History of Middlesex County, Connecticut

with

Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men

New York:
J. B. Beers & Co.,
36 Vesey Street
1884

Haddam in the Revolution

The data from which to make up a narrative of the particular doings of the people of this town while that great struggle was in progress are meager and fragmentary. The militia was in constant drill, and prepared in a rude way to enter the service of their country at short notice, though the defense of their own immediate territory was to them of the first importance, and they seem with reluctance to have left their firesides when occasion called them to go into the service on distant fields. The equipments of the militia were put in more perfect order as the prospect of being called upon to defend themselves by resort to arms grew imminent. February 6th 1776, it was voted that all who had powder, balls, or flint from the town treasury should return them or pay for the same at the rate of six shillings a pound for powder, eight shillings a pound for ball, and twelve pence a dozen for flints. The first intimation of a call for men appears on the records under date of March 27th 1777, when the town appointed a committee to confer with the governor respecting the quota of men to be raised, and also the sudden rise in cattle which had been occasioned by some speculative action of under commissaries, much to the discomfiture of the people and the embarrassment of the government.

March 31st 1777, the town voted unanimously that they would join with, and to the utmost in their power support the civil authority, selectmen, committee of inspection, and all informing officers in carrying out the laws made for regulating and fixing the prices of certain articles, as recommended by the governor and council of safety in their proclamation of March 18th 1777. At the same time they voted that the families of all soldiers who had enlisted or should do so, to fill up the battalion of this State, should be supplied, in the absence of such heads, with necessaries at the prices affixed by law, and if the committee appointed to superintend this business could not obtain such supplies at the prices affixed, the town should be drawn upon to make up the deficiency.

At a meeting held on the 22nd of April following, an effort was made to raise the quota of men for the Continental army. Accordingly a bounty of .45 was offered to every able bodied volunteer who should enlist for three years or during the war, from this town in any of the nine and a half battalions to be raised in the State. All non-commissioned officers and soldiers were also to be supplied with two shirts, two pairs of stockings, and one pair of shoes annually. The time for which this offer held good closed in ten days following the meeting. At another meeting, held on the 2nd of May following, a bounty of £4 was offered for enlistments that should be made up to the 5th of the next January.

September 24th 1777, the town voted that the selectmen should hire some person to bring the salt that belonged to the town, which was then at Boston, to this place, where the selectmen should sell it out at cost, including expenses.

The following is "A root of the Persons who took the oath of allegiance & fremans Oath Sept. 1777:"—Capt. Abraham Brooks, Capt. Cornelius Higgins, Ens. Jeremiah Hubbard, Capt. Stephen Smith, Major Abraham Tyler, Dr. Brainerd, Joel Arnold, Hezekiah Clark, Gideon Brainerd, Joseph Cone, Deacon Cone, Capt. Samuel Hubbard, Capt. John Smith. John Willcocks, Jedediah Brainerd, Josiah Brainerd, Increase Brainerd, Samuel Brainerd, allegiance, Daniel Ventres, James Cone, Joel Hubbard, Elijah Brainerd, William Brainerd, Ebenezer Thomas. Capt. John Ventres, James Felton, Elisha Brainerd, Dudley Brainerd, John Seward, Edmund Porter, Lieut. Josiah Brainerd, Daniel Smith, Waken Brooks, Gideon Bailey, Nathaniel Tyler, Aaron Thomas, Charles Smith, Josiah Brooks, David Hubbard, William Bailey, Lieut. Phineas Brainerd, Capt. James Hazelton, Jonathan Brainerd, James Hubbard. Captain Sears, John Clark, Eber Tibbals, Thomas Shailer jr., Baz. Shailer, Lieut. James Clark, Capt. Eliakim Brainerd, Lieut. William Smith, Simon Tyler, Jonathan Smith, Lieut. James Arnold, Lieut. William Willcox, Augustus Lewis, Samuel Scovil, Abijah Brainerd, David Brainerd, Phineas Brainerd, Jr., William Smith, Stephen Bailey, Lieut. Samuel Brooks, Evan Thomas, Nehemiah Brainerd, Ens. Joseph Brooks, Deacon Ezra Brainerd, Samuel Pratt, Prosper Brainerd, Samuel Stannard, Lieut. Arnold Hazelton, Asa Shailer, Samuel Lewis, Jeptha Brainerd. "These four took the Oath of Allegiance."

