And sometimes, the paper trail ends without any conclusive findings. The British soon tested the Continental Armys newfound discipline at the Battle of Monmouth, which took place in central New Jersey on June 28, 1778. [10] Field and staff rolls 1775-1780, Muster/Payrolls and Various Papers (1763-1808) of the Revolutionary War, Vol. Who were his parents? Hb``$WR~|@T#2S/`M. 1, Image 114, via FamilySearch.org. NARA M246, page 150, via Fold3.com. His bounty payments would not have hit their full value so soon after his first discharge. Rather than wait for deliverance, the army located supplies, built log cabins to stay in, constructed makeshift clothing and gear, and cooked subsistence meals of their own concoction. WebThe muster rolls from the War of 1812 are a miscellaneous group of nine companies (mostly from East Tennessee) that served as volunteers or militia during the war. Mifflins Division|2nd Pennsylvania Brigade| 5th Pennsylvania Regiment. WebFour muster masters were appointed to carry out the intent of the Provincial Congress. If Freeman served earlier in the war as Fortune Conant, he would have already been familiar with the New York terrain, and in the intervening months between his possible first discharge and his reenlistment, not much had changed. The Black private joined thousands of other veterans in a post-war exodus from their home states. WebLoyalist Muster Rolls During the American Revolution, muster rolls were prepared by the commanding officer of each company of a regiment for the express purpose of paying the officers and soldiers. Part one of this story follows Conant's paper trail and examines how it aligns with Fortune Freeman's own testimony. S 43,572, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files. [19] Nixon's men comprised part of the main body of Gates' men during the September 19 Battle of Freeman's Farm and continued the campaign through the next month. Mary Stockwell, Ph.D. Notes: 1. Throughout his pension testimony, Freeman only names one company captain that he served under Captain Danforth. Hull fought in the Battle of Cowpens, the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, the Siege of Ninety-Six, and the Battle of Eutaw Springs. [28] An Account of Clothing Delivered Lt. [11] Fortune is, however, included in a genealogical history of the Conant family, but the only information included says that he lived in Billerica and served three years in the Continental Army. From there, Freeman did not mention any specific event until 1780, but muster rolls document Conant's presence in 1779. endstream endobj 5 0 obj <> endobj 6 0 obj <> endobj 3 0 obj <> endobj 7 0 obj <> endobj 11 0 obj <>/ExtGState<>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageC/ImageI]/XObject<>>>/Type/Page>> endobj 12 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]>>/Type/Page>> endobj 13 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]>>/Type/Page>> endobj 14 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]>>/Type/Page>> endobj 15 0 obj <>/Font<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text]>>/Type/Page>> endobj 36 0 obj <>stream Ask someone to think of Valley Forgeand they will nearly always envision an anonymous group of soldiers struggling against winters fury and clothed in nothing but rags. 8.25 0 0 8.25 18 744.75 Tm People often picture the Continental Army of 1777 as a ragtag bunch of inexperienced fighters, but Washingtons men fought with skill and were often on the offensive while campaigning against superior numbers of professional soldiers. ", Born sometime between 1747 and 1760,[9] Fortune Freeman lived in Massachusetts until at least the start of the American Revolution. Washington's Officers at Valley Forge. Samuel Carhart's men, Monmouth County, 1780 and 1781 388 9-months men, Monmouth County 1778; Col. Forman's return, Fourth Regiment [no date]; and 9 The American Battlefield Trust is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. One of the most famous units was the1st Rhode Island Regiment. ). S 43,572, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files. The 15th Virginia Regiment was raised on December 28, 1775 in eastern, Virginia for service with the Continental Army. However, no records indicate that a Fortune with the surname "Freeman" ever served under Danforth. You can browse these by regiment. For those covering the date of the Battle of Waterloo you can also search by an individuals name. From 1816 to 1856, the musters are principally of the Royal Corps of Sappers and Miners, and list only NCOs and other ranks. The two merged in 1856, as the Royal Engineers E Troop, 7th Cavalry Regiment, Muster Roll. 69, Image 144, via FamilySearch.org. Taking up positions along Brandywine Creek, Washington mistakenly believed