F .W7G6 Windham, Maine, IN THE War OF THE Revolution 1775--1783 • BY Nathan Goold. H. W. BRYANT, Bookseller and Publisher, Portland, Me. " 1900. Cl;iss F £ 3 Book ,NN7G fe i'iii;.si;.vn;i) isy ^^^--^^A^vJ-^..^^ ^ /^^^ Windham, Maine IN THE War of the Revolution 775-1783 BY Nathan Goold. H. W. BRYANT, Bookseller and Publisher, Portland, Me. 1900. Gift V.':::i-a:: in thz -evolution. that colonists by : the taxation of up rteht- -•-ich and tl .nd- (OiO in a pemiT TTs ok? > : .^ot a th' zva en an - -r — - = ever 3.CZ. WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. fathers purchased for us at so dear a rate as the expense of their own blood, and that we used formerly and still ought to enjoy. The resolutions they recorded in the town books because, as they said, '.'that the rising generations may s?.e what care their forefathers have taken to defend their liberties and privileges, that they may take '■he like care if they are called to it as we are." The next year, another letter, in "bold and energetic language," was sent to the Boston committee. "What better record could patriots leave to their posterity? Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, Thomas Trott and Daniel Barker were choseti to represent Windham in the Cumber- land county convention of September, 1774, to consider "the present alarming situation of our public affairs," and the resolutions that were then passed have been said to be "probably the ablest exposition of public affairs, at that time, now extant." That year the town elected the following officers for the militia company and ordered them to instruct their men in the mili- tary art: Richard Mayberry, Captain. David Barker, Lieutenant. Joseph Swetti, Ensign. Then hardly anyone lived in the eastern or northern part of the town. Windham Centre was in the outskirts. The town meetings were held in 'Jie old Block House, (which had always been their place of refuge) in the southern or lower part of the town. In this old fort they met, March 15, 1775, and to be prepared for the gathering cloud of war voted "27 pounds to pur- chase a town stock of ammunition, as soon as possible, and that the town will pay interest to any man who will let the town have the money to do it." Then Capt. Caleb Graffam, who had had experience in the French and In- dian war, was appointed to fix up the great gun and swivels, "as soon as pos- sible." These resolute men had made up their minds to resist the authority of Great Britaini, and, if need be, they were to turn the guns of the old fort on British authority. There was no hesitancy and the decision seems to have been unanimous. Ten days after the battle of Lexing- ton was fought, a town meeting was called and one of the articles of the' warrant was "To see if the town will agree on any method to provide a quantity of corn, or other bread kind, in times of distress by an enemy which appears to be very soon." The record of that town meeting was never copied into the town book, although a space was reserved for it and it is still blank paper. Those were times when men's souls were tried. Feb. 8, 1775, the following officers were elected for the town company: Richard Mayberry, Captain. David Barker, Lieutenant. Edward Anderson, Ensign. When the attempt was to be made to capture the vessels of Capt. Henry Mowat, in Portland harbor, in May, 1775, what has since been known ^.r, "Thompson's war," the Windham company was there, under Capt. May- berry, and from all we can learn now, were very active in sacking the Tory Coulson's house on King street. With the Gorham boys, they made clean work of it and drank up the New Eng- land rum which Coulson had put into his cellar for his own use. This shocked the Falmouth Neck Tories then, but it has never troubled their descendants at Windham. Capt. Mayberry joined Capt. Samuel Knight's company in June and served as lieutenant through that year, as coast guard on Casco bay. Edward An-' derson was the second lieutenant ani five other Windham men were in the company, as follows:, Sergt. Moses How, Corp. Thomas Mayberry, Pri- vates John Anderson, Caleb Young and Josiah Chute. Then the following officers were appointed to command the town company: William Knight, Captain. David Barker, Lieutenant. Richard Dole, Ensign. The war was now on and this com- pany was ready for duty at little warning. They were minute men. A tradition has always been in our family that these men were raising the frame of Jacob Eliott's house when Mowat's guns were heard, when he was burn- ing Falmouth, Oct. 18. 1775, and that they left their work and hurried to that town to aid the inhabitants in its defence. That house is now a part of the present one on the William Goold farm, near Windham Centre. It was originally of but one story and stood on the other side of the driveway, where the large elm tree stands and faced the.west, with a door in the end towards the south, that opened into the kitchen, whicn had a large fire- place nearly the width of the room. T have been told that coming down the WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION, road that, when the door was open, it looked as thousrh you could drive straight into the fireplace. Around the kitchen were unpainted wooden dressers upon which stood the polished pewter dishes and the china used by the family. This was seven- ty-five years ago. Ebenezer Barton the Revolutionary soldier, married Dorothy Eliott and they were buried on this farm, in the Goold family yard. Our grandfather, Nathan Goold bought the farm of the Elliotts in 1802, and it is now owned by his granddaughter, Mrs. Abba G. Wool- son. In proof of the above tradition, there is the original pay roll of Capt. Knight's company, in the State House at Boston, for service at Falmouth Neck, "as guards from 18th October, 1775, to the 23d of same." There were twenty-three men and three officers. When the British ship Cerebus en- tered Portland harbor, on Nov. 1, 1775, and threatened to burn that part of the town that had escaped Mowafs destruction, but thirteen days before, this Windham company again hurried to assist in the defence of that town and another pay roll gives the men credit for from two to sixteen days' service in building earthworks there. The ship did not carry out the threat, because of the spirit of the people, but sailed away. In May, 1775, several men of the town enlisted in Col. Edmund Phin- ney's regiment and, in July, marched to Cambridge, Mass., where they served under Washington during that year in the siege of Boston. One of those men was Stephen Manchester, the slayer