E THE PART BORNE BY Sergt. John White Paul IN THE CAPTURE OF Brig. Gen. Richard Prescott. 1777. Qass. Book. ^^^ - P^d 1 THE PART BORNE BY SERGEANT JOHN WHITE PAUL OP Col John Topham's Regiment OF THE RHODE ISLAND BRIGADE, CAPTURE OF BRIGADIER GENERAL RICHARD PRESCOTT, COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH FORCES, NEAR NEWPORT, R. I., IN Mil. EDWARD J. PAUL, A MEMBER OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN. MILWAUKEE: SWAIN & TATE, BOOK AND JOB PEINTEKS, 1887. ~ " I ^33 ^31 THE PART BORNE BY SERGEANT JOHN WHITE PAUL, OF Col John Topham's Regiment OF THE RHODE ISLAND BRIGADE, IN THE CAPTURE OF BRIGADIER GENERAL RICHARD PRESCOTT, COMMANDER OF THE BRITISH FORCES, NEAR NEWPORT, R. I., IN 1777. The character of a people, so far as it is an ex- pression of positive and usual traits of individuals, is largely the result of political conditions ; and some one, endeavoring to determine the relative values of these conditions, has remarked that certain qualities of American character, restless industry, ingenuity, firm yet audacious courage, and entire self-reliance — quali- ties essential to industrial success — are so distinctively our own that European artists, accustomed to the hereditary subordination and discipline of an empire, cannot grasp the spirit that animates our armies. Certainly some of our great paintings, portraying lines of battle wavering with impulse, and broken by deeds of singular devotion, are evidences that an American soldier enjoys a consciousness of duty and freedom of action, in harmony with our institutions. Yet our national ofrowth has not been in defiance of any principle. Before selfish affairs of business had absorbed any one's interest in the common good, patriotism, though possibly not more generous, was more personal. It was rather an incentive than a sentiment, and the forms of its expression were so unrestricted that all of those exploits that make the story of the revolution sacred history, seem now to be both the results and proofs of the strength and char- acter of native energies. None of these exploits was more hazardous and brilliant in its success, more barren of direct advan- tage, and yet more refreshing to the inexperienced continental troops, than the capture of Brigadier General Richard Prescott,^ the commander of the British forces, near Newport, R. I., in 1777, by a number of men, led by Lieut. Colonel William Barton. Mrs. Williams' narrative of the expedition," corres- ponding, substantially, with an account of it left by Barton'' in his own handwriting, is briefly as follows : Colonel Barton, having learned from a Mr. Coffin, who had escaped through the British lines, that Gen- eral Prescott was quartered at the house of Mr. Over- ing, on the west side of Rhode Island, about a mile from the shore, embarked from Tiverton, the evening of July 4, 1777, with Colonel Stanton, Ebenezer Adams, Captain of Artillery, Lieut. James Potter, Joshua Babcock, John W^ilcox, and about forty men, in five whale-boats ; and havinof encountered a storm in Mount Hope bay, arrived at Bristol at about nine o'clock the next evening. The evening of the sixth of July, with muffled oars, they passed over to Warwick Neck, and having been delayed there by northeast winds, did not re-embark until late in the evening of the ninth. Then, following Barton, who had tied his handkerchief to a pole to distinguish his own boat, they steered between the islands of Prudence and Patience, to avoid the enemy's shipping over against Mount Hope island, and rowed under the west side of Prudence, to the southward, coming so near the British vessels that they could hear the watch cry : " All's Well ! " About three-quarters of a mile from the island they were startled by the trampling of horses, yet pushing on, landed safely, and moored their boats in a creek, shel- tered by a little bluff of sand. To the right, a brook crossing the road near the Overing House, descending the hill toward the left and running through a kind of gorge, emptied into the creek. Keeping in the gully and under the ridge, the party advanced cautiously, and emerging back of Peleg Coggshall's farm, gained the road. In passing to the house, they left the guard-house forty or fifty rods to the left. A little to the left of that was the Redwood House, where General Smith, second in command, was quartered. On the right, or Newport side, was a building appropriated to a troop of light horse, and, twenty-five yards from the gate, was a sen- tinel. 