where he took part in the siege of Yorktown. On the 6th of October the first parallel was commenced by troops commanded by General Lincoln, and on the 19th the garrison surrendered, -- Cornwallis' sword being received by Lincoln, who as a special honor from Washington was in charge
of the ceremonies. A few days after Congress appointed General Lincoln Secretary of War, allowing him to retain his rank in the army. This office he resigned two years later and retired to his home at Hingham, receiving most complimentary resolutions from Congress. In 1784 he was chosen one of the commissioners to make a treaty with the Penobscot lndians. He commanded the militia raised to suppress Shays' rebellion in 1786-1787, and by the exercise of great energy and tact restored order in a very short time. In 1787 he was elected Lieut.-Governor of Massachusetts, was commander of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1788, and was a member of the convention which ratified the Constitution of the United States. In 1789 Washington appointed him the first collector of the port of Boston, which office he held nearly twenty years. He was also a commissioner to treat with the Creek Indians in 1789, and to effect a treaty of peace with the Western Indians in 1793. General Lincoln was one of the first members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, contributing papers to each. He was also President of the Society of the Cincinnati from its organization until his decease. He received the degree of Master of Arts from Harvard University, in 1780. This is the outline of a life which for honorable, untiring usefulness has few equals. We long to fill in the details; to picture the young general of forty-three in command of one of Washington's divisions, -- the great commander himself but a little older; to tell of his sending the blankets from his own home to cover his suffering men in the field; to recall the spirit and fire with which he inspired the militia, and led it to the victory at Saratoga; to follow him while he toils in the swamps of the Carolinas with his handful of men; and finally, to witness his triumph at Yorktown. We would like, too, to see this pure, brave man in the quiet and sweetness of his home-life, among the friends with whom he had served in the field, and among whom he loved to mingle in the happy peace that followed. For the details of all this and much more, there is not room. General Lincoln was of middle height, erect, broad-chested, and muscular, with the air of a soldier. He was conspicuous for his frankness, integrity, prudence, inflexibility, and strong common-sense. He was cool in deliberations and prompt in execution. His private life was without a stain, and no profane word passed his lips. He was one of the organizers of the Third Congregational (Unitarian) Society, and until his death among its most active members. There was no room in General Lincoln's character for that smallness of mind which sneers at religious belief in others, or boasts its absence in one's self. In this as in all else he was as sincere as modest. Never cowardly in disavowal of the great faith he had, and unwilling to permit his convictions to appear in doubt, he was also considerate and liberal regarding the opinions and beliefs of others. Benjamin Lincoln died May 9, 1810, and he lacked (Vol. 1.--20)
neither honor nor love in his own town and among his own neighbors. Not far from the first settlers' monument in the old fort, in the quiet part of the cemetery overlooking the town, where great pines sing a lullaby, and where all around are the bones and the tombs of those he knew and loved, lie the mortal remains of this soldier of the Revolution. A stone, plain and massive, of white marble, and worthy of the man, marks the spot. On one side are the words:
And on the other:
Here on each Memorial Day the beautiful colors of the nation which he did so much to found, blend with the sweet flowers strewn in honor and memory by the brave men of a later time; and they who bring the laurel and the myrtle for the young lives given to their country in 1861 do not forget nor pass by the hero who made possible the later sacrifice.
With the war the town's expenditures increased at a rate that must have seemed appalling to the conservative citizens, habitually economical, and critical of every outlay; yet they were bravely met, and generous sums were voted for the care of the soldiers' families, in addition to the other large amounts required. Here are some of the items for this year:--
At the several meetings (of the town) in July Sept. Nov' & Dec' [1776] the Town Voted to Raise £615 14s 8d for the Soldiers who were employed in the Continental Service & raised by the Town of Hingham.
To Hawks Fearing Transporting Cannon to Hull 0 8- To D° for Transporting Baggage for Capt. Peter Cushings } 3-2- Capt Pyam Cushings & Capt. Thos Hearseys Company } To 15 Soldiers that were hired to go with Lieut. John Burr to Ticonderoga 1-9-5 To 23 men that were hir'd to go to New York in Sept. Last with Capt. Peter Cushing 98-2 8 To 37 men that were hir'd to go to York in Dec. Last with Capt. Job Cushing 316-1-4By order of the selectmen Caleb Loring furnished supplies to a company or companies from Scituate and Pembroke while at Hingham, and his bill, accompanied by a certificate from Benjamin Cushing and Joseph Andrews, we find to have been allowed by the State.
The Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety, chosen in March, 1777, were Israel Beal, Samuel Norton, John Fearing, Peter Cushing, Thomas Loring, Peter Hobart, and Theophilus Cushing. In June Israel Beal was appointed "to procure evidence against such persons as are suspected of being inimical to this and the United States of America, in this town."
Among the large number of vessels of all sizes sad descriptions in the naval service during the Revolution, was the brig "Hazard," built by John Peck, of Boston, and carrying sixteen guns. She made three successful cruises, the first from October, 1777, to May, 1778, under command of Capt. Simeon Sampson; the second in 1778-1779, and the third in 1779, in both of which she was commanded by Capt. John Foster Williams. During this period -- from 1777 to 1779 -- she made many prizes, among them the British brig "Active," eighteen guns, after an engagement of thirty-five minutes. She belonged to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and was engaged in the unfortunate Penobscot expedition in 1779, and in August of that year was burned by her crew to save her from falling into the hands of the enemy. Her officers and crew were transferred to the "Protector," a fine vessel. Among the crew of the" Hazard," were a number of Hingham men. Those known are as follows:--
Walter Hatch, 2d Lieut., Joseph Lincoln, Corporal of Stephen Lincoln, Armorer, Marines, Samuel Lincoln, Jairus Lincoln, Royal Lincoln, Zenas Whiton, Ezekiel Lincoln, Peter Wilder, Jonathan Cushing, Abel Barnes, Laban Thaxter, Elias Beal.There is some authority for the statement that the "Hazard" was in commission in 1776, and that most, if not all, of the above were in service with her in that year. Mr. Lincoln in the "History of Hingham," speaks of the four cruises of the "Hazard."