of the Indian chief, Polin, in 1756, who served in Capt. John Brack- ett's Co. from May 12, 1775, and per- haps he was the first man of Windham to enlist for service in the field. He had a long service in other regiments. In 1775, the town is said to have had: 7 men at Cambridge for 8 months, 4 men at Falmouth for 8 months, 6 men at Cambridge for 2 months. The town elected, Jan. 12, 1776, the following as the Committee of Safety: Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, Thomas Trott, David Barker, Caleb Graffam, Richard Mayberry. That year the town company was the first in Col. Timothy Pike's 4th Cum- berland County Regt. of Militia. Another Committee of. Safety was elected March 19, 1776, as follows: Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, Caleb Graffam, Richard Mayberry, Thomas Trott, Isaac Hardy. The town sent no representative to the General Court during the Revolu- tionary war, no doubt on account of their poverty. The towns paid their representatives then for their attend- ance. Their copy of the Declaration of In- dependence did not get into the hands of the town clerk for weeks after its declaration, but Richard Dole, then the clerk, wishing to shirk no responsibil- ity, transcribed it on the town book in a bold hand. The words "A Declara- tion" and "U. S. of America," he made every letter a capital to emphasize its importance. When he wrote the sig- nature, John Hancock, he outdid Han- cock himselfi, in its boldness. The penmanship is a credit to the writer because it was a piece of good work. This was the last entry in the hand- writing of Richard Dole f.uring the war,, for he then entered the army as a private in Col. Marshall's regiment and served three years and must have seen much hard service. He was a sterling patriot. Samuel T. Dole 's his grandson. It is .said that the town had the fol- lowing in the service in 1776: 13 men in the State's service at Peeks- kill for 3 months. 9 men in the State's service at Dor- chester for 4 months. 4 men in the State's service at Rhode Island for 4 months. 6 men in the State's service for 12 months. TTie statement of thirteen men being at Peekskill, in 1776, we have not been able to verify. It is probable that those men were in the army at Cam- bridge until August and then marched to reinforce the army at Lake Cham- plain. The men went to Peekskill in 1778. There were more than six men in the one year regiments from Wind- ham in 1/76 and militia men were sent in a militia regiment, probably Col. Wigglesworth's, to the Northern army in the fall of that year. The following is a list of the tax payers of Windham for the year 177G, as given for a county tax. Timothy Pike. David Barker and Ichabod Han- son were the assessors and Daniel Pet- tingall the collector. Tax Payers of 1776. WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. Anderson. Edward Allen, Peltiah Bodg-e. John Boulton, William Barker, David Brown, Ezra Brown, Amos Barton, Ebenez'3r Chase, Eleazer Chesley, Joseph Crague, Hugh Crocket, George Crocket, Daniel Cook, Daniel Frost, Widow Joanna Graffam, Enoch Hutchinson, Richard Hutchinson, Stephen Hutchinson, Stephen Jr. Hall, Daniel Hall, Andrew Hall, Hateevil Hanson, Elijah Hanson, Ichabod Hanson, Samuel Hanson, Jonathan Hardy, Isaac Harris, Stephen Hawkes, Ebenezir Hawkes, Amos Hawkes, James Hawkes, Nathaniel Hunnerwell, Zerutababel Hunnerwell, Elijah Hutchinson, Samuel Jonson, James Knight, William Lovett, Jonathan Legro, Joseph Legro, Elias Little, Paul Mabery, Margaret Mabery, Richard Mabery, John Mabery, William Mabery, William Jr. Mabery, Thomas Millins, Robert Manchester, Stephen Jr. Mathews, John Martin, Robert McKeney, William , Muckford, Robert Muckford, Nathaniel Osgood, Abraham Pettingall, Daniel Pike, Timothy Pray, James Proctor, William Purinton, David Rand, John Robinson, John Roberts, Joseph Roberts, Jonathan Rogers, Gershom Sweat, Joseph Sweat, John Smith. Widow Lucy Stevens, Chase Steven.s, Jonathan Thurrell, James Trott, Thomas Woodman, Stephen Winship, Gershom Webb, Eli Woodman, David Waite, Benja. Waite, Enoch Loring. John The following were taxed for their ownership in mills in the town: Margaret Mabery, Richard Mabery, Samuel Eastys, Stephen Morril, Benja. Winslow, Jr., William Hall, Isaac Allen, Jr., Benja. Winslow. The above tax list gives us the names of the citizens of Windham in that interesting year of the war, 177C. It is of considerable historical value. Those men serving in the army were probably exempted from taxation. In 1777, the selectmen and committee fixed the prices of the necessities of life as follows: Farming labor in summer season, found as usual, 3 shillings, 4 pence per day Wheat, 4 shilling's per bushel Rye, 5 shillings, 4 pence per bushel Indian Corn, 4 shillings, 8 pence per bushel Toddy, 1 shilling per m^ig N. E. Toddy, 9% pence per mug Farming labor, in winter, 2 shillings, 8 pence per da>' Good yard wide cotton or linen cloth, 4 shillings, 8 pence per yard Butter, lOVs pence per pound Keeping horse or yoke of oxen, 24 hours, 1 shilling, 6 pence Potatoes in the fall, 2 Fhil ings per bushf-1 Men's shoes of Neats' leather, 8 shillings per pair Women's shoes, 6 shillings per pair Turkeys, Fowl and Ducks, 5 pence per pound Good hay, 60 shillings out of barn, 48 shillings in the field Milk, 3% pence per quart House carpenters and joiners, 4 shillings per day It will be noticed that toddy was thought to be a necessity of life then. The Committee of Safety and In- spection, in 1777, were: Zerubabbel Hunnerwell, Abraham Osgood, William Knight, Daniel Pettingall, Caleb Graffam. The town paid the selectmen, Sept. 24, 1777, for "mileage to Picks Kill, Fish Kill and Cambridge," 46 pounds, 2 shillings. They evidently visited those places to look out for Windham soldiers in the service there. William Elder was the town trea.