Phita. 22 Feb J795.
AS I told you the Enemys ships were much
larger than GenL L* & GenL P s* & they had a
great many more Men too & so GenL L* & P.
were forced to run away & put their Soldiers on
board their Vessels when it was night As soon
as it was morning the Enemy with their Great
Ships full of Men & Great Guns had got close to
Genl L, & P s little ships & they were forced to
sail away from them as fast as they could -
And they sail<* up a river * & the Enemy saifc*
after them very fast* And when GenL L* &
GenL P* had got to the End of the River, they
let all their soldiers go on shore into the Woods
& GenL L* & P* were forced to set fire to all
their own ships & Vessels, or else the Enemy
would have got them for their own* And that
you know would be worse than to burn them,
for then they could come in our Vessels to kill
the good Folks you know And so all Genl L
& P s fine ships & Vessels were all burnt up
O dear what a bad sight, to see so many good
nice Vessels all a Burning up at once, to keep
the Enemy from getting them for their own
*ThePenofascot*
35
And so Genl L & P & all their soldiers that were
not kiird were forced to run into the woods
And a great many of them got lost & could not
find the way towards their home for a long time
Genl, L* got lost too but Genl. P. did not get
lost for he knew the way & he got a good many
of his soldiers along with him too* But they had
no victuals to eat. And that was very bad you
know for the poor soldiers that were lost not to
have anything to eat & be lost too for they
would starve after a while, they would be so
hungry You know how bad it feels to be hun
gry dont you ? But then you can go to your
Mama for a Piece of Bread & butter, but the
poor soldiers that were lost in the woods had not
even a Crust & they were so hungry that they
were forced to kill the Dogs & skin them &
eat them, they were so very hungry. There
was some Boys too about as big as Jack &
Harry; poor poor little Fellows, how hungry
they must be to be a whole week in the Woods
with out anything to eat but a little piece of a
Dog. If you had seen them I dare say you would
have given them all your own Dinner, & have
gone without yourself till supper time, rather
than they should be so hungry & starved. But
Genl P. as I told you knew the way & he did not
get lost & he showed his soldiers that were with
him which way to go & so He & his soldiers
got to where there was some good Folks lived
the next day, and after Genl. P. & his soldiers
had staid there a week or two & had found a
36
good many of the soldiers that were lost &
almost starved, Genl* P. went home to see his
beautiful wife & his sweet little Children, little
C* L* & Z* & E. They were very glad to see
one another for Genl P s wife had heard that
GenL P* & all his soldiers were kill d by the
Enemy* But they were not* Genl* L* was lost
for a great while, at last some good Indians found
him in the Woods & gave him some of their
Victuals & at last brot him to his home When
Genl* P* had staid along with his Wife & his
little Children a little while* then He went to the
Eastward again with more soldiers to keep the
Enemy from killing the good Folks that lived
there* & when He had been there a good
while He wanted his beautiful wife should come
& live with him & so he went & fetched her to
stay with him, because there was no enemy very
near to fight with them if there had been you
know, it may be. they might kill her too* And
he fetched his little Boy C* L* & his little girl E*
along with their Mama He did not fetch little
Z, she staid at home with her Grandmama And
so now Genl* P* had no other General with him.
but he had his soldiers. & he had his beautiful
wife & his pretty little Boy C* L* & his sweet
pretty little girl E* & she was a sweet pretty
little Girl indeed. And they all staid at the
*He was appointed Adjutant General by the State of
Massachusetts and in (780 put in command of the whole
coast of Maine.
37
Eastward * a great while till the soldiers all
went home & left them, because they had staid
as long as they said they would*
* At Thomaston, Maine.
38
VOL: XIII
Phila. 22 Fcby J795
AND so when Genl P s soldiers were all gone
He had no men left only the good Folks that
lived near to the House where He & his Lady
& his little Children were* It was Winter now
& Genl* P* did not think the Enemy would ven
ture to come a great Way to fight him when the
snow was so very deep* It was as deep as Harry s
head & nobody could go about, only in the Path,
because the snow was so very deep* And so
some of the Good Men that lived near GenL P*
used to come to his House every Night & bring
their Guns so as to fight the Enemy if they
should come in the Night to kill Genl* P* & his
Wife & his pretty little Boy & Girl One
night,* & it was a very cold Night, & the snow
was very deep as I told you, the Enemy came
sure enough* And they fir d their Guns into
the Windows & Doors, & they cut with their
swords & broke out all the Windows & they
broke the Doors too, & got into all the House
only the Room where Genl, P. & his Lady was,
& they broke the Windows & Doors of that too
& they kept firing their Guns into the room
where Genl P & his Lady was & his Lady
* February J8, J781.