1 he occupants of the house, Mr. Overing and his son. General Prescott, his' aide Major Barrington, and the servants, were in deep sleep, presumably the effects of a carouse at the house-of one Bannister, a Tory, upon the wines and Santa Cruz of a prize, brought into Newport the day before. To the sentinel's demand : " Who comes there ? " the patriots answered : " Friends ! Have you seen any deserters to-night ? " and approaching apparently to give the countersign, suddenly seized and bound him, surrounded the house and burst open the door. Bar- ton, calling to them to set fire to the house, found Prescott abed, and hurried him to the boats. And his resolute men, securing Major Barrington also, and hastily retreating, pushed off, and made their way with the prisoners, among the alarmed vessels of the fleet, through darkness illumined by rockets and Hashing guns, safely across Narragansett bay, to the battery on Warwick Neck. Since childhood I have been taught that my great grandfather's brother, John White~ Paul, born at Dighton, Mass., in 1755."* was an officer of no exalted rank in Barton's regiment, and was the second man chosen to accompany him on this dangerous enter- prise ; that, because of his great strength and weight, he was one of the men selected to throttle the sentinel at General Prescott's door, and, afterwards, to con- duct the General across the fields to the boats ; and that, when Prescott complained that the stubble hurt his bare feet, John Paul was courteous enough — and there was a yeoman's irony in his courtesy — to offer to let the General wear his big, low, shoes. The story is corroborated in many details, and especially in that part in which it is peculiar, by the words of a revolutionary song,'^ one verse of which runs : "Then through rye stubble him they led, With shoes and breeches none." and ag-rees with the narratives above mentioned, so closely in some places, that it might seem to have been partly derived from them, had it not been related thirty years before either of them was written.^ Yet the story is not simply a family tradition, for, although cherished in the family, nothing obscure shrouds its origin, and the relation of my father, of my grand- father and of my great grandfather, is not the only evidence of its truth. Desiring, however, to embody an authoritative state- ment of these facts in the genealogy of the Paul family,' I searched the files' of "The Pennsylvania Evening Post," and of " The Providence Gazette," for contemporaneous and particular reports of the adven- ture, and learned only, that those who shared its perils with Barton were about forty-six volunteers. Barton's own account leaves the impression that there were forty-eight.^ Nevertheless, eighty-three years after the event, Lossing's "Field Book of the Revolution"^" states that there were forty, and that their names, as furnished by General Barton's son, John B. Barton, Esq.. of Providence, were as follows : Officers : Andrew Stanton, Eleazer Adams, Samuel Potter, John Wilcox. Non-commissioned officers : Joshua Babcock, Samuel Phillips. Privates : Benja- min Pren, James Potter, Henry Fisher, James Parker, Joseph Guild, Nathan Smith, Isaac Brown, Billin^ton Crumb, James Haines, Samuel Apis, Alderman Crank, Oliver Simmons, Jack Sherman, Joel Briggs, Clark Packard, Samuel Cory, James Weaver, Clark Crandall, Sampson George, Joseph Ralph, Jedediah Grenale, Richard Hare, Darius Wale, Joseph Denis, William Bruff, Charles Hassett, Thomas Wilcox, Pardon Cory, Jeremiah Thomas, John Hunt, Thomas Austin, Daniel Page (a Narragansett Indian), Jack Sisson (black), and Howe, or Whiting, boat steerer. From this list John Paul is not only omitted, but excluded, apparently, by the implication of a note,^^ which adds : " In Allen's American Biography the name of the black man is written Prince ; and he says he died at Plymouth in 182 1, aged seventy-eight years. The name given by Mr. Barton must be correct, for he has the original paper of