African American soldiers in Redding's encampments

While doing research over the weekend about the number of African American soldiers in Redding's encampments I came across this:

"As for blacks in the Connecticut regiments, we have brigade returns for August 1778 showing 148 black soldiers in Parson's brigade and 62 in Huntington's brigade. At that time the 6th Connecticut Regiment was serving under Brigadier General Parson."

Source: http://www.americanrevolution.org/rees.html 

I found this interesting because both Parsons and Huntington were in Redding for the Winter of 1778 to 1779 and have now started to look a little deeper to see if all 210 Black and Indian soldiers came to Redding.

I'll update as soon as I have more information.

My Brother Sam is Dead and the British Raid of Danbury

In Chapter 10 of My Brother Sam is Dead, Tim has many feelings about the War but he has yet to experience the war up close. That changes on Saturday morning April 26, 1777 while Tim is tending to the kitchen garden on the side of his house.

Tim narrating: "I began hearing from a long way away a heavy muttering noise. It sounded a bit like thunder, but not exactly. It made me uneasy. I jammed the spade in the ground and went out front of the tavern to have a look up and down the road. The sound seemed to be coming from the southwest over behind the church somewhere…And then I saw Ned, Samuel Smith's Negro, come running up the road. At the same moment Captain Betts, popped out of his house next door. Captain Betts was in the Rebel militia. 

"What is it, Ned" he shouted. 

"British Troops, Captain," Ned shouted. He ran on by.

"The noise grew louder. I watched, and all at once through the hedgerows I caught a glimpse of movement and things flashing. In a moment the vanguard appeared around the bend…On down the road toward me they came. It was a frightening thing to see. They just kept coming on and on as if nothing in the world could stop them." 

With the war in his front yard, Tim experiences many realities in a short frame of time: 

1. The British troops are numerous, organized, and impressive looking: "Oh, those troops were impressive looking with all those belts and buckles and powder horns and bayonets and so forth dangling about their red uniforms. How could people like Sam expect to beat them?"

2. There are split loyalties in his own neighborhood: "It gave me a funny feeling to realize that while Mr. Heron was giving the British officers rum and beef, Captain Betts and Mr. Rogers were sitting a hundred yards away trying out a way to kill them." 

3. That he's a Tory. "Suddenly I realized that I was. Father's capture had done that." 

4. War turns men into beasts. "At first when the troops had arrived, swaggering around so bold and gay, I had really admired them. But seeing them take Jerry Sanford off like that gave me a sick feeling in my stomach." 

5. He doesn't want to be a Tory anymore. After watching the British kill Ned and the others in Captain Starr's house he realizes that neither side of the war is worthy of his support.

These events really happened...

April 26, 1777 British Raid on Danbury, Connecticut

British Raid of Danbury, 1777 

The British Army's march through Redding Ridge is the only direct contact Redding residents had with British troops in the Revolution. It created much excitement and afforded the Collier's an opportunity to bring that excitement to life in my brother Sam is dead. Twenty-four vessels carrying around 1,550 regular British troops and some 300 Loyalist militiamen from "Browne's Provincial Corps", many of whom were originally from Connecticut, arrived on the shores of Compo Beach in Westport, Connecticut on April 25, 1777. Their mission: destroy the rebel military supply depot at Danbury, Connecticut.

Lord Howe, the commander of the British troops, stationed at New York City, had long meditated an attack on Connecticut and news of provisions being stored at Danbury provided the incentive he desired. Howe chose William Tryon, the deposed British governor of New York, as Commander and two military men: Brigadier General James Agnew, second in command and Brigadier General Sir William Erskine as third in command for the expedition. 

Tryon had been Governor of New York up until the Revolution and was said to have been consumed with "an inveterate hatred and thirst for revenge" on the rebel Yankees. He had a special grudge against Connecticut, the sturdy little colony that had thwarted him in a variety of ways: "Her horseman had scattered organs of revolutionary propaganda through the streets of New York; her "Sons of Liberty" had plotted against him even in his own city; treated with contempt his proclamations, using them as specimens of the governor's pleasant humor." 