^ur- er, 1777-1780, four years. The town in 1777, had three men in the state ser- vice at Rutland, Vt., besides those in the Massachusetts Line, which ware three years men and were the ones who saw the active service in the field. Windham had several soldiers who wintered at Valley Forge, where their sufferings were beyond descrip- tion. In Col. Benjamin Tupper's 11th Mass. Regt. the following soldiers were returned as in camp: Capt. Richard Mayberry, Josiah Chute, Ebenezer Barton, William Mayberry.son of Capt. Rich- ard, Robert Millions, WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. Richard Mayberry, Jr., John Svvett, Nicholas Hughes, Eleazer Chase, Peter Smith, Amos Brown. Stephen Tripp was reported as sick at Albany, N. Y., at that time. The following were probably in camp there, also: Job Hall of Ool. Tupper's Regt. Richard Dole of Col. Marshall's Regt. Edward Webb of Col. Marshall's Regt. Eli Herbert of Col. Brewer's Regt. Stephen Manchester of Col. Vase's Regt. :^noch Graffam of Col. Vose's Regt. George Teshary of Col. Vose's Regt. Stephen Manchester, Jr., of Col. Vose's Regt., died at Reading, Penn.. Jan. 5, 1778, aged 26 years. The destitution of these soldiers at Valley Forge beggers any words of mine. It is said that, at one time, there were but two pairs of shoes in Capt. Mayberry's company and those belonged to Josiah Chute. It was with much satisfaction that, on a beautiful day in September, 1899, I viewed their campground at Valley Forge. Now it is cultivated fields and one cannot realize now the true history of that land. The earthworks on the hill, overlooking the camp, ai'e in a good state of preservation and that land has been purchased by the state of Pennsylvania for a reserva- tion. An effort is being made by the descendants of the Revolutionary scl- diers to secure the whole campground as a state park for public use as a memorial to the brave men who illus- trated that winter the fortitude of the American soldier. The people of Windham heard of their sons' suffering at Valley Forge, for April 14, 1778, $150.00 was voted "to defray the charge of providing shirts, stockings and shoes for the soldiers in the Continen- tal army," and 20 pounds was voted for the soldiers' families. March 17, 1778, the town voted, "To allow James Hawkes for six dollars of counterfeit money that was returned from the Treasurer's office, and Daniel Pettingall was allowed four dollars. This was probably some of the British counterfeit money that they flooded the country with. In New York tney advertised that if anyone going into the American lines would call at a certain place they could have all the Continental currency they wanted. May 15, 1778, $600.00 was voted "for those three men that is drafted to Fish Kill," and "that amount be assessed immediately." Twelve days later, it was "voted 44 pounds for each of these three militia men that is drafted, to be given them as a bounty." They were probably Thomas Chute, Benjamin Trott and Daniel P. Mayberry, nine months' men. The Committee of Safety and Inspection for 1778 were: Zerubbabel Hunnerwell, Paul Little, David Noyes. The winter of 1777-8 was a blue one in Windham. They knew too well the sufferings at Valley Forge and what then seemed the hopeless prospect for their independence. They heard of ihe discontent in the army and of the at- tempts to supersede Washington in command, with not one ray of hope for the success of the war. They were suffering poverty itself and the situa- tion seemed almost unbearable. At Valley Forge, Capt. Richard Mayberry signed the oath of allegiance and the Windham men took the oath, that the United States was then their >nly country, every one; an example of constancy to the people of the town for all time. Lossing says of Valley Forge: "If there is a spot on the face of this broad land whereon Patriotism should delight to pile its highest and most venerated monument, it should be in the bosom of that little vale on the bank of the Schuylkill." When spring came, the resources of means and men of the town seemed exhaust- ed, and, in June, the people met in solemn town meeting and voted to pe- tition the General Court to be excused from the draft and from any future drafts. They felt as though they Iiad gone as for as they could. If the pe- tition was ever presented it was not granted. Most of the towns were in about the same condition and granting such requests would have been the sur- render of all the past efforts of the col- ony. They kept on. At the request of the General Court of Massachusetts, Capt. Thomas Trott, of the town company, sent the following statement of the soldiers in the Continental army on Nov. 24, 1778. from Windham: Col. Benjamin Tupper's 11th. Mass. Regiment. Capt. Richard Mayberry's Co. Capt. Richard Mayberry, Josiah Chute. John Swett William Mayberry, Robert Millions WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. Stephen Tripp Joseph Thompson Ebenezer Barton James Rines Eleazer Chase All three years men. David Mayberry Thomas Chute Nine months' men. Capt. Samuel Thomes' Co. Lonon Rhode (had died Dec. 9. 1777.) Amos Brown (killed at Hubbardton.) Col. Joseph Vose's 1st Mass. Reg-t. Capt. George Smith's Co. Knoch Graffam, Stephen Manchester, Georg-e Teshary. Col. Edward Wigglesworth's 13th Mass. Regt. Capt. Nicholas Blal.^dell's Co. Joseph Leg-row, Elias Legrow, Col. Samuel Brewer's 12th Mass. Regt. Capt. Silas Burbank's Co. Job Hall. Col. Thomas Marshall's 10th Mass. Regt. Capt. Benjamin Walcott's Co. Richard Dole, Edward Webb. These all three years' men. Total, 20 3 years' men. 2 9 months' men. Capt. Thomas Trott was commis- sioned in the Windham company in September, 1777. and it was still the First Company of the 4th Regt. of Cumherland County Militia. Timothy Pike, the colonel of this regiment, was a resident of Windham the first four years of the war. The major was Wil- liam Knight of Windham. January 12. 1779, the people "voted SO pounds for the support of the women whose husbands are in the army." In March town meeting the following were elected for the Committee of Safety and Inspection for the year: William Knight, David Barker, Daniel Pettingall. The prices of labor on the roads were fixed at: Men, 30 shillings, oxen the same and 18 shillings for a plow, all per day. The year 1779 was a dismal one for the struggling colonists, currency de- moralized and prospects poor, but the town's people kept on with undaunted courage. May 24 the town "voted 300 pounds for the support of the women whose husbands are in the Continental service," and June 21, 13 shirts, 13 pairs shoes and 13 pairs of stockings for the army. Thirteen men were in the Continental army from Windham, at that time and probably more. In June came the Bagaduce Expedi- tion and July 9, 16 men were drafted for that expedition and 960 pounds were voted for the same. The town records say, it was voted "to raise money enough to make up every man's wages that is detached and goes to Penobscot, or sends a man in his stead, thirty pounds per month for two months or in proportion if dis- charged sooner," also "voted that the town raise money and give Lieut. Ed- ward Anderson thf same sum that the town is to give one of the soldiers for to go in the expedition to Penobscot." This expedition to what is now Cas- tine. Me., was, as is well