These men also were undoubtedly on board, in 1778. In addition,
William Tidmarsh was captain's clerk in this latter year.
Joseph Lincoln and Jonathan Cushing were captured on board
a prize of the "Hazard's" and carried prisoners to Halifax, in 1778; in
1780 Cushing was a prisoner on the Jersey prison-ship. In 1779 Asabel Stodder
was in service on the "Hazard."
Capt. Thomas Melville commanded a company in Col. Craft's
battalion in 1776 and upon his rolls was borne the name of William Lewis.
August, 1777, Isaac Wilder, then only 17 years of age,
died in captivity at Halifax. Hingham had a further part
in the naval service of the Revolution; for under date of December 16,
1776, a charter of the schooner "Edward," of about 70 tons, was made by
Caleb Loring to the Board of War, and a little later, on the 8th of January,
1777, he executed a like paper for the schooner "Hazard," of 60 tons. He
also owned the armed brig "Rising States," which was captured by a British
frigate.
The charters of these vessels were very elastic in their
provisions, and no limitations were really placed upon the uses to which
they were to be put.
It is extremely difficult to give anything approaching a complete history of the militia organizations belonging in Hingham from the close of 1776. It is probable that the large number of men in the regular service and the frequent drafts for particular expeditions and exigencies may have so far depleted the companies belonging distinctly to the town as to at last result in their complete disorganization, or at least to work such a suspension of their activity as make them no longer the subject of particular mention. The last record of this kind that has come to notice is the following:--
Hingham, June l0th, 1777. These may Certify that a legall meeting of the Training band and alarm list of the first Company in said Town Benjamin Lapham was Chosen Capt of Said Company. ISAIAH CUSHING, Maj. In Council, August 7, 1777, Read and Ordered that Said Officer be Commissioned agreeable to his Rank. JAS. AVERY, Dy, Secy.Indeed it may be added that much hereafter given most of necessity be fragmentary and disconnected, and will rather serve as hints of the part the town continued to take in the battle for freedom than a full history of events. It is not possible to fix the time or places of service of a large proportion of the men who enlisted for Hingham, nor to always state accurately their companies, regiments, or date of entering the army.
Among the unwise plans put into execution about this time, and which was particularly annoying to Washington and discouraging to the men in the regular service, was the enlistment of a force to serve in the New England States only. The following is interesting in this connection:--
To the Honrable Bord of War: GENTLEMEN,-- This may certify that I have inlisted ten men into the Servis of the four New England States, that have past muster that Cannot furnish themselves with arms and acuterments. Gentlemen, pleas to furnish Lt. Calvin Curtis with arms and acuterments, Sufficient for the above Number of men, and you will oblige yours to Serve. In a Regiment where of John Roberson, Esq., is Col. SETH STOWERS, Capt. Hingham, July y' 22d, 1777.There were several expeditions against the enemy in Rhode Island planned and attempted in the year 1777, none of which were successful, but in all of which Hingham appears to have been represented. The first was in February, and a town record of a meeting in May is as follows:-- "At the annual meeting in May, the Town voted to raise £ 1172 for procuring the men for the Continental Army & paying the men that were employed in the Rhode Island Expedition for the said town."
The next attempt was in September. Three thousand men were raised from Plymouth, Bristol, and Barnstable Counties, and the southern parts of Suffolk, Middlesex, and Worcester.
These, with Colonel Craft's regiment of State artillery and the militia under General Hancock, were placed under command of General Spencer of the Continental Army. Among these troops was the regiment commanded by Colonel Robinson, one of whose companies was that of which Seth Stowers was captain and which included the following from this town:--
Seth Stowers, Capt., Isaiah Stodder, Joseph Wilder, Elisha Dunbar, Hosea Dunbar, Jonathan Gardner David Lincoln, Caleb Leavitt,and perhaps others.
A company in the same expedition, commanded by Capt. Moses French, of Weymouth, and in Col. Jonathan Titcomb's regiment of militia, on duty from May 15 to July 15, bore the following Hingham men upon its rolls:--
Joshua Tower, Lieut., Israel Lincoln, Private, Jonathan Hearsey, Sergt., Seth Stoel, " David Hearsey, Drummer, David Cain, " Jonathan Lewis, Private, Melzar Dunbar, " David Loring, " Amos Dunbar, " Thomas Wilder, " Ezekiel Lincoln, " Peleg Whiton, " Caleb Levot, " Daniel Dunbar, " Nathaniel Bates, " Enoch Dunbar, "In the early part of this year there was a company in service commanded by Captain Penniman, of Braintree. The only Hingham name then on the roll appears to have been that of Theophilus Wilder, who was 1st Lieut.
There is another roll, however, of a company serving under command of Capt. Theophilus Wilder, and composed of men from Hingham, Stoughton, and Braintree. The names from Hingham were:--
Theophilus Wilder, Capt., Thomas Howard, Private, Elisha Lewis, Sergt., -- Humphreys " Laban Tower, Corp., Thomas Howard, Jr., " Bela Tower, Fifer, -- Whiston, " Ezekiel Cushing, Private, Enoch Dunbar, " Jona. Gardner, " Laban Hunt, " Sam'l Low, " -- Whiton, " David Prouty, " Elijah Gardner, " -- Fazzen, " Thos. Colbart, " Joshua Hobartt, " Rufus Tower. "This company, like Captain Penniman's, was undoubtedly in Colonel Dike's militia regiment, and probably was in the service in the early part of 1777.
