My 4th Great-Grandfather's Signature on a Revolutionary War Document ~ Dated August 23, 1776

While doing research for a future post about my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Luther L. Waterman, who was a surgeon in the Revolutionary War, I stumbled upon an absolutely amazing document.  I was looking through the following website:

The Register of
William Bond Papers
1768 - 1777
MSS 0080

Mandeville Special Collections Library
Geisel Library
University of California, San Diego

Here's the link to the website: The Register of William Bond Papers 1768-1777.  Clicking on this link will provide you with a long list of fascinating documents from the Revolutionary War.   I clicked on the link, List of men to be discharged due to illness from Colonel Bond's regiment, and to my absolute amazement, this is what I saw:

Here I was, staring at a document that was written and signed by my 4th great-grandfather, Luther Waterman.  It was truly an unbelievable moment!

I knew I wanted to have a copy of this incredible document and I also wanted to be able to share it with you, my wonderful readers.  So, I called the library at UC San Diego and  was given permission to download this historic document and also to share it on my blog.  Of course, I needed to include a link to where I found it, which I've done.  The document contained two pages.

Here is the transcription for Page 1 (to the best of my abilities):

                                                    Mount Independence August 23 – 1776

Barnard Newel	Ens	of	Cpt	Draper’s	Company
Joshua Jacson	Sargt	of	Cpt	Child’s	Compy
John Hackelton	Sargt	of	Cpt	Cook’s	Compy
Nathan Newel	private	of	Cpt	Flatcher’s (?)	Comy
Abner Molton	private	of	Cpt	Mahew’s (?)	Compy

All of Col. William Bond’s Regiment being sick & infirm for a considerable time & in probability will not be fit for farther service this Campaign I do therefore recommend them to Your Honor as proper subjects for a discharge

                                                                                  Luther Waterman Surgⁿ

To the Hon.^bl Maj. Ge. Gates

Luther Waterman was a surgeon serving under the command of Colonel William Bond in 1776. He was present at an engagement at Isle aux Noix, at Lake Champlain in 1776.  To give you a historic perspective and background for the amazing document I'm sharing with you today, here is a partial biography of Colonel William Bond.  It's from the same website containing Luther Waterman's document.

Biography of William Bond (partial) 

"William Bond and the 25th Regiment participated in the campaign to conquer Canada during 1776. Congress had requested that General Washington send four regiments to reinforce the army in Canada. On March 15, 1776, the 5th and 25th Regiments received orders from General Horatio Gates to march to Norwich, Connecticut. On March 30, the Massachusetts regiments led by William Bond, John Patterson and John Greaton, along with the New Hampshire regiment led by Enoch Poor, arrived in New York. On April 21, the four regiments sailed in sloops up the Hudson River to Albany under the command of General William Thompson.

In early May, the 25th Regiment was preparing to cross into Canada by boat and reached Sorel by June 14, Chamblee by June 17, Isle aux Noix by June 18, and Crown Point by July 11. On August 10, the 25th Regiment was camped at Mount Independence, a hill near Fort Ticonderoga. The stagnant lakes and swamps around Mount Independence contributed to the diseases already suffered by the regiment, including smallpox. Desertions and discharges for medical reasons severely reduced troop strength. On August 31, 1776, Colonel William Bond died of illness at Mount Independence."

The document written and signed by Dr. Luther Waterman was dated August 23, 1776, just eight days prior to the death of Colonel William Bond.

I wanted to know where Mount Independence was, so I did a little research.  I found the following information from the website Vermont State Historic Sites:  Mount Independence is located in Vermont, along the shores of Lake Champlain.  During the Revolutionary War it was the location of one of the largest colonial military encampments.  Originally named Rattlesnake Hill, it was renamed Mount Independence on July 28, 1776 after The Declaration of Independence was read at the new fort.

Was my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Luther Waterman, there at Mount Independence when The Declaration of Independence was read?  If so, what were his thoughts and feelings?  I wish I could read his journal.  I wonder if he kept one and where it is today.

And here is Page 2 of this historic document:

I tried to transcribe this page as well.  Here's the transcription for Page 2 (to the best of my abilities):

                                                                    Mount Independence Aug. 24 1776 

Having examined into the cases of the within mentioned persons find them to be as there set forth & do concur with the Surgeon in recommending them for a discharge 

To the Hon^bl Maj. Gen. Gates                       William Bond Col^l 

The within named En^s Newel  Sarg^t Jackson & Hackelton, & Privates Newel and Molton --- are hereby discharg^d from the service of the United States --- on the request & Certificate of the Surgeon & Col. of the Regiment to which they belong. 

                       The Col. of the Regiment has liberty to give a (?) Discharge to each one of them --- Signing his Name                          “by the Gen^l’s Orders” 

Ticonderoga H (?) August 25^th 1776                                      J Trumbull Dep^ty Ag Gen^l

I did a little research to try and figure out the name at the bottom right side of Page 2.  I found out that the name is John Trumbull, Deputy Adjutant-General.

The second page of this document was signed by several people on two different days, August 24 and August 25, 1776.  The recommendation by Luther Waterman was agreed to and the men listed on Page 1 were discharged from duty.

The discovery of this document is very exciting to me.  And I'm thrilled I was able to share it with you.

Thanks for reading!

Jana

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