his father. These statements are the only ones upon the sub- ject I have been able to find, that are positive ; and knowing that the error they conceal, might measure- ably detract from John Paul's just reputation, I pro- ceeded to investigate the grounds they were made upon. What was this original paper ? General Barton, in his own account, does not give the names of his men ; and the Rev. James Pierce Root, of Providence,^' who searched the archives of the State House for me, and examined Barton's manuscripts, and the military papers preserved in the library of the Historical Soci- ety of Rhode Island, could not find any original list of them.^^ Professor J. Lewis Diman knows of none.^'^ Hon. John R. Bartlett,'' of whom Mr. Lossing wrote me : " I know of no man so capable to give correct 9 information concerning Rhode Island history,"^^ has no knowledge of such a list.^' Mr. Lossing, himself, says that the names in the Field Book were printed only from a copy of the original sent him by John B. Barton, above named. ^'^ His son, Robert H. Barton, of Providence, into whose possession have fallen his grandfather's swords and commissions, and many of his father's and grandfather's papers, has no such list, and knows of none, except that published in Mrs. Williams' biography.^^ And Mrs. Williams, who knew Barton, and had access to his papers, shortly after his death, remarks : " It is much to be regretted that the whole of the names of those brave men were not preserved." ^° Yet the mistake is readily explained. Intrinsically, the list does not appear to have been made by Barton at all, for in regard to the names of the officers who volunteered to go with him, it differs, materially, from the statement he makes in his own account of the expedition.'-^^ On the other hand, the names in the list are the same as those published by Mrs. Williams, in 1839.^^ They are given in the same order, and spelled in the same way, with the exception, only, of four errors, of such a nature that they are themselves evidences of transcribing.^^ Moreover, there is not only a possibility, but almost a certainty, that two such lists derived from different sources, one set down by a leader who knew the facts, the other made up by his biographer, from the memory of survivors, would differ widely. Undoubtedly, " the original paper " was Barton's own account of the expedition, in manuscript, 10 then in the possession of his son, and afterwards pre- sented to the Historical Society of Rhode Island ; and Mr. Lossing's inability to have it at hand at the time of writing the note, gave rise, possibly, to a misappre- hension that it contained a list of the men. Mrs. Williams, however, whose interest and oppor- tunities informed her particularly,^^ manifests much un- certainty concerning the number of men engaged. Her estimates range from forty-seven to fifty-one, and she confesses her inability to determine precisely how many.^'' Yet she gives a list of all the names she can gather, depending, principally, upon the memories of two men who had lived longer than their allotted time. She says : " Of all the company who figured on that memorable night, in the capture, we are not aware that but two remain — Samuel Cory, now residing in Portsmouth, and Mr. Whitney, of New York." -^ And yet she has even forgotten to include " Mr. Whitney " in her list of the " immortal forty." -'' Ihat list has been copied by Diman,-^ and by Cowell f^ and has been accepted, not only without criti- cism, but almost without comment, for fifty years. Nevertheless, though undoubtedly reliable enough to prove that those whom it names accompanied Barton, it is not based upon certain and thorough knowledge, is not broad enough and strong enough to be nega- tive evidence, and cannot exclude those whom it omits, from the honors of such patriotic service. Cowell, in " The Spirit of '76," gives a roster of the brigade raised from New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island and the Providence Plantations, and 11 Massachusetts Bay, for the defense of Rhode Island, pursuant to the recommendation of the Convention of the Committees of Safety, that met in Providence, December 25, 1776. It consisted of Colonel John Topham's and Colonel Archibald Crary's regiments of foot, and Colonel Robert Elliott's artillery, 'I'hey were first enlisted for fifteen months ending March 16. 