The National tribune., 1908-05-28
TO
CORRESPONDENTS.

p
seven years as soldier in the Revolu
tionary War. think he enlisted in the
State of Delaware. His wife was PEN
sioner when the civil war broke out
How can get his military record?
You can obtain the record of your
grandfather's services in the War of
the Revolution by application to the
Military Secretary, War Department,
d. c., and it will be well in
asking for this information to say that
you want the facts for your family
genealogy. In addition, it will be both
interesting and valuable to secure the
data recorded in the Pension Bureau.
They will probably allow you to have
copied the various documents pertain
ing to your ancestor on payment of a
fee to cover the services of copyist.
S. E., Sanibel, Fla, asks: Can a naval
veteran of the civil war with an honor
able discharge get admitted to a Marine
Hospital for treatment?
The Marine Hospitals admit only
American seamen who are serving on
American registered vessels. 1t is pos
sible that you may be able to secure
admission to a Naval Hospital, which
are located in many of the large cities,
of which the nearest probably to you is
at Norfolk, Va.
w. N, Tiffin, o., writes: 1 have read
somewhere that during a session of the
Colonial Congress, I believe it was, there
occurred dense darkness for two or
three days, SO that people got alarmed
thinking the Judgment Day had come.
One member of the Congress made a
motion to adjourn, for the Judgment
Day had certainly come, when another
arose and said, This Is either the Judg-
ment Day or 1t is not. If it Is, l just
as leave it finds me here as anywhere
else. l move we proceed with our bust
ness When did this occur, and who
were the men that made the motions?
The incident you refer to concerns
Abraham Davenport, of Stamford,
Conn, VINO was a member of the Coun-
Gil in Hartford on the dark day" in
1880. when it was proposed to adjourn,
as some thought the day of judgment
was at hand. Davenport objected, say
ing. according to the version given in
the Cyclopedia of American Biography.
THAT day Is either at hand or it is not.
If It is not, there is no cause of adjourn
nent; If it is, / choose to be found doing
my duty. 1 wish, therefore, that can
dies may be brought"
A. d. A., Waseca, Mimi, writes: A
neighbor a subscriber to your paper.
tells me that he thinks you can and VIII
give me information which 1 desire con-
cerning my grandfather, Phineas Cad
well, who was a soldier in the Revolu-
tonary War. 1 have obtained from the
Pension Office his pension record, but
this does not cover his entire military
record, nor give the campaigns or bat
ties in which he took part. The pension
record says he enlisted in 1777, but I
am quite sure that he enlisted in l775,
so that he had served one enlistment.
He was of New Hartford, Conn. and
served in 1777 under Col. Samuel Webb,
whose regiment was, 1 think, the Sd
Conn. Can you put me in the way of
discovering a somewhat complete rec
ord of his military services?
The information you seek can prob
ably be found best in a volume issued
by the State and called Connecticut in
the War of the Revolution" 1t gives
the roster of each regiment. with the
date. of enlistment and discharge of
each soldier. II you find that your an
cestor was in Col Webb's regiment, you
can further trace the record by consult
ing the three-volume edition of Papers
of Col. Samuel Blatchley Webb" pub
lished by his descendant, w. Seward
Webb, of Shelburne, VT. If you have
not these books available, you can easily
secure transcript of the record of
ant-General. Hartford, Conn.
B. G. s., Empire City. Kan. asks:
Can you tell me the names of the wife
and children OF Gen. Nathaniel Greene,
of the Revolutionary War?
Ger. Greene was married on July 90.
1774, to Miss Catherine Littlefield, a
niece of the wife of the Governor OF
Rhode Island, and by her he had two
sons and three daughters. Mrs. Greene
was the Catherine Ray of Benjamin
Franklin's letters. Gen. Greenes best
known descendant was the author Geo
Washington Greene, who prepared the
life of Gen. Nathaniel Greene in Sparks S
American Biography, and subsequently
a more elaborate life in three volumes,
which appeared in New York in 1867
1871, from which works full details in
regard to his family may be obtained.
+. W. NJ, Chicago, ILL.,, asks: What
is the pay and what the allowances of
a Captain of Infantry on the retired list
of the Army?
The annual pay of a retired Captain
of Infantry is $3.50, with allowances
thereof in addition. The Army appro-
priation act of the present session of
Congress, passed in May, gives a gen.
eral raise in pay to the officers and men
of the service.
c. Il. H., Winigan, Mo-, asks: Who
first imported English sparrows into
America or the United States, and what
was the date?
The first house sparrow brought to
the United States from England was in
the year 1850, when the directors of
the Brooklyn Institute, led by the Hon.
Nicholas Pike, liberated eight pairs in
Brooklyn N. Y. This was followed by
second importation in 1852 and 1853,
and in 1869 1000 pairs were liberated
in the city of Philadelphia. The motive
in liberating these sparrows was to free
the shade trees of devastating caterpil-
lars, which at that time were especially
numerous and annoying .i..Do.s the
Eastern States. Since that time the
sparrows have increased very greatly,
and it is believed by many that they are
of no practical service as insect de-
stroyers. This matter has been taken
up by the U. S. Biological Survey of the
Department of Agriculture, which, in
1883, issued bulletin on THE English
Sparrow in North America, Especially
In Its Relation to Agriculture"
w. H. F., East Haven, Conn.,, asks:
Is there any Government land in Flori-
da that is any good, and what has vet
eran soldier to do to get a claim?
1t is not easy to express an opinion
on the character of the land that is
available thru Government agency,
and therefore we would advise you to
write to the Commissioner of the Gen.
eral Land Office, Washington, D. c., for
such information as he may be willing
to give you, and then use your own best
judgment