White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1931-08-27
MAJ. Gen. C B. Summera11

dragons. Maj. Lemuel Prescott, Massachu-
sets officer, volunteered to lead the party.
'The expedition started across the sound at
eight o'clock in the evening Of October 2, 1881"
writes Mr.. Fitzpatrick, "and at three o'clock in
the morning the fort was in it's hands.
"Again Sergeant Churchill was in the van Of
the first attacking party and again he acquitted
himself with the utmost gallantry. The fort
was so strong that Tallmadge had advised Tres
colt not to make a direct attack, but to try to
draw off the defenders by feint. This idea
was not followed the attacking force went at
their job with such vigor that the fort was
taken without the loss of a single man and only
four of the British force were killed before
the works surrendered.
".The report Of the affair shows p prisoners
taken, and the destruction of goodly guam
tity of artillery and stores or arms, ammunition
and clothing"
Sergeant Brown was his Purple Heart 10 days
later at Yorktown. The citation of the board
of awards dated April "a, 1888, is among the
Washington papers in the Library Of Congress-
The board composed Of Brig. Gen. John
Creation Col Walter Stewart Lieut.. Col Ebe-
nezer Sprout and Majs. Nicholas Fish and Lem
uel Prescott.
The board declared that Sergeant Brown, Sin
the assault of the enemy's left redoubt at York
town, in Virginia, on the evening of October H.
1881, conducted a forlorn hope with great BRAY
cry, proprety and deliberate frmness and that
his general character appears uneXceptionable."
Sergeant Brown was serving under Lieut.. Col
Alexander Hamilton, who had been assigned the
task of taking one of two British redoubts that
were stubbornly resisting the siege Of York
town. The other redoubt was to be attacked by
allied French troops. The Americans voun-
teered to storm the outer redoubt which was
close to the river, and the French were to at
tack the inner redoubt.
The sergeant led his "forlorn hope" at the
forefront Of the attackers and refused even to
await destruction of the abatis and other OBJ
structons. Calling to his men to follow closely
he surmounted all the obstacles and led his men
directly into the red0ubt. A whitening barrage
failed to stop them, and the unbelievable cour-
age of the little party so COMPOUNDED the defend
ers that the redoubt surrendered in less than Is
minutes from the time Brown and his men
launched the attack. The American losses were
comparatively few
AS for the exploit which won the Purple Heart
decoration for Sergeant Bissel the record is
far from complete, due to the fact that it was
in line of duty as spy. In order to accomplish
his mission he had to desert from the Ameri-
can army and in the faded Revolutionary rec
ords in the War department he is listed as
deserter. But the citation for the Purple Heart
decoration, contained in Washington's General
Orders for June 8, 1888, while it does not con-
tain the full story of Bissels heroism contains
a hint of what 1t must have been and removes
from his name the stigma attached to 1t by the
notation in the official records The citation
reads as follows: "Sergt. Bssell of the End
Connecticut Regiment having performed some
important services within the immediate knowl-
edge of the Commander-in-Chief, in which the
fidelity perseverance and good sense of the said
, Sergt. Bissell were conspicuousy manifested. It
u.s. therefore, ordered: That he be honored with
the badge of merit; he will call at headuuar-
tiers on Thursday next for the insignia and Ger.
tiicate to which he is hereby entitled"
So far as 1t is possible to reconstruct the
story Bissell deserted" from the army in An
gust, 1881, and made his way into New York
city, His mission was to obtain all the informa.
ton he could about the plans of the British
and to stay no longer than was necessary to &C.
complish his purpose year passed and moth.
ing was heard from Bissell by his regimental
officer, Lieut.. Col. Robert Hanson Harrison or
his commander in chief. For all that they knew
his mission may have been discovered by the
British and he may have paid the usual penalty
for being a spy. Then one day in September.
1882, Bissell reported at Washington's head
quarters Mt Newburgh. N. Y. and made his YER
bal report which was taken down by Lieut. Col
David Humphreys.
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