Letters Written Home to Windham from Bunker Hill  |  Part 2
 

      “Among the Windham men at Great Island, near Portsmouth, in fall of 1775, was Robert Dinsmoor, the “Rustic Bard.” The names of the rest not known. Windham had eleven men in the Continental army in December, 1775.* Soldiers enlisted for short terms of service, which accounts for the different number of men Windham had in the field at different times during the year. This account of General Stark’s prompt action was never before in print. The paymaster had neglected Stark’s men, and they were suffering for want of money. He sent a squad of men, arrested the paymaster, brought him to Medford, where his men were encamped, and showed him their suffering condition. This was done to relieve himself of blame from his men.”

     “During the siege of Boston, on the 1st of December, 1775, General Sullivan, of New Hampshire, who was in command of the troops at ” Winter Hill,” in Charlestown, sent an urgent message to the New Hampshire authorities for more troops to take the places of the Connecticut troops, who refused to tarry longer, as their time of service had expired. The government answered the call, and Dec. 2, commissions were sent to various men in the different towns to enlist men for short terms of service. James Gilmore, of Windham, was commissioned as captain, Dec. 2, with Samuel Kelley, of Salem, first lieutenant, and David Gordon, of Pelham, as second lieutenant. Eleven Windham men were in this company.”

    “We introduce a letter in possession of the author, from one of our men at the siege of Boston.”

LETTER OF JOHN MORISON TO HIS FATHER.

“Cambridge Jan. 9, 1775. Lieut. Samuel Morison.

Honored Father. — * * * Yesterday morning Samuel [his brother] went on Gen. Washington’s guard, and our camp was as still as usual till a little before sunset there was a stir for volunteers to go over the mill dam to Bunker Hill to burn 16 or 17 houses which the regulars used, and there were men enough before dark turned out volunteers and we were ordered to lay on our arms ready to turn out at the shortest notice but Capt. Gilmore, Isaac Cochran and myself went down about the rising of the moon and got to our end of the dam, but the party that went on was  almost to the other end and so we staid about ten minutes. When the first matches were lighted and in a few minutes, there was light in every house, and then firing began from Bunker Hill at the houses with small arms in abundance and the balls went through the houses very fast. They shot some cannon towards the ploughed hill and some to the eastward of Cable Hill;  I suppose some 20 in all, yet through the blessing of God we cant hear of one of our men amissing. There were nine or ten of the houses soon consumed, three or four are yet standing, and in one of them which was burnt they took five Regulars and one of their wives. They were sat down to take a game of cards and drink some punch, not knowing their danger, but in two or three hours their game was in Gen. Washington’s guard house while Samuel was on guard.” John Morison.”

     “Captain Gilmore and his men remained with General Sullivan on Winter Hill till March 17, 1776, when the British evacuated the city, and they were discharged. John Morison, Samuel Morison, and Isaac Cochran were in his company. Robert Dinsmoor, “Rustic Bard,” was there; his uncle Robert Dinsmoor was there ; and while the latter was wheeling a wheelbarrow load of dirt, a cannon-ball struck and split open an apple-tree by his side, but did not harm him. Abram Planet or Plunket; Hadley and Thomas Gregg ; this latter was probably lieutenant of the company which was under the command of Captain Runnells, or Reynolds, of Londonderry. This company was at Medford in December, 1775, and remained till the latter part of January, 1776, when their term of enlistment is supposed to have expired, but at the urgent request of General Sullivan, most of the company re-enlisted for twelve days, among whom was the ” Rustic Bard.”