Lemuel Bolles (1755-1825), Ancestor #P-117260, 3rd great grandfather of Richard Lewis Humphrey S.A.R. #181283
BATTLE AT BUNKER HILL, 1775
Following the action at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, Lemuel Bolles at age 19 joined others from his small town of Union, Connecticut as a member of the Fifth Company, 22nd Regiment of Connecticut militia. He enlisted on May 6, 1775 (discharged Dec. 16, 1775). Under the command of Captain Thomas Knowlton they marched 70 miles “to the relief of Boston.” Six weeks later on Friday night, June 16, 1775, his company and the rest of the Connecticut militia joined 800 Massachusetts militia marching across the Charlestown Neck to create a fortification atop Bunker Hill. Instead they continued another half mile and at midnight, began erecting a redoubt on Breeds Hill, working silently with picks and shovels. As day dawned, Col. Prescott was alarmed, realizing that their left flank was susceptible to a flank attack and directed Col. Knowlton to take his Connecticut men, including Lemuel Bolles, down to the gap between the breastwork extension and the bank of the Mystic River. They frantically stuffed bundles of grass between two wooden rail fences. The British attacked at 3:30pm and were completely repulsed by fire from behind the redoubt, breastworks and rail fence. Regrouping, the redcoats charged a second time and were again stopped by the murderous musket fire. Having marched the night before with limited ammunition, the defenders now were in serious difficulty. Years later Lemuel Bolles told this story. “In the interval between the second and third charges of the British, when it became discovered that the ammunition of the Americans had given out, and Putnam muttered in desperation: ‘Powder! Ye God, give us powder!’ it is said that Bolles cried out loud enough to be overheard by the British: ‘Our powder is gone; we shall all be killed.’ General Putnam silenced him by the forcible remark: ‘You shut up, or I’ll make daylight shine through you.’” The third British charge was successful in taking the redoubt. The militia from Connecticut and New Hampshire by the rail fence expertly covered the retreating Americans back across the Charlestown Neck.
BATTLE AT SARATOGA and SURRENDER OF BRITISH GENERAL JOHN BURGOYNE, 1777
Two years later in 1777, British General John Burgoyne marched down the Hudson River Valley from Montreal in an attempt to isolate the New England colonies. General Washington sent out for militia to aid Gen. Horatio Gates in stopping Burgoyne. Lemuel Bolles again joined with the Fifth Company of the Connecticut militia, this time under the leadership of Capt. Thomas Lawson. (Capt. Knowlton, appointed by Washington to lead a reconnaissance team known as “Knowlton’s Rangers,” was killed in battle as the Continental Army withdrew from New York in 1776.) Marching 150 miles, on September 21 Lawson’s company joined the Americans who were dug in on Bemis Heights, some 8 miles south of Saratoga, New York. Two days earlier, Burgoyne had successfully attacked, with heavy casualties, and taken control at Freeman’s Farm; however, he did not make an attempt on Bemis Heights itself. Without additional supplies and troop reinforcements, Burgoyne then made a desperate attempt on October 7 to dislodge the Americans on Bemis Heights and continue on to Albany. Anticipating the move, Gen. Gates sent out an attacking force including the 5th Militia Company from Connecticut. Capt. Lawson in his journal reported “a severe battle with the enemy, gaining their lines on the right wing.” The British retreated back to Saratoga where they were surrounded. On Oct. 17 General Burgoyne and 6000 soldiers surrendered to American General Gates. The battles at Saratoga are often said to be the turning point in The Revolutionary War as France and Spain were emboldened to declare war on England. Bolles and his Connecticut compatriots returned home following Burgoyne’s surrender.