Peter Smith, private

Smith, Peter, Blandford.

• Descriptive list of men raised in Hampshire Co. to serve in the Continental Army for the term of 9 months; 
• Capt. Knox's co., Col. Moseley's regt.; age, 17 yrs.; stature, 5ft. 6in.; complexion,light; hair, light; residence, Blandford; engaged for town of Blandford; 
• arrived at Fishkill June 16, 1778; 
• also, list of men raised in Hampshire Co. for the term of 9 months from the time of their arrival at Fishkill, agreeable to resolve of April 20,1778, returned as received of Jonathan Warner, Commissioner, by Col. R. Putnam July 20, 1778.

William Shepard, colonel

William Lyman Shepard, of Westfield (1737 - 1817), was commander of the Massachusetts 3rd and 4th regiments. After the war he was commander of the state militia, and it was his order that cannons be fired into the crowd at the Springfield Armory during Shays' Rebellion of 1786. He also served in the state and United States Houses of Representatives, and as a member of the Massachusetts Governor's Council. Here's his revolutionary war record:

• Lieutenant Colonel, Col. Timothy Danielson's regt. of Minute-men engaged April 20, 1775, service 4 days on the alarm of April 19, 1775;
• also Lieutenant Colonel general return of Col. Timothy Danielson's regt. in camp at Roxbury May 27, 1775; ordered in Provincial Congress May 27, 1775 that officers of said regiment be commissioned;
• also Lieutenant Colonel, Col. Timothy Danielson's regt. engaged April 24, 1775 service to Aug. 1, 1775; 3 mos. 2 weeks;
• also Colonel 4th;
• also given 3d Mass. regt. Continental Army pay accounts for service from Jan. 1, 1777 to Dec, 31. 1779;
• also letter dated Camp Valley Forge May 1. 1778 signed by officers of said Shepard's regt requesting that application be made to the President of the Board of War for clothing granted them by resolve of March 13, 1778 certificate attached signed by said Shepard Colonel certifies that said officers belonged to his regiment;
• also Colonel and Captain 3d Mass. regt. muster roll of field staff and commissioned officers for March and April 1779, dated Providence appointed Oct, 2. 1776;
• also Colonel 4th Mass. regt. return of officers for clothing dated Salem Aug. 28, 1779;
• also Colonel 4th Mass. regt. list of settlements of rank of Continental officers dated West Point made by a Board held for the purpose and confirmed by Congress Sept. 6, 1779 commissioned May 4, 1776;
• also Colonel 4th Mass. regt. Continental Army pay accounts for service from Jan 1, 1780 to Dec. 31, 1780;
• also return for rations of wagon department 2d Mass brigade dated Feb. 18, 1780 approved by said Shepard Colonel Commandant;
• also Colonel 4th Mass. regt, muster rolls of field staff and commissioned officers for June, July, and Aug 1781 reported on command at Springfield;
• also Colonel 4th Mass. regt. Brig. Gen. John Glover's 1st brigade return of effectives dated Sept 15 1781;
• also return of effectives dated Sept. 28, 1781 reported on command at Springfield;
• also muster rolls of field staff and commissioned officers for Oct, 1781, Jan, 1782 dated York Hutts;
• reported on command at Springfield in Oct. and Nov. 1781 commanding 1st Mass. brigade in Dec. 1781 and Jan. 1782;
• also returns of effectives between Feb. 8, 1782 and May, 24 1782 dated Hutts 1st Brigade and Cantonment 1st Mass. Brigade;
• reported on furlough at West Point from May 20, 1782 by leave of the Commander in Chief.

- from Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors

This record mentions West Point and nearby York Huts, also Valley Forge, but doesn't specifically mention Fishkill at all.

David Knox, private

Knox, David, Blandford.

