Poor Scoby

For a number of years my wife had been making Kombucha. I say had, because as of now she has moved on, at least for the time being, to another cultured fermented beverage. Since this past winter she has seemingly become enamored with kefir grains, which, as it cultures with milk (and perhaps other things), has similar pro-biotic benefits.  With her concentration on kefir grains the scoby has been sitting in its scoby hotel for weeks, if not months. The poor scoby is now second fiddle to kefir.

Scoby in its Hotel

A scoby hotel is essentially a Mason (canning) jar with the scoby and some of its fermented tea and sugars placed in a refrigerator for storage. The scoby has nice digs, it must be a high end hotel with its structure being glass curtain walls. Last November or December, part of a scoby was in such a hotel  in our small downstairs refrigerator.  I needed to make room for some stuff for Christmas dinner, so I had to rearrange the fridge and I placed the scoby hotel on its side.  I did not know what was in the jar.  The problem was some of the precious liquid leaked out, and the scoby touched the metal lid.  These two events made me highly concerned as, when she saw this, she said I may have killed the scoby.  The lack of liquid was one thing, but the worst part was the scoby touching the metal lid of the jar.  Apparently metal can kill the fermentation process. Much to my relief, the scoby, while somewhat stilted in its ability to grow and look like an even bigger piece of old slimy ham, was still able to produce Kombucha.  

Looking like old slimy piece of ham, or a body part ready to be used by Dr Frankenstein, or a body part preserved for eating by Hannibal Lecter, (with a fine Chianti). The scoby, from what I gather, is a living organism that is now in some state of suspended animation in the refrigerator in its upright Mason jar. I would be going bonkers if I had to live in a hotel for, say more than a few weeks.  The poor scoby never gets out.  Although, if I was in a state of suspended animation, I may not really know what is going on. Not knowing what is going on, some would say, is part of my whole existence.

Kifer at Work, the large jar is probably the fermenter
the smaller jar is what, I think, we can use

With kifer, I really do not know much of what goes on. I do use some of the kiefer product, in smoothies, and I once almost killed that too by stirring it with a metal spoon. I guess the kiefer culture can be killed by metal too.  In other words, I am close to being the kryptonite for her varied cultures.

I am not sure what it is about stuff that is supposed to be healthy for your digestive system, but the stuff that is, is, well, unappealing in its appearance.  I have mentioned how the scoby looks like a slimy piece of ham. The kifer is as bad looking too, like soured milk that has curdled. The process seems to involve leaving it out of the fridge in milk for a period of time, and hence milk left out makes me think of sour milk.  Second, she strains it, and it looks, well, curdled.  Like some thing in a cheese making process went bad. It is like slimy cheese curds, with the emphasis on the slimy.  Or, perhaps, a food science experiment gone way bad. What I do know about kifer is some how they come for the Caucaus Mountain region, and one can not start their own.  Which makes me wonder who ever came up with such a silly idea as to leave this stuff out and coagulate in slimy cheese curds and not only that decide to combine it with milk and create something good for the gut?  

Detail of  small Kifer Jar
Notice the separation

Now, don't get me wrong, there are somethings that I enjoy that are fermented: beer and wine come quickly to mind.  The nice thing about placing it in a smoothie is that the fruit or and other flavors help to camouflage its smell and probably its taste. I still use yogurt in my smoothies, usually with some peanut butter and a fruit. This kifer product adds a heavy cream like liquid to the smoothie. My wife's kombuhca scoby is now set aside in a hotel. She says she is not brewing right now since she needs time to drink her kombucha.  She really nurses a kumbucha, taking all day to drink a small, say 4 to 6 oz glass of the stuff.  When I drink it, I do it fast, thinking a few seconds of torture is better than one that lasts all day. Drinking kombucha is about the only thing she does not do with alacrity.  What I am not sure of is can a kifer grain be set aside in its own hotel, so I may have something else to be concerned about if I turn it on its side, and kill the kifer. 