that his army blocked all fords across the Brandywine. In his pension, Freeman stated his discharge in 1780, which lines up with Conant's discharge. Army records and eyewitness accounts speak of a skilled and capable force in charge of its own destiny. In Fortune Freeman's testimony about his Revolutionary war service, he remembered enlisting under a Captain Elijah Danforth in 1776. Militia, United States -- History Revolution, NARA M804. In the spring of 1818, an old man named Fortune Freeman appeared before the Mayor's Court of New York City. The Continental Army lost the battle and retreated, leaving Philadelphia in English hands, though most of Washington's troops survived. He had served in Greenes third line of defense with the 2nd Maryland Regiment. The encampment brought together men, women, and children of nearly all ages, from all walks of life, from different ethnic backgrounds, and from various religions. Stay up-to-date on the American Battlefield Trust's battlefield preservation efforts, travel tips, upcoming events, history content and more. Joseph Marsh's Company, 1794 387 Capt. By mid-December he had decided to encamp at Valley Forge. But the stories of these men are important to tell when we look back at our nations founding to see who served in the war that secured the independence of the United States. [34], In 1781, Washington ordered the formation of a light infantry regiment commanded by Scammell, "with a view of having a Corps ready to execute a project of the kind which I shall propose to you, which is to endeavour [sic] to strike, by surprise, [enemies establishing themselves at or near Fort Lee]. The army compensated full-time women followers for rendering such valuable services as laundering and nursing. Perhaps in his old age, he believed he fought alongside those men, or maybe he embellished his service in the hopes of his pension application being accepted. The integrated army in the Revolutionwasthe last integrated American army until the Korean Warnearly175 years later in 1950. Join us online July 24-26! 2 (1988): 13958. WebThe fighting see-sawed back and forth under the brutal June sun for several hours. "Politics and Public Culture: The Revolutionary War Pension Act of 1818." On one copy of a muster roll from April, Conant is listed as "on command on the lines. For the British, they were prepared about once every 182 days. However, when looking through muster rolls, there is no record of a "Fortune Freeman" enlisting in 1776 in Danforths company. [33] Appointed Adjutant General of the Continental Army by General George Washington in January 1778, Scammell held that position until he requested permission to resign his post and resume command of a regiment in November 1780. Contributed by Anjelica Oswald, Digital Public History Intern. On June 28, at the Battle of Monmouth, N.J., Washingtons men demonstrated their improved battle prowess when they forced the British from the field. Colonel Company Peekskill, Muster/payrolls, and various papers (1763-1808) of the Revolutionary War, Vol. 18 756 576 -39.75 re x- [ 0}y)7ta>jT7@t`q2&6ZL?_yxg)zLU*uSkSeO4?c. R -25 S>Vd`rn~Y&+`;A4 A9 =-tl`;~p Gp| [`L` "AYA+Cb(R, *T2B- John P. Resch. Stay up-to-date on our FREE educational resources & professional development opportunities, all designed to support your work teaching American history. There were Blacks servingin the reconstituted 1st and 2nd Virginia units that fought with General Nathanael Greene at the Battle of Guilford Court House. Fortune Freeman recalled that he participated in the September 11, 1777 Battle of Brandywine, where he claimed to have been "wounded in the thigh by a musket ball. Show your pride in battlefield preservation by shopping in our store. [20] Henry B. Carrington, MA, LLD, Battles of the American Revolution 1775-1781. The final event Freeman explicitly mentioned in his pension application is the capture of Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis and his army, after the Siege of Yorktown, which lasted three weeks. At the Battle of Saratoga, Continental forces succeeded in forcing British Lieutenant General John Burgoyne's surrender in a dramatic victory for the cause of American independence. [43] "New York (State). Not only were they serving in units from the northern colonies, but 58 African Americans had mustered into the North Carolina Line. APPENDIX 1 5 for the period Nov. 1779 through Feb. 1780 with the notation, Discharged Jan[uary] 19, 1780. 