MASSACHUSETTS SOLDIERS & SAILORS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR -
THE ARCHIVE, ELEAZER DANIELS

Documents regarding the Affairs of Eleazer Daniels, 1761-1848

I. Declaration for a Revolutionary War Pension - photocopy of handwritten transcription of court record.

State of New York
County of Herkimer: On this second day of June 1835 personally appeared in open Court of the Court of Co_____ that issues (?) for the said county of Herkimer now sitting, Eleazer Daniels, a resident of the town of Newport in this said county of Herkimer aged seventy three years and upwards (?) who being first duly sworn (?) according to law(?)doth swear his oath to make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the Act of Congress passed June 7, 1832. That he entered the service of the United States and the following officers and served as herein stated:

      The said Eleazer Daniels saith that in December 1776 he was enlisted under Lieut. Preserved Baker as a volunteer at Mendon in the County of Worcester in the State of Massachusetts for the term of three months and was immediately marched under Lieut. Baker aforesaid to Dorchester Heights, near Boston and this deponent was there joined to Capt. Baldwin's Company in the Regiment Commanded by Col. Dyke in the State service and this deponent was stationed in the Capt. Baldwin's Company in the Barrack at Dorchester Heights and was employed in guarding two forts on said height and another fortress Castle William on a small island in Boston Harbor and that this deponent served three months in said guards at said station under command of Capt. Baldwin and this deponent saith that at the expiration of his said three months service, he this deponent again enlisted at Dorchester Heights in the forepart (?) of March in the year 1777 into said Capt. Baldwin's Company in Col. Dyke's Regiment aforesaid for the tern of one month as a volunteer in state service and at this time under a new arrangement of the officers Capt. Baker was permitted to sever the service and this deponent was attached to a Company commanded by a captain whose name is not now entirely recollected by this deponent but he believes his name was Capt. or Lieut. Wilder having command of said Company in said Regiment and this deponent was marched to Boston and directly afterwards this deponent was marched to Little Cambridge and was stationed there about a week to guard the Continental stores at that place, about six miles from Boston and then this deponent, was, marched back to Boston and stationed there in the barracks and served in the guards in guarding Fort Hill until the forepart of April 1777 and this deponent served one month at aforesaid from the forepart of March to the forepart of April 1777 and this deponent did not receive any discharge in writing either in the said three months service or in said one months's service above set forth.

      And this deponent further saith that about the first day of January in the year 1778 he enlisted as a volunteer in the Town of Mendon aforesaid into a Company commanded by Capt. Craggin in Col. Nathan Tyler's Regiment for three months in that service and the deponent was marched with Capt. Craggin's Company to Providence and stationed there about three weeks and during that time this deponent served in his turn on guard and then this deponent was marched with Co. Tyler's Regiment to [refdyke's ?] New town in North Kingston on the shore nearly opposite Conanicut Island and stationed there a few days and this deponent then passed with Capt. Craggins Company across a small bay to Quidnessitt's Point and was stationed there and this deponent there served on the guard, in guarding the shore for better than a mile; the enemy being at that time on Rhode Island; and this deponent continued to serve at said station until the time for which he had enlisted aforesaid was expired and this deponent served in said tour three months and he was then discharged by Col. Tyler aforesaid but this deponent received no discharge in writing. And this deponent saith that he was discharged by Col. Tyler aforesaid about the first of April 1778 at said Quidnessitt station.

      And this deponent further saith that about the first of July in the year 1778 he enlisted as a volunteer under Capt. Penniman for six months at the Town of Mendon aforesaid in the state service and joined Capt. Hammond's Company in Smithfield (?) in the state of Rhode Island and from there this deponent was marched with Capt. Hammond's Company to Providence and stationed there with Capt. Hammond's Company about three weeks and served on guard there during that time and this deponent was kept marching with Capt. Hammond's Company to Argot's (?) Point about ten miles below Providence and this deponent saith that he was stationed at said Point four or five weeks and this deponent served at said station in guarding said point and this deponent was then marched with Capt. Hammond's Company to Tiverton about the first of August 1778 and was stationed there a few days and this deponent saith that General Glover's (?) Brigade passed from Tiverton to Rhode Island and on the same day at evening this deponent also passed over with Capt. Baldwin's Company from Tiverton to Rhode Island and this deponent was marched near Butt's Hill as deponent thinks and encamped there three or four days and this deponent saith that he was marched in company with a few men under a sergeant (?) as a flanking party in advance of the picket guard towards the lines to reconnoiter the enemy and came in sight of the enemy's Fort on said Island and was fired upon by the enemy from the fort, but the picket guard approached in sight but did not advance in view as said flanking party and at night this deponent returned back with said guard to their encampment near Butt's Hill; and on the next day there was a very strong gale which upset the largest part of the tents in the encampment aforesaid; and after the gale passed over this deponent was marched with the American Army under the command of General Sullivan to the lines (?) and encamped there for a number of days and this deponent thinks ??? twenty days in sight of the works of the enemy and then orders came for a retreat and on the retreat this deponent was put on to the picket guard and retreated three or four miles and then halted not far from the Quaker's Hill and remained there until the enemy came up and fired. General Glover's briagade ??? at that time to the right and the American troops made a further retreat; and this deponent was in the picket guard at this time and assisted to guard three eighteen pounders near Butt's Hill and the enemy came up and fired in from the picket guard which was directly relieved by the American troops and this deponent joined his own company and on the next day after the engagement at Butt's Hill this deponent was marched and stationed on sentry on the line of sentries across the Island and in the following night this deponent retreated with the American army from the Island and landed at Tiverton; at this time Capt. Hammond left his Company and this deponent was attached to Capt. Lamb's Company and this deponent was marched from Tiverton to East Greenwich and there encamped and were stationed there about three months; and during this time this deponent served on guard at this station; and this deponent saith that during said six months service he belonged to Col. Nathaniel Wade's Regiment in Capt. Hammond's Company until this deponent was attached to Capt Lamb's Compnay as above stated; and this deponent saith that he served six months in said tour and was discharged about the first of January 1779 at East Greenwich station aforesaid by Col. Wade; but this deponent received no discharge in writing.