Simeon Goff, Saving the Continental Army

In October of 1776 Simeon Goff, my wife's fourth great grandfather, was three months into a five month stint in a Massachusetts militia.  That militia was now formally attached to the nascent continental army. During a lull in action, Simeon was finally able to get some rest after the terrible battles for Long Island and New York. In the lull, Nathan Hale had been hanged by the British, and the Continental army was in disarray. This is the story of Simeon Goff and the Continental Army in the battle for Westchester County. General Washington now had a force of about 31,000 men, but it is thought only about half were battle ready. The sicknesses that engulfed the camp in spring and summer never seemed to subside, eating into the utility of the ranks. With the onset of the autumn, the falling colorful leaves were but a fleeting indicator of a more peaceful, tranquil way of life for Simeon and other members of the Continental Army. Simeon Goff would play a roll with his Massachusetts regiment in saving the Continental Army from extinction. 

Depiction of Battle of Pell's Point, Oct 1776

Life in camp was anything but tranquil, it could be downright deadly. Much of the disease was due to poor sanitation, a stalwart of the armies in its early years, and quite frankly a lack of full appreciation of what good sanitary efforts can accomplish. I am sure Simeon's 4th great granddaughter would be appalled at the lack of proper sanitation at the war camps. A surgeon from Delaware, serving with a regiment at the time, provides our 21st century levels of cleanliness a look into the camp life when he wrote: “excrementitious matter was scattered indiscriminately throughout the camp….Many died melting as it were, and running off by the bowels"(Atkinson, 432). Part of the problem was lack of medical care to be provided by surgeons or nurses. Low pay meant few wished to take on a life near the front lines and live in a squalid type quality.  Not as if the doctors would be much help, they probably would bleed the patient to only make matters worse.

John Glover

 

Sickness was only part of the problem. Morale was another. Those that were healthy were not on good behavior. There was theft, robbery, insubordination, desertion, and even mutiny. A company could not sufficiently train without seeing their tents and personal belongings being raided (Atkinson, 432-433). When the soldiers came upon communities, the behavior was no less egregious causing citizens to bolt their doors. This behavior made Washington comment that his troops were “‘infinitely more formidable to the poor farmers & inhabitants’ than to the British" (Atkinson, 433). John Adams would write that he was ashamed of the age in which he lived. Of course, Washington tended to blame the whole of the matter on the lack of a good continental army, and his having to depend on the malicious militias for so much of the fighting. This was noted in a fourteen page monograph to John Hancock. He wanted a permanent army and not one where the enlistments would end within a few months, just as he was about to soon experience as 1776 was drawing to a close with less than three months left to the new year.  Simeon was one of the soldiers who would have his enlistment end on 1 December. He wanted soldiers to be properly compensated with goods, land and ample cash bounties. He would write: “Something is due to the man who puts his life in his hand, hazards his health, & forsakes the sweets of domestic enjoyment.” (Atkinson, 433)

For three weeks there had been a lull in battle, but as the sun began to peak over the horizon, at day break on October 9 the quiet morning was broken by the sounds of heavy artillery on the Hudson River. The battle of White Plains had begun. The battle would last for several days with each side committing errors, Washington reorganizing the units and their commanders during battle, and each side wondering what would be next. For the common soldier, the issue was supplies and food. As 13,000 colonial men marched out of Manhattan they had few beasts of burden to assist in moving food and material, and even artillery. As Atkinson notes (p 440) few provisions were able to be had this October in the countryside of White Plains and New York. This led soldiers and the many camp followers to plunder, showing that the misbehavior experienced in the downtime continued. Men need food and regardless of a full-time army, or part time militia, an army marches on its stomach.