1778, and by an act of the General Assembly, for twelve months ending March 16, 1779, and again, for twelve months ending March 16, 1780.^'' Of those named above as having been with Barton at Prescott's capture, Captain Ebenezer Adams, who joined him at Warwick Neck."^ was possibly from the battery stationed there. Jack Sherman, Jedediah Grenale, Thomas Wilcox and John Hunt, were, according to the roster, men of Elliott's artillery. James Potter. James Parker and Jack Sisson, appear to have been men of Crary's regiment, and nearly all the rest : Lieut. Andrew Stanton, fifer John Wilcox. Captain Joshua Babcock, Major Samuel Phillips, and Isaac Brown, Billington Crumb, Samuel Apis, Alderman Crank, Samuel Cory, Oliver Simmons, corporal Clark Crandall, Joel Briggs, Joseph Ralph, James Weaver, Daniel Page, Sampson George, William Bruff, Lieut. Daniel Wale and Nathan Smith, were members of Colonel Topham's regiment, stationed at Tiverton in July, 1777,^" of which Barton, himself, was lieutenant colon el ,^^ John Paul, and Peter Paul, his brother, belonged to this regiment.^^ According— tcr the roster, John 12 Paul was a sergeant. He was then in the vigor of manhood ; and of strength and agihty that have be- come proverbiaL He was used to the sea and; his home was at Dighlon, on the I'aunton river, that ebbed and flowed with the tides of Narragansett bay. Shortly after his discharge he removed to West- minster, Windham County, Vermont ; and there, with what he had probably saved from a soldier's pay, and received from Rhode Island as his part of the reward for Prescott's capture, he bought a farm, and lived, an independent, thrifty. God-fearing man.^^ January 20, 1804. he died, leaving eleven children. Two of them were born in Dighton. All of them knew that he was with Barton. Prescott's hat and metal inkstand, which he brought away, were in the family many )ears. He made his son Joshua wear the hat, and often met his protests by saying : " It was General Prescott's hat, and is good enough!" Joshua died in Ohio, Herkimer County, New York, May 8, 1869, aged eighty- nine years ; and his eldest brother, John Paul, who helped him one day, lo cut up the obnoxious hat, and hide the pieces in a stump, died at the same place, January I, 1859, aged eighty. A son of the former, Charles H. Paul, born April 5, 1807, was many years a Justice of the Peace at Mohawk, Herkimer County, New York, and is living there now. Of the latter's child- ren, Richard O. Paul, born December 27, 181 3, and Edwin Paul, born August 11, 1821, are yet living, one at Wilmurt, Herkimer County, and the other at Evans Mills, Jefferson County, New York. The youngest of these grandchildren was born less than 13 eighteen years after John Paul died, and more than thirty-seven years before his own father's death. And each of them stoutly and honestly asserts what his father and the brothers and sisters of his father said — the story I have told.^^ About 1805 the family removed from Westminster, o-oing: westward across the mountains into New York. In Vermont they had been separated from other branches. In New York they were isolated, and soon forgotten. Yet the story of the part borne by John Paul in Prescott's capture is still preserved at the old homestead, in Dighton, Massachusetts, by the grand- children of his younger brother Peter, who was by his side in the ranks of Barton's regiment, and went with the expedition, that memorable night in July, to the island, where he was stationed at the creek to guard the boats ; and in New Jersey, by the grand- children of his brother, Benjamin Paul, who was at Germantown, Valley Forge and Monmouth f''^ by the descendants of his sister Elizabeth, who married Asa Briggs, another soldier of the revolution, and settled at Plymouth. Vermont ; and by the descendants of his brother James Paul, my great-grandfather, who was not old enough to be of service in the war. He, too, having found his way up the Connecticut valley into Vermont, eventually settled at Northfield ; and his son Amos Paul, born there March 11, 1793, was a merchant at Danville from 1819 to 1830, and