Tryon had the further merit of being intimately acquainted with the towns and landscape of Connecticut. He had been as far inland as Litchfield, had probably visited Danbury, and had been dined and feted at Norwalk, Fairfield, and New Haven. He seems to have acted as a *guide to the expedition while giving **Agnew and Erskine the responsibility of tactical operations. 

Via 40 or 50 flatboats the troops disembarked at Compo between five and six in the afternoon, and that same evening marched to Fairfield, about seven miles distant, where they encamped for the night. 

News that the British had landed at Compo, encamped at Fairfield, and would march through Redding the next day, was conveyed to the residents at an early hour, and occasioned the greatest consternation and excitement. Money and valuables were hastily secreted in wells and other places of concealment; horses and cattle were driven into the forests, and the inhabitants along the enemy's probable route held themselves in readiness for instant flight. 

On receiving intelligence of the landing at Compo, Captain Zalmon Read mustered his company of militia, and forthwith marched to intercept the invaders. At a place called Couch's Rock, in Weston, Connecticut, they came suddenly upon a British flanking company and were taken as prisoners. Town selectman, James Rogers, Timothy Parsons, Russell Bartlett and 13 year old, Jacob Patchen were among the prisoners. In Charles Burr Todd's History of Redding, Todd relates that: 

"Timothy Parsons, had a fine musket which he particularly valued; this a British soldier took, and dashed to pieces on the stones, saying it should waste no more rebel bullets." 

Meanwhile, Colonel Joseph Platt Cooke, commander of the 16th militia regiment in Danbury, had followed General Gold S. Silliman's instructions and sent all available men from Danbury to Fairfield. Silliman mistakenly assumed that the British intended to attack Fairfield. Other troops were sent toward the Hudson River, in response to a number of ships the British had strategically positioned there to confuse the American generals. This left the Military Depot at Danbury in a vulnerable state. 

On the morning of the 26th, at a very seasonable hour (11am-12 noon), the British troops arrived and halted at Redding Ridge. During the halt the main body of the troops remained under arms on the green in front of the Anglican Church. Tryon, Agnew, and Erskine were invited into Esquire William Heron's home (the first house south of the Christ Church Episcopal, no longer in existence). Here they were reported to have been "hospitably entertained with cake, wine, and it is presumed, many hopeful prognostications of the speedy collapse of the rebellion." 

Shortly after their meeting, a file of soldiers entered the house of Lieutenant Stephen Betts, a prominent patriot who lived across the street from the church and seized him. Daniel Sanford, his son, Jeremiah Sanford (19 years old), and 16 year old, Benjamin Lines, met a like fate. Three of Redding's loyalists joined British Troops on this day: Samuel Hawley, James Gray, and Joseph Lyon. Lyon had been in hiding for 33 days. 

As the army prepared to resume its march north, a horseman was observed spurring rapidly down Couch Hill Road (present day- Sunset Hill Road) toward them. He was within musket shot before discovering their presence and though he turned to fly when he saw their red coats, he was shot, and severely wounded in the attempt. He proved to be a messenger from Colonel Cooke in Danbury, bearing dispatches to General Silliman. His name was Lambert Lockwood. Tryon had formerly known him in Norwalk, where Lockwood had rendered him a service, and Tryon seems to have acted on this occasion with some kindness, as he released him on parole, and allowed him to be taken into a house so his wounds could be dressed. 

All in all, the British troops spent one to two hours on Redding Ridge before resuming their march to Danbury with the ***Redding militiamen captured in Weston, Patriots Stephen Betts, Daniel Sanford, Jeremiah Sanford and a non-combatant (B. Lines) captured in Redding. One British soldier, Bernard Keeler, deserted at Redding Ridge and lived in town until his death in 1827.