Mrs. Lincoln states in his history that there were thirty-three men with Capt. Job Cushing, in New York, in 1777, but he gives no information as to the time of year or location of their service. It is much to be regretted that the numbers and names of our fellow townsmen who served in the great Northern Campaign of this eventful year, cannot be fully given. We know, however, that when General Lincoln received his wound at Stillwater, on the morning of October 8, he had with him his friends and neighbors who had marched at his call, as they had so many times before, both for his father and himself. It was at the taking of Burgoyne, too, that Joshua Ripley, of Colonel Wigglesworth's regiment, of the Continental Line, and Nehemiah Ripley, of Capt. Theophilus Wilder's company, of Col. Gill's regiment, were killed. Capt. Wilder had twenty-eight Hingham men with him at first, and the company was afterwards increased to fifty-two. The following names appear upon a roll in August, together with many others not from this town:--
Theophilus Wilder, Capt., Jeremiah Gardner, Private, Abijah Whitton, Sergt., Nehemiah Hubburt, " Nehemiah Ripley, Corp., Benjamin Joy, " Thaddeus Bates, " Able Lincoln, " David Harsay, " Israel Lincoln, " Peter Harsay, Drum-Major, Seth Stowell, " Benjamin Barns, Private, Stephen Stowell, " Canterbury Barns, " Joshua Stowell, " Ambross Bates, " Israel Stowell, " Thomas Chubbuck, " Seth Wilder, " Sherebiah Corthwill," Peter Whitton, " Stephen Gardner, " Abel Whitton, "Two items of money voted by the town in 1778, for expenses incurred in the previous year, are certainly suggestive, although there is no further evidence of the presence of Hingham men at General Stark's victory on August 16th.
They are an allowance of £183 to Captain Wilder for travelling fees for one hundred and ninety miles to Bennington, and £ 7-4-6 paid "to Thos Chubbuck for so much due for Transporting the Soldiers Baggage to Bennington."
While the town was earnestly performing its allotted part towards the general conduct of the war, it was not unmindful of its own defence, as we see by the following requisition:--
Hingham, August 1st, 1777. Sir.-- Please to deliver to Mr. Israel Beal, the bearer hereof, 250 weight of powder, 50 weight Musquet Ball, and 500 flints for the use of the Town of Hingham, & you'll oblige yours, To the Commissary General BENJ. CUSHING, } Selectmen of at Watertown. JOSHUA LEAVITT, } JOSEPH ANDREWS, } Hingham.There is great difficulty in determining with certainty the names of men who enlisted into the Continental regular service during particular years; the very multiplicity of rolls and lists with differing headings adds to the confusion. When, as is frequently the case, town and private records are really or seemingly at variance with these, entire accuracy becomes out of the question. From these and other causes it may happen that names deserving of honorable mention are omitted entirely, and that others get misplaced. The following appear to have served in Hingham's quota for three years, enlisting in 1777. Non-residents are indicated, when it is known, by the name of the town to which they belonged immediately following their own names; the captains and colonels under whom these soldiers served are also indicated.
Captain Colonel Nathaniel Coit Allen, Marshall, Marshall. Elisha Bate, Alden, Bayley. James Cook, Pilsbury, Wigglesworth. John Davis, Langdon, Jackson. George Douty, Falmouth, Blaisdell, Wigglesworth. William Ellery, Boston, Langdon, Jackson. Robert Ford, " " " (deserted). Joseph Falmouth, Falmouth, Lunt, Alden. Adam Fernando, Boston, Langdon, Jackson. Elisha Gardner, Briant, Crane. Castle Gardner, Light Horse. Jacob Gardner, Williams, Greaton. Thomas Gosling, Boston, Allen, Alden. Samuel Green, " Ellis, Bigelow. Jacob Gurney, " Langdon, Jackson. Daniel Golden (also called Gould), Falmouth, Ellis, Bigelow. John Gray, Jr., Boston, Langdon, Jackson. John Griggs, " " " Charles Hardman, " Allen, Alden. Adam Henry, " Langdon, Jackson. Joseph Hobart, Pilsbury, Wigglesworth. Thomas Hassell, Tuckerman, Patterson. Daniel Hearsey, Light Horse. Jesse Humphrey, Williams, Greaton. James Hisket, Boston, Langdon, Jackson. Peter Huson, " " " Thomas Kilby, " " Bela Leavitt, Briant, Crane. Caleb Lincoln, " " Urbane Lewis, Allen, Bayley. Marsh Lewis, " " Lot Lincoln, Jr, Pilsbury, Wigglesworth. Daniel Low, Marshall, Marshall. James Love, Boston, Langdon, Jackson. John Lewis, " " " Emmanuel Lorel," " " Isaac Lane, Buxton William Murphy, Boston, Allen, Alden. Ichabod Meakum, " Langdon, Jackson. Plato McLean, " Ellis Bigelow. Wm. McCandy, Falmouth, Lunt, Alden. Plato McLellan (a negro), " Ellis, Bigelow. Joseph McConner, " Clem Pennel, " Ellis, Bigelow. William Palding, Hingham or Boston, Langdon, Jackson. Nathan Patridge, Falmouth, Smith, Patterson. Thomas Rumrill, Boston, Joshua Ripley, Wigglesworth. Hezekiah Ripley, Alden, Bayley. Nathaniel Stodder, Briant, Crane. William Spooner, " " Abel Sprague, Seward, " Hosea Stoddar, Williams, Greaton. Joseph Stockbridge, Alden, Bayley. Jonathan Sayer, Boston, Allen, Alden. John Scott, " Langdon, Jackson. John Simmonds, " " " Henry Thomson, Briant, Crane. Henry Tibbits, Boston, Allen, Alden. lsrael Whiton, Brown, Jackson. John Woodman, Paxton (said also to be Hingham), Lane, Alden. Thomas Wilton, Boston, Allen, Alden. Mark Wilson, Falmouth, Blasdel, Patterson.Among the most faithful soldiers of the Revolution was Daniel Hearsey. We found him first in Capt. Charles Cushing's company besieging Boston; afterwards he enlisted in the Continental service in Knox's Artificers, and subsequently his name appears upon the rolls of Col. William Washington's celebrated regiment of Light Horse, where he was a trooper for three years, having for a comrade his townsman Castle Gardner. Finally, he closes his military career as a member of "His Excellency Gen'l Washington's Guards, commanded by Henry Collfax," according to the State House records. Colonel Collfax's name was, however, William, not Henry as stated.
