About
Embattled Farmers
They were ordinary farmers, laborers, merchants, tradesmen, slaves, and former slaves, the cross-section of a typical eighteenth-century New England farming community. But when faced with the loss of their cherished liberties and long-standing tradition of self-government, they were swept up in an epic struggle against long odds. These are the forgotten men who fought the American Revolution.
Meticulously researched, Embattled Farmers traces the footsteps of 256 men—all from the same town—who served on both sides of the war. Their stories bring to life the human dimensions of American’s War for Independence.
Through repeated
enlistments, 252 of them served as Patriot soldiers.
They served at Lexington and Concord, at the Siege of Boston, and
during the campaigns to Ticonderoga, Canada, New York, Saratoga, the
Hudson Valley, The Jerseys, Valley Forge, and Yorktown.
Some never made it home again. Despite family and community ties, four others remained loyal to the King, and fought against their |
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neighbors and kinfolk. They lost everything they had, and lived the remainder of their lives in exile. |
There
was nothing extraordinary about these men.
Their individual stories tell of under-age service, skirmishes
and battles, guard duty, fatigue duty, capture by the enemy, smallpox,
desertion, and hardships, as well as service by slaves, economic
dislocation, and the practice of substitution.
Look i
nside the Book: Table of Contents
Preface
In Their Own Words
Names
Deployments & Battles
Units
Excerpts
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