      And this deponent further saith that he was born in the Town of Mendon in the state of Massachusetts on the fourth day of July 1761, and this deponent further saith that he has a record of his age in a letter book at his home; and this deponent further saith that he was living at the time he was called into the service as above stated in said town of Mendon in the state of Massachusetts and this deponent removed from Mendon aforesaid to the Town of Franklin in the County of Norfolk in the state of Massachusetts and from there this deponent removed to Bedford in the County of West Chester (Westchester) in the state of New York and from there to the Town of NewPort in the County of Herkimer in the state of New York and that this deponent has resided in said Town of New Port aforesaid for twenty six years past and still resides there; and this deponent further saith that he enlisted as a volunteer into the service in the several tours, above stated; and this deponent further saith that the officers under whom he served were Capt. Baldwin, Lieut. Baker, Col. Dyke, and in the one month's tour in March 1777 he served under Capt. or Lieut. Wilder, in Col. Dyke's Regiment; and in the said three months service in 1778 he served under Capt. Craggin, Lieut. Green, Col. Tyler and in the said six months service he served under Capt. Hammond, Lieut. Matoon; Capt. Land and Col. Wade; this deponent in the said six months service saw Gen. Glover, thinks he saw Gen. Sullivan; and this deponent saith that he never received any discharge in writing from the service in aforesaid.

      And this deponent further saith that he made a declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7, 1832. ? also said Court of Common Pleas of the Said County of Herkimer at the February term of said Court in the year 1833 and that his said declaration was duly completed with the opinion of the Court that this deponent had served in the Revolutionary War as stated and that Lauren Ford Esq. and the attorney of this deponent in making out this declaration before the said Court and this deponent saith that he produced in said Court a furlough which was granted to this deponent by Col. Wade at East Greenwich camp in September 1778 by which this deponent had leaves of absence from Camp several days. On leaving was in his stead to do duty and that said furlough was attached to said declaration of this deponent and forwarded by Lauren Ford to the war department as this deponent was informed by said Lauren Ford and ??? and this deponent further saith that he has been informed by said Lauren Ford that he sent his declaration to the Secretary of War and sometime afterwards he received a letter from the war department that said declaration had been forwarded from the war department by mail to him; and this deponent saith that he cannot ascertain where said papers are; and that he has long been in hopes that the ??? would be received or found and this deponent saith that he doesn't know nor can he learn where the ??? are and he therefore believes that they are either miscarried in the mail or have been lost or destroyed; and this deponent saith that he set forth in this said declaration the amount and history of his revolutionary services as substantially as he has hereintofore set forth and stated the sum; and this deponent further saith that he made the said declaration before the said Court in February 1833 and directed his said attorney to forward the same to the war department in good faith on the part of this deponent and that such declaration has been lost or destroyed without any fault or negligence on his part; and this deponent further saith that Lauren ford aforesaid has made his affadavit which is hereunto annexed to his attendance to said application on behalf of this deponent of his forwarding the said declaration to the war department and of the other circumstances detailed in his affadavit showing that the said declaration is probably lost.

      And this deponent further that he is known to the following named persons in his neighborhood, Abijah Osborn and Richard Herenden (?) and they can testify as to the character of this deponent for veracity and their belief of his services as a soldier of the Revolution; and this deponent further saith that he does not know any surviving witness who can testify of his own personal knowledge as to the services of this deponent in the Revolutionary war.

      And he this deponent hereby relinguishes every claim whatever to a pension or warranty except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state.

Sworn to and subscribed this 2nd day of June 1835 in open Court,

Eleazer Daniels (signed)