afterwards clerk of the courts of Caledonia county. General Barton, who was for fourteen years confined to the jail limits of Danville, maftifested in many ways 14 peculiar interest and confidence in my grandfather. He did his banking at my grandfather's store ; and often, idling away an hour there, spoke of John Paul's strength and courage, and of the address with which he helped to secure the sentinel quietly, and laughing, of the haste, yet courtesy, with which he dragged Prescott to the boats. To Amos Paul's brother, also, Daniel Jewett Paul, born May 4, 1807, Barton told these things many times, at Danville, while fondly exhibiting his swords and relating the story of that bold invasion of the British camp. Daniel Paul's home was then at Dan- ville, and he is still living at Milwaukee, to attest these facts. On learning of little more than his testimony, Mr. Lossing was kind enough to write me: "The evidence seems conclusive in favor of the probability that your kinsman, John Paul, was a participant with Colonel Barton in the capture of Prescott." ^^ Certainly, considering that testimony and the tra- ditions, circumstances, and records now presented, together with the pointed way in which they all concur, no reasonable man can doubt that John White Paul was one of those who shared with Barton the perils and honors of that enterprise ; and so I shall record him. Is there another of Barton's volunteers whose con- duct has not yet been fairly recorded ? Whose child- ren never doubted that his reputation was secure in the certainty of their own knowledge of his practical devotion to the principles of the constitution ; whose 15 grandchildren are diffidently permitting that knowl- edge to fade into belief, belief that will subside into tradition, and be questioned ? Let some one of his posterity speak ! Facts like these are facts of history. An interest in our own history is an evidence of patriotism. And people, are beginning to have time to be patriotic again. NOTHS. (i) He is usually designated Major General, but Diman says: " He was at the time of his capture, a Brigadier General ; he was made a Major General August 29, 1777. He was exchanged for General Charles Lee, and resumed his command on Rhode Island, after the exchange, continuing there until after the evacuation, in October, 1779." Note, page 15, R. I. Historical Tract, No. i. Prescott came as a subordinate of Sir Henry Clinton, who passed through Long Island Sound, and arrived in Narragansett Bay, in December, 1776, with two English, and two Hessian brigades in seventy transports, convoyed by Sir Peter Parker, with eleven ships of war. In January, 1777, Clinton returned to England, leaving the forces in command of Earl Percy, who also returned in May, leav- ing Prescott in command of them. A large portion of the troops were quartered in farm-houses, on the island. Same, pages 15 and 16. (2) " Biography of Revolutionary Heroes, containing the Life of Brigadier General William Barton, and, also, of Captain Stephen Olney, by Mrs. Williams." Published by the author. Providence, 1839. Pages 40-62, and page 126, note D. (3) An account in manuscript, entitled : " Narrative of the par- ticulars relative to the capture of Major General Prescott, and his Aide-de-Camp Major Barrington," and preserved in the library of the Historical Society of Rhode Island. Foster's Misc. papers. Vol. I, page 16. Paul Gen. papers. No. 4020. (4) Son of James Paul and Sarah White, his wife. James Paul was a blacksmith and farmer, a deacon in Elder GofT's Baptist church at Dighton, and a descendant, in the fourth generation, of William Paul, born 1615, who left Gravesend, England, June 10, 1637, in the ship "True Love de London," Robert Dennis, master, and settled at Taunton, Mass., of which Dighton was originally a part, in 1637. Paul Gen. person 5024. ~^ ^ 18 (5) This song appears in the " Manufacturers' and Farmers' Jour- nal," of June 25, 1835, with a note stating that it was taken from the Plymouth Memorial. It is preserved in Rhode Island Historical Tracts, No. i, page 52, and also by Mr. Lossing, in " Harper's Young Folks." (6) Mrs. Williams' Biography was written in 1839, and Barton's account was probably not written long before his death, October 