SAMUEL STOW'S PENSION FILE PT2

((First published in October, 2011)) 

I got a kick out of several things in Samuel Stow's Revolutionary War Pension
file statement.

The first is the reference to his being made Sergeant Major because he was
a veteran of the French war of 1756.  I have many ancestors who fought in
the colonial New England Indian wars and I've written posts about some of
them, but this is the first time I've found a statement by one of them  concerning
their service. In this case the "French war" was the French & Indian War.

Another thing is Samuel's name dropping and telling tales on General Washington's
low opinion of the discipline of the troops. I first learned about Washington's
dismay over the Massachusetts militia a few years back when  I read David
McCullough's 1776. There's a lot I'm still learning about the Revolutionary War.
(Although I have a degree in History I was more interested in Ancient and Medieval
History when I was younger. Boy the stories I could tell about Achaemenids, Hittites
and Plantagenets....)

Since Samuel didn't have any documentation or witnesses I checked for his War
Record or the War Roll for his Company at Fold3. I found three images but they
seem to be for another Samuel Stow from a different regiment.

I didn't find any images there either of his Company's Roll. But a Google Search did
lead me to some more information. At this site I found out that Captain Bullard's first
name was Benjamin, Lieutenant Gardner's first name was Thomas, and the Ensign
whose name Samuel couldn't recollect was Joshua Leland. Samuel was listed as
one of four sergeants and one of the men in the Company had the unique name of
Perley Death!

From a site on the Massachusetts Line I was able to figure out that Colonel
Whitcomb was Asa Whitcomb, His regiment was originally designated the 5th
Massachusetts Bay Provincial Regiment and then became the  23rd Regiment of
Foot.

Since Samuel didn't make claim to any other service after the Battle of Bunker Hill.
I'm guessing her was one of the men of the Massachusetts Militia who didn't enlist
in the Continental Army but instead went home to their farms(much to Washington's
chagrin). After all. Samuel had three young children at home all under the age of five
to feed, including my ancestor Melvin Stow!