Lynn in the Revolution
Chapter VI.
Lynn Men Under
Captain Newhall and Captain King
- The Siege of Boston

A Very Special Thanks To The Lynn Public Library For The Use Of This Important Resource.

Transcribed by Shaun Cook
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WHEN Colonel Mansfield left his regiment and returned to his home in Lynn, the command fell upon Lieutenant-Colonel Israel Hutchinson, of Danvers, who as captain had served through three campaigns, and who had been recommended by Timothy Pickering, Jr., to the Committee of Safety as a man suitable and well qualified to take second command in the regiment forming in Salem and vicinity. Our Lynn men, then, in the company of Captain Ezra Newhall, Still remained in the neighborhood of the gathering army at Cambridge. They had perhaps been present when Washington arrived to take command, and had heard the shouts of the multitude and the thundering of the artillery which announced his coming. Doubtless they had watched him as he rode through the camp in the midst of his officers, and had felt the thrill of admiration which his commanding presence awakened in all who saw him for the first time. There during that first summer and autumn, inactive though they were for the most part, they came in contact with some of the men whose names were to become great in the annals of their country. Closely associated with Washington, they constantly saw his officers, Greene, Sullivan, Stark, Arnold, Knox, Heath, Thomas, Ward, Wooster, and Putnam, New England men who became
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leaders in the army. Besides these there was Daniel Morgan, of Virginia, whose exciting career has been compared with that of Stark, of New Hampshire. The men of Lynn were also, perhaps, brought under the spell which the traitorous Charles Lee seemed to weave about the soldiers at the beginning, for he was often seen in the encampments with his dogs, and, fascinating because of his eccentricities and his experience in foreign warfare, was the subject of much speculation and talk in the camp. Horatio Gates, too, was there, not yet entered upon the career which was to add so greatly to the worry and care of the great Commander-in-Chief.
Benedict Arnold, made colonel that summer, began in September his brave and perilous expedition to Quebec, with the object of forming a junction with Schuyler and Montgomery, and of winning for the American cause the sympathy and help of the Canadians. It was an expedition which suited his impetuous, adventurous spirit, and how bravely he carried it through and how nearly successful was the attempt to capture Quebec, the great stronghold of the North, is a matter of history. It was on the fourteenth of September that this brave and enthusiastic band passed through Lynn on its way to Newburyport, the point of embarkation for the Kennebec, whence they were to proceed through the northern wilderness. Those living on old Boston Street at that time were treated to a rare and interesting spectacle, for it has been truly said that the flower of the colonial youth was in the detachment which marched over the County Road. Every man was a volunteer, and had enlisted eagerly in the enterprise. Arnold himself, detained by Washington in Cambridge until the next day, was not
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at the head of the column, as might have been expected, but Lieutenant-Colonel Roger Enos, of Vermont, and Major Jonathan Meigs led one battalion, while Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Greene and Major Timothy Bigelow commanded the other. Morgan was there, and several young captains, who in spite of their youth had seen some service, marched with their companies, as did also a few commissioned volunteers, mere striplings, among whom was Aaron Burr, then only nineteen years of age. Some eleven hundred men in all, they passed through the town, and camped that night at Beverly, Danvers, and Salem. We look in vain for the names of Lynn men among their rolls, and must conclude that Captain Newhall's company, with possibly that of Daniel Galeucia and the seacoast guards, contained all of the Lynn men then in service for America.
Soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, it was thought advisable to guard the seacoast of Essex County, inasmuch as it was feared that the British might devastate it. Accordingly, a resolve was passed by the Provincial Congress on the twenty-eighth of June, providing that the companies be immediately raised in such manner and proportions as should be agreed upon by a joint committee to be appointed by Congress, consisting of one member from each of the towns of Lynn, Manchester, Gloucester, Marblehead, Salem, Beverly, Ipswich, Newbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury. Mr. Edward Johnson was appointed the member of the committee from Lynn, and, the companies being duly organized, one was stationed at Salem and Lynn, and placed in command of Captain Samuel King, of Salem. This company continued in service for six months, or until the war moved
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southward. In the roll of the company there are some twenty-five names which belong with little doubt to men from Lynn .
     The story is told of one alarm which reached the town during the time when this company was on guard, which threw the inhabitants into the greatest excitement, and well illustrates the need which was felt of continuous defence. Although Mr. Lewis, in relating this incident, places it in the year 1776, it is probable that it occurred in the summer of 1775, since Mr. Hallowell in his journal mentions it as taking place during the six months that he was guarding the seacoast and before he had joined the Continental Army. The story, as told by Mr. Lewis, is interesting, and seems well worth repeating. Told in his own words, it is as follows: -

     "An alarm was made at midnight, that some of the English troops had landed on King's beach. In a short time the town was all in commotion. Many persons left their houses and fled to the woods. Some families threw their plate into the wells, and several sick persons were removed. Some self-possession, however, was manifested. Mr. Frederick Breed, for his exertions in rallying the soldiers and marching them to Woodend, where he found the alarm to be false, received a commission in the army, and afterward rose to the rank of colonel."