known, a dis- mal disaster and many soldiers per- ished from the effects of the exposu-e in the woods. Our histories generally give the impression that men tumljled over each other to enlist in that army, but there is little evidence of any such zeal. After our forces were defeated at Bagaduce, Falmouth Neck was threat- ened. Sept. 1§ ten men were drafted ^o guard, what is now Portland, against any attack from the victorious British. The British never came and the town "voted to make up thirty pounds per month for ten that is to be stationed at Falmouth with what the state gives." Sept. 23, it was voted "to raise money enough to make each of those men that went on the expedition to Penobscot, one hundred dollars per month during the expedition with what the state is to give them." The reason such large sums were paid was be- cause, at that time, the currency was very badly depreciated and of little value. In September, 1779, the town supplied clothing for the soldiers, through Tim- othy Pike, as follows: 5 shirts, 60 shillings, 15 pound.-^ 13 pairs shoes, 60 shillings, 39 pounds 5 pairs stockings, 36 shillings, 9 pounds Total, 63 pounds Col. Pike removed this year to Sac- carappa. He had been a most useful citizen and was a loss to the little town. The Committee of Safety and In- spection, in 1780, were: Caleb Graffam, Paul Little, Zerubbabel Hunnerwell. The price per day for town work, for 1780, was, for a man or a yoke of oxen, $30.00. Daniel Brown was allowed 16 pounds for services attending the County Committee. April 16, the town "voted $200.00 for WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. each man that will go to the east- ward." This was for the eleven men who went in Capt. Isaac Parsons' Co., in Lieut. Col. Joseph Prime's Regt., that served on the Maine coast that year. They served from about May 4 until Deo. 6, and this company, probably, at Camden. These men from Windham were, Sergt. Benjamin Trott; drummer, Peter Smith; pri- vates, James Chute, Nathaniel Chase, Jacob Rliott, George Knight, Samuel Lord, Thomas Mayberry, John May- berry, Samuel Toben and John Win- ship, besides Lieut. Ichabod Hanson. April 24, it was "voted Lieut. Hanson $200.00 per month during the time that he is in the service in the expedition to the eastward." June 14, 1780, the town supplied "ol- diers with clothing, through Caleb Graffam, a selectman, as by the follow- ing statement: 9 shirts, 10 sh., 10 d. 94 pounds, 10 sh. 14 pairs shoes, 144 sh. 100 pounds, 16 sh. 7 pair stockiTigs,80 sh. 28 pounds Transportation, l'> pounds soldiers in the army as per the follow- ing statement of Jonathan Lovett, selectman: 9 shirts, 40 pounds 360 pounds 9 pairs shoes, 40 pounds 360 pounds 9 pairs stockings, 24 pounds 216 pounds 12 miles travel, 36 pounds 3 days time, 63 pounds Total, 298 pounds, 6 sh. Sept. 25, 2760 pounds of beef was furnished for the army and Oct. 25. the town appropriated $13,050.00 to pur- chase beef for the army as per state requisition. Dec. 4, 5011 pounds more of beef was furnished. Still the war went on, now over five years and a half. In November, Windham sent six more men into the Continental army for three years. The town's people must have felt that they were doing God's work for their posterity, or they could not have kept on with such burdens. Jan. 16, 1781, William Knight, Thom- as Trott and Edward Anderson were appointed a committee to agree with the men who will go into the army for three years as soldiers, about bounty and wages, and the town "voted $2,- 280 dollars, silver money, for the sol- diers that is to go into the army for three years," also that, "the soldiers shall be paid ten dollars, in silver money, by the town per month and' twenty dollars, in silver money, as a bounty," and "to pay them once in three months." The paper money had become so worthless they were obliged' to return to silver values to obtain soldiers. Feb. 8, the town voted .$20,044.00, pa-- per money, towards the quota of beef' affixed to the town by the resolve of the General Court. • In March, clothing was sent to the Total, 1035 pounds The Committee of Safety for 1781, were: Abraham Osgood, Richard Mayberry, Thomas Trott. The price of labor was fixed at $50.00 per day and oxen the same. For the use of a plow $25.00 per day. July 14, 1781, it was voted that the town will abide by the agreement the committee shall make for 3 men to go into the Continental army, and 60 pounds was appropriated for beef and Paul Little, Ezra Brown and Richard Mayberry were appointed to purchase it "as cheap as possible." The state tax for 1781 was 949 pounds, 6 shillings, and Abraham Osgood was the town treasurer. Aug. 27, 1781, 20 pounds was voted to provide clothing for the sol- diers; 4 shillings 8 pence was to be the price per yard for all wool cloth, after it was fulled for blanketing and made into blankets, 12 shillings f )r a cotton or linen shirt containing SV2 yards, 12 shillings for a pair of shoes made well, of good leather, and 6 shillings for a pair of good stockings. At least four blankets were sent to the army this year. With all these troubles on hand they appointed Capt. Richard Mayberry agent to meet the agents of the neigh- boring towns about flshways in the Presumpscot river dams. Jan. 28, 1782, William Elder was ap- pointed the agent of the town to pro- cure one Continental soldier to iill their quota. March 1. three soldiers were sent into the Continental army for three years and May 31, 173 pounds was voted to pay the soldiers. At the March town meeting tli^ prices for work on highways was re- duced to hard money and 4 shillings was set for a day's work for men or Oxen, 2 shillings for a plow. At this meeting 40 shillings was offered for wolves' heads. They also voted to sell the old fort at public vendue; the old block house where they had gath- ei-ed together in alarms and had lived many a year: thiMr place of refuge and strength in times of trouble. They probably thought the town had out- WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. grown its protection. At the same meeting more money was appropriated for tiie soldiers. Paul Little was tlie town treasurer for the year 1782 and 1783. Ttie old fort was located nearly in the centre of the ten acre lots, on No. 34, it being the highest elevation and is Anderson land now. The building- was 50 feet square, two stories high, with walls one foot thick, built of hewn hemlock timber with a tier of port holes. The upper story projected over the lower about a foot. It had a flattish roof and there were two flank- ers or watch boxes at