Individual Details
Increase Stearns
(4 Jul 1762 - )
To the Honourable, the Secretary of the War Department, I Increase Stearns of Holden in the County of Worcester & Commonwealth of Massachusetts late a soldier in the Army of the Revolution, do respectfully Represent
That in the year AD 1778 I entered the Army of the United States on the Continental Establishment as a Private soldier and substitute for my Father, Increase Stearns, late of Holden, Deceased, who was duly inlisted on the 14th of March AD 1777 by Lieut Daniel Grout for three years and joined the fifteenth Massachusetts Regiment Commanded by Col. Timothy Bigelow, then lying in the State of Rhode Island, in which said duty to the intire satisfaction of my Officers for I was never answered untill the first of January 1780 without intermission or absence.
On the morning of the first day of January 1780 - I with about 80 others belonging to sd Regiment being stationed near West Point in the State of New York, having made unsuccessfull application for our discharges & made known our determination to leave the army, Did on the morning of that day openly & publicly leave it, with a view to return to the government of Massachusetts, where we belonged. We were all then convinced we had a right so to do, as we conceived our respective terms of inlistment had terminated & as the Officers in command refused to discharge us, we knew of no other course so proposed to pursue as to appeal from them to the state government of Massachusetts.
We accordingly proceeded on our way to Boston until we arrived at a place twelve miles east of Danbury in Connecticut where we were over taken by detachment of troops and conducted back to Danbury, wehre by reason of a deep snow and the intence severity of the weather we remained about two weeks but were never put under gaurd or breaked in any manner different from [] offending soldiers. We then returned to our former Quarters near West Point conducted by a single Lieutenant by the name of Pratt. Our return was voluntary and unaccompanied by any other soldier or person except the above named Lieutenant.
After our arrival a court martial was Ordered to investigate our conduct and four of the youngest were first put on trial who were then promised by the Courth if they would inform who started & headed the desertion they should not be punished, but they considering that some of them had done any more than they had a right to do utterly refused to gie that information, they were accordingly sentenced to be publicly whiped one hundred lashes which sentence was immediately executed. I was so unfortunate as to be the youngest in the whole and one of the four just mentioned and did by the sentence of the Court receive the above punishment, the remainder were afterwards tried and sentenced the same but were generally pardoned. Immediatly after my punishment I returned to duty and served untill the fourteenth of March 1780 & was then regular discharged but have since lost my discharge.
It now remains for me to set forth more fully the reasons which enduced me to leave the Army as above mentioned & to remove the disgracefull imputation that now rests on my character from being recorded as a deserter.
Before I joined the Army I went with my Father /who was then on furlough/ to see Col. Biglow /who was then at his dwelling house in Worcester/ He, Col. Biglow, accepted me in the room of my Father and directed me to join the Regimetn then at Providence in the state of Rhode Island. I was then informed that my time would be out on the first day of January AD 1780, which was afterwards confirmed by several Officers in Camp - I never entertained a doubt of the validity of the above agrement or had the remotest expectation on the part of the Officers to evade it untill I applied for my discharge a little before the first of January 1780 and this application proved unsuccessfull. I was then informed that I msut serve untill the fourteenth of March and that no regard would be paid to Col. Biglow contract.
Being much dissatisfied with the failure of this application and with a refusal to recognize a positive agreement /for the whole 80 claimed the like promise/ we resolved to seek redress from the Government of Massachusetts where we belonged and accordingly left the Camp at the time & in the manner allready discribed with a view to proceed immediately to Boston and spread our case before the state authority and out in pursuance of such advice and direction as we should receive from that aughority - we did not arrive at Massachusetts for the reasons above stated but returned voluntary to Camp.
Under these circumstances & for these reasons I left the camp openly & publicly and for no other reasons, under an impression that I had right to appeal to my own government when my time of engagement had terminated & my discharge was with held.
For this Offence if it can be called an Offence I have received an ignominious punishment & have faithfully served out the residue of my time & been regularly discharged. I hereby solemnly declare that the foregoing state of facts contain the truth & nothing but the truth and this is the only desertion & offence which I have ever been guilty during nearly two years hard service.
I will only add that I have perfomed hard & perilous duty and often exposed my life in the service of my country. It was during the summer & autumn of the year 1779 in a scouting party on the Enemy lines & in several severe skirmishes, in all of which and uppon all other occasions I have cheerfully devoted my life & strength to my Country.
As a Surety to those who have been instrumental in procuring this great & glorious event Congress have bestowed a pension on those who are indigent and I am one of that class - I am nearly fifty seven years of Age & have a large family to support some of which are qute young and wholely dependant on my labour for their support - I have attempted to avail myself of the benevolence of Government but my application has been rejected because I am recorded as a deserter. I must therefore throw myself uppon the humanity of the Honourable secretary & will only add that if my application shall now proove successfull that it releive me from many pecuniary embarrasments and contribute to the relief of the widdow of my Hon. Father who is wholly dependant on me for support and composes a part of my family - It does appear to me that the punishment was more than commensurate with the offense considering my age at the time & that I ought not to be excluded from the benefit of the act of Congress Increas Stearns Holden December 1, 1818
I Joel Pratt of Sterling in the County of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, do testify and say that I was the Lieutenant who marched back said soldiers from Danbury as above described, and I have no doubt that the said Increase Stearns served out his tiem honourably after his said punishment - And I further say that according to my best recollection all said men who left the army as aforesaid were considered good & faithful soldiers
That in the year AD 1778 I entered the Army of the United States on the Continental Establishment as a Private soldier and substitute for my Father, Increase Stearns, late of Holden, Deceased, who was duly inlisted on the 14th of March AD 1777 by Lieut Daniel Grout for three years and joined the fifteenth Massachusetts Regiment Commanded by Col. Timothy Bigelow, then lying in the State of Rhode Island, in which said duty to the intire satisfaction of my Officers for I was never answered untill the first of January 1780 without intermission or absence.
