During the Revolutionary War, when the American Colonies
were trying to establish their independence from England, the American soldiers
were not career soldiers. They were
farmers who had guns and who answered the call to protect this land.
Your great, great, great, great, great, great, great
Grandfather was Sergeant Nathan Chapin.
He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1735, so during the
Revolutionary War he was in his forties.
On July 5, 1777, he was captured by the British while fighting in the
Battle of Ticonderoga. He and other
prisoners were ordered to go to Crown Point (about 10 miles away) to cut
hay. They were given provisions which included scythes for cutting the hay, and for whatever
reason, they were also supplied with rum.
They were only accompanied on this work detail by one guard, who apparently liked rum, and they were very generous with him. He had so much rum that he fell asleep, and
they were able to escape.
A group of nine men, guided by Sgt. Nathan Chapin and using
only the moss on the trees as a compass, found their way back to Springfield (a distance of about 200 miles) to
the great joy of their family and friends.
Sgt. Nathan Chapin lived to be 95 years old.
Sgt. Nathan Chapin was the son of Japhet Chapin and his wife
Thankful Dickinson.
The genealogy is:
Sgt. Nathan Chapin (1735-1830)
Deacon Japhet Chapin (1762-1833)
Deacon Japhet Chapin (1796-1888)
Lawson Chapin (1833-1864)
William Chapin (1860-?)
Willard Chapin (1895-1983)
Richard Chapin (1917-2014)
William Chapin (1943-still living)
Your mother/father
You
The information for this story comes from The Chapin Book
published in 1924. It lists the
descendants of Deacon Samuel Chapin who arrived in the Massachusetts Colony in approximately
1632.