 

Glover Rock at Pell's Point

Regardless of how much food they would have had, men still had to fight. Simeon’s regiment was part of four Massachusetts regiments that would be led by Col John Glover in what is known as the battle of Pell’s Point, or Pelham Point. This battle was part of the large White Plains, and Westchester County engagements. On 18 October 13,000 British forces landed in moonlight at Pell’s Point (See Atkinson, pp 440-443). This British contingent, was unopposed and uncontested as it began to move inland finding unused artillery batteries. Pell’s Point is little mentioned in the literature, but Abbatt, in his 1910 work claims the battle was of significant consequence to the Continental Army at a critical juncture in time (p 267). Recall that the army was retreating after its losses at Long Island and New York, and the British were hoping to put an end to the rebellion. Col. Glover, however, noticed through his field glasses, as the sun was rising, that the British were landing. He took his force of 750 men to meet the British. The nearest American General was three miles distant, and Glover sent a courier to make him aware of the situation. Yet, time did not allow for General Lee to be present. Glover needed to act quick. Like so much in war, Glover’s quickly devised plan was based on subterfuge. He had most of his contingent hide behind a stone wall, while about 40 skirmishers drew the British closer and closer until they were basically at the wall where the Continentals then engaged them in combat. Glover, in the lone account of the engagement, says that “We kept our post under cover of stone wall till they came within fifty yards of us [when we] rose up and gave them the whole charge of the battalion, they halted and returned the fire with showers of musketry and cannon balls” (Abbatt, 271).

Being overwhelmed the Continental soldiers retreated and formed new lines further back. One of the retreats was by the regiment to which Simeon Goff was attached, led by Colonel Read.  In this instance, as a drummer Simeon would have pounded out the retreat signal, for his company. Yet, with 750 against 13,000 the odds favored the British and there was yet another retreat. As the sun was setting, the enemy found themselves tired and discouraged. This small group of Americans inflicted heavy losses on the British. Let me pick up from the work of Abbatt (p 273):

The results of Glover’s all day fight were of the greatest importance, far beyond the loss, heavy though it was, inflicted on the enemy. It secured, first, one day more for Washington’s force to reach White Plains, and second, Howe stunned by the unexpected and heavy loss, encamped for several days after, near New Rochelle. All the while Washington was assembling at White Plains, where he was to fight, October 28th and for the invaluable ten days respite he received he was entirely indebted to the plain matter-of-fact man of Marblehead [Glover], who...says “However, I did the best I could.”

Hence the action at Pell's Point provided sufficient time for the remainder of the Continentals to gather and fight another day, or in this case ten days later. This action was, as Jim Lovell would say, a successful failure,  Many sources note that Pell's Point was an American loss that saved Washington's army. Simeon Goff was a part of the encounter that saved the Continental army from extinction. It was not simply in the delay it caused the British forces, but that the battle helped to change the whole American psyche as to what was possible.  After all, a small group of men held at bay 13,000 men from the best army in the world.

Simeon Goff grave marker

An army runs on its stomach, and in their quest for provisions, the larger group of combatants pilfered food as it made its way north to White Plains. Atkinson notes that, as the battle moved into November, the rebels continued to scourge White Plains--stealing livestock, furniture, and farm implements. (Atkinson, 448) Massachusetts troops were said to be heated with liquor, burned much of some towns, including a church , taverns (probably after confiscating the liquor), and even barns full of hay. It does not appear to be a regiment in which Simeon served, since the commander, Major Jonathan Williams Austin, a Harvard man who had studied law with John Adams, was court-martialed for “wanton, barbarous conduct” ending his service. Washington would simply say of the affair: “cowardly wretches.” (Atkinson, 448)