diagonal cor- ners, twelve feet square, the same height as the main building and in each was mounted a swivel gun. About thirty feet from the fort was a stock- ade, made of twelve inch logs, sixteen feet long, set in the ground and bound together at the middle and top with oak timbers. Through this there was one gate or door and here stood a nine pound gun to defend the only entrance. The fort was built in 1744 with the one hundred pounds appropriated by the General Court for the defence of Lhe frontier towns when the war was de- clared b«'tween France and England. Then a French war meant also an In- dian war. How soldiers were raised in the towns for the Continental army, in 1782, is of considerable interest in the history of the war. The modus oper- andi was for the government of the Commonwealth to assign each town their quota, under a call for troops, and the Treasurer General would send that demand to the selectman and witi it the following order: "Commonwealth of Massachusetts: The Honorable Henry Gardner, Esq.: Treasurer and Receiver General of said Commonwealth. To the Selectmen or Assessors of the Town of Windham, Greeting, &c.: In obedience to a Resolution of the Commonwealth aforesaid, of the Eighth of March, 1782, these are in the Name of said Commonwealth to will and require you forthwith to assess the Sum of One Hundred and Forty Eight Pounds, 3 shillings, 4 penc(^ on the deficient Class or Classes in your Town or Plantations, being the average Price of the Cost of rais- ing the Men to supply the Deficiency of the Massachusetts Line of the Ar- my, agreeable to a Notification of his Excellency the Governor and Council of said Commonwealth, transmitted to the Treasurer of said Commonwealth, bearing date of March, 1782, in Pur- suance of the Resolve aforesaid, to- gether with twenty per cent added thereto; You are likewise required to levy on each Class deficient as afor'S- said. Two per Cent on said Line, as a Fee for the Constable or Collector to defrey the Expense of collecting the same; which List or Lists, when com- pleted according to Law, you are to de- liver to the Collector or Collectors, Constable or Constables of your Town or Plantation; and make Return to me of the Name or Names of the said Con- stable or Constables, Collector or Col- lectors, together with the Sum or Sums to them respectively committed to col- lect, within Five Days from the Date hereof. Hereof you are not to fail, as you will answer your Neglect at the Peril of the Law. Given under my Hand and Seal at Boston, the Day of March, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty two, in the Seventh Year of American Inde- pendence. H. Gardner." On receipt of the above, the assess- ors divided the tax payers into the same number of classes as the number of soldiers were called for that had not been furnished and made up a tax list for the amount necessary for one soldier, then appointed a head for the class to whom the tax list was committed for collection. One of those lists came into my possession some years since of which the follow- ing is a copy: "Cumberland ss. To Josiah Chute of Windham in said County, you are hereby appointed head of a class in said Windham aforesaid for procur- ing Soldiers for the Continental army for three years or during the war of which the Following is A copy and you are required forthwith to notify the Persons nam'd in your Class who are residents in said Windham to as- semble for Hireing A man which if you Neglect four days after Receiving this you will be subject to all the -"ost & Charge that may fall on said class in consequence of their not procuring a man as aforesaid in case your class after being duly notified by you shall refuse or neglect to hire a man as afors'd & deliver him to the muster master until the Tenth day of April Instant they will be subject to a fine eaqual to the avridge price that the WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. II Man Cost with Twenty P Get. added theirto you all so to make return to us of the names of the persons in Class who shall be deficient in paying his proportion for Hiring & Mustering sd man agreeable to the rule herewith given you in order that he may be as- ses'd for said deficiency with Ten P Cet added thereto given under our hands at Windham this 5 Day April 1782. Abram Osgood, David Barker, Assessors of Windham." Each Man's proportion 155 — 5 — 2 according to the late Tax Bill. Head Class. Chute, Josiah 1 15 3 Anderson, John 1 3 3 4 Barker, David 2 5 4 10 Bodge, John 1 3 6 Bodge, Benjamin 1 3 3 3 Bolton, William 3 10 17 9 Graffam, Caleb 1 7 13 10 Graffam, Caleb Jr. 1 1 17 10 Graffam, Enoch 1 1 12 10 Hall Estate, 5 12 7 Hunnewell, Rich'd 1 2 11 1 Hutchinson, Sam'l I 1 18 1 Hawks, Ebenezer 1 4 13 5 Hawks, Amos 2 6 7 Jones, Elamual 1 1 18 9 Kennard. Elijah 1 2 10 1 Degro, Ellias 1 2 14 3 Lowell, Joshua 2 3 5 11 Knights, Will'm 3 10 12 7 Lord, Charles 1 2 17 10 Muckford, Robt. Jr. 1 1 11 8 Meabary, John 2 6 17 7 Meaberry, WMll'm 2 5 18 2 Manchester, Stephn 1 2 3 5 Winship, Gersham 1 2 15 4" Mitchell, Robert 1 1 17 Robinson, John 1 9 1 10 Stephens, Jonathan 2 7 13 7 Blaney, Joseph Esqr. 2 13 5 8 Hunawell, Zerubable 1 9 16 11 Hanson, Jonathan 1 7 14 9 Elder, Will'm Jr. 1 3 10 Young, John 1 2 8 1 Polls. 43 155 5 2 "Each Man's proportion of what the Soldier Cost Proportioned same man- ner." The Committee of Correspondence and Safety for 1783 were: Zerubbabel Hunnewell, David Barker, Thomas Barker. Thomas Barker was elected to the General Court and he promised to ask no wages of the town except what they would be pleased to give him. The war was now over. Cornwallis had surrendered at Yorktown, Oct. 19, 1781, which ended hostilities. The preliminary treaty of peace was i>ro- claimed April 19, 1783, and the treaty was signed the next September. The news that must have given the griit- est satisfaction was that Great Brit- ain had acknowledged our inde- pendence, Nov. 30, 1782. Then there were happy days in Windham; the re- turn of the soldiers and their own un- disturbed days to develope their farms. Then they had the satisfaction of feel- ing that the town had done its full duty, through those long eight years of anxiety, although it had come out with an empty treasury and had many outstanding obligations to be met. Windham had no men at Lexington, Concord or Bunker Hill, but her sons served at Falmouth Neck and through the Seige of Boston under Gen. Wash- ington. They marched to reinforce the Northern army in 1776 and garrisoned Dorchester Heights that year. They were in the retreat from Fort Ticon- deroga