     Judge James R. Newhall adds this to the story: -

     "There was a tavern kept in the old house now standing on Federal street, corner of Marion, by Increase Newhall. It was an alarm station; that is, a place to which, when an alarm occurred, the enrolled men in the district instantly repaired for duty. At this King's beach alarm, it is said that the officer whose duty it was to take command, did not appear, and after the soldiers returned, all safe, he
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emerged from the oven, in which, panic-stricken, he had concealeo himself."

     Mr. Hallowell, referring to his connection with the affair, says: -

     "Myself and many others, under the command of Fredk. Breed all under arms, set off to meet them But proved a false report and said Breed was so active got recommended and was commissioned as 2nd Lieut. and was in the campaign of 1776."

     The roll of Captain King's men is as follows: -

     "Captain Samuel King's company, stationed at Salem and Lynn for defence of seacoast from July 11, 1775 to June 1776, 6 months, five days.

"Samuel King, Captain
Harris Chadwell, Lieut. 1st.
Edward Johnson, 2nd. Lieut.
John Worden, Sergt.
Daniel Cheever, Sergt.
Henry Roby, Sergt.
John Burrill, Sergt.
Benj. Cox, Jr. Corporal
Nathl. Knight, Corporal
Ralph Lindsey, Corporal
Wm. Johnson, Corporal
Wm. Mansfield, Fifer
Nicholas Lampress, Drummer
Benj. Cook, Jr.
John Meek
John Horton
Benj. Larrabee
George West, Jr.
Joshua Pierce
David Garrett, Jr.
Jos. Mackintire
Jona. Felt
Thos. Chittenden
John Farrington
Henry Hallowell
John Hunt
Samuel Hallowell
Henry Lankaster
Samuel Mansfield
Ralph Merry
Solomon Newhall
Nathaniel Newhall
Daniel A. B. Newhall
Robert Felt
Richard Pappoon
Marstin Parrott
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Meantime the main body, with its line of encampments surrounding Boston, was being strengthened as much as possible by Washington, who was not able as yet, to do more than keep the British imprisoned in the town. He had men enough, perhaps, to make an attack, but the woeful lack of arms and powder, and, as winter came on, of even clothing, were wants which it seemed absolutely necessary to supply before he could hope to accomplish much with his undisciplined and sometimes unruly troops. The lack of powder even his own troops scarcely realized, and Congress, with its as yet limited powers, seemed helpless to supply what he so insistently urged. Thus the summer wore on. October found General Gage recalled to England and General Howe in command at Boston. Washington with his little navy would have gladly imprisoned the British ships in the harbor, as Josiah Quincy wished him to do, if some one could have furnished him with the cannon and powder, but he was obliged to wait. The end of the year saw many of the enlistments run out. Indeed, the Rhode Island and Connecticut troops refused to prolong theirs, and, but for the prompt coming forward of men from New Hampshire and Massachusetts to make up the loss, the army must have been greatly weakened.
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At this time, too, it seemed necessary that many of the men be allowed to go home on furlough in order that they might make arrangements for their families during the winter. The Lynn company on the first of January, 1776, almost to a man, re-enlisted in Captain Newhall's company, now under Colonel Israel Hutchinson. Our men had occupied successively positions on Winter Hill, Powder Hill, Prospect Hill, and now, with the left wing of the army pushed forward to Cobble Hill in Somerville, they were watching the enemy at close range. Within a short time, the cannon and munitions of war, which had been captured by Allen and Arnold at Ticonderoga in the summer, arrived at Cambridge, brought in by General Knox, who had been sent for them, and, though small arms were still greatly needed, the train of fifty large pieces which came in greatly encouraged the army. The situation of the enemy in Boston, reduced to actual suffering through lack of provisions, besides being menaced by the dread small-pox which had broken out in the town, made it appear that the prudent ones were right in their opinion that eventually the British would be obliged to evacuate Boston, without its being necessary to either attack the town or destroy it, as Congress had authorized Washington to do, if necessary. On the first of March, to the joy of all, powder arrived, and, three days later Washington began his bombardment. The Lynn company had by this time been stationed at Roxbury under General Thomas, and was with him when he quietly moved forward under cover of Washington's bombardment toward Dorchester Heights. There on the night of the fourth and fifth of March, 1776, with spades and crowbars, with timbers and bales of hay,
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they helped to throw up the fortifications which met the eyes of General Howe on the morning of the fifth. Both the armies then laid their plans for battle, but no battle was needed. A long storm hindered the movements of the British, while the Americans worked on strengthening their defences. The light of another day showed to the British commander a position too strong for him to attack, and there only remained for him-evacuation. On the morning of the seventeenth all preliminaries had been made, and by nine o'clock the last of his boats had sailed out of the harbor. Ten days they lay in Nantasket Roads, and then set sail for Halifax.
Captain Newhall's company continued in the service to the end of this siege, which is set down in our histories as the Siege of Boston.
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