As the British marched toward Danbury, the remaining patriots of Redding anxiously awaited the approach of the Patriot troops in pursuit. At length they came in view, marching wearily, in sodden, disordered ranks, a small army of five hundred men and boys, led by Brigadier General Silliman. They were comprised of soldiers from the companies of Colonel Lamb's battalion of artillery, with three rusty cannon, a field-piece, part of the artillery company of Fairfield, and sixty Continentals; the rest were an untrained assemblage, chiefly old men and boys. 

It was eight o'clock in the evening when the New Haven troops arrived at Redding Ridge-an evening as disagreeable as a northeast rainstorm with its attendant darkness could make it. Here the troops halted an hour for rest and refreshment. At the expiration of that time a bugle was heard from far down the turnpike; then the tramp of horsemen was heard and presently Major General Wooster and Brigadier General Arnold, dashed into the village of Redding Ridge. 

On hearing that the British were so far ahead, it is said that Arnold became so enraged that he could scarcely keep his seat, and his terrible oaths fell on his auditor's ears like thunder claps. Wooster at once assumed command, and the column moved forward through the muddy and heavily rutted roadway as far as Bethel, where it halted for the night.

At Danbury, but three miles distant, Tryon's force was at rest, and might have been annihilated by a determined effort, but the Continental command was hampered by the weather conditions, heavily rutted roadways and fatigue.

Benedict Arnold to McDougall, West Redding, April 27th, 1777, 10am:

"Last night at half past eleven, General Wooster, General Silliman and myself with six hundred militia arrived at Bethel, ****eight miles from Danbury. The excessive heavy rains rendered their arms useless, and many of the troops were much fatigued having marched thirty miles in the course of the day without refreshment." 

The British had reached Danbury at approximately 5:00 pm and driven off the Patriots who had been attempting to remove supplies. Later that evening, seven patriot defenders who had stayed behind opened fire on British troops from a house in town owned by Major Daniel Starr, among the patriots was "Ned", a slave of Redding's Samuel Smith. *****Two companies of British regulars charged and put the dwelling to the torch killing all the men inside. 

Before their departure early the next morning, the British had destroyed much of the Rebel's depot: barrels of pork and beef, barrels of flour, bushels of grain, hogsheads of rum and wine, thousands of shoes, stockings and tents among other supplies. Provisions the Continental troops would long for come the winter of 1778-79.

Notes:

*Tryon was aided by local Tories who had fled from the area and joined the British army. The locals intimate knowledge of the roadways and landscape in and around Southwestern Connecticut was a vital asset to the British troops. 

**Agnew was injured at some point during the weekend and Erskine took over as second in command.; He was very capable in that role. Earlier that winter, Erskine had led a foraging expedition to New Jersey in which "he routed the rebels with great slaughter; he took no prisoners." 

***Betts, Bartlett, Lines, Patchen, and most of the Redding militiamen would all eventually return to Redding. Daniel Sanford, Jeremiah Sanford, Daniel Chapman, and David Fairchild died in captivity while being held in the "sugar houses" of New York, where sanitation was deplorable and disease was rampant.

****distances from Danbury vary from 2.5 miles to 8 miles, depending on who is reporting back to their superiors. In this case Arnold incorrectly states they were 8 miles from Danbury; They were within 3 miles of Danbury, at the intersection of Elizabeth Street and Blackman Avenue.

 *****This was the story behind the beheading of Ned in My Brother Sam is Dead. 

I will continue to provide free content here and at my History of Redding website, but for those who wish to have access to all I know, I have created a Dropbox account that has everything I've found and created. All can be downloaded from the Dropbox. Access is $12.99 and that is unlimited access. Friend the My Brother Sam is Dead Facebook page and receive a $4 discount.

My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbox information. This resource includes all my e-books, photos, maps, primary source materials, lesson plans and online self-grading quizzes. Plus much more.

Book Preview for Earth Day- The Legend of Skunny Wundy

In honor of Earth Day, The Legend of Skunny Wundy

Long ago, there lived a young boy named Skunny Wundy, his name meant "Cross The Creek." He wasn't particularly large and he wasn't particularly strong, but Skunny Wundy was very clever. The one particular talent that he possessed was skipping stones across the water. Skunny Wundy could make a stone skip more times across the river that cut through his village than anyone else in his tribe.