in 1777 and fought in the battles of Hubbardton, Stillwater and Sarato- ga and witnessed the surrender of Gen. Burgoyne's army. They guarded the Burgoyne prisoners at Cambridge in 1778, marched to Rhode Island in the alarms, were at Quaker Hill and rein- forced the army on the Hudson rivei' at Peekskill. They spent the winter of 1777 — 8 at Valley Forge where there were no greater heroes than they, and fought in the desperate battle of Mon- mouth on that terrible hot day of June 28, 1778. They were in the Bagaduce ex- pedition, in 1779, and the next year, served, under Gen. Peleg Wadsworth, guarding the Maine coast. Some sons of the town may have served in the south during the last of the war and been at Yorktown at the end, but no name has yet come under my notice. The town had soldiers in the service when the army was disbanded in 1783. There is much that has not been told but enough is known to show that Windham has an enviable record in the Revolutionary war. The following is a list of soldiers, during the war, who called Windham their home. The time of service is that that has been found on the pay rolls to their credit. There may be more and no doubt is more service due them, in many cases. We do not con- sider this list complete as we think that there may be others who were proud to sign the rolls as of the town. Nearly all are Windham names of that 12 WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. time. Lieut. Edward Anderson, 12 mos., 17 days service. John Anderson, 11 mos., 6 days service. Lieut. David Barker, 17 days service. Ebenezer Barton, 42 inos. service. Benjamin Bodge, 6 days service. Thomas Bodge, 3 mos., 17 days service. Thomas Bolton, 2 mos., 10 days service. William Bolton, 5 days service. Amos Brown, 3 years man, killed at Hubbardton. Amos Brown, Jr., 24 mos. service. William Campbell, 26 days service. r Eleazer Chase, 36 mos. service. Nathaniel Chase, 9 mos., 10 days ser- vice. Joseph Chesley, 5 days service. James Chute, 7 mos., 22 days service. Josiah Chute, 46 mos., 5 days service. Thomas Chute, 11 mos., 17 days ser- vice. Thomas Crague, 13 days service. Daniel Crockett, about 8 mos. service. George Crockett, 11 days service. Philip Davis, three years man. Ensign Richard Dole, 3 years service as private and corporal. Isaac Elder, 2 mos., 15 days service. John Elder, 4 mos., 24 days service. .Joseph Elder, 11 mos. service. William Elder, 4 mos., 10 days service. Chase Elkins, 4 mos. service. William Elkins, 5 days service Jacob Eliott, 7 mos., 29 days service. .Tedidiah Eliott was a pensioner. Nathan Gamman, 2 mos. service. Caleb Graffam.Jr., S mos., 2 days ser- vice. Enoch Graffam, 50 mos., 13 days ser- vice. Enoch Hall, 3 years man. Job Hall, 4 years, 71/2 mos. service. Lieut. Ichabod Hanson, 7 mos., 24 days service. Isaac Hardy, 5 days service. Stephen Harris, 3 mos., 11 days service. Eli Herbert, 3 years man. Moses How, 4 mos., 24 days service. Elijah Hunnerwell, 11 days service. Richard Hunnerwell, 2 mos., 10 days service. Richard Hutchinson, 5 days service. Samuel Hutchinson, 4 mos., 4 days ser- vice. Nicholas Hughes, 3 years man. ■Tames Jordan, 3 years man. George Knight, 9 mos., 17 days service. Samuel Knight, 24 mos., 14 days cer- vlce. Capt. William Knight, 16 days service. He was also a major of militia. Charles Legro, 5 days service. Ellas Legro, 3 years man. Joseph Legro, 3 years man. Charles Lord, about 5^^ mos. service. Samuel Lord, 15 mos., 16 days service. John Loring, 8 mos. service. Stephen Lowell, 10 mos. service. Gershon Manchester, 26 days service. Stephen Manchester, 49 mos. service. Stephen Manchester, Jr., sent from Valley Forge to the hospital at Read- ing where he died Jan. 5, 1778. David P. Mayberry, 16 mos., 5 days service. James Mayberry, 2 mos., 17 days ser- vice. John Mayberry, 7 mos. service. Capt. Richard Mayberry, 39 mos., 12 days servive. Richard Mayberry, Jr., 39 mos. -'^rvice. Richard Mayberry, 2d., 5 days service. Thomas Mayberry, about 20 mos. ser- vice. William Mayberry, son of Capt. Rich- ard, 3 years man. William Mayberry, son of John, 26 days service. Robert Martin, a pensioner. John Mathews, 4 days service. Robert Millions, 3 years man. .John Mugford. 2 mos., 17 days service. James Pray, 5 days service. Richard Preston, 20 mos. service. Joseph Roberts, 19 mos., 17 days service. James Rines, 3 years man. Taken prisoner at Hubbardton July 7, 1777. Lonon Rhode, " a free negro," 3 years man, and died in the army Dec. 9, 1777. .Toseph Swett, 5 days service. John Swett, about 3% years service. Peter Smith, (a negro) 43 mos. George Teshary, served, probably. 43 mos.. 7 days. Joseph Thompson, 3 years man. Samuel Toben. 9 mos., 17 days service. Mathew Ttoben, 7 mos. service. Stephen Tripp, about 41 mos. service. Benjamin Trott, 9 mos., 17 days ser- vice. Capt. Thomas Trott of the town com- pany. Edward Webli, 3 years man. Eli Welib, 5 days service. John Winship, 7 mos., 26 days service. Caleb Young, 4 mos., 12 days service. A total of 91 soldiers. In addition to the above were the following: John Knight "of Windham" enlisted at Gorham. It is not known who he was. Smith says that the colored men. Flanders and Romeo served three years in the army but we cannot veri- fy the statement. He also gives the names of Richard Thurrell, Hezekiah Hall, William Cammett, Jeremiah WINDHAM IN THE REVOI.Ul ION. Small, Samuel Chandler, Stephen Hutchinson and William Hardy as three years' men, whom we cannot now say were Windham men. He also gives Joseph Hutchinson, John Young, and Abraham Anderson as serving less than three years, which should be ver- ified. In Capt. Wentworth Stuart's Go., in Col. Edmund Phinney's Ilegt. of 1775, appears the name of John Young of Pearsontown, now Standish, which is doubtless the above. He was in the 18th Continental Regt. the next year. There were three Quaker soldiers who came to Windham, after the war, as follows: Noah Reed came from Attleboro, Mass. He served in five dif- ferent companies 10 mos., 7 days. Lemuel Horton came from Milton. Mass., to Portland and then to Wind- ham. He served in nine different companies 23 mos., 20 days. Rufus Horton, his brother, served 24 mos., 10 days, in ten different companies, com- mencing when he was but sixteen. He was wounded in the wrist and re- tired from the service with the rank of sergeant major. Other Revolutionary soldiers who went to Windham after the war were: Jonah Austin enlisted at Falmouth and served 3 1-2 years in the army. He lived near the Ireland school dis- trict. Jonathan Knight enlisted at Fal- mouth and was a 3 years' man. He moved to the