Joseph Cook also served in the Second Regiment, Colonel Greaton, and the Sixteenth, Col. Henry Jackson; Marsh Lewis was subsequently in the regiment of invalids, commanded by Colonel McFarland. Mark Wilson served at one time in Captain Smart's company of Wigglesworth's regiment. Perez Gardner, according to Mr. Lincoln, not only served in Colonel Vose's regiment, but was also in Captain Flint's company of Colonel Johnson's militia regiment at the taking of Burgoyne; was six months on guard in Captain Foster's company at Cambridge, took part in the Rhode Island campaign under the same officer, and in Mclntosh's regiment in 1778, and subsequently in the campaign in that State in 1780, under Captain Wilder of Gill's regiment; was eighteen or twenty months in Captain Warner's company in Colonel Craft's Artillery. He was three years in the Continental service in Captain Hitchcock's and Captain Mills's companies. Though not given in the above list, Mr. Lincoln says that serving with Mr. Gardner in the Continental service were Joshua Tower, killed at Morrisania; Jack ----, a negro, killed also in New York; James Bates, and James Hayward, who both died at West Point; Solomon Loring; and John Daniels.
During this year (1777) the disastrous battle at the Brandywine was fought. It was the 11th September, a hot, windy day, the air filled with dust to which clouds of smoke were soon added, when the American Army under Washington made its stand against Howe, with the hope of a victory which might save the capital. The mistakes of General Sullivan, the losses of Wayne, the skill of Green in checking the enemy, the heavy losses of the patriots and the final retreat to Germantown, are matters of history. Among the troops engaged in this unfortunate affair was Colonel Crane's famous regiment of artillery from Massachusetts, one of whose companies was commanded by David Briant, a brave officer, who received a mortal wound and died the next day.
Upon the fall of Captain Briant the command devolved upon Lieut. Joseph Andrews, of Hingham, who, although wounded, continued to serve his guns with great courage for an hour longer, when he, too, was mortally wounded by a cannon-ball, and died on November 22d following, after great suffering, aged twenty years.
More than forty years afterwards Lafayette, who was himself
wounded at the same time, spoke of Lieutenant Andrews's persistent bravery.
Besides Lieutenant Andrews there were from Hingham in this company, Caleb
Bates, a sergeant, also killed in the battle; Levi Bicknell, wounded; Nathaniel
Stoddard, Samuel Bicknell, Elijah Gardner, Thomas Cushing, and William
Sprague, who were in the engagement, and Bela Leavitt, Luther Lincoln,
and Caleb Lincoln, then with the Northern Army.
Following Brandywine and the later repulse at Germantown
came the terrible winter at Valley Forge, with its sufferings and privations.
In the bitter experiences of that encampment many of the Continental soldiers
from Hingham participated. The history of the Massachusetts regiments is
their history, and wherever the names of the Jacksons, Greaton, Wigglesworth,
Rufus Putnam, Crane, Alden, Bayley, Marshall, Bigelow, and Patterson appear
leading their commands in victory, caring for them in privation, cheering
them in defeat, there will be found filling their ranks, carrying out their
orders, and standing with them in the heat of battle, the sturdy citizens
of Hingham who enlisted "for the war." A number of the Continental soldiers
in the lists given were subsequently promoted and held commissions in the
service; their names and rank will appear hereafter.
In 1778 the Committee of Safety were Thomas Burr, Jacob Leavitt, Abel Hersey, Enoch Whiton, and Peter Hobart.
The constant fear of a return of the English to Boston, and the necessity of providing against pillaging and foraging incursions into the country along the coast, required the exercise of unceasing vigilance on the part of the State and local authorities. How cheerfully and faithfully Massachusetts performed her duty in this as in her every relation to the Revolutionary struggle is known to all familiar with American history, yet it may not be amiss to recall that when Congress voted to raise eighty-eight regiments, of which this State's quota was fifteen, sixteen were enlisted besides Crane's fine regiment of artillery, -- a number soon after augmented by two additional regiments and Armand's artillery legion, Congress having determined to raise sixteen additional battalions, -- and that one half the whole burden of the war, as measured by the numbers of men furnished the Continental ranks, was borne by her. Based upon annual terms of service, Massachusetts had 67,907 men in the army, besides many thousands in her own pay for New England and purely local defence. Her militia was frequently in active service, and she was obliged to maintain constantly a force sufficient to garrison the posts within her territory. Among these, as previously remarked, were the defences at Nantasket, and upon Hingham a large part of this duty devolved throughout the war. Major Thomas Lothrop was in command in 1778, and under date of February 27 we have a roll of Capt. Peter Cushing's Company then on duty there. It is as follows:--
Peter Cushing, Capt. Nathl Fearing, Private, Noah Hearsey, Sergt. Joshua Lincoln, " Thomas Jones, " John Gill, " Samuel Hobart, " Willm Hobart, " Daniel Cushing," Abel Fearing, " Daniel Hobart, Corp. Caleb Hobart, " David Burr, " John Jones, " David Beal, Jun " Isaac Gardner, " Zadock Hearsey, Drum, Isaiah Hearsey, " David Andrews, Private, Abijah Hearsey, " Lot Lincoln, " Jeremiah Hearsey, " Enoch Stodder, " Shubael Fearing, " Thos Waterman, " Benj. Jacob, " Benjn Stowel, " Jeremiah Sprague, " Bradford Hearsey, " Benjn Joy, " Wellcom Lincoln, " Joseph Mansfield, " Jesse Bate, " Laban Hunt, " Job Lincoln, " Noah Stodder, " Natn Gill, " Reuben Stephenson, " Jacob Beal, " Peter Loring, " Jona Lincoln, " Thos Cushing, " Seth Lincoln, " Hawkes Fearing, " Joseph Hamen, "Early in this year also we find Lieut. Jabez Wilder with a number of men forming a part of the garrison. The date is the same as the last, February 27, and the roll terms the command a "half company." The names given are--
Lt. Jabez Wilder, Theoph. Wilder, James Tower, Edward Wilder, Theoph. Cushing, Solomon Whiton, Thomas Cushing, Abel Whiton, Benj. Ward, David Gardner, Labin Tower, David Chubbuck, Zenas Wilder, Robert Gardnier, Jonathan Farron, John Hearsey, Zach. Whiton, Benj. Whiton, Seth Stowars, Bela Tower,Jabez Wilder, who was a brother of Capt. Theophilus Wilder, subsequently held the rank of captain, being commander of the third company of the Second Suffolk Regiment. He resided on Free Street, near Main, and after the war moved to Chesterfield.