22, 1831. John Paul told the story to his children, in Westminster, Vermont, as early as 1785, and General Barton, himself, told it to my grandfather Amos Paul, in Danville, about 1820. (7) The Genealogy of the Paul Family, descendants of William Paul, born 1615, one of the original proprietors of "Taunton south purchase," etc., is now nearly completed in manuscript, and, I hope, will be shortly ready for the press. Incidentally, a great deal of information has been gathered concerning other original families of the same name. (8) The accounts are in the issues of July 29, and July 12, 1777, respectively. The files of the Providence Gazette are preserved in the library of the Historical Society of Rhode Island. The letter in the Post appears to have been written by the Providence corres- pondent, and may be found in the " Diary of the American Revo- lution." Frank Moore. PubHshed by Charles Scribner, New York, i86o. Vol. I, page 470, note i. Paul Gen. papers. Nos. 4020 and 4023. The number forty-six includes Barton himself, and his serv- ant, Guy Watson, Jack Sisson, or Prince (the black), who was pre- sumably, not of the " troops belongmg to the State of Rhode Island." Mrs. Williams' Biography, page 48, line 3; page 128, Hne 18. Also Rhode Island Historical Tracts. Rider. Providence, 1877. No. i, page 35. (9) The SIX officers whom he names, together with himself and forty men whom he selected from the ranks of the regiment, and the negro. Paul Gen. papers. No. 4020. (10) "The Pictorial Field Book of the Revolution," by Benson J. Lossing. Harper & Bros. New York, i860. Vol. I, page 644, note I. (11) Same. Vol. I, page 644, sub-note. 19 (i2) A retired Congregationalist clergyman and a descendant of Major Silas Talbot, of Dighton, Mass., a little later in command of the expedition that surprised and captured the armed galley Pigot, moored at the east passage of Narragansett bay. He was recom- mended by Mr. Amos Perry, librarian of the Rhode Island Histori- cal Society, to whom I am mdebted for much kindness, as " admir- ably qualified" to examine the records. R. I. Historical Tracts. No. I, page 42. Paul Gen. papers. Nos. 4039 and 40391^. (13) Letters from Rev. James Pierce Root, 11 Sackett Street, Providence, R. I., dated July 6, 1886, and February 9, 1887, re- spectively. Paul Gen. papers. Nos. 4020 and 4021. (14) See R. I. Historical Tract No. r. Prof. Diman's address is largely the result of original research. (15) Of Providence, who knew General Barton and is now in charge of the great library of the late John Carter Brown. Paul Gen. papers. Nos. 4023 and 4025. I am under obhgation to Mr. Bartlett, also, for assistance. (16) Letter from Benson J. Lossing, at "The Ridge," Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York, dated February 25, 1886. Paul Gen. papers. No. 4023. The advice and information one of his ability has been kind enough to give me, have not failed of ap- preciation. (17) Letters from John R. Bartlett, 225 Benefit Street, Provi- dence, R. L, dated March 3, and March 5, 1886, respectively. Paul Gen. papers, Nos. 4025 and 4026. (18) Letters from Benson J. Lossing, at "The Ridge," Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York, dated respectively February 10, and February 25, 1886. Paul Gen. papers. Nos. 4022 and 4023. (19) Letters from his son William Barton, 239 Westminster Street, Providence, R. L, dated February 20, and March 6, 1886. Paul Gen. papers. Nos. 4024 and 4027. I am under great obliga- tion to him for his generous interest. (20) Mrs. Williams' Biography. Page 127, line 3, also page no, line 11. 20 (2i) According to the Field Book of the Revolution, Vol. I, page 644, note i, there were: " Officers — Andrew Stanton, Eleazer Adams, Samuel Potter, John Wilcox. Non-commissioned officers — Joshua Babcock and Samuel Phillips." According to Barton's manuscript above mentioned: "The names of the officers were, Samuel Phillips, Lieut. James Porter, or Potter, Captain Joshua Babcock, Lieut. Andrew Stanton, and Ensign John V\ ilcocks. Captain Ebenezer Adams volunteered with us at War- wick Neck." Paul Gen. papers. No. 4020. (22) Mrs Williams' Biography, page 127, note D. (23) The number of names in each list is forty. Mrs. Williams, at pages 127 and 