• Descriptive list of men raised in Hampshire Co. for the term of 9 months from the time of their arrival at Fishkill, agreeable to resolve of April 20, 1778; 
• Capt. Knox's co., Col. Moresley's (Mosely's) regt.; age, 20 yrs.; stature, 5 ft. 6 in.; complexion, light; hair, brown; residence, Blandford; 
• engaged for town of Blandford; arrived at Fishkill June 16, 1778;
• also, list of men returned as received of Jonathan Warner, Commissioner, by Col. R. Putnam, July 20, 1778;
• also, Private, Capt. J. Holden's (4th) co., Col. Nixon's (6th) regt.; Continental Army pay accounts for service from Nov. 2, 1779, to Dec. 31, 1779;
• also, Capt. Abel Holden's co., Col. Thomas Nixon's regt.; pay rolls for Aug.-Oct., 1779;
• also, Capt. John Holden's co., Col. Nixon's regt.; pay rolls for Nov. and Dec., 1779;
• also, descriptive list of men belonging to 6th Mass. regt. who enlisted for the war subsequent to Sept. 30, 1779, as returned by Col. Thomas Nixon, dated Highlands; age, 20 yrs.; stature, 5 ft. 5 in.; complexion, light; engaged for town of Blandford;
• also, Capt. A. Holden's co., Col. Nixon's regt.; Continental Army pay accounts for service from Jan. 1, 1780, to Dec. 31, 1780;
• also, (late) Capt. John Holden's co., Col. Nixon's regt.; pay roll for Jan.-June, 1780; reported transferred to Capt. Abel Holden's (Light Infantry) co. Feb. 4, 1780;
• also, Light Infantry co., 6th Mass. regt.; return of men in need of clothing, dated Peekskill, July 31, 1780;
• also, Capt. Abel Holden's (Light Infantry) co., Col. Nixon's regt.; pay abstracts for July-Dec., 1780;
• also, descriptive list dated West Point, Jan. 29, 1781; Capt. Holden's co., Col. Thomas Nixon's (6th) regt. commanded by Lieut. Col. Smith; rank, Private; age, 20 yrs.; stature, 5 ft. 5 in.; complexion, light; hair, dark; occupation, farmer; enlisted Nov. 2, 1779, by Lieut. Frost; enlistment, during war; also, Capt. Peter Clayes's (Light Infantry) co., commanded by Capt. John K. Smith until May 1, 1781, Lieut. Col. Calvin Smith's (6th) regt.; returns for wages; wages allowed said Knox for Jan., 1781-Dec., 1782, 24 mos.;
• also, list dated Boston, Feb. 18, 1804, returned by John Avery, Secretary, and J. Jackson, Treasurer, of men who furnished satisfactory evidence of their service as soldiers and were entitled to gratuities under resolves of March 4, 1801, and June 19, 1801; 5th Mass. regt.

- from Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors

Knox served at Fishkill, New York from June 1778 to March 1779.

Leather and Shoe Supply to The Continental Army

No article of clothing was more important to the soldier than shoes. Two pairs were included in the clothing bounty offered in the fall of 1776. While the troops lay at Boston the problem of supply did not become acute, but thereafter long marches over rough terrain wore out shoes faster than they could be supplied. On the retreat from New York in November 1776, Sgt. John Smith recorded that "our soldiers had no shoes to wair; was obliged to lace on their feet the hide of the cattle we had kill'd the day before." The shortage of shoes first received attention in the Northern Army. Maj. Gen. Philip Schuyler, then commanding that army, suggested in September 1776 that Congress appoint agents to erect and operate a tanyard wherever materials for tanning could be most readily procured and where hides-from cattle slaughtered to feed both the Northern Army and the main army-could be most easily conveyed. This method, he thought, would be the cheapest way of supplying the Continental Army with leather for shoes. Congress referred his proposal to the Board of War for consideration, but his suggestion apparently produced no results.

A congressional committee was sent to the Northern Department in the fall of 1776 to confer about the problems of the Northern Army. The disposition of the hides of cattle killed during the 1776 campaign was an aspect of operations that interested the committee. Its members soon discovered that agents of the Commissary Department at Ticonderoga, Albany, and elsewhere in the Northern Department had been disposing of hides at prices far below their real value because they would have spoiled during the summer. The committee halted any further sales and directed Commissary General Joseph Trumbull to have all hides dried and transported to Albany, where they could be sold or shipped elsewhere as Congress directed. Information on these low prices also reached the New York delegates in Congress through William Duer. Late in November Congress took action to prevent waste. It directed the commissaries in each military department to employ proper persons to take charge of the hides, cure them to prevent spoilage, and store them for the use of the Continental Army, subject to the orders of Congress. Congress, however, took no steps specifically to provide a better supply of shoes until the summer of 1777. By then shortages were so great, Washington informed Clothier General Mease, who was responsible for shoe procurement, that some corps were "almost entirely incapable of doing duty" for lack of shoes. Such shoes as Mease had supplied were too small and consequently of little use. Imported shoes were "thin french pumps" that tore to pieces whenever they got wet. He urged Mease to procure as many shoes as he could, adding that 50,000 pairs would not be too many.