Yet, the mistakes by Howe, such as waiting due to his losses at Pell’s Point, did not feel much like a huge victory for the American forces. There were complaints about the command of the British still being of better judgement than the American force commanded by George Washington. Once again, Washington had misread the terrain, but he tried to offset his misjudgments, and again would undertake brilliant retreats when necessary. But, the most important thing was that the despondency so infectious after New York and Long Island was being replaced by what Atkinson (448) would refer to “an unaccountable buoyancy could still be found in the rebel ranks despite the perpetual retreat. ‘The army are no ways disheartened,’ a young military lieutenant named Samuel Shaw wrote his parents near Boston. ‘We seem pretty generally to believe we shall beat them at last.’” Washington, who had Simeon Goff and the other men under his command retreat, came to realize that he had mastered the methods of proper and timely retreat, bedeviling British General Howe. This led to a change in attitude which would affect the war. Nonetheless, the battle for White Plains would continue to rage well into November.

 

Map of White Plains, Westchester County

A large contingent of American forces would be captured after finally surrendering during a long battle and having been surrounded by the British forces for days. It was perhaps Washington’s lowest point, with other Generals now questioning his capabilities, as can be summed by a few words he wrote to his brother: “I am wearied almost to death by the retrograde motion of things.” (Atkinson, p 460) The destruction of another large American force was kept from capture by another one of Washington’s masterful retreats.

However, the surprise is that with how most everything had gone so bad for the American forces during the New York campaign, and how over-matched they were by the British in terms of men, training, and leadership, the American armies were still not defeated. Lt Shaw would write in a letter home: “I firmly believe that if heaven had not something very great in store for America, we should ‘ere this have been a ruined people.” (Atkinson, 462) So, once again the army retreated. Some lacking shoes, bodies wrapped in blankets, and this rabble of an army looked for shelter in barns, sheds and a few lucky ones would find a house. The fall campaign was now ending, and with it the service of Simeon Goff. Simeon would receive a discharge on Dec 1, 1776.

Simeon Goff Pension

With this discharge, partially through a retreat across New Jersey in the last days of November, Simeon would break off and undergo a long trek back to Rehoboth in the Massachusetts colony. Simeon would have experience of loss and depredation, but also the knowledge that he, and his regiment had fought hard and well. Simeon was part of the 750 men at Pell’s Point who, according to Abbatt, had saved the whole army from destruction, and what otherwise would to the idea of independence for the fledgling nation, then only in its fourth month of existence.

Simeon would not be with his regiment when it took part in what is perhaps the most iconic movement of the war--the Christmas day movement across the Delaware River to attack on the encamped Hessian forces at Trenton. What I find most remarkable about Simeon’s service during this trying time is that he did not have to serve at all. For five months and 21 days he was away from home, put up with hardship, illness, and loss of friends. During this, his second tour of duty in the war, he served as a substitute for a man named Joseph Pierce. As Simeon walked home from New Jersey, in a counter move to the flow to the army movement, I also wonder if he realized what his regiment had accomplished at Pell's Point?  I also wonder, as he returned home if he thought he had fought his last battle for Independence?  It turn out he would serve briefly in 1777 and again in 1778.

Sources:

Abbatt, William, 1910, “The Battle for Pell’s Point or Pelham, October 18, 1776” Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association, vol 9.  

History.com

Historyis fun.org

Atkinson, Rick, 2019, The British Are Coming, Henry Holt & Co. NY NY

Simeon Goff, and the Key to the Whole Continent

Simeon Goff, a fourth great grandparent of my spouse, served four tours of duty during the revolutionary war.  During 1776 he served from July 1 to December 1.  His Massachusetts company, and regiment, from Rehoboth, was sent to New York where they would be in the struggle for New York. This blog post is a continuation of Simeon's service in the Revolutionary War.  Private Goff would serve his company and regiment as a drum major during 1776 in various engagements of the Revolutionary War in the area of New York. This blog post will be the first part of his service in 1776 and a subsequent post will deal with his service in autumn. His enlistment on July 1, would be one day earlier then when the colonies declared independence. Although, as we all know, July 4 is now the recognized date. 