30 As wintry weather approached, armies often withdrew to fixed camps. The six Oneida soldiersthat died that day in the action of Barren Hill are buried in a single plot in Saint Peter Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, named in honor of the French general in command of American forces that day, the Marquis de Lafayette. Baltimore, Maryland: Lord Baltimore Press, Maryland Historical Society. The Valley Forge Muster Roll for December 1777 to June 1778 indicated that 20 to 30 members of Sheldons Regiment were still at Valley Forge at that time, Promises of freedom motivated thousands of enslaved African Americans to join Continental and British forces. While the soldiers who entered camp on December 19, 1777, were not well-supplied, they were not downtrodden. WebDuring the battle of Monmouth on 28 June 1778, it was part of the Main Armys Right Wing, commanded by Major General Nathanael Greene, and in the 1st Maryland Brigade, 68, Image 673, via FamilySearch.org. Capt. Provisions, though never abundant in the early months of the encampment, were available. It is possible that Fortune Conant, a young man who enlisted either enslaved or perhaps recently freed, later changed his name. This Henry Allen Hazen, "History of Billerica, Massachusetts, with a Genealogical register. When word arrived that General John Burgoyne and his men began to march into New York from Canada, Nixon's regiment received orders to support General Horatio Gates and the Northern Department, serving the area of New York north of New York City. Under the command of General George Washington and many other generals, the integrated army that served in the Revolution was a unique fighting force that catalyzed the formation of the Republic. %PDF-1.6 % [12] Henry Allen Hazen, History of Billerica, Massachusetts, with a Genealogical register (Boston: A Williams & Co, 1887), 25. At some point, probably in 1778, Carr was promoted to lieutenant. And that I have no other means of obtaining a subsistence, except the pension allowed by Congress, and do actually need the assistance of my country to prevent my being dependent on charity.[40]. On June 17, 1775, as British redcoats marched up the heights of Bunker Hill outside of Boston, Massachusetts,they were met with a hail of musketry from the defenders of the earthen redoubt. Peter Salem was a freed slave from Massachusetts who is known for mortally wounding British Major John Pitcairn during the fighting at Bunker Hill. His paper trail then goes blank until 1783. The 1st Continental Artillery Regiment, raised in Virginia and commanded by Col. Charles Harrison, had marched from New York in April 1780 to the support of Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, whose force was under siege at Charleston, South Carolina. John Ward Dean, A.M. (Boston: New England Historic and Genealogical Society, 1896), 474. The American Revolution's success was hard-fought by a diverse group of people. Even in Washingtons home ofVirginia, Blacksoldiers fought in Virginia units. Von Steubens hands-on training program helped the army become a more proficient marching machine. Was he enslaved by the family? WebWith the return of the Continental army to the outskirts of New York City following the Battle of Monmouth Court House in June, muster rolls of the army were taken in White However, there is no record of Nixon's regiment at the Battle of Monmouth. uuid:3d7d0c57-d1b8-4aa6-b03e-56b0d8f90c70 [26] Muster roll of Lieut. Paintings courtesy of Don Troiani,www.historicalimagebank.com. WebThe muster rolls record the name, rank, military station and pay period of each soldier while they were with the regiment. ET (*(%8H8c- fd9@6_IjH9(3=DR1%? There were enough kids to make TWO companies! The only definitive information about Freemans post-war life is that he resided in New York City by 1818. Valley Forge was not the darkest hour of the Revolutionary War; it was a place where an already accomplished group of professionals stood their ground, honed their craft, and thwarted one of the major British offensives of the war. 2011-05-16T09:36:31-04:00 Although "sadly in want of clothing" the brigade participated in the battle of Monmouth. [3] Wells was a surgeon in the Continental Army and after his service in the Revolution, he paid his enlistment bounty to his former master and lived the rest of his life as a free man in Lebanon, Connecticut. manuscript copy of a declaration of the Deputies of the Shrewsbury Association as submitted to the County Committee for Monmouth, May 15, 1775; muster rolls, court martial records, and other military documents from the Revolution and Early National period; Monmouth County sheriffs records, 1787-1831, retained by Daniel [39]"About 4,000 (22 percent) of the beneficiaries under the 1818 act chose not to submit to a means test. Aaron Longstreet's roll, 2 October 1776 310 Muster roll of Major Van Cortland's Company, 6 September 1779 317 Payroll of Capt. He was the only officer, orginally Previous engagements: Defense of Canada, Lake Champlain, Northern New Jersey, Defense of Philadelphia, Philadelphia-Monmouth. It is very likely Fortune Conant collected a bounty of 24 from Billerica, 20 from Massachusetts, and 20 dollars from the Continental Congress as bounty payments when someone finally convinced him to enlist.