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Show As Isaac Snow Saw It Revolution Veteran's Story of the Siege of Boston Isaac Snow as a Sentinel at the Siege of Boston. The personal history of Isaac Snow has always been regarded as remark- it) able, as was that of almost all of those who lived in the stirring times of the Revolution; Rev-olution; and he appeared to take pleasure in relating re-lating his perils and hardships. Not a few of the youth of this genera gen-era firm have eath- it had lost its force, found it too hot to hold, and dropped it very quickly. "In a few days the English admiral, finding his ships could not lay in the harbor in safety, and after ten days' bombarding our fort without doing us any damage, sent word to General Washington that if he would promise not to fire upon his ships, the troops would evacuate Boston and the ships leave the harbor, but without that promise he should burn the town to ashes. Washington gave his word that they should pass unmolested, and on the 17th saw them set sail! We most gladly marched into Boston, and found the people rejoiced to be released, re-leased, and no wonder, for they had been shut in for 16 months suffering, suffer-ing, hunger and other privations. Some had their stores rifled to feed and clothe the British soldiers but all was for the time forgotten in rejoicing re-joicing at seeing their oppressors gone from them. "After serving my time out, which was three months, I returned home, strongly in love of my country's cause, so much so that I soon enlisted again for nine months in a company from Eastham, under Capt. Isaiah Higgins, and again went to Boston, and was employed some time building fortifications fortifi-cations in Boston harbor. I then enlisted en-listed in another company, under Captain Cap-tain Hamilton of Chatham, and marched to Rhode Island, where I was employed with others in building fortifications, for-tifications, and drilling with the army stationed there till the time expired for which I enlisted (six months). "The ship Defence, of 18 guns, wanting want-ing a crew, myself and some others from the cape and from Boston, engaged en-gaged to make up the complement of men. Soon all was ready, and the ship put to sea under command of Captain Samuel Smedley, to cruise for a prize, hoping soon to meet with an English vessel. On the third day out a quartermaster broke out with smallpox, when it was decided by the officers that all the crew should be vaccinated this made sickness enough, and we feared the result should we meet an enemy. But in a few days a sail was seen, which proved to be a large English letter-of-marque, and our captain determined to engage her, although 30 of our crew were sick of smallpox, and a number not able to sit up to take a seat on the hencoop and use small arms. . 1 could sit up and walk some, so I took a gun and sat upon the hencoop till the action commenced, when I forgot my sickness, sprang to my feet and loaded and fired my piece as fast as possible and as the powder monkey brought up the cartridges to distribute them among us, I took a handful and threw them into the bosom of my shirt, which hung bagging down enough to receive them, and so continued con-tinued to fire away, not thinking I was in danger of lighting the contents of my bosom with my own firelock. The battle went on; I now had only a pair of canvas trousers and a tow shirt, and fired till my gun was very hot, and then changed it for another. The engagement lasted three glasses (three half hours), when she struck her colors to us. When we boarded her we found she was from Liverpool bound to Jamaica, and had on board a governor for that Island and other passengers of some note, with many valuable articles, a quantity of plate belonging to passengers, besides a car- sred around him at different times, while he would tell them his story, substantially as follows: "When I was seventeen years old, a recruiting sergeant calling for volunteers vol-unteers for the American army under General Washington, at the siege of Boston, came along. L wished to go and join my country's army, and although al-though my; mother and sister tried to dissuade me, and wept and begged I would not go, I enlisted for three months. When measured to see if 1 was tall enough to answer the law, I stretched myself up all that was possible, possi-ble, and then was just able to pass. And now I took the all-wool greatcoat great-coat made by my mother, and with the others that had enlisted marched from home to Boston or Roxhury in the month of February, 1776. At the end of this journey I found my shoes worn out, and also that the other soldiers sol-diers were, many of them, barefoot, and poorly supplied with clothing. We Dften stood' sentry in the cold, and at one time in the night, six men took cedar rails and broke them up and made a fire to warm themselves. The fire, although comfortable to them, proved a mark for the British to fire upon, and soon a cannon ball killed one of their number and broke the gun of another while in his hand. After this we did not venture to light a fire, but often some of us sheltered ourselves in the cellars where houses had stood, but had been burnt down by the British, and often air the shelter shel-ter we had was in the lee of the walls. "In March, 1776, it was determined by General Washington to build breastworks upon Dorchester heights. was in a company from Eastham, commanded by Capt. Solomon Higgins, Hig-gins, and assisted in the work. It had been in contemplation some time, although kept as secret as possible. "We were prepared with spades, crowbars, shovels, picks, etc., and when the evening of the fourth of March came,, none thought of sleeping. sleep-ing. The working party consisted of 1,200, with a covering party of 800. We reached the place unobserved by the enemy, and set to work with all possible dispatch, and before morning morn-ing we had thrown up a breastwork sufficient to shelter us; but still kept at work, relieving each other only to eat. It was expected that the English Eng-lish would leave Boston with troops, and proceed to drive us from the new fort, if they could not knock it down with cannon balls. We prepared to meet them by drawing up and placing all around the fort large trees with limbs attached, laying them bush end out, so that they must stop and cut their way through them before reaching reach-ing the fort. Before this, men had been employed in Dorchester woods filling barrels with clay and stone and heading them up strong. These barrels were had in readiness the first day, to roll down the hill 'and i thus break and cut up the ranks of (he enemy should they attempt to :ome upon us. It was told afterward, :hat in the morning the English commander, com-mander, after looking with his spyglass spy-glass at our works, dashed the glass :o the ground, and exclaimed: 'All the fishes of the sea have turned to nen and are swarming the hills;' at :he same time ordering the cannon to fire upon our works, which they did all day, but with little damage to lis. The balls mostly passed over us and lodged in a meadow beyond, and 1,500 balls were picked up and afterward, after-ward, used by us. As we were short of balls a small bounty was given for cech one brought in, and one of our men ran to pick up one almost before v.---V ; . . . .4 v'1 ';! F'; !..:! i' - "h iji.i i1" ti it,-' ,'.L ti' 'Ill ; fo m unu n v x i- . uable prize. We r took out part of her crew, and put a prize master on board of her and sent her to Boston, Bos-ton, where we arrived ar-rived safely ourselves our-selves with the prize. When we settled up and there was a division divi-sion of the prize money and a discharge dis-charge of the crew, some of the officers recelvec" $300 or mor prize money. |