39
was very scared & did scream, whilst GenL P*
was firing his Gun & his Pistols at them & by
& by Lady P. run out of the Room to get out
of the Way of the Guns & there was another
young Lady in the other Room & she was
screaming too because she thot the Enemy would
kill us all** And they kept firing into GenI P s
room as fast as they could fire to kill him, till at
last they shot his arm thro with a Bullet & then
GenL P. could not fight them any more because
he could not fight with only one hand, when
t other was shot* And then GenL P* told them
that he would not fight them any more then, &
so he opened the Door & let them come into the
room* And as soon as they had got in they were
going to kill GenL P, because he had fit them so
much & had shot three of their wicked Men
but they did not kill him* Only He was almost
dead already; for they had shot a great Hole
thro his arm & the Blood run out as much as it
does when any Body sticks a great knife into a
Hogs Neck in our yard when they go to kill it*
Well just so the Blood run out of GenL P s arm*
And the Enemy said they would not kill GenL
P then, but they would carry him away with
them & so they helped him on with some
clothes & took a Blanket off the bed to put over
him because they could not put on his Coat
because of his arm that was shot, & away they
carried him & General P s Wife, & the young
* This is the first and only lapse from the third person.
40
Lady & the Maid, with the sweet little Girl E*
in her arms came into the Room just as they
were carrying Genl. P. away but Genl* P did
not see his little Boy C L, & he thot he had
been kill d by the firing of so many Guns* And
Genl* P* could not speak to his Wife nor any of
his folks, only to say good Bye, for they took
him & carried him right away & left the
house all broke to pieces, & poor old Hickey,*
he was shot & lay upon the Floor, & the house
was all over blood & there was Genl P s beauti
ful Wife & his family all left in this bad situa
tion when the Weather was so cold, & she thot
Her husband was kill d too ( Genl P was her
Husband you know ) for she thot he would
blead all his Blood out & be dead But the good
folks come to her pretty soon & helped her to
mend up the Windows & doors & made up a
Sx)d fire & made the House warm again* But,
dear, her Husband was carried off by the
Enemy & she thot He would die of his wound
& she should never see him again and his little
Children would never see their Papa again
neither. And the Enemy carried Genl P* to
their Fort t a great way off & there they kept
him shut up for a great while, & they let a good
doctor come to see him & dress his sore Arm, &
*One of Genl. Wadsworth s soldiers who served him
faithfully all his days.
t This was Fort George, at Castine, Maine, then known
as Bagaduce.
at last it got well again And after a great
while when it come warm weather the Enemy
sent little Boat to Genl P s Lady & told her they
would let her come & see Genl* P. if she had a
mind to, & they would not hurt her & so she
did & Genl* P. was very glad indeed to see his
beautiful Wife & so was she glad to see him
too, and she told him that his pretty little Boy
C L was not kill d by the firing as GenL P. thot
he had been and He was very glad indeed*
When Lady P* had stay d a few days* with
Genl* P* the Enemy let her go back again, but
they kept Genl* P in prison*
* Mrs. Wadsworth and Mrs. Fenno stayed ten days at Fort
George.
42
VOL: XIV
Phila.23Feb: J795
WHEN Lady P went back again to her
broken House where GenL P, was shot, it was
good warm weather, & she took her little Boy
C* L* & her little Girl E* & the young Lady &
the Maid & went to her own home at Plymouth
to see her tother little Girl Z* that was left with
her Grandmama and before she had got quite
there ( for it took her a great while to go so far )
GenL P. got out of prison & run away from the
Enemy & overtook his beautiful Wife with his
sweet little Girl E. just before they had got to
Plymouth O how glad they all were !
I can tell my little Boys a great long story
about how GenL P. got away from the Enemy,
when I have time enough It is a very good
story too, & it is a certain story it is true
but I cant tell it to you now but if you are
good Boys enough may be I will write it in a
Book sometime or other *
* Unfortunately he never did this, but when Dr. Timothy
Dwight visited Portland in 1796, GenL Wadsworth gave him
by word of mouth a full account of his capture at Thomas-
ton and his perilous escape from the enemy s Fort at Castine,
which account can be found in the second volume of
"Dwight s Travels" published in New Haven, J82J.
