History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

The elder, however, was not all permitted to run upon the ground, but by the middle of the afternoon nearly all the privates had become so drunken with it as to be unlit for the least defense, and so little guard was kept by the enemy that an American crept slyly into the orchard by the Henry Mead house, in the midst of the enemy, and fired a ball through the clai)l)oards, which whistled close by Governor Tryon's head and struck the mantcl-i)iece, from which it re- bounded upon the floor. This startled Tryon so much that he, witlumt waiting for his late dinner, gave im- mediate orders for a retreat. The officers now expe- rienced the greatest difficulty in forming their men. Many were beastly drunk, and a great number made ir- regular marches, so that the Greenwich men managed to take several jjrisoners. Though several shots were fired at the enemy before, their first man was killed in the road opposite the codar-trce a little west of the house of William Knai)p. Others were wounded, and the enemy was in a full and disorderly retreat. The Americans so hotly pressed upon their rear that the drivers cut their horses loose from an ammuni- tion- and a plunder-wagon, and rode oil' after their companions at lull speed. The Americans had just taken possesion of them when Gen. Putnam, with between one and two hundred Continentals and mil- itia, arrived from Stamford, too late to render any assistance to the inhabitants. This was an eventful day for Greenwich. Houses, though not burned, were mined, and in the midst of winter, all ))rovision had becTi destroyed l)y the hos- tile army, and the Torie), from that time for about a year, had almost complete mastery of the town. It is absolutely impossible to depict the miseries of the people who, loving the American cause, were obliged to stay here until the next season. It se?ms that Putnam, as well as the inhabitants, supposed, from the large number of the enemy, that they were to proceed farther on, to .Stamford and Norwalk. Hence, Col. Mead early dispatched Mr. Titus Mea<l to New Haven to ask of reinforcements of Gen. .sillinuin. The messenger arrived at New Haven a little before six that evening, and (ien. Silliman im- mediately issued his orders. The loUowing is a copy of the one sent to Woodbury, taken from Cothreu's " History of Woodbury :" ■' Nrw II.ivr.N. Kt'b. in, 1770, n p.ji. "Gr.NT., — Mr. TItuB SIcnd, ft ninn Ij ho di-poinled on, is this niomont ftnlvM cx|»r«« fnim Ci»l. Mcml, wltli a niowitgo by wnrU of iiiotitli only frtmi C*»l. Mi'imI, fur Uirlr circiinw1»nce» werv snch lliiil C«l. MenJ could nut wiho. lit' anys wIhmi lio loft llononot'lc (which wiw furly lliit mom- lUK) n Ittxly of iilx^ut «tK huVlrtMl men and A B.>ily of llotvo hml piislxMl up tht* rciAii Into nur*onc>--k. nnti wcro on thi^ siiic uf K na|t'i« tAvcrn ; and It wns reported that h D-xly of Iwj or tlirce thonsnud more were nut fur behind. You nrc tliorcforo directed to muster & march your Keginicnt^ furtliwith to Norwalk to o|>|>o8e the enemy, <& where you will i.i.i\. further Orders. Luao not n nionieiit neither by Night nor day. "G. SeLLFCK SlLLlM \- " Brig.-Gcn. of Foot and Col. Ct. of Hone. " To Cot. MosLEY A JIajok Bull, Woodbury. Of course the early retreat of the enemy rendered the execution of this command of no avail. The Tories now soon became ])oss&ssed of the en-" tire town. Their hcadipiarters were a ])art of the time at the house of Mr. .\brahani Jlcad, where Mr. Oliver Mead now resides. This, now being the neu- tral ground, was plundered by both friends and foe-s; and poor and sickening indeed was the lot of those wdio were obliged to stay here. RIVIXGTOX'.S PRE.?.?. Some time during the war a i)aper was published in the city of New York by one Pivington. This paper was professedly and to all outward appearance devoted to the British interests. It was afterwards, however, known to have aided the .Vmoricans much, and was under the control of Washington him-^clf The hostile appearance of the sheet, however, de- ceived the .