Captain Wilder's company was ordered to Hull soon after, and his roll in April contains the following names: --
Theophilus Wilder, Capt. Benj. Whiton, Private, Theophilus Cushing, Sergt. Jona. Loring, Thomas Jones, " Joseph Mansfield, " Elisha Marsh, " Benj. Joy, " Bela Tower, Fifer, Jona. Loring, Jr. " Thos. Cushing, Corp. Benj. Cushing, " Joseph Beal, " Joseph Souther, " David Lincoln, Private, John Wilentt, " Martin Tower, " Mordecai Lincoln, " Enoch Stoddar, " John Hunt, " Shubael Fearing, " Zachariah Hunt, " Abel Fearing, " Ephraim Burrell, " John Jones, " Eben'r Joy, " Elijah Lewis, " Laban Cushing, " Solomon Whiton, " John Wild. "Although a Hingham company, a few of the above may have been residents of Weymouth or Cohasset.
The following return of the selectmen tells the story of the manner in which quotas were sometimes filled in those days, as well as a good many years later.
"A return of the men procured by the town of Hingham to make up their quota of the seventh part of the male inhabitants of said town:--
John Murphy, May, 1778, Greaton's Regt, Patrick Dunn, June, 1778, Col. Crane's, Lieney Gesbuct, " " " " ISRAEL BEAL } THEOS CUSHING} Selectmen of Hingham. CHAS CUSHING } DAVID CUSHING, Colo."The same officers make another return, showing that Nathan Thisining enlisted in Col. Henley's regiment in May, while in June,
Jaspar Mason, Esriglolm Millery, Christian Rouschorn, Jonas Foughel, Conrad Workman, Peter Dushen, Frederick Gateman, Amada Bourdon, John Dager, Frederick Bower, Joseph Teot or Scot, John Rodsfell, John Wielele, Christopher Creigor,as Hingham men swore to uphold the Republic in Col. Crane's Artillery. It is difficult to avoid a slight suspicion that these men may have been a part of the deserting Hessians from Burgoyne's army, whose enlistment by Massachusetts called forth vigorous remonstrance from Washington, and soon ceased. The town fathers appear to have been at least not deficient in shrewdness, however, for these recruits were engaged for three years and credited to Hingham for the long term although the period required under the call of Congress at that time was only nine months. Let us hope that these swiftly made citizens and eager patriots upheld the honor of the town while serving under their new colors.
In July of this year, the French fleet under D'Estaing appeared off Newport, and the Admiral and Gen Sullivan, who commanded in Rhode Island, prepared to drive the enemy from the State. Two Continental brigades from the main army was sent under Lafayette, and the Massachusetts militia marched under John Hancock as Major-General, at the same time. The whole force numbered ten thousand men, and great hopes were entertained of its success. They were doomed to be disappointed, however, and after nearly a month of fruitless delays, the Americans evacuated the island after having fought one unsatisfactory battle. The following Hingham men took part in the attempt:--
Benj. Jacob, Thos. Joy, Elijah Lewis, Japath Hobart, Benj. Joy, Moses Whiton, Kent Simmonds, Jonathan Gardner.They were probably members of a company of which John Lincoln was a lieutenant, and were paid by the town £ 122.
Hon. Solomon Lincoln says there were nineteen other Hingham men engaged six weeks in Rhode Island, and also twenty-two in a Capt. Baxter's company for the same length of time. The names of the latter are here given:--
Zachariah Whiton, 2 Lieut., Able Whiton, Robert Gardner, Serg't, Jonathan Farrar, Ambross Bates, " Levit Lane, Jacob Joy, Thomas Willder, Robart Willder, Stephen Stodder, Isaiah Hearsey, Isaac (?) Whiton, Cushing Burr, Elishe Whiton, Ruben Hearsey, James Stodder, Charls Burr, Cornelus Bates, Canterbury Barns, Zebulon Willcutt, Daniel Wilder, Jacob Lincorn. Thomas Stodder,Captain Baxter was from Braintree, from which town also came a large part of his company. Lieut. Whiton subsequently appears to have become a captain, and is spoken of with distinction in Thacher's "Military Journal." Colonel McIntosh commanded the regiment.
