Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-01-18

EGttNfs " tHe AeHHfsEt 'yNf nus
recent issue of your paper noticed
4 s. Of the names Of efgit mn, who ~er~
men be-s OF the army. and VITO kept diaries
If the famous but unsuccessful expedition
Ia BY Gea Arnold through the wilderness.
II Maine for the capture of Quebec
/ was requested by one of our Historical
Societies To fur ish paper on the char
acter and life Of Gen Henry Dearborn and
vas des of doing so on account Of the
litlle | had seen in our papers of the his
tlry Of that di,tf guished men. and also
from the fact that he was my great uncle,
brother to my maternal grandmother, and
gave me my name.
On looking up documents for the basis
of the paper referred to learned that
an unpu olisneti. private diary of the Gen
eral. writ by him during his march from
the mouth of the kennebec to the Canada
line, bad been in possession of one of bis
sons living in Roxbury Mass, bat had
been secured by Judge Chamberlain and
deposited in the Boston Public Library.
Two years since I visited the library and
through the kindness of the librarian was
permitted to examine this document, and
made arrange ments To procure a copy, sup
posing that in my article it would first meet
the public s,e; but upon making further
special inquiry I learned that it had been
copied in full IA the record of the New
England Historical Society.
Please, therefore, add the distinguished
name of Gen. Henry Dearborn to the
creditable list you have already published.
Yours truly,
II. p ToRsEr.
keSrs Hn.L, Jan 10.
our thanks are due Dr. Jersey for the
above interesting letter, no, only for the
new personal facts which it contains but
al o because it has sent US back again to
TIVE bibliography of the subject which we
have examined with more care than we
were able to give at the writing of our pre-
vlous article. In note to Thayer's Jour
nal. edited by the late DR. Edwin Martin
Stone, Providence, 1867, not previously
that Capt Heary Dearborn kept Journal
of his march through the wilderness, and
of his experiences while prisoner at Que
bee, but it is not known to have en- pub
lished" Gen Dearborn was born in tIamp-
ton, y. II March /, l7jl On the day
that the express Which arrived at Noting
ham. brought news of the battle Of LIE King
ton, Dr. Dearborn. who was practicing
medicine there, marched at once with
sixty men for Cambridge, and on
his return vas commissioned a Cap
tain n Gen. Stark's regiment. He
raised a company and participated in the
BATH of Bunker Hill Account. say that
he ''j)ine, Arnold in his wilderness
march - Qlbec.' but at what point We do
not know. He was Captain of Co NJ On
the march he was seized with fever, and lay
in cottage on the banks of the Chau-
Here, without physician, for ten days, and
hs life WAS despaire' of. 1t is said
hat devout Catholic woman even sprink
Id him v It'll holy water. But he gradually
recovered and Fastening forward reached
Volts Cove in season 10 rejoin his com
psny and participate in the assault on
Quebec, where he was taken prisoner. He
vas paroled in May, l776, but was no, ex.
changed till March, III.
Following up this subject little more
closely, TOR which We must thank DR.. Tor
sey, we ind that another journal was kept
by John PIERCE of Worcester. Mass. He
was an engineer and surveyor attached to
the Massachusetts, Contingent, and was sent
forward with party from Fort Western,
TO establish the bearing of the route through
the Wilderness. This manuscript hich 10
closely written contains the daily occur
FENCES of the march from Sepl. 5, l715 to
Jan. 10 l716. Unfortunately the first leaf
aud several at the end are missing. The
iournal is owned By the Bradford Club of
New York