On the 10th of the following December, committees were appointed by the town, to procure clothing for the soldiers in the army, and to provide for their families at home. For several years afterward, similar committees and committees of inspection were annually appointed.

On the 9th of July 1779, an alarm at Saybrook called for help from this town. Captain John Ventres, with his company, responded, and repaired to the defense of that place. Nothing serious appears to have resulted, however, and the company was retained in the service only two days. This company was then attached to Colonel Worthington's regiment. The pay roll for that expedition shows that the following wages—remarkably high, on account of a depleted currency—were paid, per day, for service: To the captain, £2 8s.; lieutenant, £1 12s.; ensign, £1 4s.; sergeants, £1 9s. 2d.; corporals, £1 7s. 3d.; privates, 10s. 6d. The company was then composed of: Captain John Ventres; Lieutenant James Arnold; Ensign Oliver Wells; Sergeants Thomas Shailer, Charles Smith, Reuben Smith, and Jonathan Smith; Corporals Samuel Arnold, Samuel Lewis, David Arnold, and Augustus Lewis; Drummer Daniel Smith, and Privates Frederick Smith, Obadiah Dickerson, Elibu Bates, James Arnold, Roger Thomas, James Merwin, David Higgins, George Kelsey, William Ely, Samuel Ray jr., Josiah Scovel, Nathan Brooks, Hawes Higgins, Jesse Brainerd, Noah Clark, Ezra Shailer, Jesse Tinker, Jeffrey Smith, John Porter, Samuel Bates, Samuel Shailer, Jethro Smith, Oliver Brainerd, James Smith, Peter Ray, David Dickerson, Jonathan Smith, Hezekiah Shailer, John Smith, Zachariah Brainerd, John Church, Abraham Tyler jr., and Daniel Ray.

In 1780, another quota of men was due for the Continental army, and June 26th a bounty of £3, and a monthly allowance of 25 shillings in addition to their wages, was offered to all volunteers who should enlist before the 5th of the following July. This additional allowance was to he paid in wheat, at five shillings a bushel. On the following day, a premium of five bushels of wheat per month was offered, in addition to wages, to every volunteer before July 50, who should represent the town in the quota of 2,500 called for from this State.

Recruits were, however, required to relinquish to the town the benefit of any grants that the General Assembly might thereafter make.

The town decided to receive taxes in provisions, and fixed the following schedule of prices: Beef, best quality, per pound, 5 pence; beef, inferior, but good, per pound, 454 pence; pork, from hogs weighing five score or less, per pound, 5 pence; pork, five to eight score, per pound, 5$ pence; pork, over eight score, per pound, 6 pence; wheat flour, per cwt., 24 shillings.

On the 18th of December, the town offered a bounty of £20 for recruits for three years or £30 for those who would enlist for the term of the war, and an additional bounty of £10 yearly and 40 shillings monthly while in the service. These bounties were to be paid either in money or provisions, and the offer held good till the 7th of February following.

Early in 1781, a quota of five men was due from the town for the defense of the State at Horse Neck. On the I7th of January, a town meeting offered a bounty of £6 and a guarantee of 40 shillings a month for men to fill this quota. Other calls followed, and March 26th the men of the town were divided into nine classes, according to their assessments. On the 2d of June, two of these classes had furnished a man each, and the town voted that they should each furnish another man, and that the seven delinquent classes should furnish two men each, to fill the town's quota under a late call of the General Assembly.

In September of this year another alarm appeared at Saybrook, and Capt. John Ventres and his company again entered the service. They were under the regimental command of Col. Tyler, and used six days—from the 7th to the 12th, inclusive—in the expedition.