town of Otisfield. John Farrow, Jr., moved away from Windham sometime before the be- ginning of the war to the town of Bristol, Me., where his four boys, Windham born and raised, went into the army. Peter Graffam, another Windham boy, went into the army from New Gloucester, because he was then living there. Josiah Starling, born in Windham, went into the army from Bristol, Maine. Thomas Manchester, the first child born in the township, moved in- to New Hampshire and joined a regi- ment there. John Manchester, a half brother of Stephen, moved from Wind- ham about 1762, was in the capture ut the Margaretta at Machias, in 1775, and he afterwards served in the army. There are, no doubt, other sons of Windham who did gallant service in the war, but we do not claim them as the town's soldiers, only those who are known as residents then. It is not necessary. The above list of Revolutionary sol- diers, who went from Windham, is re- markable from the fact that it num- bers about the same as the males of the town who were liable for a poll tax. Not the number of enlistments, but the number of different soldier.5. These men all claimed Windham for their home. Many men were but ooys then. Here is a sample. An enlist- ment roll says "Thomas Chute, age, 16 years, statue, 5 feet 4 ins., dark com- plexion." Few towns can furnish a better record than this in the people's struggle for their independence. Smith says: "The number enrolled at any one time in the town's company did not amount to fifty-five, of whom more than thirty were known to be out in the Continental service and the service of the state, at one time, and during the war seventy-one er- formed service in the Continental army and drafted militia, being sixteen more than the number enrolled at any time, forty of whom served three years in the army." This is additional to those who served in the militia in answering alarms, not drafted. In the possession of the Maine His- torical society are two original pay rolls of Capt, Richard Mayberry's company for December, 1778. This was the next winter after that spent at Valley Forge. The pay of the men was as follows: Captain, 12 pounds per month. Lieutenant, 8 pounds per month. Ensign, 6 pounds per month. Sergeants, 3 pounds per month. Corporals, 2 pounds, 4 sh. per month. Drum and Fife, 2 pounds, 4 sh. per month. Privates, 2 pounds per month. Opposite Capt. Mayberry's name is written, "On furlough, Sept. 11th, by his Excellency Genl. Washington without limit." Washington evidently had much confidence in the Windham captain. The regiment was then at West Point. Nicholas Hughes is re- ported sick at Valley Forge. James Jordan, it says, is "on com- mand at the Lines." Robert Millions was "on furlough by Gen. Patterson, Nov. 19th, for 90 days." John Swett was" on command at the Line.'^ Peter Smith was "sick in ye Hospit- al at Hartford." Corp. Ebenezer Barton was "on fur- lough for 90 days by Gen. Patterson." He and Millions probably came hom« to Windham and, no doubt, walked nearly all the way. H WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. Joseph Thompson is reported 'On Duty." Thomas Chute was there all right, a nine months' man. Other men of Windham, for the same time, wer>? David May berry and Benjamin Trott. These nine montlis' men went into the service in June 1778. Josiah Chute was a sergeant and had enlisted in the 11th Mass. Re^'t. Jan. 1, 1777, for 3 years. He was struck in the shoulder by a musket ball, in the battle of Hubbardton, July 7, 1777, and was taken prisoner by the Briti'jh, from whom he escaped, and after wan- dering two weeks in the woods got into our lines. He was in command 'jf the company, when the rolls were made, and brought them home with him. His discharge from the army is written on back of one, which is as follows: § I "Head Qurs. Robinson House, Pi( l-\ills Dec 12th 1779. Serjant Josiah Chute of the Elev- enth Massachusetts Regt. having ion Represented as a faithful Soldier /ho has Ben wounded in Battle and by ren- dered unfit for Duty has Leave of ab- sence from Camp until the first Djy of January next in the year 1780 as Majr Knap has reported that the Time for which said Chute Engaged to Serve in the Army will Expire on the 1st of January next. He is not required again to Join his Regiment but to re- ceive this as a discharge from tie army of the United States of America as fully as if it was given After I is Time of service had Expired. By Command of Majr Genl Heath The Cartwright Ade De Camp." When Governor John A. Andrew, the town's most famous son, visited Windham in 1S62, he re- ferred to three of the Revo- lutionary soldiers, in his speech, there. He said — "Noah Reed whose heart and hat were big enough to cover the whole town," and then "But I must mention two more men, who should never be omitted — these two old soldiers of the Revolution, Josiah Chute and John Swett, vener-able when first I knew them yet intelligent and active. How many more were here, I cannot now rcol- lect. Many times and oft, on a pleas- ant morning like this, have I rode with my mother and listened to the storieh of events in which they took a part." How much they influenced that boy, in his own patriotism, will never be known. Capt. Mayberry and Corporal Ebe- nezer Barton, of his company, both went through the battles and exposure of army life and returned to their homes at Windham and both were killed, afterwards, by falling trees. Capt. Mayberry's grave is on Leach Hill, Casco, and his son William's is on Mayberry Hill in the same town, both of which were visited by me sev- eral years since. Barton's two great grandsons, Ste- pren T., and Frank C. Morton, both killed in battle and both giving their lives for the same old flag, to restore the same Union their ancestor had helped to establish, is a lesson in Wind- ham patriotism. Their bodies wer^ brought back to the old town and ten- derly laid near their Revolutionary an- cestor's grave, where they will prob- ably never be forgotten. Scripture says: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for hio friends.' Jonah Austin was buried on his farm, but which of the little cluster of. graves was his, is uncertain. John Swett and Josiah Chute lie near each other in the Chute grave yard, their graves being well marked. Chute has a handsome marble monument. Lieut. Edward Anderson was buried at Wind- ham Hill and has a durable slate stone at his grave. Lieut. Ichabod Hanson's grave is in the Hanson yard and }ia:3 a suitable stone. Stephen Manchester was buried 'in the Knight grave yard, near Dutton Hill, and although