The Dorchester Heights works were also garrisoned by a company consisting of thirty-four men, under Capt. Elias Whiton for three months. Captain Whiton, who early in the war had also served as lieutenant in Capt. Pyam Cushing's company when stationed at Dorchester, was taken with the small-pox and died in the service, aged thirty-five years. Almost at the same time Captain Whiton's elder brother, Capt. Enoch Whiton, who also had commanded a company in the Revolution died, aged forty-five years. A third brother, Elijah, was a soldier in the same war. They were all residents of South Hingham, near Liberty Plain. The town records show that the thirty-four men were paid out of the town treasury £402-2 for their services. The company belonged to Colonel Lyman's regiment of Guards; its roll was--
Elias Whiton, Capt. Jona Hobart, Zachariah Whiton, Lieut., Joshua Beals, Samuel Hobart, " Willm Hobart, John Cushing, Thomas Sprague, Thomas King, Samuel Leavitt, James Tower, Thomas Joy, Joshua Stowel, Abel Whiton, David Gardner, Jacob Dunbar, Ezekiel Hearsey, Peter Tower, John Hearsey, Jonathan Farrow, Thomas Chubbuck, Jeremiah Gardner, Jonathan Gardner, David Chubbuck, Caleb Leavitt, David Loring, David Lamman, Laban Tower, John Hobart, Seth Wilder, Benjn Stowel, Esquir Hook. Nehemiah Hobart,After the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, Oct. 17, 1777, his army was conducted to Boston, and quartered at Cambridge, where it remained until November, 1779. During the intervening period the duty of furnishing guards devolved largely upon the militia of Massachusetts, and of this, Hingham had a full share. It is not possible to give accurate lists of the men engaged in this and the similar service of caring for and protecting the Continental stores at Boston and Watertown, so imperfect are the rolls. The town records contain items of payments to men recruited for these purposes. One, in 1778, would seem to indicate that there were seven of our townsmen with Capt. Benjamin Beal, but "a pay abstract of Capt. Benj. Beal company of militia and Col. Jacob Garish (regt) Drafted in July 1778, to Guard the Troops of Convention and the Stores In and About Boston" contains the following names of undoubted citizens. The regiment was Colonel Gerrish's.
Benj. Beal, Capt., Moses Gardner, Peter Dunbar, Lieut., Joshua Stowell, Joshua Beal, Sergt., Jedediah Joy, Caleb Marsh, Corp., Seth Wilder, David Hearsey, Drum, Daniel Dunbar, Joseph Hobbard, Hosea Dunbar, Stephen Mansfield, Melzer Dunbar.Also "Capt Benj. Lapham Compy in Col. John Reeds Regt., in service of the United States, at Cambridge, taken from 2 April, 1778, to July 3, 1778," has upon its roll:--
Jos. Tower, Sergt. James Lewes, Daniel Stodard, Corp., Richd Tower.The town disbursements for the year contain items for the payment of three men employed in guarding Continental stores, nearly three months, twenty men "for guarding Genl Burgoynes army, at Cambridge, 4 months & 26 days," "to 11 men for Guarding the Continental Stores in Boston 2 months 11 days."
At the town meeting held in February, there was a tax laid of £2370 of which £495-7-2 was for the procuring of Continental soldiers, for three years; £1274-12-10 for paying the men employed in the expedition against General Burgoyne; £300 for guarding General Burgoyne's army at Cambridge, and £300 for defraying the usual expenses of the town. Subsequently we find Joshua Leavitt paid for a gun lent the town, and Jacob Leavitt for painting the carriage and wheels of the cannon; also David Beal for assisting in transporting powder from Watertown to Hingham. There are, besides these, payments to Capts. Benj. Lapham, Elias Whiton, and Peter Cushing, for serving as committees to hire soldiers.
There is a roll of Captain Stowers' company showing service from August to November of this year; the location of its employment is not indicated, but its roll contains, in addition to the names given as members of the same command, in August, 1776, the following:--
Sam'l Stodder, Daniel Beal, Reuben Stodder, Thos. Lincoln, Job Mansfield, Jacob Whiton, Stephen Whiton, Caleb Leavitt, Benj. Barnes, Jr., Enoch Leavitt. Luke Orcutt,October 1, 1778, General Lafayette was in Hingham and lodged, with his servant, at the Anchor Tavern, then standing upon the present location of Mr. William O. Lincoln's house, on South Street, and a favorite resort of the French officers at Nantasket. It was a famous hostelry in its day, and was occupied as a private dwelling by Governor Andrew in the early part of the Civil War. Lafayette was on his way to Hull, where he was going to inspect the fortifications at that place. He was dressed in a blue coat with buff trimmings, the regular uniform of an American officer, and attracted much attention. Upon the news of his death many years after, all the bells in town were rung.
Among other curious documents in the State House are certain inventories showing the amount of clothing received from the several towns for the public service. One, dated Dec. 17th, 1778, shows that Hingham furnished 128 shirts, 69 pairs of shoes, and 102 pairs of stockings; being much more than by any other town in the county with the exception of Boston.
The great difficulty of ascertaining precisely the date of enlistment of many of those who entered the Continental service has been intimated. In addition to the names previously given, the following would seem to have entered the army in 1778:--
Captain Colonel Alexander Atkins, Boston, Langdon, Jackson, Gershom Beal, Winship, Putnam, Caesar Blake, Alden, Bayley, Maxitinde Basasobel, Boston, Allen, Alden, Thomas Burke, Langdon, Jackson, Caleb Bates (killed), Burbeck, Crane's Artil., Simeon Butler, Langdon, Jackson, Wm. Booding, " " Ezekiel Bragdon, Braxton, Lane, Nixon, Abel Cushing, Shepard, Isaac Crosby, Waltham, Lane, Alden, John Carter, Boston, Langdon, Jackson, Ronald Cameron, " " " Wm Clarke, Pownalboro, Bayley, " John Clark, " James Dishet, Perez Gardner, Vose, Isaac Gardner, " Jesse Humphrey, Williams, Greaton, Joseph Hobart, Pilsbury, Wigglesworth, Daniel Hearsey, Light Horse, Peter Husen Boston, Langdon, Jackson, Luther Lincoln, Briant, Crane, John Mansfield (dead), Bayley, Ebenezer Ripley, Caesar Scott, Alden, Moses Stoddar, Joseph Wilcott. Burbeck, Crane,In September of 1778 General Lincoln was placed in command of the department of the South. A brief account has already been given of his persistent efforts to raise an army, and of the long struggle for supremacy which finally terminated at Charleston, in May, 1780, by the surrender of the town, with the garrison, to Sir Henry Clinton.
