Simeon Goff, the British are Here, Part 2

Simeon Goff, as seen in the prior post, first enrolled in the Massachusetts militia on April 28, 1775, five days after the legislative call for men to gather arms for the Revolutionary War. Simeon, as noted in prior posts, is the 4th great grandfather of my wife. As part of the regiment from Rehoboth, his hometown, Simeon and and his regiment would be part of the observation, or siege, of Boston, an operation to contain and limit British movement in and out of Boston. 

Simeon, a private in the regiment, would serve three months and 11 days, or six months, depending upon source information. While the regiment did not participate in the June battle of Bunker Hill, actually Breed’s Hill, it nonetheless provided the support of containment in the long line from Roxbury to Chelsea, with Simeon's regiment specifically serving in the section from Roxbuy to Dorchester. Atkinson provides this reference: “An army of sorts soon bivouacked along a ten-mile crescent from Roxbury to Chelsea, determined to serve the god of battle by driving the British into the sea.” (p. 83) There was an almost religious fervor among the 30,000 recruits who responded to the order of the Provincial Congress. A quote contained in Atkinson’s work notes, “‘The ardor of our people is such that they can’t be kept back.’ a committee from New Haven informed John Hancock.” (p. 83) Simeon, per his regimental history, was one of those 30,000 recruits to serve in that line.

1775 era map of the Siege of Boston
from Google

Of course, such citizen soldiers had to set aside their work on the farm or in the shop. However, the need to leave this grand American army for home chores led many to depart after a brief stint of service, which of course provided fodder for George Washington in his claims of the unreliability of the militia. To deceive the British, as to the size of the force, a regiment near Roxbury, perhaps Simeon’s, would march one mile and turn around and march back again, doing so a few times a day. This to try and trick the British forces into thinking there were more colonial forces in place than there actually were. Shortages compounded the problems, particularly in arms and ammunition. Rations, too, were often short. Worse yet, was the lack of proper sanitation and cleanliness in the camp. Think of a combination of wood smoke, cooking meat, rotting entrails left off to the side, and improperly dug latrines and one can quickly get an idea that camp life, and the odor that went with it, was not very pleasant. It is not a situation a red-headed descendant of Simeon Goff would like. This descendant, I am sure, would go in and organize the sanitation situation, putting her organizational and nurse skills to work. After all, she is the one upon visiting a boy scout campout decided the boys needed to clean their hands before eating and she and another mom created, and enforced, a hand washing line. 

Sanitation was one thing, clothing was another. Clothing worn by the militia regiments was what would have been worn on the farm or in the shop. Simeon Goff probably dressed similar to the other members of his regiment. Atkinson describes that Massachusetts regiments “wore the usual homespun linen shirts and breeches tinted with walnut or sumac dye. Most carried a blanket or bedroll, often with a tumpline strap across the forehead to support the weight on their backs.” (93) One woman, Mary Pierce, who became widowed during this campaign, is reported to have made a claim of “five pounds and twelve shillings for his (husband's) lost coat, trousers, stockings, shoes, buckles, silk handkerchief, knife, and tobacco box.” (Atkinson, 112) Clearly, even in the fog of war the parsimonious Puritans pleaded for proper compensation. It makes one wonder what she thought of her husband having perished in battle? She certainly desired just compensation for his lost or stolen snuff box. Such was life for a camp commander.

General Washington at Siege of Boston
from Google

While rations were in short supply, the soldiers got creative. In this situation, 600 militia members set out for an island in Boston Harbor to capture “411 sheep, 27 cows, and 6 horses” (Atkinson, p 87) which garnered the attention of the British forces which failed to stop the raid. If things were bad along the American lines, they were much worse for the British forces. The siege was working in denying food and material to the Bostonian based British. The hardships led the British to move on the area occupied by Bunker Hill and Breed’s Hill to find a way out of the mess in which they found themselves. American spies caught wind of the plan, and forces were quickly moved to what was supposed to be the more impenetrable Bunker Hill, but they were misplaced onto Breed’s Hill. Organ pipes were melted down for bullets, and a review of ammunition and gunpowder occurred.

To assist with this battle, nine Massachusetts regiments were ordered from Cambridge to the Charlestown neck, but only five reached this peninsula, due to directional indifference. Just because the regiments were from Massachusetts did not mean they knew where they were going and lack of maps proved a major hindrance to the proper and timely movement of forces. Organization of militias was generally by county. Simeon served with a regiment from Bristol County, and it probably did not help matters as the regiment would be in the dark if they lacked knowledge of the area. They did not have a smart phone to ask siri for directions. They even lacked maps. Those troops at the neck, did not even get on the correct hill, gathering on Breed’s Hill, a more difficult to fortify position, rather than the intended Bunker Hill.

Last Attack of British at Bunker Hill
from Google

Losses at the battle of Bunker Hill were rather significant for the British Army and their hired Hessian soldiers. Exhibiting a certain level of morbid curiosity, Yankees in Roxbury used spy glasses to watch the Brits bury their dead. (Atkinson p 113) The effects of the dead soldiers, on both sides, would be sold to the highest bidder. One wonders if private Pierce’s effects fetched a few pounds.

Bunker Hill would be the first difficult battle leading some combatants to incur what we now call PTSD. As one British officer wrote, “The shocking carnage of that day never will be erased from out of my mind ‘till the day of my death.” (Atkinson, 115) With this carnage, with the shorter term deployments, as we know Simeon served either six months, or three months and 11 days in 1775, and with the deprivations experienced these citizen soldiers performed quite well, which would have been a surprise to General Washington, who as quoted in one source “was unimpressed upon meeting his supposed army outside Boston upon his appointment as commander in chief of the Continental forces in 1775. (history.com) Simeon Goff and the other militia members who came from farms, workshops and mercantile businesses would protect their homeland, the American continent, and do so through a long trying war.

The Observation of Boston was long, at times boring and at times difficult.  In March 1776, the commanding General, George Washington, would pull out from the siege, and send his troops elsewhere.  Simeon's militia was involved in the Observation of Boston, so for all of Simeon's 3 or 6 months service in 1776 it was spent near Boston, north-northeast of his community of Rehoboth.  A future post (or posts) will discuss Simeon's service in 1776.  In the year America became a nation, Simeon would see action, including an event which probably saved the Continental Army and hence the nations newly found independence.


Sources:
History.com
Historyisfun.org
Atkinson, Rick, 2019, The British Are Coming, Henry Holt & Co. NY NY
https://www.historyisfun.org/yorktown-victory-center/militia-in-the-revolutionary-war/

Simeon Goff Pension Record and Muster Records, from Ancestry.com

www.ralstongenealogy.com