Now, the people of Skunny Wundy's village had always traveled along this river. But they only traveled South. Children were always cautioned to never go North, because to the North was the land of the Stone Giants, large fierce monsters who loved the taste of human flesh. Luckily, Stone Giants weren't very bright, so as long as they didn't see people, they usually forgot they existed. Which is why the people of Skunny Wundy's village always traveled South and never traveled North.

One day, Skunny Wundy was walking along the river skipping stones and paying no attention to the direction he was going. He walked and walked and walked until suddenly he was startled by a Crow. He stopped, looked around and realized that he was very far from his village and traveling North!

Just as he was about to turn and run home, a thunderous voice boomed down from above him:

"A PEO-PLE! MY FAVORITE SNACK!"

Skunny Wundy looked up, terrified, it was a Stone Giant! He was huge and he was mean and, as the name suggested, his skin looked as solid as granite. Skunny Wundy knew that if he tried to run, the Giant would surely catch him, so he took a deep breath and decided to reason with him:

"You don't want to eat me, I'm nothing more than a bite to you!"

Reasoning wasn't going to work...

"THAT'S OKAY, I HAVEN'T HAD A BITE ALL DAY!" said the Stone Giant, licking his lips.

Skunny Wundy knew his only chance was to out smart the Giant.

"How about a contest?" he said hopefully. The Stone Giant looked interested, so Skunny Wundy pressed on.

"I challenge you to a stone skipping contest! We'll each skip a stone across the river and whoever gets theirs to skip the most times wins. If you win, you can...eat me. But if I win, you have to let me go free."

The Stone Giant thought about it for a moment, scooped up a boulder and said:

"OKAY, LET'S GO!!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Skunny Wundy said motioning with both hands for the Giant to hold up.

"That boulder may work fine for you. But there's not a stone here that I can even lift, let alone skip. How about I come back tomorrow with a stone more my size and then we'll have our contest?" said Skunny.

The Stone Giant looked down at him and thought and thought and thought. Skunny Wundy began to worry this trick might not work.

But, finally, the Giant agreed:

"SOUNDS GOOD!" he rumbled. "I SEE YOU TOMORROW!"

Skunny Wundy jumped up, clicked his heals, turned south and ran; laughing the whole way home.

But when he got home, he realized something- Yes, he had out smarted the Giant, but he had also made a promise. He had promised the Stone Giant that he would return.

If he didn't show up for the contest tomorrow the Giant might come looking for him. What if the Giant decided to come looking for him, headed south down the river path, and in the process found his people's village and ate up all Skunny's friends and relatives? It would be tragic and it all would be his fault. Skunny Wundy knew that he couldn't do that to his people and decided that despite the personal risk he would return the next day and compete in the stone skipping contest he had agreed to.

At daybreak the next morning, Skunny Wundy set off towards the land of Giants, checking the ground for good stones the whole way. Unfortunately, there were none and when he finally reached the spot where the Giant was waiting for him, he knew the stone he had in hand wouldn't skip enough to beat a Giant's throw; it was too light to travel any great distance.

"WELCOME BACK, SNACK!" the Giant laughed as he picked up his boulder again.

Skunny Wundy watched dejectedly as the boulder skipped out across the water once, twice, three times...gaining speed as it went, by the time it splashed into the water for the final time, the Giant's stone had skipped fifteen times!

"HA!! AGH-HA-HA! BEAT THAT, SNACK!" the Giant roared pounding his chest.

Skunny Wundy knew his throw would be hard to beat.

"Skunny Wundy!" a soft voice suddenly whispered.

Skunny Wundy looked all around, but could not find the source of the voice.

He heard it again: "Skunny Wundy, down here, down here! Pick me up and use me!"

Skunny Wundy looked down to see a tiny turtle at his feet. He picked the turtle up and again the turtle said: "You can you use me!" Then the animal tucked its head, feet and tail into its shell. And as simple as that, the turtle had become a perfect skipping stone.