The Committee of Safety in 1779 were Samuel Norton, Dr. Thomas Thaxter, Capt. Theophilus Wilder, Capt. Charles Cushing, and Joseph Thaxter.
The military service performed by Hingham men during this
year was very considerable, besides that rendered by the soldiers of the
Continental regiments with Washington and elsewhere, but the records are
so incomplete that but little detail can he given. The English evacuated
Rhode Island in the autumn of 1779, but they had no intention of permanently
abandoning the State, and the fear of their return necessitated the employment
of a considerable American force for its defence until the close of the
war.
A pay roll for December, 1779, of Capt. Luke Howell's
company in Col. Nathan Tyler's regiment, on duty in Rhode Island, contains
the names of the following Hingham men:--
John Lincoln, Lieut., Jonathan Farrow, Jr., Private, Ezekiel Hersey, Drum, Jacob Whitton, " Elijah Lewis, Private, William Gardner, " Elisha Beals, " Nathaniel Bates, " Jonathan Farrow, "In the same State there were six men in Capt. Job Cushing's command, and seven men for five months in the company in which ---- Jacobs was a lieutenant.
There were also four men engaged upon guard duty at Boston, who were probably Robert Gardner, Jonathan Gardner, Elijah Whiton, Jr., and James Hayward. They certainly received pay from the town for service in Boston this year.
Lieut. Elijah Beal, who resided at West Hingham and who at the time was about twenty-nine years of age, was stationed at Claverack, New York, with fifteen of his townsmen. Efforts to ascertain their names have not met with success.
This year, too, saw Capt. Theophilus Wilder adding active
military duty to the service he was giving his country in the support of
the war as a civilian, and again we find him with (VOL. 1--21) his company,
this time containing eighteen Hingham patriots, in the fort at Hull. This
roll, like several others of 1779, has not been found. Hon. Solomon Lincoln
states that Lieut. John Lincoln commanded a company at Rhode Island in
Webb's regiment from Sept. 1, 1779, to Jan. 1, 1780, in which were several
soldiers from Hingham.
The records preserve the names of only the following as
enlisting in the Continental service during 1779; they appear to be re-enlistments:--
James Cook, Capt. Bradford, Col. Bayley, Joseph Stockbridge, " " Jacob Gardner, Col. Greaton.The town appropriations for war purposes had by this time become very large, although it must not be forgotten that they were in a very much depreciated currency.
In October it was voted to "raise £6000 for the purpose of paying the soldiers that went to do duty in the State of New York." The following indicate services not otherwise recorded:
To Zachh Whiton for his service to Rhode Island in 1778 £41-17 To Jotham Loring for his service in Canada omitted £18.There were also payments for large amounts of beef and salt purchased for the soldiers, and as in every other year of the war, generous sums were voted for soldiers' families. We have these records also:--
To Jona. Hearsey towards his service at Rhode Island £22- 0-0 To David Hearsey for Do 39- 2-6 To Elisha Beal for Do 35-17-0 To Ezekl Hearsey for Do 44-18-8.The names of four more of Hingham's soldiers are thus indicated, although no light is thrown on the particular expedition in which they served. Perhaps no better examples can be selected to illustrate the extraordinary depreciation of the paper currency than the following:
To Capt. Seth Stowers for 7 Bushl Corn for the Soldiers who went to Rhode Island £63-0-0 To Bradford Hearsey for a pr. shoes to Hosea Stodder £4-4-9.In July an expedition against the British post at Penobscot was fitted out by Massachusetts. Colonel Lovell, who sometime before had become a brigadier-general in the militia, was one of the commanders, and, as already said, the brig "Hazard" which took part in the expedition, had a number of Hingham men in her crew. Upon the promotion of Colonel Lovell, which took place in 1777, David Cushing of Hingham became colonel; Thomas Lothrop of Cohasset, lieutenant-colonel; Isaiah Cushing of ----, major; Samuel Ward of Hingham, second major; and the members and officers of the Hingham companies were: 2d, Benjamin Lapham, Capt., Herman Lincoln, 1st Lieut., Joseph Beal, 2d Lieut.; 3d, Jabez Wilder, Capt., Zach. Whiting, 1st Lieut., Robt. Gardner, Jr., 2d Lieut.; 6th, Peter Cushing Capt., Thos. Burr, 1st Lieut., Thos. Fearing, 2d Lieut.
The following served seven months in Gazec's Rhode Island company of artillery; the year is not certainly known, but it is probable that at least a portion of this time was included in the year 1779: Enoch Dunbar, Amos Dunbar, Daniel Dunbar, Melzar Dunbar, Luther Gardner, and Peleg Whiton.
In 1780 the Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety consisted of Israel Beal, Capt. Charles Cushing, Ebenezer Cushing, Joshua Leavitt, and Isaac Wilder, Jr.