[17]. Retrieved 29 May 2006. Acrobat Web Capture 9.0 Though we do not know Freeman's exact journey, he claimed to have fought next in the June 1778 Battle of Monmouth in New Jersey. One of the most notable contributions came from the Oneida, who sent aid and a contingent of warriors to Valley Forge. The Fortune Freeman who enlisted in the 4th Massachusetts and is discharged from the 4th Massachusetts, enlisted in March 1781 in Hingham, Massachusetts. American Revolution: Battle of Monmouth. For the British, General Sir Henry Clinton commanded 11,000 men under the leadership of Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis. The weather was extremely hot during the battle, and almost as many soldiers died from heatstroke as from battle. The records were acquired from the Massachusetts State Archives in Boston. Furthermore, Danforth served on a committee chosen by the town of Billerica to call on "persons to inlist [sic] into the Continental service. Webthe muster rolls in E 101; protections for war service and appointment of attorneys in the Treaty Rolls in C 76; the Gascon Rolls in C 61 (for intended military service in Gascony) the Scotch Rolls in C 71, (for intended military service in Scotland) 9. Some enslaved men found freedom in fighting. Phill Greenwalt is co-founder of Emerging Revolutionary War and is also a full-time contributor to Emerging Civil War. He provided a sparse list of apparel described in the record as "all old and nearly worn out. Though Freeman reveals nothing of his pre-war life in his pension record, Fortune Conant is credited to Billerica, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, for the purpose of the town meeting their recruitment quota for the war effort. In choosing a site for quarters, Washington had to balance the Continental Congresss wish for some type of winter campaign aimed at dislodging the British from the capital against the needs of his weary and poorly supplied army. By providing evidence of his need, Freeman continued to receive his pension. Following this amendment, Freeman reapplied. Cuffee Wells is just one example. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Brandywine, Battle of Germantown, Battle of Monmouth and the Siege of Charleston. [25] Following this attack, Nixon's regiment retreated to the "Highlands" in New Jersey on June 12, and Conant is still listed on pay rolls and clothing receipts through September. )U!$5X3/9 ($5j%V*'&*r" (,!!0b;C2( I8/ General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. In addition to the bonds not maturing, the Continental currency continued to devalue over the course of the war. Archive.org. With no other information provided, Mary's terms of service are unknown, and it is unclear what happened to her later in life. It is also entirely possible that Freeman felt that mentioning an injury would help his case for a pension, or someone encouraged him to embellish his story. Military Officers Recorded in the Office of the Secretary of State, Might this be the same Fortune Freeman who later reenlisted, and eventually filed for a pension? Aged and infirm, he could no longer work and support himself. nQt}MA0alSx k&^>0|>_',G! An advanced force of some 4,000 American troops was allocated to attack the marching British Army and cut it in half. Frederick Odell Conant, A history and genealogy of the Conant family in England and America, thirteen generations, 1520-1887: containing also some genealogical notes on the Connet, Connett and Connit families (Portland, ME: 1887), 557. [36] "Alexander Scammell," The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire, https://www.socnh.org/alexander-scammell/. "F$H:R!zFQd?r9\A&GrQhE]a4zBgE#H *B=0HIpp0MxJ$D1D, VKYdE"EI2EBGt4MzNr!YK ?%_&#(0J:EAiQ(()WT6U@P+!~mDe!hh/']B/?a0nhF!X8kc&5S6lIa2cKMA!E#dV(kel }}Cq9 If Freeman declared or received his freedom during the war, he most likely did not have a home of his own to return to. Journal of the Early Republic 8, no. [12] Though no definitive connection could be found between this William and Fortune, it does put the Conant family in the region at the time when Fortune joined the war. Old, destitute, and with little else to rely upon, Freeman sought financial assistance from the country he served for nearly six long years. Muster Roll of Captain Charles S. Ilsleys Troop E of the Seventh Regiment of Cavalry, Army of the United States, (Colonel James W. Forsyth,) from the 31st day of October, 1890 to the 31st day of December, 1890.
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