Statewide County CT Archives Military Records.....Historical Notes Revwar Col. David Waterbury, Jr's Regiment *********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ct/ctfiles.htm *********************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com October 7, 2007, 11:43 pm Historical Notes HISTORICAL NOTES. A glance at the military and political affairs of the period, and an examination of the conflicting signs of the times will serve as a prelude to a short history of the regiment whose roster is here given. The opening of the year 1776, marked an historic era in the affairs of the new government in America, which was as yet in its formative stage. New York City, the same year, was one of the most important towns in the British possessions in North America. While rather more cosmopolitan than Boston, it was British in the main, and some time prior to the period of which we write no where else might a more cheerful loyalty have been both expected and found. But Great Britain had not been kind to the city named for the Duke of York. A colonial policy exasperating in its details, and constantly tending toward separation, had been pursued for years. The colonies had at last rebelled, and while war had not yet been declared from want of an organization as yet sufficiently a mouth-piece to announce its purposes of offense and defence, war was a fact. The shot, the firing of which had been heard round the world, was now a matter of history; the repulse of the troops of Britain at Bunker Hill, filled another page of the record, and the first day of January, now just past, had witnessed the unfurling of the tri-colored American banner, not yet spangled with stars, over the Continental army, which under the command of Washington was investing Boston. An anomalous state of affairs with regard to the government of the city as also of the Colony of New York had existed for some time, dating back to the earlier of the oppressive measures of the British Ministry. A common parentage, added to the ties of relationship, had not been a sufficient restraining cause to prevent the growth of the party of liberty, which opposed the faction that still held the commands of king and cabinet as the rule and guide for their conduct of affairs. The earliest conflicts between the authority of the king and the people had been precipitated by the quartering of soldiers in the city, followed by the Stamp Act and other annoying measures. The representatives of the new party were mostly to be found enrolled under the name of an organization known as the Sons of .Liberty. This society was more than a club. It was the embodiment of a new era. It contained in itself the incentive to free speech and equal rights. Its members were the priests that attended at the altar of Liberty, and kept alive the sacred fire that burned thereon. The city, in fact, was loyal to the king, the common people however were not in accord with petty tyranny and aristocratic assumption. The Provincial Congress was more tory than patriot, more for conciliation than for defence. Hard pressed by public opinion, very slight concessions in the line of preparation had been made. The Provincial Congress had deputized a Committee to attend to public affairs when the Congress was not in session. Loyalty and timidity developed their fruit in these revolutionary committees. As opposed to the royalists, were to be found the Committee of One Hundred, consisting of the most reputable citizens and the Sons of Liberty, these two organizations being the patriotic force of New York City. The nearest supreme power in the land was the Continental Congress, which in turn was more or less (generally less) supported by the State Provincial Congresses. These several fountains of authority were ever in conflict. Meantime the adherents of the king sowed discord and disaffection, and the crop matured and yielded an abundant harvest. The city was barren of defence. The Bay, the East River and the Hudson, were controlled by British men-of-war. Every succeeding week brought news which added to the feeling of discontent. The rumor that general orders has been issued by the .British Ministry to burn the town, if rebel troops were allowed to enter it, had prevented the calling out of the forces of the state by any of the various timid committees. That an era of devastation was really going to be inaugurated, seemed to find color in the startling news of the burning of Norfolk, Virginia. Isaac Sears had been justly considered one of the most prominent members of the Sons of Liberty. No one could have been more obnoxious to the party of the king. He had never failed upon any known occasion to thwart their plans if possible, and more recently his conduct was such that even his friends had declared it "riotous and unjustifiable." Somewhat soured by this tribute, but not in any wise cast down, he had left the city for the camp at Cambridge, where, when arrived, he labored to convince the generals of the army that New York was a "nest of tories" needing the most severe measures for their repression. His success was not very great except with General Charles Lee, who having lost favor with the British Ministry, and hence all hope of promotion, had recently espoused the cause of America. Lee was quite easily persuaded by Sears that the tories who were furnishing aid to the common enemy needed attention, and that he above all others was the person to lead a force against them. Lee then offered his advice to Washington, and suggested, that he be empowered to visit Connecticut, and there raise a regiment with which he might effect the security of New York, and, incidentally, the