Independence Day-One Day for Us, A Changed Life for Others

From the state papers of New Hampshire, Revolutionary War Records: "Abijah Perry five months at the Tie in 1776 personal"

In honor of Independence Day, I'm going to write a little about my sixth great grandfather, Abijah Perry and his involvement in the Revolutionary War.  I posted previously about Sarah Mariah Perry who was alive during the Civil War, but far removed from the action.  Abijah, her great, great grandfather, did not wholly escape the war of his time.

Abijah was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1742. Around 1764, he moved about 60 miles to Wilton, New Hampshire, where property records show him having purchased land from his father.  He may have met his future bride about this time, marrying Phebe Boutelle at age 23 in 1765.  Their first child (and my fifth great grandfather), Abijah Perry, Jr. was born in Wilton on October 25, 1766. More children were born to the Perrys: Phebe in 1768, James in 1769, Tryphena in 1771 and Nathan in 1773.

Meanwhile, things between the British and the Colonies were heating up.  On July 7, 1776, an American Council of War met at the ruined British fort at Crown Point, New York to plan to defend against a possible invasion of the British from Canada.  Of particular concern was the ease of access through Lake Champlain. Plans for defense included fortifying Mount Independence and Fort Ticonderoga.

A militia regiment for this purpose was mustered under Colonel Isaac Wyman. Abijah Perry from Wilton was among those mustered.  He left his wife and children behind, including his new two month old baby.

According to the Diary of Lieutenant Jonathon Burton, the "Wilton Men" joined the regiment under the command of Captain William Barron on Tuesday, July 23, 1776. They were ordered to march to Fort Ticonderoga ("The Tie"), a distance of over 150 miles.  It appears that they had lodging along the way until August 2nd, when they had to camp in the woods.  Lieutenant Burton wrote: "Now we begin to Experience what it is to be Soldiers in the Wilderness."


By Sunday, August 6th, 1776, they had reached their temporary "home" on Mount Independence in Vermont, across Lake Champlain from Fort Ticonderoga.

From our visit to the site in September of 2015

View from Mount Independence across Lake Champlain towards Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga in the distance

Many of the company were already sick and "Now we begin to See Sick men laying on the cold ground without anything to cover them but their Blankets."  By August 20th, "28 men sick and unfit for duty."

On Mount Independence, those who were not too sick to work engaged in building physical support.  Entries by Lieutenant Burton mention the construction of fascines (bundles of sticks or straw to provide or strengthen defensive walls), the building of roads, and a log boom to prevent access by British ships on the lake. It is likely that Abijah engaged in some of this labor.

Civil war fascines, probably similar to those built by the "Wilton men" in the Revolutionary War

Although the men on Mount Independence heard gun and cannon fire and were twice ordered to "Man the Lines", it does not appear that they ever came under fire themselves.  More than 20 men died from illnesses and some were killed by Indians, but there were no casualties as a result of British forces.

On Thursday, November 21st, "we Rose very Early this morning and after Puting up our things and takeing our Breakfast we took our Leave of Mount Independence and our Little camp where we had Rested So many Nights and Days and we march off with the Remainying Part of our company....." As was typical of militia service of the time, the militia men served only a limited time and often returned home for the winter.

Abijah marched back to Wilton and resumed farming. For reasons unknown to me now, however, much of the Perry family later moved to Elizabethtown, New York.  There Abijah died and is buried in the Old Post Cemetery, along side his wife.

Shadows and Color

The feet of the 5th and 6th generation (thanks, Eric, Shannon, Ethan, Gerrit and Afton)

One day, long ago, she paused outside, her back to the sun as it slid closer to the horizon.  Another lively day coming to a close, she watched her children in the golden light and long shadows. Her mind filled with a quiet warmth of prescience. 

One day, not so long ago, they gathered outside, the sun creeping closer to the horizon behind them. Their day had been full and the interlude at the stone left them wistful.

Something in the center of our chests and sometimes leaking out of our eyes leads us to walk through the cemetery and stand for a moment in memory of someone for whom we have none of our own. Their lives, their thoughts, their views of the world are as ethereal as the solar wind. All we know is that we belong to them and they to us. And now we are here.