Skunny Wundy smiled and whispered quietly to the turtle:

"My life is in your hands, little friend. But we can do this. Together we can do this, together we are one, we will beat this Giant."

Then he reared back his arm, took a deep breath and sent the shell skipping out across the water. Once, twice, three times it skipped, he thought with plenty of speed, but on the thirteenth skip, it turned sideways and it appeared that skip would be his last. But as the corner of the shell was about to crash into the water, suddenly the turtle kicked out his legs. The shell flattened and bounced off the water's surface, skipping again and again again!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" bellowed the Stone Giant, FURIOUS that he had lost.

He spun and slashed a large pine tree, shattering it like a twig.

Then he roared: "AGHHHHHHHHHH!" and Skunny was very frightened, the Giant could not seem to contain his rage.

But then the Giant stopped abruptly, looked down at Skunny and said:

"GO! LEAVE HERE THIS INSTANT! BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND!"

Skunny Wundy wasn't taking any chances. He quickly blurted: "Thank You!!" and turned and ran as fast as he could until he reached his home.

Over the years, Skunny Wundy had many more encounters with the Stone Giants, but that is how he survived his first...with the help of the Turtle Clan.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The above is an Indian legend that I reworked to fit into a historical fiction novel I'm working on about Redding and the Revolutionary War. The storyteller is Tom Warrups, a local Native American Indian that is teaching his neighbor (a 13 year old boy named Jonas) about how his people interacted with the Earth. Below is a little from their discussion after Tom tells Jonas this story:

When Tom was finished, I asked him if the story had any special meaning. He nodded and explained that his people had lived on these lands for tens of thousands of years and how they had done this had a lot to do with how they interacted with the Earth and all its creatures. Indians did not work the lands, they worked with the lands and sought harmony with its creatures. The Turtle in the story symbolizes the Earth. The Turtle helps Skunny Wundy which is symbolic of the Earth helping Man.

My people believe we are a part of the earth and it is a part of us, we are brothers working together. Skunny acknowledges this relationship when he says: "Together we are one."

"What does the Giant symbolize?" I asked.

"The Giant's ways are egotistical and wasteful, he gets his way using force. He takes from the land whatever he needs and when he has what he needs he moves on. The Earth is not his brother. That is why it was important that Skunny Wundy and the Turtle won the contest . It is a story used to teach our children that the Earth is our brother, and we must treat the Earth and its creatures with kindness."

Happy Earth Day!

p.s. Parents or Teachers that wish to receive chapters of "The War comes to Redding" as I finish them can contact me at: bcolley@colleyweb.com.

Discussion Topics for Chapter Two of My Brother Sam is Dead

My Brother Sam is Dead Chapter II: 

Tim provides background information about his town, neighborhood and religion at the onset of chapter two.

Tim: "Redding was divided into two-parts: Redding Center and Redding Ridge"

• you can discuss Redding, Connecticut - where is it and why it was divided in two parts (Anglicans and Presbyterians).

Tim: "Church was practically the only time we ever saw some of the farmers from farther out in the parish - places like Umpawaug. They wanted to keep up with the news…"

• you can discuss how information was shared in colonial times and how these methods led to biased opinions on very important issues.
• you can also discuss Religion in colonial times.

Sam: "This is Tory Country. Father, Mr. Beach, the Lyons, the Couches - most of them in our church are Tories. And they think it's the same everywhere, but it isn't."

• you can discuss how a township could gain a reputation for being "Tory Country".
• you can also discuss who Tories or Loyalists were and why they were opposed to the rebellion, what they endured, etc...