expulsion of the tories. After some delay the needed consent was gained, and on the 8th of January, 1776, he departed on his mission. Upon his arrival at Stamford he found a Connecticut regiment under the command of Colonel David Waterbury, Jr. on the point of embarking for Long Island, to act in concert with another regiment under Lord Sterling. The wisdom of this movement was questioned, and after an acrimonious controversy, the regiment was disbanded. Colonel Waterbury had a reputation as a tory hater second to none, and it was believed that if once invested with authority, and also with the command of a regiment to execute his will, he would precipitate an attack from the British, where no defence was yet in readiness. General Lee was greatly incensed at what he characterized as the "indecision" of Congress. He succeeded in persuading the Governor and Council of Connecticut to reassemble the regiment of Waterbury. This command doubtless had in it some remnant of those heroes, who from the first had shared the fortunes of their colonel, to which were added the later enlistments. Waterbury, when but twenty-five years of age, was a lieutenant in the militia, and three years later a captain of the train band in Stamford. During the French and Indian War, he was in active service throughout six campaigns. He was with Sir William Johnson in 1755, and was present at Abercrombie's attack on Ticonderoga in 1758. Commsssioned Lieutenant Colonel of the 9th Connecticut Regiment in 1775, a short time after he was appointed Colonel of the 5th. Four days later than the date of the last commission named, New York City, alarmed for its safety, called upon the Governor of Connecticut for a regiment. Colonel Waterbury responded, and with his regiment marched to Kings Bridge. A change in affairs making his further service unnecessary, he was ordered with his troops to the Northern Department, where in due time he embarked at Ticonderoga with General Montgomery on the Canadian expedition, and later was present at the Siege of St. John s and surrender of Montreal. The writer has been quite explicit with the details of Colonel Waterbury's service, as there is no doubt that many of the men who formed a part of his latest command, were sharers with him in all of the honors of his various campaigns. It seems quite impossible to determine whether this regiment, which is named in all of the general orders of the period as Colonel David Waterbury Jr.'s Regiment, had any designating number or not. No authority consulted by the writer leads to a positive decision, rather the contrary. There was a Colonel Waterbury, Senior, as also another fighting Waterbury, who styled himself David Waterbury 3d, the record of whose exploits add to the confusion in the various accounts. Since the five other regiments that were raised and equipped by the State at the same time Colonel Waterbury's was, and were known by the names of their commanders, it is safe to infer that it had no number. The standard of each command, by order of the State, was of a particular color, that of Waterburys being white, bearing on one side the arms of the commonwealth and upon the other in golden letters the words "An Appeal to Heaven." While irregular in clothing and equipment, there was great regularity in the patriotic feeling that resided in the hearts of the men who bore this white banner of their native state. These men were mostly substantial farmers, men of simple and rural manners, from an agricultural state where great equality of condition prevailed. Most of them were able to preside at a town meeting, and their notes of hand were worth their face in silver or golden corn, which was then reckoned its equivalent. The officers of this regiment of Connecticut men who left their homes for the defence of the principal city of a sister state, were men of culture and daring courage, neighbors and friends of the rank and file. As to the dingy regimentals with which a few of the officers and men were provided, a word is quoted in their favor from a writer of that day. "Some of these worthy soldiers assisted in their present uniforms* at the reduction of Louisburg, and their lank cheeks, and war-worn coats are viewed with more veneration by their honest countrymen than if they were glittering nabobs from India." Each man generally provided his own weapon which varied in style as the taste of its possessor. The heavy rifle of the backwoodsman and the heavier gun of the duck hunter predominating. *Scarlet coats and trousers, with a triangular laced hat. Let us now turn for a moment to the dingy pages of the orderly book of this regiment, which half bound in deer skin, cut perhaps from the hunting shirt of one of these warriors, still remains, a silent witness of their deeds, and see what may be gleaned with regard to the progress of the enlistment, and such items bearing upon their march to New York as may be there recorded. The call seems to have been promulgated on or about the 15th day of January, 1776, and on that day many men responded, as the 15th is set opposite their names on the roll. There is no recorded date later than the 28th, though it is evident that names were added after the regiment started on its march. Colonel Waterbury was in New York when the call was issued, he and the ever busy Sears having been engaged in an attempt to interest the Committee of Safety in a scheme for the nucleus of a navy. Waterbury remained in New York for a short time, while Sears hastened to Stamford, where shortly after his arrival he was appointed by General Lee as Deputy Adjutant General, and under that, to him pleasing title the first "General Order" in