On the morning of the first day of January 1780 - I with about 80 others belonging to sd Regiment being stationed near West Point in the State of New York, having made unsuccessfull application for our discharges & made known our determination to leave the army, Did on the morning of that day openly & publicly leave it, with a view to return to the government of Massachusetts, where we belonged. We were all then convinced we had a right so to do, as we conceived our respective terms of inlistment had terminated & as the Officers in command refused to discharge us, we knew of no other course so proposed to pursue as to appeal from them to the state government of Massachusetts.
We accordingly proceeded on our way to Boston until we arrived at a place twelve miles east of Danbury in Connecticut where we were over taken by detachment of troops and conducted back to Danbury, wehre by reason of a deep snow and the intence severity of the weather we remained about two weeks but were never put under gaurd or breaked in any manner different from [] offending soldiers. We then returned to our former Quarters near West Point conducted by a single Lieutenant by the name of Pratt. Our return was voluntary and unaccompanied by any other soldier or person except the above named Lieutenant.
After our arrival a court martial was Ordered to investigate our conduct and four of the youngest were first put on trial who were then promised by the Courth if they would inform who started & headed the desertion they should not be punished, but they considering that some of them had done any more than they had a right to do utterly refused to gie that information, they were accordingly sentenced to be publicly whiped one hundred lashes which sentence was immediately executed. I was so unfortunate as to be the youngest in the whole and one of the four just mentioned and did by the sentence of the Court receive the above punishment, the remainder were afterwards tried and sentenced the same but were generally pardoned. Immediatly after my punishment I returned to duty and served untill the fourteenth of March 1780 & was then regular discharged but have since lost my discharge.
It now remains for me to set forth more fully the reasons which enduced me to leave the Army as above mentioned & to remove the disgracefull imputation that now rests on my character from being recorded as a deserter.
Before I joined the Army I went with my Father /who was then on furlough/ to see Col. Biglow /who was then at his dwelling house in Worcester/ He, Col. Biglow, accepted me in the room of my Father and directed me to join the Regimetn then at Providence in the state of Rhode Island. I was then informed that my time would be out on the first day of January AD 1780, which was afterwards confirmed by several Officers in Camp - I never entertained a doubt of the validity of the above agrement or had the remotest expectation on the part of the Officers to evade it untill I applied for my discharge a little before the first of January 1780 and this application proved unsuccessfull. I was then informed that I msut serve untill the fourteenth of March and that no regard would be paid to Col. Biglow contract.
Being much dissatisfied with the failure of this application and with a refusal to recognize a positive agreement /for the whole 80 claimed the like promise/ we resolved to seek redress from the Government of Massachusetts where we belonged and accordingly left the Camp at the time & in the manner allready discribed with a view to proceed immediately to Boston and spread our case before the state authority and out in pursuance of such advice and direction as we should receive from that aughority - we did not arrive at Massachusetts for the reasons above stated but returned voluntary to Camp.
Under these circumstances & for these reasons I left the camp openly & publicly and for no other reasons, under an impression that I had right to appeal to my own government when my time of engagement had terminated & my discharge was with held.
For this Offence if it can be called an Offence I have received an ignominious punishment & have faithfully served out the residue of my time & been regularly discharged. I hereby solemnly declare that the foregoing state of facts contain the truth & nothing but the truth and this is the only desertion & offence which I have ever been guilty during nearly two years hard service.
I will only add that I have perfomed hard & perilous duty and often exposed my life in the service of my country. It was during the summer & autumn of the year 1779 in a scouting party on the Enemy lines & in several severe skirmishes, in all of which and uppon all other occasions I have cheerfully devoted my life & strength to my Country.
As a Surety to those who have been instrumental in procuring this great & glorious event Congress have bestowed a pension on those who are indigent and I am one of that class - I am nearly fifty seven years of Age & have a large family to support some of which are qute young and wholely dependant on my labour for their support - I have attempted to avail myself of the benevolence of Government but my application has been rejected because I am recorded as a deserter. I must therefore throw myself uppon the humanity of the Honourable secretary & will only add that if my application shall now proove successfull that it releive me from many pecuniary embarrasments and contribute to the relief of the widdow of my Hon. Father who is wholly dependant on me for support and composes a part of my family - It does appear to me that the punishment was more than commensurate with the offense considering my age at the time & that I ought not to be excluded from the benefit of the act of Congress Increas Stearns Holden December 1, 1818
I Joel Pratt of Sterling in the County of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, do testify and say that I was the Lieutenant who marched back said soldiers from Danbury as above described, and I have no doubt that the said Increase Stearns served out his tiem honourably after his said punishment - And I further say that according to my best recollection all said men who left the army as aforesaid were considered good & faithful soldiers
Events
| Birth | 4 Jul 1762 |
Families
| Spouse | Marcy Bassett ( - ) |
| Child | Adolphus Stearns (1793 - ) |
| Father | Increase Stearns (1738 - ) |
| Mother | Deborah Hull ( - ) |