John Adams of Massachusetts early in the Revolutionary War once described New York as “a kind of key to the whole continent.” General George Washington would also hold New York as important, saying it is “a post of infinite importance” (Atkinson, p 304). Why was New York viewed as a key  location in the war such as to have two leaders of the American Revolution claim its importance? The reason, at least during the Revolutionary War, was the North River, and the belief that if the British gained control of New York they had the capability to, as Washington said “they can stop the intercourse between the northern & southern colonies, upon which depends the safety of America” (Atkinson, 304). Given the archipelago on which the city was located, it had a lot of water, and water was a main carrier of large items of transport during this age of trails rather than highways. People and goods would make their way between colonies by use of water, when readily available. 

Painting of part of the Battle for New York

Due to geography, New York was important, and due to that position, it also would commandeer militias from other states. New Yorkers themselves tended to identify more with the Britain, and hence were loyolists or Tories. Ten colonies had sent militias to New York, where Washington hoped for a battle to end the conflict. Fewer than half the colonial forces were continentals, that is the new regular army, the rest were state militia members. Simeon Goff, my wife’s fourth great grandfather, made his way, with his militia regiment from Massachusetts to New York and would find himself engaged with his unit in the battles of White Plains, Long Island and Pelham Point. Colonel Thomas Carpenter would, in 1776 take the reins of this Rehoboth regiment and lead it into these battles as part of the colonial army. Simeon would serve four tours of duty. His first tour of duty in 1775 is described here and here, where he enrolled on the 28th of April 1775. His first tour was either 3 months and eleven days, or six months, depending upon the record examined. Simeon’s second tour of duty lasted five months from July 1 to Dec 1, 1776. What would the war experience in New York be like for Simeon? This post, and a subsequent post, is an attempt to provide an answer to that question.

One historian has said of the citizen soldiers, that “the great mass knew nothing of war.” In this sense it would be a very rude awakening for the mass of troops gathered. The regiment to which Simeon belonged would be one of the few at or near full strength. Summer diseases had killed or made very ill a large number of men. Dysentery, typhoid, and even malaria would be the main killer in this part of the war, not battle wounds themselves. Diseases were misdiagnosed, and treatment was even more primitive, making for a dangerous combination. One Connecticut continental group had available only 214 of its authorized 728 men. Disease and death left such a horrid smell which permeated both place and people, leading one doctor to comment that the air of the whole city was bad, by saying that in almost “every street there is a horrid smell'' (Atkinson, 358). The battle for Long Island, even with the difficulty of obtaining fit men, would still provide an army of 40,000 souls making it the largest engagement for the long eight year Revolutionary War. We don’t know if Simeon became ill, but we do know that he lived to another day.

John Adams

Logistically, stocking an overseas army, as was the British issue, was more difficult as they had to haul men, horses, food and even forage from overseas. Not to mention, waste, spoilage, and just plain fraud on the part of suppliers. That did not mean that logistics were not also a problem for the colonies. Atkinson (306) notes the following comment by a North Carolina congressman, Joseph Hewes: “ ...but it is a melancholy fact that near half our men, cannon muskets, powder, clothes, etc is to be found nowhere but on paper.” Washington calculated the food needs of a 15,000 man army to be 100,000 barrels of flour, 10,000 tons of meat annually. The concerns arose not just for food, but for flint, blankets, tents, wagons, shoes, and a whole host of other daily items.

I wonder how much of this food was for Washington and his upper echelon. Atkinson (p 431) notes that while Washington was staying five weeks at the Morris house in Westchester County, that “The commander in chief’s household expense ledger...showed a hearty appetite for goose, mutton, veal, turkey pork and duck; the provisions also included a half dozen six-pound loaves of bread daily, apples, green tea, cider, and 163 bottles of good Madeira.” Over 13 cases of wine, assuming 12 bottles to a case, in just a five week period. Washington was living high on the hog, so to speak. While he did not claim a salary, he was reimbursed for his expenses. Party hearty, and the upper echelon of men did.