128, divides them into three classes : Officers, non- commissioned officers, and privates, and gives the names of each class in two columns. In the Field Book, Vol. I, page 644, note i, the names are given in the same classes, but having been run to- gether, those of the first column are followed by those of the second column. There is no change in the order, excepting, only, in the name of Pardon Cory, which seems to have been momentarily over- looked in transcribing, and is placed after the name of Thomas Wilcox, instead of before. In spelling, the name Ebenezer Adams, in the original, appears Eleazer Adams in ihe copy. And the sir- names of Benjamin Prew, and Charles Hassett, are spelled Pren,and Havett. (24) She lived at Providence, knew Barton and ' had access to his papers, as appears from her book. Half of the book is devoted to the details of Barton's life, and a large part of it to the capture of Prescott. (25) Examine and compare the statements on page 44, at lines 16, and 27, and on page 45, at line 8. These volunteers chosen from the ranks certainly did not include Barton himself, his servant, and Colonel Stanton (page 42, line 23,) and the other five officers (page 44, line 6). Yet see page 47, lines 10 and 38. Also page 127, lines 3 and 33. In the list, on page 128, appear the names of o"ly 33 privates, though the foregoing statements are to the effect that at least forty were selected. 2jl (26) Mrs. Williams' Biography, page 56, line 11 ; page 130, line 7; and page 127, line 3. Also page no, line 11. (27) Same. Page 127, line ^;^. (28) " The capture of General Richard Prescott, by Lieut. Col- onel William Barton." An address delivered at the centennial cele- bration of the exploit, at Portsmouth, R. I., July 10, 1877, by J. Lewis Diman, printed with a map of Narragansett bay, a portrait of Barton, and an autograph copy of Colonel Stanton's order authoriz- ing him to undertake the matter, in the Rhode Island Historical Tracts. Rider, Providence, 1877, being tract No. i. The list is at page 45' ^"d is credited, without comment, to Mrs. Williams. (29) " Spirit of '76 in Rhode Island," by Benjamin Cow^ll. A. J. Wrignt. Boston, 1850. Page 149. And although he has not cred- ited, he has cautiously qualified the statement. (30) " Spirit of '76," pages 55 to 117. (31) According to Barton's own narrative. (32) See roster referred to, which is alphabetically arranged. There are also other names, Benjamin Pain, James Harris, Charles Hewett, Clarke Parker, Joseph Davis, etc., similar to those in Mrs. Williams' list. (33) " Spirit of '76," page 68, second name. (34) Same, page 77, thirty-second and thirty-fifth names. (35) John Paul was born in 1755, ^"d in 1777 was about twenty-two years old. His strength and agihty at wrestlings and raisings, for many years afterwards, are proved by anecdotes pre- served by his kindred. Knowledge of the locality, and of the sea, were grounds upon which Barton selected the volunteers. John Paul's term of enlistment expired March 16, 1780. and his sons, Joseph and Benjamin, twins, were born in Westminster, Vermont, June 20, 1782. He bought the north half of lot number eleven in the eighth range of eighty acre lots, in that township, of Benjamin Bellows, July 23, 1783, and shortly afterwards, other lands. His parents lived at Dighion, Mass., until after 1789, for March 13, of that year, they gave house and farm to their son Peter, on condition that he should support them through life^_^ 22 (36) See letters from Charles H. Paul, Richard O. Paul, Edwin Paul, and other descendants of John W. Paul ; from his nephew Daniel Paul ; from George H. Paul, and Harrison D. Paul, grand- children of his brother James, and from others. All indexed under person 5024. Paul Gen. papers. (37) According to a petition made by his widow, Bethena Paul, of Stafford, Monmouth County, New Jersey, in 1844, to Congress, for a pension on account of her husband's services. Letter from Hon. John C. Black, Commissioner of Pensions, Department of Interior, Washington, D. C, dated April 6, 1886. Paul Gen. papers. No. 4036. (38) Letter from Benson J. Lossmg, at " The Ridge," Dover Plains, Dutchess County, New York, dated February 25, 1886. Paul Gen. papers. No. 4023. 011 699 833 6 ^r,~.[