In June Congress resolved to establish a Hide Department under the direction of a commissary who would receive all rawhides belonging to the United States and exchange them either for tanned leather or for shoes at the customary rate of exchange. He would then deliver the shoes to the Clothier General, who would distribute them to the troops. If such exchanges could not be made on reasonable terms, Congress authorized the Commissary of Hides either to provide tanyards, materials, and workmen himself, or to contract with proper persons for converting the hides into tanned leather. Congress placed the Hide Department under the supervision of the Board of War. At the latter's direction, the Commissary of Hides also made deliveries of leather to the Commissary General of Military Stores for making accouterments. Congress elected Peter Phillips to the office, which carried a monthly salary of 80 dollars. When he declined the post, Congress appointed George Ewing.

Only the exchange of hides for shoes, Washington later informed the Board of War, saved soldiers from being "rendered totally unfit for Service." No immediate improvement in shoe supply was apparent, and three months after Ewing's appointment, Washington demanded to know on what terms he was disposing of hides. If the hides of all cattle consumed by the Continental Army were returned in leather, "they would much more than shoe the soldiers." Commissary Ewing reported that he had received 144,376 pounds of hides since 2 September 1777. He was in the process of exchanging them for leather at the rate of five pounds for one pound of sole leather, and eight pounds per one pound of upper leather. Despite his efforts, the tanned leather was coming in slowly. The poor quality of the shoes procured, including those imported from France, and the continuing shortages led Washington to direct commanding officers to select their most suitable men and set them to work making moccasins for their corps. On the basis of returns by the officers, he directed commissaries to issue them hides. At one point the Commander in Chief offered 10 dollars to any person who produced the "best substitute for shoes, made of raw hides."

Ewing was beset by difficulties in managing the Hide Department. He needed wagons to haul hides but found it impossible to obtain them from the Quartermaster General. To enable him to operate more effectively, Congress authorized the Commissary of Hides or his deputy at any military department to hire or impress one or more wagons for the use of the Hide Department. These wagons were not to be subject to any further impressment by officers of the Continental Army for any other service. Moreover, commanding officers of military departments, posts, or detachments were to supply guards for the wagons at the request of the Commissary of Hides. Since hides were a valuable asset in the market and since the method of exchanging them for tanned leather or shoes was susceptible of much abuse by dishonest agents, Congress soon found it necessary to direct the Board of War to draft regulations for the guidance of the Hide Department. It also gave the board authority to appoint and dismiss personnel in the department.

- from SUPPLYING WASHINGTON'S ARMY, by Erna Risch

 George Ewing, mentioned above, bought supplies on the expectation of reimbursement by the army. After the war he was forced to sell all his real property to pay this debt. Ewing served as Commissary of Hides from August 5, 1777 to April 20, 1779. After his resignation, The Board of War appointed five regional commissioners to replace him, including Robert Lamb for Massachusetts.

Dewery Russell, wagoner

Dewey Russell. Murrayfield.