\mericans as well as their enemies, and about half a dozen Greenwich men resolved that the press should be stopped ; they stole into the city, de- stroyed the press, and bagged the type, which they brought off with them from the very midst of a watch- ful enemy. Messrs. .Vndrew and Peter Mead were the principal men of the expedition. It is said that they only of the company were able to carry the bags of type from the printing-office to the street and llimw them across the backs of their horse?. After the type was brought to Greenwich it was totally destroyed, except enough to print each of the company's nanies, which the veterans kept for a long time in niemury of their exploit. THE KixtJ .«tiu;kt .<kiu.mi.<ii. One great disadvantage which the people were >ub- jectod to during the whole war was the absolute want of bayonets. Few comi)anies could be found wholly armed with the-e valuable weapons. But I.ieut. Moshcr wiLS the commander of a small company of men who were amply i)r(ividotl with them. This company may have been larger, but consisted of only eighteen soldiers at the time here mentioned. .Seven of them were from the farm of Gen. Pierre Van Cort- land, of Cortlandtown, about half a dozen of tliem from Greenwich, and the remainder from the vicinity of the town of Harrison. l)n the 4th of December, 1781,* Capt. Kichard .^acket, of the same company, was taken prisoner, having unwisely separated him- self from his company. The light-horse of the enemy, under Col. Holmes (a Tory ) and Capt. Kii)p. attacked the company. The latter retreated to the vicinity of a tavern recently kept by William Merritt, in King • llenth's y.m., p. 331. GREENWICH. 379 Street, •wIk'iv they foniHMl ti> withstanil till' charfie of I l>i'. Amos Jfeail, li.-iil piiiicil imicli rx[ierien -e liy the troop I if hnr-c. A\'ithout shelter of any kinil, and I aetive service in the Freie-li war. liut if any daring upon an ij|irn ]dain, these eighteen men sneeessiiiUy deed was to lie ;r-i-om|dishe 1, wliere hanly, hrave, stood eliarge after eluirge from the troop. Jjieut. l and rfHablc men were necessary, tlie three former Moslier ordered his men not to tire a shot, liut sternly : were always selected. After all control of the town to await the onset. At the first charge ('cd. Ilnlmes, ' was lost to the .Vmerii-ans hy the dc<tni -tive exii;'- I . . . ' finding himself repnlsed, ordered .Mnslicr to snrren- ■ dition of (iovernor Tryim, it was not safe fur a jnitriot der or he wonid cut them all to jiieees. The oidy to remain [inldicly in the linnts lor an ho;ir, yet these reply vouidisafcd by Mosher was, •• Cut uml hr three hung aliont the phice, ready to a^si^t the dc- daiiuiril .'" and with .-ileiiee he withstood the first and fenseless jmpidation against the hrut.ilitic- ol'the To- seeond charge^. l>ut after the third charge he or- ries. Each po^scvsed of his arms, a I'aithfnl dog, and dered his men to fire on the retiring troops, which a fieet horse, they spent their time ahont the village, they did with tcrrililc execution. ()ue niau was hidden in the hy- and secret place-. The winter of killeil and eight dangerously woundeil, ('a|it. Kipp | 17.'^(( was one of the severest on rccin-d. The Sound mortally. The horses of C'id. Ilcdnies ami ('a]it. was frozen across, an<l a great amount of snow ac- Kipp were also killed under them. Mosher's men, j cumulated, "b'et these men scarcely knew a night, taking advantage of the discomfiture of their assail- ] during the early ]iart of that winter, in w liich they ants, escaped to a neighboring ])ieee of woods, not ' did not sleep with their horses and dogs anu)ng the having a man even wounded. It is said to have been ' sn<iw. During that winter some do;cen or twenty head the most astonishing feat, on the part of both the (d'eattk', the most of which belongeil to ^Ir. .Terad officers and men, that was enacted iluring tliewinde Mead, wert' taken olf in lia-te by tlie T<n'ies, and driven war. Gen. Washington often spoke of tlii- alfair, and towards \ew York. ,Vfter much earnest solicitation it was reported all (jver Europe to show the utility of on the part of the owner, the trio eonsenti'd to make the bayonet, and that a small body of infantry thus the most daring attempt of crossing the enemy's lines armed may successfully resist a strong body of eav- to retake them. There had been recently a st(n-m of airy. Several of the enemy were severely Avemnded rain, which had frozen as it fell and rendered the before they were fired upon. ' roads extremely slippery and made a hard sharp crust upon the snow. The pursuers, therefore, went upiou TIIK lilUTIsII IX XOr.TII .-^TAMFOIiD. the ,S(mnd with tlieir horses and kept the ice a.s far