George Washington

While Washington was well supplied, the one supply for the common soldier in good supply was gunpowder. Gunpowder was had by a few different methods. First, the colonies raided ships, often by falsely flying French colors to board and raid, or pirate, the second avenue was smuggling gun powder, from places in the West Indies or Europe. I guess they viewed it as an acceptable level of piracy with the means justifying the end.

Simeon’s role in the Rehoboth regiment would be like the gunpowder production in 1776, stopping and starting. For his second tour, Simeon was the regimental drummer. He drummed to alert the troops of the regiment as to when to wake, when to put down for the night, when to eat and when to go to church. But, his role was much more important in the thick of battle. His drum would let the regiment know when and where to gather, when to attack and when to retreat. The drummer was to the Revolutionary War what the colors and bugles were for the Civil War. He would likely have been armed with his drum and two drumsticks, hence he was vulnerable, although perhaps he carried a pistol or rifle slung over his back. Often during war, the opponents try to take out the lead staff, and Simeon would have been kept near the Captain of his local unit, to make note of the order given in the heat and fog of battle.

New York Campaign

 
The battles at Long Island over a few days were ferocious, and left both armies at times in a tenuous position. The American left and center fell, leaving a valiant effort by the commander of the American right, General Lord Stirling to fight it out, showing courage and capability that would surprise a biographer who had claimed him a pompous, vain, obese man. The group of Marylanders under his control would fall, seeing over 250 dead or captured. Three of five groups from Maryland fighting in the rear guard would be obliterated, and the other two almost so. As Atkinson quotes: “A chaplain watching from the redoubt on Brooklyn Heights told his journal, ‘O doleful! Doleful! Blood! Carnage! Fire!’ Lieutenant Enoch Anderson of Delaware, who escaped by wading to his chin past a milldam despite a wound in his neck, wrote simply, ‘A hard day this.’” (371)

British commander Howe would record over 1,200 prisoners including three generals, three colonels, and four lieutenant colonels. There were so many the British did not really know what to do with them. The total American wounded and killed was estimated by Howe as over 3,300 men. However, showing the nature of the American army these captured officers were a surprise to the mercenary professional Hessian Soldiers who noted that they “are nothing but mechanics, tailors, shoemakers, wigmakers, barbers, etc.” (Atkinson 372) Unlike the British army, the leaders of the American army were common men, most of whom had to self learn what war was like. Recall that Connecticut regiment with only 214 of its total 728 fit for battle? Well, 208 of the number were killed or missing in action. It was a one sided battle, fully in favor the forces brought by the crown.

Monument Base in Brooklyn, NY
Inscription reads:
"Good God! What brave fellows I must this day lost."

 
It would be a carnage that few could forget. It would bring the 18th century version of PTSD, it would bring about total exhaustion, and a despondency that made soldiers question officers, and officers question soldiers, and field officers question their generals. One Lt Colonel would write that “less generalship never was shown in any army since the art of war was understood.” (Atkinson, 373) Washington had misread the situation on the ground, during and throughout each day of the battle. While he realized the key was New York for its water, he failed because he had no navy to assist. Showing lack of faith in his men, as all around him men fell he would tell John Hancock, that “he could still defend New York ‘if the men would do their duty.’” (Atkinson, 373)

The one thing Washington did right within this whole battle, was his retreat. Although the colonial forces were assisted by a British general who failed to pursue the colonial army as that colonial army licked its wounds in retreat. The British general provided the road map for General Meade in the Civil War when he chose not to go after the retreating confederate army after the Union victory at Gettysburg. The following morning, British pickets would find no one in the American camp. Simeon would gather his drum, and meager belongings during the retreat from the battle for Long Island, and move to a more distant shore.  He, and his company would wait for another battle. Tune in for another episode of Simeon Goff and the Revolutionary War.

Images from Google

Sources:  

History.com

Historyis fun.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, 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