• Fifer, Capt. David Shepard's co. of Minute-men, Col. Seth Pomroy's regt., which marched April 22, 1775 in response to the alarm of April 19, 1775 to Cambridge;
• service, 10 days; reported enlisted into the army May 2, 1775;
• also Capt. Abijah Childs's co., Lieut. Col. William Bond's (late Thomas Gardner's) 37th regt.;
• muster roll dated Aug 1 1775 enlisted April 30 1775 service 93 days stature 5 ft 7 in;
• also company return dated Prospect Hill Oct 6 1775;
• also order for bounty coat or Its equivalent in money, dated Prospect Hill, Dec 20, 1775;
• also list of men raised to serve in the Continental Army, as returned by Capt. James Black, dated April 13, 1779, residence Murrayfield; 
• engaged for town of Murrayfield; 
• joined Capt. Ball's co., Col. Shepard's regt. term daring war;
• also Quartermaster Sergeant, Col. William Sheppard's regt.; 
• Continental Army pay accounts for service from Jan. 1, 1777 to Nov. 1, 1779;
• reported promoted to Wagon Master Nov. 1, 1779;
• also Capt. Lebbeus Ball's co., Col. William Shepard's regt.; 
• muster return dated Feb. 3, 1778; 
• mustered by State and Continental Muster Masters;
• also Colonel's co. Col. Shepard's (3d regt.); 
• muster roll for March and April 1779, dated Providence; 
• appointed Jan. 1, 1777; 
• reported sick at Westfield; 
• also Wagon Conductor of brigade; 
• return for rations of wagon department of 2d Mass. brigade approved by William Shepard, Colonel Commandant, dated Feb. 18, 1780. 

- from Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors

This entry doesn't mention Fishkill at all. But Murrayfield, Russell's hometown, is an early name for Chester, located just 10 miles north of Blandford. 

Fishkill Supply Depot

During the time he served as Postmaster General (July 1775 to November 1776), Benjamin Franklin established Fishkill as one of six Regional Post Offices. So mail between the New England Colonies and Philadelphia and the Southern Colonies passed through Fishkill. And also, travelers going from New York City to Albany, or Fort Ticonderoga, took the Albany Post Road, located on the east bank of the Hudson River and now Route 9. And passed through Fishkill.

In 1775 General George Washington established a supply depot there for the Continental Army. The depot provided logistical support for the army's operations in the Hudson Valley. Without it there would have been no victory at the Battles of Saratoga, and thus no turning point to the war. It housed a medical complex, a prison facility, powder magazines, store houses, an artillery park and numerous artisan workshops. It included officer's residences and barracks for thousands of soldiers. Although under British surveillance, the depot was never attacked.

Cannons, cannon balls, muskets, uniforms, blankets, etc., manufactured in the New York and Pennsylvania were shipped to the Fishkill depot for distribution to the army as needed. Equipment and supplies used during the Battle of Trenton, NJ (Dec. 1776), the Battle of Saratoga, NY (Oct. 1777), and at Valley Forge, PA (winter encampment 1777-1778), probably came from the Fishkill depot.

Hundreds of Continental Soldiers and Militia are buried in an unmarked graveyard at the Fishkill depot. This graveyard was discovered during archeological digs in the Spring of 2007, and is the largest Continental Army burial site.

Could John O. Dirlam spent time as a prisoner at Fishkill? Fishkill is located in Dutchess County (the county seat is Poughkeepsie, 12 miles north of Fishkill).

John Gibbs and John Watson

At a busy tax collectors sale on 27 March 1780, John Gibbs bought 188 acres of farm lot 4 (£93 s17) , 217 acres of farm lot 14 (£96 s18), and with John Durlam he bought 456 acres (nearly the whole thing) of farm lot 34 (£107 s3 d6). The total expenditure was £297 s1. All three lots had belonged to proprietory owner Francis Brinley, who had not been able to sell them.

By 1754 John Gibbs owned town lot 34. His father, Israel Gibbs owned and lived on lot 35. In 1768 John Watson (1747-1823) bought town lot 9 and established a tannery there, near a little brook feed by a spring, on Tannery Hill. Watson, originally from Leicester, married Gibbs' sister Sarah in 1774. And original inhabitant, Robert Huston probably had a tannery on town lot 44, just on the other side of the old Church.

Curiously, John Gibbs' son (1763-1840) is described in a 1785 deed as "Samuel Crooks Gibbs, Cordwainer" and John Dirlam is described the same way in a 1789 deed. A cordwainer was a skilled craftsman who made soft leather goods. Did Samuel Crooks Gibbs learn his trade from John Dirlam? Traditionally a boy would be apprenticed for three years, usually ending at age 17.