February 25th 1782, the town voted to raise the six men required of it (or the defense of Horse Neck, and a committee was authorized to obtain the men at whatever price they might cost. On the 18th of March following, it was voted to raise two men from each of the nine classes in the town, to fill the quota in the Continental army. The committee on recruits, which had previously been appointed, was now instructed to look up deserters from the Continental army.

In respect to illicit trade, the town, August 8th 1782, passed the following resolutions:

"1. We will to our utmost bring to justice all who have been or may be concerned in this pernicious Traffic & use every lawful means to prevent and suppress it.

"2. To which end we will to the utmost of our power & influence strengthen the hands of all officers, civil & military in the discharge of their duty & support the full & vigorous Execution of the laws of this State.

"3. We will give every assistance to those that are vested with authority to Restrain & punish all suspicious persons traveling without proper passes or carrying British goods or other property made Siezablc by law.

"4. We will avoid as far as possible all intercourse, communication & dealings with such as have been or may be concerned in trading with the Enemy or who have been or may be justly suspected of being so concerned.

"5. We will give every support and assistance in our power to those that shall Exert themselves to detect & bring to Justice persons concerned directly or indirectly in trading with the Enemy & treat as mean false and designing Every insinuation that such Endeavors are in the least degree inconsistent with the honor of good Inhabitants of these United States or that they are not Becoming and praiseworthy.

"6. In the prosecution of these objects we will Endeavour to conform to the laws of this State being determined not to resort to force unless the circumstances of the case make it absolutely necessary."

It was resolved that these resolutions should be published in the public prints.

A quota of State soldiers was due August l0th 1782, when a committee was appointed to hire them, the number required being six men.

The town struggled hard to do its part in the great effort of the new-born nation, and when the sheriff stood ready to serve an execution upon the selectmen the town voted authority to borrow money on the credit of the town to satisfy the execution, and also "that Ens. Scovil proceed with vigour and Resolution to a Speedy collection of the arrearages of the Taxes in his hands." But the dawn of peace gave the town a chance to recuperate its exhausted energies. January 11th, 1787, a committee was appointed to look up the fire arms, tents, and all articles of camp equipage belonging to the town and deliver them into the hands of the town treasurer.

The following papers, which have been preserved since the Revolutionary period afford interesting glimpses of the customs and conditions of that time.

"Haddam may 21st 1777.

"This may Certify that l have Enlisted my Self as Soldier in the Continental army for three year under John Smith Lieut. for James Clark Junr.

"H. & SYLVANUS CLARK.
" HEZEKIAH CLARK JUR.”
"Haddam, May 26th 1777.

" this may Certify that Samer Negro hath Enlisted himself a Soldier in the continental army in behalf of aron Hubbard and Daniel Spencer Junr, in a Regiment of foot to be Commanded by William Douglass Esqur for the term of three years according to the act of the General assembly Passed in this State may 1777, Enlisted by me.

GIDEON BAILY lieut."
"Saybrook 30th June 1777.

"'Meese may Certify that the following List contains the names of Sundry Soldiers Enlisted into Coll. John Ely's Regiment before the 29th Instant and the Dates of their Enlistment.

" Jesse Brainard 16th June 1777.
"Sam'l Cone 16th
" Amos Brainerd 16th
"Jonathan Smith 16th
"Felix Auger 16th
" Beniah Wheeler l0th
" Jonathan Church loth
"Bushnell Dudley 17th
" Jeptha Brainerd 29th
"Certified pr JOHN SHIPMAN."

The following is addressed on the back "To the Clark of the County Court."

" HADDAM, August the 16th, 1777.
"A Return of Sarjt Charles Smith, Nathan Brooks & Peter Ray in the third Company in the Seventh Regiment of Militia Who Were Ordered to March pursuant to Orders Rec'd: from Maj'r Tyler the Eighth of August to the Pecks kills for the Defense of the United States of America have entirely Refused and Neglected to march for that Purpose.