The most important comment Tim makes in chapter two is "What kept confusing me about it was that the argument didn't have two sides the way an argument should, but about six sides." Tim is speaking of "opinions" people had of the British government's policies following the French and Indian War. These new policies hampered America's economic and geographical growth via:

• Taxes
• Trade restrictions
• The Presence of British troops in America (and cost of having them here)
• British efforts to prevent westward expansion of the colonies
• The Political corruption of Royal Governors

The anger over these policies had reached a boiling point and as Tim states: "..it wasn't going to be just arguments anymore." The reason Tim's comment is so important is that the debate over rebellion was a complex topic with many sides that needed to be examined and decided on by the American colonists prior to a rebellion. Issues like: economics, government, religion, and safety in the American Colonies should they gain Independence from Great Britain were very important questions that really did not have answers before the events at Lexington and Concord thrust the American citizens into war with the British.

Below are some examples of the loyalist's concerns regarding the rebellion:

• The British Army was powerful and experienced. Many men, 40 years of age or older, had fought along side the British soldiers in the French and Indian War. They had experienced, first-hand, the skill and tenacity of the enemy.
  
• Land to the West of the Appalachian Mountains was occupied by Indians, the Spanish and the French, not Americans. Would the colonists be able to defend themselves from attacks from any one of them without the assistance of the British Army?
  
• Successful businesses and merchants worried that if America split from England they would be at risk of losing their prosperity. Tobacco farmers are an example of those who actually did suffer as a result of the American Revolution.
  
• Without a plan for self-government in place how would the colonies function politically?

For more chapter discussion topics from My Brother Sam is Dead, visit:
http://mybrothersamisdead.historyofredding.com/my-brother-sam-is-dead-chapters.htm

I will continue to provide free samples of my content at the above link, but for those who wish to have access to all I know, I have created a Dropbox account that has everything I have ever created for the novel. It's AWESOME! I promise. :)

My Dropbook Sign up is hosted by FastSpring.com & linked to my company: Colley Web Services, LLC. Access is $12.99.If you type in the code: REDDINGRIDGE you get it for $8.99.

New My Brother Sam is Dead Help Resources

I loved reading the novel My Brother Sam is Dead when I was a kid, it was exciting; it was sad; it had soldiers; it had mystery, but I never really understood it as the authors wished to me to. But after reading it again several years ago(as an adult), I got it. I understood why it was written and I saw all the topics that the authors had woven into each chapter.

At the time I re-read the novel I was in the process of recording the history of Redding in digital format. I was and I still am gathering information about Redding, Connecticut and posting it online so everyone else can enjoy it too. (My website is: HistoryofRedding.com)

What I realized was that a lot of what happened in the book really happened and a lot of the characters were real. So what I started doing was looking at the novel as less of a story and more as a lesson in what happened in Redding at the start of the American Revolution.

That's when the connection between the real and the fictionalized became clearer and the topics the authors had woven into each chapter started to flow out. It was at this point I began creating my resources to help parents, teachers and students understand the novel better.

From the website, there grew an entire sub-site dedicated to My Brother Sam is Dead and then came online self-grading quizzes, and then an e-book and another and another. And that was great for a while, but then as more people read my e-books they expressed a need for more information and information they could use (as needed) to take this novel to new levels in their classrooms and homes.

Enter Dropbox.

Until Dropbox I could not get people the files and information they needed without a lot of work. I burned thousands of CD's and it was a lot of work. A lot of work and there were shipping issues and it just wasn't working. But Dropbox fixed all of that. With Dropbox I am able to give people access to all my files and they have access to my files from any computer they are on, it's awesome.

My Dropbox account is a work in progress so you will always have my latest research and the most accurate information available. You will also have access to new maps and photos and resources.

What’s in the My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbox Folder?

Everything I have collected and written over that past 6 years and that's a whole lot. The idea behind this folder is to help parents and teachers better understand what topics the authors have woven into each chapter of the fictional history novel, My Brother Sam is Dead.

I have broken out this resource into three sections:

1). Guide to MBSD(2 e-books and 8 supporting documents),

2). Maps, Photos and Visuals and

3). Teaching Resources(includes lesson plans and online quizzes).

All my ebooks are included at this resource and much more. Photos and maps of everything that occurs in the novel and teaching tools are included as well.

This is everything you need and more to get your kids really excited about the novel and come away with a very good understanding of why the novel was written.

My Brother Sam is Dead Dropbox Access