Pension: Darius Wiard, Revolutionary War; Cherry Creek, Chautauqua Co., NY Copyright(c) 2002 by Diane Delbridge (dlddvm@ix.netcom.com) ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb *********************************************************************** **Darius Wiard (1761-1840's) served from CT, pensioned while living in NY From his Rev War pension file #S28946: he served as a private in the company of Capt Granger and regiment of Col. Canfield, and was allowed a pension of $50 per year starting 4 Mar 1831. On the [blank] day of Feb, 1834, he made the following declaration in order to obtain a pension under the act of 7 June 1832: That he was then a resident of the town of Cherry Creek in the County of Chautauqua and State of New York, and that he was aged 70 years the 12th day of June last. That in April 1780 he was drafted from the militia in Wolcott, CT for three months to fill up Col. Beebe's regiment of enlisted troops which was then at Horse Neck, CT and which was then deficient of enlisted men. That he resided at that time in Wolcott and was ordered to rendezvous at Farmington, CT and marched on there immediately where he was [gathered] with the drafted men and ordered to march to Litchfield, CT under Capt Curtis whose christian name he believes was Peter, with provision waggons furnished for the men by the officers, and at Litchfield met all the drafted men from different parts of CT. They thence marched in a body through Danbury, CT to Horse Neck where they joined Col Beebe's said regiment and entered immediately upon their duty of patroling, scouting, and keeping guard and watching the Tories until the expiration of the 3 months for which he was drafted, when he was given a written discharge by Col. Beebe sometime in the month of July 1780, and went home to Wolcott. That he was drafted a second time in Wolcott on the first day fo September 1781, to go to guard the coast at New Haven, CT and from thence to Milford on Long Island Sound. That every drafted man was ordered to repair immediately to New Haven as the place of rendezvous and this declarant immediately marched there and was there mustered with two or three hundred men. He believes the officers were Major Seymour, Ensign Justus Peck, and Sergt. Coe. His duty for the whole two months was as guard and scouting and as sentry watching & observing the movements of the Tories who were constantly going over to the British then on Long Island, holding communications with them & trading in Continental money, and that he was called out on the last day of October 1781, and dismissed honorably at New Haven by the commanding officer whose name he cannot recall, and that he went immediately home to Wolcott. That in March 1782 his step-father, Abel Collins, enlisted in Wolcott where he then resided, into Col. Canfield's regiment of CT troops into Capt. Granger's company, for the term of one year, but as his said step-father found it inconvenient to leave home & his family at that time, this declarant took his place as his substitute and repaired immediately to Farmington, CT where he mustered with others and marched directly to Litchfield to rendezvous. From thence he marched under Lieut. Wilson through Danbury and Norwalk, CT to Stamford, CT where they joined the main body under Col. Canfield with our baggage and provision waggons. On arriving at Stamford we entered immediately upon duty which was then chiefly keeping guard, scouting, watching and observing the Tories, until after 3 or 4 weeks when we began the building of a fort, barricades, store house and log and framed buildings and building a redoubt at each corner of the fort for cannon, which, however, none were ever mounted. This fort was called Fort Nonsense. He with his fellow soldiers continued in such duty until about the middle of February 1783 when he was seized with a pain in his breast and side and raising of blood occasioned by his working upon said fort and lifting heavy timbers, and after remaining unwell and unfit for any kind of duty for about two weeks, running down and inclining to consumption, Col. Canfield gave him a furlough to go home and remain there till he recovered his health, and that he accordingly went home, a distance of 69 miles, in 8 days, without a cent of money and was immediately taken quite sick & remained very low until the following December when he began to recover, long before which time his term of substituted enlistment had expired. He further states that all his services were as a private soldier for CT and that he has no documentary evidence of his said service, nor the discharge or furlough papers, and that he knows of no person living whose testimony he can procure who can testify to his said service except his brother John Wiard. He also knows of no clergyman residing either in the town of Cherry Creek or in said county of Chautauqua with whom he is acquainted or to whom this declarant is at all known in any manner. And to interrogatories propounded to this declarant by the said Judge, he further states that he was born in Bristol, CT on 12 June 1763 but has no record of his age, that he was living in Wolcott, CT when he was called to service and he continued to reside there for some years after the close of the war and then moved from there to Camden, Oneida Co, NY where he resided for 20 or 25 years and then removed to Cherry Creek where he now resides and has so resided for more than four years last past.