he iid a great service for the settlers, his grave has no stone to tell its occupant. It should not be so. In the Smith Grave Yard, at South Windham, were liuried John Elder, James Mayheri'y John Mayberry and Capt. Thomas Trott. In this enclosure is also ihe grave of Capt. Caleb Graffam one of the heroic men of Windham, both in the Indian wars and the Revolution. He died in 1784, aged 73 years. His epitaph is "Depart dear friends, dry up your tears, my dust lies here till Christ appears." There n-ere many others of our Revolutionary sires bu'-- ied in the town, some of their graves known but many forgotten. These notes may rot be of particular interest to every one, but each soldier's recoi-d is dear to those who are now their pos- terity. Time ripens such facts. It has been written — "He that is not proud of his ancestors, either has no ances- tors to be proud of, or else he's a de- generate son." The Quakers were a considerable element in Windham during the war WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION, 15 of the Revolution. They believed in peace and would not bear arms, but they, no doubt, aided in relieving the sufferings of the soldiers and their families, and, in the bottom of their hearts, hoped for the success of their own people's cause. My great grandfather, Benjamin Goold, may serve as an ex- ample, because I know the facts in his case. He joined the society long be- fore the war, when he lived in Eliot, Me. His brothers, Daniel and Alexan- der were brave soldiers of the Revolu- tion and his wife,Phebe Noble,had tw9 brothers, Reuben and Nathan Jr., in the army from Gray. Her father, Na- than Noble, was a veteran of three wars and was killed during the battle of Saratoga, in the 11th Mass. Regt, in his fifty-fifth year. My grandfather was born the next spring after his death and his mother named him for his grandfather. When he grew up he was a soldier and commanded the Windham company through the 1812 war. He had a grandson in the Rebel- lion and a great grandson in the late Spanish war. It needs no words of mine to tell where Benjamin Goold's heart was during the Revolutionary war, Quaker or no Quaker. Tliose townsmen who served as se- lectmen during the war deserve our warmest praise. They were the bus- iness men of the town and managed ''he affairs as only patriots can. Any nis- tory of Windham during the war would be incomplete witho- t their names. They were as follows: Edward Anderson, 1781. David Barker, 1775, 1776. Ezra Brown, 1783. Caleb Graffam, 1779, 1780. Ichabod Hanson, 1775, 1776. William Knight, 1777, 1782. Paul Little, 1779, 1781. Jonathan Loveitt, 1780, 1781. Abraham Osgood, 1777, 1778, 1782. Daniel Pettingall, 1777, 1782. 1783. Timothy Pike, 1778, 1779. Gershom Rogers, 1783. TTiomas Trott, 1775, 1776, 1778, 1780. The town clerks were: Richard Dole, 1775, 1776 and 1783. Edward Anderson, 1777, 1782. The women of the town, during the war, we must not pass by, for they had stout hearts and were constant allies in the struggle for their country's lib- erty. They, in the darkest hours, ut- tered w'ords of encouragement, furnished examples of devotion and spun, wove and sewed for the comfort of the soldiers, as only those can whose hearts are in their work. They sent their husbands and sons into the army would have been difficult had it been otherwise. There was no division of interest with the sons of the town and there is none in the glory of their achievements. Windham emerged from the long ex- hausting war of the Revolution impov- erished beyond what can now be re- alized. They had built the foundation for our success and the liberty we en- joy and were themselves satisfied with the work. They were heavily in debt, but although, at first, they were some- what uneasy as to the prospects of ever paying the cost, they met their responsibilities like men. After the war the town grew and the settlement of the whole township was consumated, as far as is seen now. When the war of 1812, came on, the sons of the Revolutionary patriots of Windham shirked no responsibility, although it was not a war of their choosing. In 1814. when the militia was called out for the defense of Portland, Capt. Nathan Goold's company re- ceived their orders at nine o'clock at night and the next morning, at nine, they were on Munjoy Hill, in Portland, armed and equipped ready for any service they might be called upon to perform. In the Rebellion, the grand- sons and great grandsons felt the blood of their fathers quicken in their veins and the town met the demands upon it with spirit, to battle for the same old flag. A glance over the rolls show that the men had inherited the patriotism of their ancestors, for we find among the Windham men the names. — Mavberry, Manchester. Swett. Graffam. Knight. Anderson, Dole, Tripp, Tjegrow, Ellion Elder, Bodge. Jordan, Little, Hall, Austin, Hanson, Pettingill, Lowell, and Brown. The Mayberrys, Man- chesters. Littles, Lowells, Bodges. Knights and Legrows have their rep- resentatives among the honored dead from Windham in that Civil war. This is a grand record for this, then border town of Windham, whose people had not themselves felt the effects of any of the British oppression. They were small in numbers and poor in this world's goods but they showed themselves people of principle, patriots in example and they illuminated their town's his- tory as long as the country shall exist. A lesson of the Revolution is the so- licitude of our brave ancestors for the approval of their posterity in the work they were then undertaking. They were setting the succeeding genera- tions an example which they wished B5 190B i6 WINDHAM IN THE REVOLUTION. them to follow, if they were called upon and supported their families staking everything- on the result. The end to do so. It seems rather pitiful, to us now, to think of the interest those homespun men took in the generations, then unborn, that they might have more opportunities than they them- selves had ever enjoyed. Those patriots builded better than they knew and their memories deserve well of us who are reaping the benefit of the results of their lives. This calls to our minds the cost of this government of ours. More than a million lives have been already sacrificed and billions of mon- ey spent, beside the human suffering incident from wars, to make our coun- try what it is today. Is it a wonder, when its existence is threatened, that the patriotic people rise up to defend it to the end? The spirit of their fathers is in them. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 995 855 A ^ ^>m^if>