Another person of interest is John Watson, brother-in-law to John Gibbs. He bought town lot 9 in 1768. He had a large farm and tannery in Blandford and was accustomed to traveling to Boston and Albany. And Watson's father and brother operated a large tannery in Leicester. As cordwainers, Dirlam and Gibbs' son would have had skills of use to the Watsons, or perhaps been customers. Watson's uncle served on the Committee of Correspondence for nearby Spencer, and represented it at the Provincial Congress called in response to the killings at Lexington and Concord. These were people who traveled, who might have seen the opportunity in a paroled John Dirlam. Now all I need is some proof.

In TABLE 12: Committees of Inspection, Correspondence and Safety, Appointed March 3, 1777
William Bois, John Bois, Nathaniel Taggart, Solomon Brown, Israel Gibbs, John Gibbs, Samuel Ferguson, John Watson, David MeConethy, Jr., Robert Blair, John Wilson (11 men).

John Watson is also listed as appointed March 11, 1775, June 14, 1779 and March 6, 1780.

Brothers Isaac (1744-1823) and John Gibbs (1730-1816) marched with Capt. William Knox's company in Col. John Mosley's regt. to Ticonderoga 21 October 1776.

Lt. John Watson is listed in the town record book as a Minute-man.

Although not individually listed, Capt. Watson, Col. Wesson's Regiment, is mentioned in the Record of Continental Pay Accounts for Michael McManners, for service May 25, 1777 to May 6, 1779.

And Sergt. John Watson marched to Northampton June 12th 1782 in support of the government, in Capt. Samuel Sloper's Twelfth Company in Col. David Mosley's Third Hampshire County Regiment. This was a precursor to Shay's Rebellion. In April 1782, Rev. Samuel Ely was found guilty of “seditious and disorderly behaviour” in Springfield, Mass., for speaking out against the new state constitution and encouraging a mob to prevent the debtors court from sitting. When a later mob broke Ely out of jail, government troops were brought in.

- from Blandford Soldiers and Sailors

Oliver Watson' Sons in Massachusetts Service

Oliver Watson II (1743-1826): Corporal, Capt. Ebeneezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, service 14 days.

Robert Watson (1746-1806): Private, Capt. Ebeneezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, service 14 days.

James Watson (1754-1823): Private, Capt. Ebeneezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, service 37 days.

* The "alarm of April 19, 1775" refers to The Battles of Lexington and Concord, just 100 miles away.

Blandford Cemeteries

1. Hill Cemetery (aka Centre Cemetery) 1741
   North Street, Blandford, MA 01008
   1/4 mile north of Otis Stage Road
   574 graves listed on FindAGrave.com
   
2. Blandford Cemetery (aka Old Burying Ground)
   Otis Stage Road Blandford
   at Main Street
   listed on FindAGrave.com
   74 graves listed on FindAGrave.com
   
3. North Blandford Cemetery
   Blair Road, Blandford, MA 01008
   2 miles north of Otis Stage Road
   104 graves listed on FindAGrave.com

Additional Blandford Cemeteries listed on CemeteryFind.com:
Gilbert Tracy Gravesite (1833)
Hastings Family Cemetery
Henry B. Wadham Gravesite (1812)
Old Sperry Road Cemetery
Stannard Cemetery (1800)*

*Horace Lorenzo Hastings, born 26 November, 1831, in Blandford, Mass. ; died 21 October, 1899 in Goshen, Mass ; married 12 Oct 1853, Harriet Frances Barnett of Moretown, Vermont. Four children were born, 3 in Providence, RI, and 1 in Lawrence, Mass. A minister and tract publisher, best known for his hymn writing.

Henry Beebe Wadhams, son of Beebe and Charlotte (Ives) Wadhams, born 9 March, 1805, in Goshen, Conn. ; died in September, 1892, in Richmond, Mass.; married 16 July. 1827, Hannah Scott of Blandford, Mass. Three children were born in Goshen.


There is a Sperry Road, east of the Turnpike, below the Elementary School.


I believe Stannard Cemetery is listed in error. The only Stannard I have found is in Caledonia County, Vermont.

POWs in Reading, PA

Laura L. Becker of Clemson University wrote an article focusing on a single town, Reading, Pennsylvania, and its housing of British and Hessian prisoners of war. As early as February 1776, Reading was receiving prisoners, and her leading citizens petitioned the Pennsylvania Assembly to erect barracks "capable of containing four or five hundred men."  