43
So Genl P was very glad to find his Wife &
Family again & they all went to Plymouth to
gether & the Folks were all very glad to see
them too, & there they met their other pretty lit
tle Girl Z* with her Grandmama, & she was
very pretty too & they all livd there a good
while & were very happy And GenL P. did
not go to fight the Enemy any more for they all
went away to their Homes & did not want to
fight any more & so the War was done if
you dont know what the War is Zilpah must
tell you. When Genl P had lived at Plymouth
a good while He took his beautiful Wife & all
his little Boys & Girls & all his things & put
them on board a Vessel & sail<* away to Port
land with them all And there Genl P* built a
House * & lived in it with all his little Boys &
Girls & his Wife too* And he had a shop &
sold a great many things & got a good lot of
Money too ; but he had so many little Boys &
Girls to buy Victuals & Clothes for, that it took
it almost all away again but he had enough
for them tho
When GenL P* & his Lady had lived at Port
land a good while, they had four more pretty lit
tle Boys their Names were G* & A* S* & S. B*
& little p & they were all very good little Boys
as all the Gents* & Ladies always said when
* This house was donated by Mrs* Anne Longfellow
Pierce in 190J to the Maine Historical Society and is pre
served as a memorial of the Wadsworth and Longfellow fam
ilies*
44
they came to see GenL P. & his Lady And
then GenL P, went to Congress just as your
Papa did. And then He went home again to
Portland to see his Lady & all his little Boys &
Girls & He was very glad to see them & so were
they glad to see their Papa just as you are to see
your Papa when he comes home from Congress
Are not you very glad to see him ? & will
you not be very good boys when he comes ? but
I think that my little Boys are very good all the
time if I am gone, or if I am at home I
know they mind their Mama & try to behave
as well as they can for I have heard that my
little Boys have been very good indeed some
times since I have been gone
45
VOL: XV
Phila 22 Feby 1795
AFTER a while Genl P, went to Congress
again Genl P & his Lady have got a great
many Boys & Girls by this time I guess, let us
try to reckon them up the first pretty little
Boy A. died. The next was C, L, & then there
was two little Girls Z & E, & then there was
another little Boy & he was nam d J, & then
there was another little Girl & she was nam d L,
& then there was H, & G, & A S, & S B, &
little p, and that makes seven Boys & three
Girls I guess some of them are grown up
almost by this time, Genl P & his wife could
not have so many little Boys & Girls all at Once ;
because some of the oldest would be grown bigger
I guess C L is as big as Charles & Z is as big
as Zilpah & E is for Eliza, or Betsey & J is for
Jack, L for Lucia & H for Harry & G is for
George & A S, is for Alexr S, & S B is for Saml
B* & little p is for little Peleg, And now my
pretty little Boys do any of you know who Genl
P is. He lives in Portland as I told you.
Do you know Saml who Genl P. is ?
SamL I dont know who tis
Do you know Alexr who Genl P is ?
I don t know Pa,
46
44 O ( says George ) it is our Pa, & we are his
little boys ! & there is Jack & Harry & Lucia &
all the rest of us ! & here is pretty little p too,
a nt you, Dear, & Ma is Gen. P s beautiful wife,
a nt you Ma ? "
Well my dear, I suppose I am, do you love me
the better for it?"
(Alexander Was Little Boy P our Pa ? "
George " Yes, When Little Boy P* Had grown
a little bigger then he was Master P. & then he
was Mr* P* & then he was Capt* P* & then a
Major then a CoL & then a General and now he
is our Papa*
47
NOTES.
The cut on the title page is taken from a little
book, now tare, entitled "Military Heroes of
America/* kindly lent by Mr* Usher W* Cutts,
of Orange, N. J*
The following letter may be of interest to the
historians :
Hiram 17th July, 1827.
Dear Sir,
Observing your advertisement in the Columbian Centinei
of Jlth Inst, requesting surviving Officers of the Revolution
ary army, of the State of Massachusetts & of Maine to for
ward to you their rank in 1780 &c. In compliance I have
sketched the following tho* I do not know whether I come
within your request, as I was not of the Line of the Continen
tal army after the two first years of the War I was a
Captain in Cottons & Baileys Regt s the two first years &
was Aid De Camp to Gen 1 Ward as long as he continued in
the service, which I believe was till the year 1777, with the
rank of Major. Afterwards, I was in the continental service
( as it was called ) under the appointment of the Legislature
of Massachusetts was second in command with Gen 1 Lov-
ell on the inglorious Penobscot Expedition, 1778, with the
rank of Brigadier Gen 1 ; the next year, vis, 1779 had the
command of the whole coast of the District of Maine, by the
same authority, at the Close of which or rather the beginning
of 1780, 1 was taken Prisoner ( as you may see by looking at
210 page of Rev* Charles A. Goodriches History of U. S)
After that I was not in Military service. I was 32 years Old
when appointed a Brig r Gen 1 by the Gov r & Council and
lived in Boston at that time, mov d to Portland in 1784 & to
Hiram in 1807, where I now reside & am in my 80th year.
48
I know of no widows of the Description you mention, nor do
I know for what purpose you have requested the above
but as the motive is no doubt benevolent, I cheerfully sub
scribe myself your friend and serv*
Peleg Wadswortfa.
Alden Bradford, Esq.
A Copy
49
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