"JOHN VENTRES Capt."
A regimental return of Capt. John Ventres' company dated August 30th 1777 shows the company to contain a captain, lieutenant and ensign, three sergeants, a clerk, a drummer, two corporals, and 27 privates fit for duty. There were in service a sergeant, corporal, a fifer, and fifteen privates, while five were cleared by the late act, two were at sea, and four unfit for duty. An endorsement, acknowledging the receipt of money for public service in the company, is dated October 30th 1777, and bears the signatures of John Clark, Increase Brainerd, Oliver Bailey, Samuel Ray, and Jonathan Smith.

"Haddam December the 1st 1777, pursuant to Orders from Lieut. Col. Graves to detach two Able Bodied men well armed and equip to served under Capt. John Hopson of Gifford which men are as follows viz David Dickenson and Moses Ely, which orders E have obeyed.

"JOHN VENTRES Capt."
"Pursuant to Orders Received you are hereby command to warn all the Soldiers under my Command to Appear at the usual Place of Parade on Monday the 8th Day of Instant June at five o'Clock afternoon with their Arms Complete in Order for mustering.

JOHN VENTRES Capt."
"Dated Haddam June 6th 1778."
"To Joshua Smith, Clerk
"Hereof make Return & fail not."
This hears the following endorsement:
"HADDAM June 8th 1778.

"then warning was Left at the usual place of abode of all the Soldiers under your Command.

"Left By me    JOSHUA SMITH, Clark."
"This certifies that Daniel Ray Jun'r Enlisted himself a Soldier in Behalf of the First Class in the town of Haddam to serve Six months from the Date of his enlistment.

"Certified Pr me
ABRAHAM TYLER,
"E.t Colo & muster master of  17 Regt."

"To inn Jeams Ray and Samuel Ray and Hasa Shailer and Bail Dudley and Nathan Brooks and Solomon Bates and Joseph Bates and Elihew Bates and Timothy Shailer and Jacob Miller and Andrew Southworth Jonathan Bates, Sarah Williams all of Haddam, Creating you are hearby Notified to apeair if you sec cause at the Dweling house of Capt. Arnold Hazelton on Thus- day next at three O'Clock in the afternoon to show Reasons If any you have why you should not pay your Proposonebel part for the purpus of hitting a solder in the first Class for twelve mounths to any Indiferent person to Sarve and Return.

"Haddam may 6 1782
"JOSEPH BROOKS
"ELIAKIM BRAINERD

This paper is endorsed as follows:
"Haddam May the 8th A. D. 1782.

"then Read the within Notification in the hearing of all the within Named Persons Excepting Asa Shailer, Joseph Ray, Jacob Millet, Jonathan Bates. Sarah hams, Nathan Brooks, all these Persons whose Names are mentioned haves warning left at their houses.

“PR. JOSHUA SMITH JR."
The following named persons also served in the war of the Revolution:

Christopher Bailey, died April 18th 1840, aged 84; Eliakim Bailey, died Oetober 3oth 1838, aged 8o; John Bailey, died June 1st 1815, aged 62; Jacob Bailey, killed at Stony Point, July 16th 1779, aged 32; Sergt. Reuben Bailey, died June .826, aged 72; Lieut. Gideon Bailey, died May loth 18o6, aged 54; Samuel Burr; Stephen Burr; Benanawel Bonfoey. died August 14th 1825, aged 7o; Lieut. Elijah Brainerd, died May 23d 1828, aged 72; Aaron Clark, died April 18th 1812, aged 7o; Noadiah Cone; Thomas Church; James Kelly Child, died March 2311 1839, aged 73; Thomas Child, died at the age of nearly 90; William Clark, died June 1830, aged 74; Lieut. Cornelius Higgins; Francis Lewis; John Smith, died May 8th 1834, aged 78; Joseph Scovil, died March 1st 1839, aged 82; Lieut. John Smith, died January an, aged 72; Col. Abraham Tyler, died November 12th 18o5, aged 71; Abishai Smith; Capt. John Brainerd, died 382o, aged 67.