Reading was a market town of roughly 300 families, mostly German, about 60 miles northeast of Philadelphia. In the beginning most prisoners were officers, but after Cornwallis' surrender "in October of 1781, no fewer than 1050 prisoners arrived, most of whom were privates."

Newly arrived prisoners were disarmed and released subject to a requirement to remain in Reading and an 8:00 PM curfew. Becker writes, "This curfew was not strictly enforced because at least some of the officers participated in the town's social activities... And a substantial number of the officers held in Reading were permitted to go to Philadelphia, New York, or elsewhere. Still others were exchanged."

The mostly German citizens of Reading were perhaps harsher in their treatment of their own countrymen than English, Scottish or Canadian prisoners. One German officer wrote that the German-Americans of Reading "could hardly hide their anger and hostile thoughts."

Many former Hessian captives did stay in the county after the war. They were referred to as "Brunswickers and Hanauers" in local church records. The expression "Du bist ein Hesse" was an insult in Reading well into the nineteenth century.

from http://www.earlyamerica.com/review/2002_summer_fall/pows.htm

Watson Family Military Service

Oliver Watson (1718-1804):

• Corporal, Capt. Ebenezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's
  regt., marched on alarm of 19 Apr 1775;
• also, Capt. Jonathan Carriel's co., Col. Josiah Whitney's regt.; at Point
  Shirley, 13 Jun 1776;
• also, Private, same co. and regt.; from 17 May to 1 Nov 1776, at Camp at
  Hull;
• also, Capt. Josiah White's co., Lieut. Col. Benjamin Flagg's division, Col.
  Samuel Denny's (Worcester Co.) regt.; from 21 Aug to 23 Aug 1777; marched
  to Hadley on an alarm at the Northward.

Oliver Watson II (1743-1826): Corporal, Capt. Ebeneezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, service 14 days.

Robert Watson (1746-1806): Private, Capt. Ebeneezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, service 14 days.

James Watson (1754-1823): Private, Capt. Ebeneezer Mason's co. of Minute-men, Col. Jonathan Warner's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775, service 37 days.

* The "alarm of April 19, 1775" refers to The Battles of Lexington and Concord, just 50 miles from Spencer, where Oliver Watson lived. Captain John Ferguson commanded these 36 men from Blandford and neighboring Chester. I can't find a record of when the alarm was received in Blandford, or when the men arrived at Lexington. Isaac Bissel was the post rider who carried the Lexington alarm issued at 10 am on 19 April in Watertown. He traveled along the Upper Post Road, passing through Worcester, 95 miles east, the same afternoon, perhaps arriving at Springfield after dark. The alarm reached Philadelphia 24 April at 5 pm. It's one thing for a post rider to travel a hundred miles in a day, but for men on foot, with their supplies, it must have taken several days.

Oliver Watson, a deacon of the Congregational Church in Leicester, a militia officer, town selectman, and father of 3 sons who served in the militia, was also elected to congress in 1776, 1777 and 1780, His nephew, John Watson of Blandford, was married to Israel Gibb's daughter Sarah.

Israel Gibbs was deacon in Blandford, and prominent enough to serve on the Committee of Inspection, Correspondence, and Safety in 1777. Gibbs was 12 years older than Watson, so too old for militia service during the revolution himself, but 3 of his sons served. One of them, John Gibbs, partnered with John Dirlam in 1780 to purchase the father's foreclosed property in Blandford in 1780.

Watson, William:

• 1st Lieutenant, Capt. Seth Washburn's co., Col. Ward's regt., marched on
  alarm of 19 Apr 1775 for 16 days;
• also, 2d Lieutenant, Capt. Samuel Green's (5th) co. (South co. in Leicester),
  Col. Samuel Denny's (1st Worcester Co.) regt. of Mass. militia; commissioned
  5 Apr 1776;
• also, Captain, 5th co., Col. Denny's (1st Worcester Co.) regt. of Mass.
  militia; commissioned 5 Mar 1779.

-from Massachusetts Commonwealth; Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the War of the Revolution (17 vols); Wright and Potter Printing Co., (Boston, 1896)

My William Watson (1750-1844) is too young to be the brother of John Watson who was married to Sarah Gibbs. And Oliver Watson (1743-1826), their second cousin?


