The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-13

ant service of his regiment at Saratoga.
Bigelow participated in the battle of
Brandywine creek and Germantown,
and went into camp with the army at
historic Valley Forge.
Of the sufferings of the winter of
III rs nothing need be said here. Once
in his own headquarters, it was pro-
posed to abandon the revolution as
hopeless, but Bigelow suppressed the
incipient mutiny by his firm stand and
his patriotic speech. Ia time came re
lief. Cattle were driven in from New
Jersey and Connecticut and supplies
came from home. Worcester sent 81
sets of shirts, shoes and stockings as
her share of the equipment, besides 6 rs
in good money (not deprecated paper),
the proceeds of a Sunday collection at
the Old South Church. A contribution
of $3.50 might be considered generous,
even at the present time.
At Monmouth Col. Bigelow and his
Worcester regiment again distinguished
themselves. Their brigade commander
was Gen. John Glover, whose Marble
head and Gloucester fishermen had
ferried Washingtons army across New
York bay after the disastrous battle of
Long Island and subsequently piloted
them through the floating ice of the
Delaware river. Nathaniel Green of
Connecticut, next to Washington the
ablest general of the revolution, was
their division commander and all were
under Lafayette, in the left wing of
Washington's army.
When Washington prepared to
strike CORVALLIS a knockout blow at
Monmouth court house, in New Jersey,
he sent Gen. Charles Lee ahead to in
tercept the British and hold them in
check till the main American column
could come up and crush them. La
fayette was to support Lee. The Amer
leans We're pushing the British off the
field and turning their flank, when Lee
treacherously gave the order to retreat,
for which he was afterward so severely
reprimanded by Washington.
When Lee fell back, Lafayette had to
follow, but. he withdrew slowly, while
Bigelows men and two other regiments
disputed the advance of the British
army. 1t was a fearfully hot July day,
but the fighting was even hotter than
the sun Here. it was that solomon
Parsons. a Worcester soldier, was
dropped by a British musket ball, and
Bigelow, dismounting, seized the SOL
dier's gun and reused his men to their
his own fighting SO1,CC TEA ft1f1 j
utmost exertions by the fierceness of
his own fighting. washington finally
came up with the main army, stopped
the retreating troops, and. like Sheri-
dan at Cedar Creek. turned defeat into
victory and drove Corvallis from the
| field
After this, Bigelow spent much OF his
time in Connecticut and Rhode Island,
which were favorite places for Wahlon
and useless British forays from New
York. and .alsosin New Jersey, where
the tories had to be kept in subsection,
| and prevented from sending the sup
niles TO the British The cOmmunica-
| ton between Verplanck's point and
stony point, across the Hudson, lad
to be kept open, and here Bigelow did
| admirable service.
When Green was sent south to super
sede Gates who had at last convinced
congress of his incapacity by allowing
the British to destroy his army a Cam
| den. Bigelow got himself assigned to
! the new army which was to be or
ganized. but he did not arrive ill
Green had completed his campaign. He
| .ook part in the siege of yorktown,
| however, and in the assault under La
| fayette, which virtually ended the ar
| BfgeloW' was we'll known to Lafayette.
who priced his services highly, as was
shown years afterwards, when the dis
| tinguished Frenchman revisited this
country. Another officer with whom
Bigelow was associated was Col Alex
ander Hamilton, afterwards first sec
rotary of the treasury, and the father
of the American fiscal system
| After the surrender of Cornwsllis at
Yorktown, Oct. 10, 1881, Bigelow was
sent to West Point to keep the HID
son open and watch Clinton till the
evacuation of the New York was ac-
complished. 1t was as hard then to get
the British out of Manhattan island as
| it is now to get the spaniards out Of
Cuba. After returning to Worcester
Bigelow went again to West Point, and
then was assigned to take charge of
the arsenal at Springfield. He and
! others obtained a grant of 23,0IO acres