Letter of Phillip OWEN (John & Anna-Hannah HODGKINS) of Brunswick, ME

Transcript of a letter included in unpublished OWEN genealogy manuscript written by Earle D. Owen circa 1976 of the Falmouth OWEN family: The letter was written in response to an invitation to attend the celebration of the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill: "In May 1777 being then twenty-one years of age I went with the army to Fort Ticonderoga and was there when General Burgoyne came up the lake. Our army, three thousand in number, retreated from this to Hubbardston, a distance of twenty-four miles, when General Frazer came up in pursuit. I was in the engagement for a quarter of an hour at close quarters, and when our army was obliged then to retreat with a loss of two hundred and fifty men. Colonel Francis of Beverly was shot, close behind me, after a gallant defense. I was also present at the Stillwater when General Frazer attacked Colonel Morgan. The latter was reinforced by our soldiers, and the fight then became general, from 2 o'clock till dark. The surrender of Burgoyne took place three days after this, on the 17th of October. I also guarded the army's stores at Monmouth, New Jersey, in 1778; and when the British Colonel Monkton was killed, his body was left in my care. I was also a witness of the memorable execution of Major André on the 2nd of October 1780. Our Army under General Patterson was then stationed at West Point. Having obtained leave of absence, I fell in with the guard who was appointed to attend Major André on that occasion, and thus had an excellent opportunity for witnessing the scene. The evens of the day are still fresh in my memory as those of yesterday. I saw him remove his stock and prepare himself for his final scene with as much composure as though attending his usual employments."   Mary Cronin Nichols at [email protected] 6 Sep 2005