In July of this year General Heath asked for reinforcements for his army in Rhode Island, an attack on Newport being threatened by Sir Henry Clinton. Under this call Capt. Theophilus Wilder marched with his company, belonging to Ebenezer Thayer's regiment, and served three months. The roll of Hingham men is given below:--
Theophilus Wilder, Capt, Jeremh Gardner, Thomas Venson, Lieut., Perez Gardner, Walter Hatch, 2d Lieut., Elisha Whitten, Peter Wilder, Sergt.-Major, Conr Burns, Elijah Lewis, Sergt., lsra Whitten, Isaiah Hearsey, " Amos Dunbar, Uriah Beals, " Sher Corthwell, Ezra Gardner, Corp., Abel Cushing, Israel Stowell, " Cushen Burr, Peter Hearsey, Drum, John Cushing, Bela Tower, Fife, Molab Tower, Jacob Canterbury, Laban Cushing, Be ----- Cushing, Jeremh Hersey, Eliph. Ripley, Ezekel Harsey, Stephen Stowell, Israel Hearsey, John Hearsey, John Dill, Zedeok Harsey, Nathaniel Dill, Danl Harsey, Joseph Jones, Jon Gardner, Caleb Cushen, Stephen Gardner,The urgent need of soldiers frequently induced the States to authorize enlistments for short terms, much against the judgment of Washington, and greatly to the injury of the service and the country. The town of Hingham supplied few men by authority of these acts and, as already stated, under a nine months call, in one instance at least, enlisted her quota for three years. Indeed, most of the men joining the Continental service and credited to Hingham were for the long term, and many have against their names the large letters "D. W.," which mean "During the War." The following, however, joined the army for six months, "agreeable to a resolve of the General Court of the fifth of June," 1780: Lot Lincoln, Jesse Humphrey, James Bates, Daniel Woodward, Levi Gardner, Ezekiel Cushing, Leavitt Lane. They were sent to Springfield, and thence to the army under Captain Soaper, Captain Burbank, and Lieutenant Cary, in July, August, and October. Mr. Lincoln says that there were also five men on duty as guards at Boston.
At a town meeting held on the 13th of June it was voted to raise thirty thousand pounds toward paying the soldiers, and four thousand pounds to purchase clothing for the Continental army.
The town records also show large sums of money paid for beef, blankets, wood, corn, etc., supplied the army upon requisition from the State. In one instance, however, the General Court threatened a fine of twenty per cent if a requisition was not promptly responded to; and the town voted "to comply, provided it be not brought as a precedent in future time;" this was in the year 1781.
This latter year Samuel Norton, Capt. Charles Cushing,
Heman Lincoln, Capt. Peter Cushing, and Elisha Cushing, Jr., were chosen
as the Committee of Correspondence.
Under a resolve of the General Court passed December 2,
the following enlisted into the Continental service for three years, or
the war; the bounties paid are also given:--
Henry Shepperd £57 Thomas Lightfoot £60 John Daniels 108 Reuben Wright 55-10 Lewes Freeman 60 Amos Adams 51-12 Emmuel Busson 60 Francis Comer 63 James Cook 61-4The following furnishes an illustration of the means by which some of these men were secured:--
HINGHAM, Dec. 24, 1781. These may certifie that I the Subscriber Hired Emmuel Bussen for the class whereof I am Chairman & that He passed muster the 8th day of Novembr past, and that He engaged to Serve three years in the Continental Army; also that I gave Sixty pounds for his so engaging in Hard money. JOHN THAXTER.Others enlisting this year and receiving a bounty were--
Isaac Gardner, Jack Freeman, Juba or Tuba Freeman, Benjn Jacobs, Absolum Davis, Caesar Blake, Thomas Newell, Daniel Dill, Jesse Humphrey, Abel Cushing, Lot Lincoln James Hayward, Fortune Freeman, James Bates, Nathl Stoddard, Perez Gardner, John Dill, Benjn Ward.Perez Gardner was three years in Colonel Vose's regiment, and with him were John Tower, killed at Morrisania on a scout, James Bates, and James Hayward, both of whom died in the service at West Point, and John Daniels, Abel Cushing, and Solomon Loring, -- the latter not given in the above list, -- and Jack -----, a colored man, doubtless Jack Freeman, killed at New York.
Mr. Lincoln says there were also eleven men in Rhode Island four months under Capt. John Lincoln.
The only roll discovered, however, gives in Colonel Webb's regiment in Rhode Island, Aug. 2, 1781, John Lincoln, captain; Robert Corthell, sergeant; Sherebiah Corthell, private, as belonging to Hingham. The names of the others have not been ascertained.
It was towards the close of the summer when the American and French armies, after remaining some six weeks near Dobbs' Ferry in New York, crossed the Hudson, and under the general command of General Lincoln commenced the march across the Jerseys, Maryland, and Virginia, which terminated in the great victory at Yorktown on the 19th of October following.
The distinguished part performed by General Lincoln in the last great campaign of the Revolution has been already alluded to. The personal history of other Hingham soldiers has, with a few exceptions, been lost or obscured with the passing years. Of this we may be certain. that wherever the commands to which they belonged were, there they were too, serving faithfully to the end. Among those at Yorktown was Daniel Shute, a young surgeon who had graduated at Harvard College in the opening year of the contest, and immediately placed his talents at his country's service. He is said to have commanded a college company during the siege of Boston, and soon after was commissioned a surgeon's mate and attached to the Hospital Department. At Yorktown he was the first surgeon to perform an amputation on a wounded soldier. At the close of the war he was surgeon of the 4th Massachusetts Continental Regiment, commanded by Colonel Shepperd. Dr. Shute resided a short time in Weymouth after the close of his military service, but soon removed to Hingham, where he died April 18, 1829.
Upon the staff of General Lincoln was Major Hodijah Baylies,
aide-de-camp, who subsequently married a daughter of the general. He became
collector at Dighton, and held other offices. Several of his children were
born during his residence in Hingham.
(Pages 209-300), (pages 301-325), (pages 326-374) of History of Hingham1893