Capt. Seth Washburn: In 1749, Seth took part in the campaign against the Indians in New Hampshire. At the opening of the Revolutionary War, Seth, who was fifty-two years old, served as Captain of his company of Minute Men of Leicester. They marched on the alarm of 19 April, 1775 to Lexington. At Bunker Hill they fought along the ‘rail fence.’ His was was sent on patrol between Cambridge and ‘the Neck’ with other captains and 18 soldiers during the night. These men were made part of the regiment of General Artemas Ward. Washburn was promoted to Major during the war and became a Colonel of militia after it ended. He was the muster-master for Worcester County and was elected to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1779. He was a founder of the Leicester Academy and a senator in the State Legislature.


CAPTAIN WILLIAM CANNON (1722, Blandford - Dec. 7, 1780, Blandford)

County Militia of Massachusetts Province 1776-1777

This is part of an effort to identify Massachusetts units that might have brought John O Dirlam to Blandford, or brought him to the attention of someone in the Snow, Gibbs or Watson families in Blandford, Becket or Leicester.

After Lexington and Concord in April 1775, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress raised 27 regiments. These regiments were adopted into the first establishment of the Continental Army in June 1775. Referred to by the names of their colonels, they were numbered one way by the state and another by the Continental Army. At the end of 1775 the army was reorganized, and again at the end of 1777.

All of these county militia regiments were disbanded in October or November of 1777, although some were called again later by the province.

Berkshire County Militia

Ashley's Regiment of Militia also known as the 1st Berkshire County Militia Regiment, was named after its commander, Col. John Ashley (1736-1799) of Sheffield. The regiment was called up in Berkshire County, Massachusetts in July 1777 and sent for a month to Fort Edward and on September 19, 1777 as reinforcements for the Continental Army during the Saratoga Campaign. The regiment marched quickly to join the gathering forces of General Horatio Gates as he faced British General John Burgoyne in northern New York. The regiment served in General Paterson's brigade. Burgoyne's Army surrendered on October 17, 1777 and the regiment disbanded the next day.

Browns' Regiment of Militia also known as the 2nd Berkshire County Regiment, also called Col. John Brown's Detachment of Berkshire County Militia, was named after its commander. Brown (1744-1780) lived in Pittsfield, and died in battle at Stone Arabia, New York (west of Albany).

Simonds' Regiment of Militia also known as the 3rd Berkshire County Regiment, was named after its commander, Col. Benjamin Simonds (1726-1807) of Williamstown. The regiment was raised in Berkshire County. The Regiment was at Fort Ticonderoga during the winter of 1776-1777. Simonds' Regiment was called up in the summer of 1777 during the Saratoga Campaign, fighting at the Battle of Bennington with General John Stark's Brigade of New Hampshire Militia. Many volunteers also joined the regiment at this time including William Easton, and the "Fighting Parson," Thomas Allen. Simonds' Regiment attacked Friedrich Baum's redoubt from the south during the battle as Stickney's (11th NH), Hale's (15th NH) and Hobart's (12th NH) attacked form the east and Nichols' (5th NH) attacked from the west. The regiment continued on to the Battle of Bemis Heights and the surrender of British General John Burgoyne's army. The regiment was also called up in response to Carleton's Raid and the Royalton Raid of 1780.

Hampshire County Militia

Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia / 1st Hampshire County, and Woodbridge's (25th) Regiment and The 25th Regiment of Foot, was named for its commander Col. Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge (1739–1819) of South Hadley. On April 20, 1775, the day after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the regiment was formed and marched to Cambridge, near Boston, and participated in the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker Hill.

The regiment spent part of the summer and the fall of 1776 as part of the Fort Ticonderoga garrison. The regiment was called up at South Hadley on August 16, 1777 to reinforce the Continental Army during the Saratoga Campaign. The regiment joined General Horatio Gates as he faced British General John Burgoyne in northern New York. They served in General Warner's brigade. The regiment was disbanded October 18, 1777 after Burgoyne's surrender.

May's Regiment of Militia / 2nd Hampshire County was called up at Southampton on September 20, 1777 to reinforce the Continental Army during the Saratoga Campaign. The regiment joined Gen. Horatio Gates as he faced British General John Burgoyne in northern New York. They served in General Nixon's brigade. The regiment was disbanded October 18, 1777, after Burgoyne's surrender.