the book is signed. Waterbury joined his regiment on the 27th of January. Under date of January 29th, Colonel Waterbury is directed to move to Horse Neck, Rye and Mamaroneck, these three places marking the first three stages of the journey of the regiment citywards. By February 1st, the troops had arrived at King's Bridge, and a general order is in evidence bearing that place and date at its head, the parole being Wooster, the countersign Arnold. This order "directs the regiment to march to the Upper Barracks in New York, and when there, it must strictly be seen too that the Men are not allowed to be Squandering about the Town in small parties." On the 4th of February, the regiment received their first rations, and the guard for the camp was organized. Then follows a list of some suspicious persons who were caught up by the ever zealous Lee, Sears, Waterbury Trio on their way to town, along with the names of some city tories that were placed in their hands for safe keeping. John Graham, for instance, is set down as Suspision of a Tory," Wm. Lounsbury, "Suspision of Spikin a cannon," Patrick Cronin "Tory," Canshe Hunt, "Susspision of Carring a Letter board Asia " (Man of War) etc., etc. The Upper Barracks to which reference is made, were a relic of the French and Indian War, so named, to distinguish them from the Lower Barracks which were located near the present Battery Park. The Upper Barracks were a collection of low structures built of logs, stretching along the upper end of the Common, as the City Hall Park was then known, and reaching from Broadway street to Tryon Row, (now Centre) on a line with the present Chambers Street. The panic occasioned by the approach of the troops under command of General Lee, has probably never been equaled in the annals of the town. The crisis was supposed to have arrived, and that the streets would soon run red with blood was a foregone conclusion. An attack from the British fleet it was apprehended might occur at any moment. Acting on the impulse that this new fear gave them, the citizens fled with wives and children. Every conveyance however humble was employed in transporting valuables to a place of safety. The weather was unusually severe, which added greatly to the general distress. The rich knew not where to go, and the poor, thrown upon the charity of the neighboring towns, suffered terribly. The Committee of Safety which had heretofore been reviled beyond measure for their slowness in preparing for the defence of the city, now seemed to wake from their slumbers, and through their vigorous efforts confidence was restored. They may also be credited with those diplomatic measures by which a bombardment of the city by the fleet was averted. An occasional exchange of compliments between the "Honorable" Committee, and the no less "Honorable" Captain of the Fleet, accompanied with a barrel of rum or cask of choice wine from the Honorable Committee, under a flag of truce, served as an effectual stay of proceedings. General Lee was shortly afterward superseded by Lord Sterling, who in turn gave way to General Putnam, who assumed command of the city as also of the troops which now began rapidly to arrive from neighboring states, aided by the New York Regiments summoned by Washington. The army assisted by the citizens, now commenced in earnest to place the city in shape for a vigorous defence. A line of fortifications reaching across the city on the line of Spring Street, was rapidly built; minor batteries capping every prominence commanding either the East or Hudson rivers. Saw logs were brought up from the lumber yards at the river sides, with which barricades were erected at the corners of prominent streets. Our Connecticut regiment meantime, concerned themselves more particularly with the construction of a formidable work located on a hill, the site of which is marked by the present Catherine Market. When completed, this work was called Waterbury's Battery, and here the regiment bivouacked until, called, away to take an honorable part in many deadly encounters, the glorious record of which, is written, in the history of the American Revolution. A list of some of the authorities consulted, as also quoted from in many instances. Amer, Hist. Rec., American Archives, Barber's Conn., Barber's N. Y., Booth's N, Y., Bancroft's U. S., Conn, in the Rev., Conn. Records, Dawson's City Hall Park, Diary of the Rev., Dawson s Battle of U. S., Doc. Hist, of N. Y., Graydon's Memoirs, Hadden's Journal, Humphrey's Putnam, Hollister's Conn., Huntington's Stamford, Irving's Washington, Johnson's Campaigns of 1776, Lamb's Journal, Lamb's N. Y., Lossing's Field Book of Rev., Memorial Hist. of N. Y., Morse's Rev., Mag Amer. Hist., Spark's Correspondence, Stone's N. Y. Thacher s Mil. Jour. Additional Comments: Extracted from: A COMPLETE ROSTER OF Colonel David Waterbury Jr.'s Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers. THE FIRST REGIMENT OF INFANTRY RESPONDING TO A CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS FOR THE DEFENCE OF NEW YORK CITY AGAINST THE BRITISH IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. Now for the first time printed from manuscript records in the possession of the publisher, with notes, compiled from authentic historical sources, By A. H. CLARK. 1897. A. S. CLARK, 174 Fulton Street, (opposite St. Paul s), New York City. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1897, by A. S. CLARK, in the office of the Librarian of Congress. All Rights Reserved. File at -- http://files.usgwarchives.net/ct/statewide/military/revwar/other/ucoldavid53gmt.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ctfiles/ File size: 17.1 Kb