Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application File S. 1050, for Ephream Leaman, New Jersey
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he was told that some of his old associates in arms were still living and that their names were on some old papers of Capt Covenhoven which have been recently found That according to the best of his recollections, he entered into actual service in the militia of Monmouth County N.J. sometime in the month of July 1776, just after the arrival of the British fleet at Sandy Hook and served therein not less than the periods mentioned below and in the grade of a private: That he served in said militia in a company commanded by Capt William Perrine and Lieut John Covenhoven and Lawrence Taylor, every other month alternately in tours of one month each from the said month of July 1776, during the latter part of that year, and during the whole of the year 1777 and 1778: that he cannot (at this distance of time owing to the imperfect state of his memory) pretend to tell the particular day of the month when each tour of duty commenced and ended, but he is certain that each tour of duty was at least one month in length and that he served at least six such tours in each of the years 1777 and 1778 and three such tours in the year 1776: that some time in the early part of the year 1777 he thinks Capt. Perrine deserted to the enemy and John Covenhoven was appointed Captain in his place and continued commanding the company during the whole of the war: that he cannot recollect the other officers of the company (except Lieut Taylor): that Samuel Forman was colonel of the Regiment to which his company belonged and David Forman was Brigadier General of the said county: that their headquarters were at Freehold, and their duties were to guard and defend the inhabitants of the shores and frontiers of the said country of Monmouth from parties of the British and Tories who were continually landing on our shores from New York, Long and Staten Island, and committing their depredations in every quarter: that from and after the year 1778 he thinks that the calls upon the Militia were not so frequent as before: that from the best of his recollection he
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thinks that from one quarter to one half of the company were called out on guard at a time, during the latter years of the war, just as the exigency of the times required as the officers commanded: That he this deponent continued to serve and aid actually serve in the said company under the aforesaid office at least one fourth of the time (and he thinks more) during the years 1779, 1780, 1781, 1782, generally in tours of one month each making at least three months actual service in each of the last named years: that for reasons above stated he cannot recollect the particular day on which each tour of duty commenced and ended, but he knows that he served not less than three months in each of the years 1779, 1780, 1781, and 1782, for he never hired a substitute nor was fined in the performance of duty on his regular calls, but he was once fined by Captain Covenhoven for non-attendance on an alarm, and that was because he could not leave home, his wife being sick in childbed: that this headquarters and duties were the same as afore mentioned, and their officers were also the same: that all the above service was performed in the grade of a private: that he served a great number of tours of short periods upon alarms and in cases of invasion by parties of the enemy, when it was not his regular tour of duty (for all the militia were called on such occasions) but he cannot pretend to recollect either their length or the times or places they were performed, nor does he make any claim for such services but claims a pension only for his regular tours of duty above mentioned: that he served as a volunteer in the militia under the call of his country: that he was never engaged in any regularly fought battles but in several skirmishes with small parties of the enemy: That his marches were generally confined to his nation county from headquarters to the several guard posts along the shore to writ:  Sandy Hook, Black point, Shrewsbury