Wright's Regiment of Militia also known as the 5th Hampshire County Militia Regiment, was named after its commander, Col. Phineas Wright (1710-1795). The regiment was called up at Northfield on September 22, 1777 to reinforce the Continental Army during the Saratoga Campaign. The regiment joined General Horatio Gates as he faced British General John Burgoyne in northern New York. They served in General Nixion's brigade. The regiment was disbanded October 18, 1777 after Burgoyne's surrender.

Northfield is located in Franklin County, created from the northernmost third of Hampshire County in 1811.

Wells' Regiment of Militia also known as the 5th Hampshire County Militia Regiment was called up at Shelburne, Massachusetts on September 22, 1777 to reinforce the Continental Army during the Saratoga Campaign. They joined General Horatio Gates as he faced British General John Burgoyne in northern New York. They served in General Fellow's brigade. The regiment was disbanded October 18, 1777 after Burgoyne's surrender.

Shelburne is located in Franklin County, created from the northernmost third of Hampshire County in 1811.

Sylvanus Snow in the American Revolution

Rolls of Connecticut Men in the French and Indian War. Ed. By Albert C. Bates

1. 1758 - Sylvanus Snow, age 26, served 10 April to 5 November in Colonel Eleazer Fitch's Third Regiment (Captain Jedediah Fay's Tenth Company recruited in Ashford)
2. 1759 - Savanus Snow, age 27, served in General Phineas Lyman's First Regiment, based in Sheffield (Major John Slapp's Third Company recruited in Mansfield)
3. 1762 - Silvanus Snow, age 30, served 18 March to 3 December in General Phineas Lyman's First Regiment, based in Sheffield (Captain Hugh Ledlie's Tenth Company)
4. 1775 - Age 43, served 1 May to 11 September in General Putnam's Third Regiment, recruited in Windham County (Captain Knowlton's Fifth Company recruited in Ashford). He is mentioned in an officer's report as having lost his gun in the fight at Bunker Hill

Connecticut Revolutionary War Military Lists, 1775-83

1. 1775 - Silvanus Snow. Page #: 16 - 25; Regiment: Putnam. Remarks: Expenses extracted from vol. of "Sick Bills"

Note: These last two items are interesting. He was injured while fighting along the fence at Breed's Hill, lost his gun, and required care. The first three items are from the French and Indian War.


Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War

1. 1776 - Snow, Sylvanus. Private, Capt. John Grannis's co.; entered service June 1, 1776; service to Aug. 31, 1776, 3 mos; company stationed at Elizabeth Islands [Massachusetts] for defence of seacoast; roll dated Tarpaulin Cove and sworn to in Barnstable Co.;
2. also, Capt. John Grannis's co. commanded by Lieut. James Blossom; service from Sept. 1, 1776, to Nov. 21, 1776, 2 mos. 21 days; company stationed at Elizabeth Islands for defence of seacoast.
3. 1777 - Snow, Sylvanus. Capt. Isaac Stone's Company, Lieut. Peter Keith; Commencement of pay. Aug. 23; Paid to Nov. 9 [Called up for Saratoga Campaign, they fought there Sept 19 and Oct 9,1777 - 7th alarm list company in the 11th Connecticut regiment]
4. 1778 - Snow, Silvanus. Col. Durkee's Fourth Regiment, Continental Line, May 28, 1778, 8 months, discharged Oct 29, 1778.
5. On June 28, '78 engaged closely at Battle of Monmouth. Col Durkee then commanding the Brigade. Lieut Col. Russell in command at close of the action.

From the New York Spectator of Feb. 26, 1828:

Died in Becket, Mass., on the 19th ult., Mr. Sylvanus Snow, aged ninety-seven years, a Revolutionary pensioner. He served several campaigns in the French war, and through nearly the whole War of the Revolution. He was engaged in fourteen different battles, in all of which he was but once wounded, and that at Bunker Hill; and the ball which he then received has been carried in his body to the grave. He lived with his wife (who died at the age of ninety-one) seventy-two years, and has left a numerous posterity and an exemplary reputation.