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Pittsfield, Massachusetts - "Frequently Called Upon To Fight"

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The  British troops captured at Saratoga and their guards began arriving in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on October 24, 1777.  Lieutenant Israel Bartlett of the Massachusetts militia wrote in his diary for that day: “Marched 7 miles to Pittsfield [from Lanesborough] and halted at good quarters.” [1]  British Lieutenant Francis (Lord) Napier of the 31st Regiment of Foot noted that he marched six miles and arrived at Pittsfield that day as well, but nothing further, as had been the case with each entry since the surrender. [2]  Massachusetts militia private David How, and those who appear to have been traveling a day behind the first division caught up, as he noted: “[Oct.] 24 This morning we Set out [from New Ashford] march’d Through Lainsborough  Staid at Night at Pitsfield”. [3] It was a relatively short march, and apparently an uneventful stay.  Once again primary sources for the march of the British column offer limited information on their stopping in town, including what kind of

Lanesborough, Massachusetts - "An Obscure Town In Berkshire"

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On October 23, 1777, Lieutenant Israel Bartlett left  Williamstown  with the guards at the rear of the first division of the British column of the Convention Army, passed through New Ashford , and arrived in Lanesborough, Massachusetts, where he would spend the night. [1]  British Lieutenant Francis (Lord) Napier of the 31st Regiment of Foot recorded doing the same, noting: "October … 23rd. Lanesborough 15 M[iles]" . [2]  It was a good day's march. Both left Lanesborough the next day, Bartlett noting:  "Marched 7 miles to Pittsfield and halted at good quarters” , and Napier:  "October … 24th. Pittsfield 6 M[iles]".  [3]  More prisoners followed, some stopping, some simply passing through.  Private David How of the Massachusetts militia was one of those who passed through and continued on, noting:  “[Oct.] 24 This morning we Set out [from New Ashford] march’d Through Lainsborough  Staid at Night at Pitsfield”.  [5]  Among those who stopped was an officer of

New Ashford, Massachusetts - “March'd To New Ashford Put Up Staid At Night”

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After the surrender at Saratoga, New York, on October 17, 1777, the British column of the Convention Army marched through the southeast corner of Vermont , then into Williamstown, Massachusetts .  There, the two thousand prisoners and their guards halted to draw provisions, and then marched south on October 23rd, towards Pittsfield, Massachusetts.  Residents in Berkshire County, the westernmost part of Massachusetts, would see them pass by for several days.   British accounts of the march offer us considerably less detail than those of the Germans.  Some list only the distance marched and where they stopped; others a sentence or two at best (with the exception of Thomas Anburey , though many of his stories are not specific as to date or place, and need to be taken with a bit of caution).  What we have though provides a bit of insight on how the column was organized, and what they did.   It apparently took a few hours to get moving some mornings.  Lieutenant Israel Bartlett, part of the

West Springfield, Part II - “To Have A Look At The Prisoners”

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As mentioned in a prior post, I'm not aware of a period painting or drawing which shows the Convention Army on the march in 1777.  As a result, my descriptions of the column on the march have been based on written accounts, and pieced together from a number of sources. The arrival of several thousand soldiers in a small Massachusetts town, some accompanied by their wives and children, was bound to attract attention.  In this close-up of a painting by William Hogarth, British troops in fresh uniforms march off to suppress a rebellion in Scotland in 1745.  While Hogarth's painting pre-dates the march of the the Convention Army by several decades, it conveys the mix of curiosity, excitement and confusion that the passing of any army was likely to generate, including the Convention Army as they marched from Saratoga to Cambridge. Accounts of the German column's passage through Blandford and Westfield , to West Springfield suggest they were a hard pressed lot; wet, muddy and

West Springfield, Massachusetts - “The Roads Were Golden”

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On October 29, 1777, the German column of the Convention Army marched seven miles.  The bad weather continued; more rain, accompanied by snow and ice, but it was less windy than the day before.  The roads improved, one German officer noting they  "... were golden in comparison to the earlier ones”,  or at least  "no longer abominable” . [1]  The Berkshire mountains were now behind them.  Their march east from Westfield, Massachusetts ,  took them to West Springfield, on the west bank of the Connecticut River; flat, fertile farmland settled by Europeans over a century earlier, and occupied by Native people for countless generations before that.   When the German column stopped for the night, several noted that the people there  "... took us into their houses" , though it was “in spite of the residents aversion to receiving us” . [2]  Once again it appears likely that the Brunswick Grenadier Johann Bense was assigned quarters in a building of some sort as well, as he

A Stand Of Arms - "What Is Become Of The Cartouch Boxes"

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Lieutenant-General John Burgoyne's British and German soldiers left their camp on the morning of October 17, 1777, with orders to march "... to the verge of the river where the old fort stood, where the arms and artillery are to be left; the arms to be piled by word of command from their own officers." [1]  Following the surrender, American Colonel Jeduthan Baldwin would record in his diary that among what was captured were "5000 Stands arms" , or as Lieutenant-Colonel James Wilkinson would quote  decades later  from Major Ebenezer Steven's return: "five thousand stand of arms are taken ..."  [2]     What is a stand of arms?  The term does not appear in Thomas Simes " A Treaty on the Military Science" .   Captain George Smith's  Universal Military Dictionary  helps some, as  "Stand of Arms"  is defined as being  "a complete set of arms for one soldier."   What is meant by "arms" though is open to inter

Westfield, Massachusetts - "One Grenadier Froze To Death"

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On October 28, 1777, the two thousand German prisoners from General John Burgoyne's army who surrendered at Saratoga reached Westfield, Massachusetts.  After leaving  Great Barrington  on the 26th they had marched through  "a desolate mountain range…" , where the roads "were not only very hilly but also stony and rocky" . [1]  It had already rained for two days, and the weather was getting worse.   Brunswick Grenadier Johann Bense would record in his diary: "... again a very wretched march in rain and snow on an impossible road through Westfield...  One man from the Grenadiers froze to death.”  [2]   The march on the 28th was the most difficult day of their journey.   All day “... hail, rain, and snow succeeded one another strangely.  The wind penetrated the whole body, no matter how much stuff you had wrapped around you.  The wet clothes froze like armor on the body; one grenadier froze to death on the march; many pack-animals bade their masters a last 

Black History Month 2024 - "Stolen By The Americans Before The Revolutionary War"

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February is Black History Month.  According to the website of the National Museum of African American History and Culture , our national celebration of African-American history, culture and achievement dates back to 1926, when it began as "Negro History Week".  Carter G. Woodson, historian and founder of Black History Month, is quoted as saying: "Those who have no record of what their forebears have accomplished lose the inspiration which comes from the teaching of biography and history."   [1] The contributions of persons of color was overlooked in the telling of American history for many years.  Over time there has been a conscious effort to tell their stories, or at a minimum note their presence, such as through these bottle trees last year entitled  “Forgotten Souls of Tory Row: Remembering the Enslaved People of Brattle Street” , on the lawn of the Hooker-Lee-Nichols House in Cambridge, Massachusetts (now the home of " History Cambridge ").  Fortunate