SOLDIERS STORY: THE SOLDIER BOYS (PART 2)

 

Officially, a young man during the Revolution could be drafted or volunteer for service at the age of 16, and indeed many young men did so.  A few jumped the gun and started their military service at a younger age.  We found a few boy soldiers in our Morris County soldiers database, the youngest being only 9 years old when he enlisted in the army.  These men (and/or their widows) all applied for and received a pension for their service, which is a significant reason why their stories are preserved.  There were surely more young Morris County soldiers whose stories have been lost to time.

 This is Part 2 of our story of Morris County’s Revolutionary boy soldiers.

 Jonathan Ford Morris (DAR Ancestor A080933)

 Jonathan Ford Morris was born in Hanover Township NJ on 21 Mar 1760, and at the age of 15 he enlisted in the army as a very young Ensign serving in his father’s company.  Young men were not supposed to enlist until they were at least 16, so it is particularly astonishing that he was an under-age officer.  He was soon promoted to Lieutenant in Proctor’s Artillery of the Continental Army.  Lieutenant Morris was so young that the other soldiers he commanded did not appreciate taking orders from such a young man.  Abraham Fairchild would testify that “I will recollect the fact that many of this company whom I knew well were dissatisfied + shared their dissatisfaction plainly, that so young a man should be placed over them."

After serving in several notable battles including the Canada Expedition, Brandywine, and Monmouth, Jonathan Ford Morris resigned from the army in November 1778, shortly after his father died of a battle wound.  He re-enlisted in March 1780 in a new role that was a bit further from the action, serving as a Surgeon’s Mate reporting directly to the Army’s Surgeon General, Dr. William Shippen until June 1782.  He and Dr. Shippen remained close friends after the war, and Jonathan Ford Morris followed Shippen’s lead to become a doctor.

Jonathan Ford Morris married Margaret Smith Ewing/Ewen in 1784 and moved to Somerset County, where he set up his medical practice.  Jonathan and Margaret raised a large family of nine children.  He died in Somerset Co NJ on 13 Apr 1810 and is buried at the Old Presbyterian Graveyard in Bound Brook.

 

Jonathan Ford Morris’ signature, from his pension application

 

Morgan Young Jr. (DAR Ancestor A200275)

Born on 3 Jan 1762 in Mendham NJ, Morgan Young Jr. was about 14 years old when he joined the militia as a Private in 1776.  His father also supported the Revolution as a wagoneer.

He served in the Battle of Springfield, an expedition to Staten Island, and battles at Hackensack and Elizabethtown.  At Minisink, he guarded the “frontiers against the incursions of the Indians.”  He also served as a guard for British prisoners held at Morristown.  Historians have reported that he served as a water boy for General Washington, but he did not make any claim of this in his pension record.

He married Jane Losey of Mendham and remained in Mendham for a few years after the war before moving west.  He lived for 18 years at Red Stone Fort (currently Brownsville) PA, then moved to Ohio, living in Adams, Huron, and Sandusky Counties before moving further west to Indiana with his son Losey Young.

Morgan Young Jr. died at La Grange IN on 21 Jan 1852.  He is buried next to his wife at the United Methodist Church Cemetery in Howe IN.  His tombstone reads “Morgan Young Died Jan. 21, 1852 in His 97 Year, A Revolutioner Formerly of New Jersey"

Find-a-Grave Memorial #24741330

 

Morgan Young’s signature, from his pension testimony

 

Moses Johnson

Moses Johnson was born on 17 May 1763 at Hanover Twp NJ.  When he was 14 years old, he entered the service as a substitute in June 1777 as a Private in the Morris County militia.  He substituted for a number of men, including his uncle Jonas Ward, his father, his neighbor John Tuttle, and David Ogden. 

He first served guard duty in Newark, Acquackanonk, and Morristown at the commissions storehouse and guarding prisoners at the courthouse.  He was also a scout to track Tory movements.  Later in the war, he served on the Minisink expedition against the Indians, as well as battles at Springfield, Connecticut Farms, and Elizabethtown. 

After the Battle of Connecticut Farms, he testified that his unit was sent to Elizabethtown, where the next day they were ordered to “file off into an open field, where a firing commenced between a scouting party of the militia + British.  They were then formed into a line of battle and were ordered to march at quick step toward the woods where the firing commenced.  The party then retreated to the enemy fortifications on Elizabethtown point - the part of the militia that had engaged the scouting party of the enemy brought sixteen prisoners to our regiment.”

A few days later at the Battle of Springfield, he reported that “he was on a road north of the village about half a mile when the battle began.  After the village was set on fire the British retreated to Elizabethtown point and crossed over to Staten Island.  His Regiment with the militia + Regulars went down the same night and destroyed the fortifications a few days after the British retreated.”

Serving more guard duty in Morristown in August 1780, he reported that “there were about 52 Tories brought to Morristown and confined in the jail there.  They were tried in the Presbyterian Meeting House in that place…there were thirty five of them sentenced to die hanged – only two were hanged…”

He moved to Tioga, Onandaga, and Ontario counties in New York.  He was last known living in Angelica, Allegany County NY in 1832, where he applied for a pension.  His death and burial are unknown.

 

Moses Johnson’s signature, from his pension testimony

 

 Thomas Layton

Thomas Layton was born in Morristown NJ on 11 May 1765.  When he was young his family moved to Northumberland County PA, where he enlisted in the militia in 1777 at the tender age of only 12 or 13.

He was stationed at a settlers’ fort known as Boone’s Fort near Milton PA, serving under Captain Hawkins Boone who is said to be a cousin of Daniel Boone.  The fort was the site of a grist mill which had been fortified during the Revolution.  Being at the edge of the frontier, the area was subject to frequent attacks by the British Army, loyalists, and Native Americans aligned with the British.  Beyond this point there was no colonial government and no protection except for privately owned settlers’ forts.

The grist mill at Boone’s Fort, from https://www.legendsofamerica.com/boones-fort-pennsylvania/

 

The most notable fort in the area was Fort Freeland, the site of a bloody and pivotal incident which young Thomas Layton witnessed first-hand.  In June 1779 several families fled to Fort Freeland for protection against the frequent attacks.  Though there had been rumblings of another pending attack, 21 boys and old men defending the fort were caught by surprise when 300 British soldiers and supporters stormed Fort Freeland on 28 Jul 1779.  When Captain Boone heard of the attack, he rushed his company to defend Fort Freeland, including Thomas Layton.  Captain Boone and other officers were killed in the ensuing battle, along with about half the men.  About 20-25 men were taken to Canada as prisoners.  A few men managed to escape, but 13 of their scalps were brought back in a handkerchief.  The fort was burned, leaving the frontier largely defenseless, and most of the remaining settlers left the area until after the war.

 

Fort Freeland, from https://www.legendsofamerica.com/boones-fort-pennsylvania/

 

Thomas Layton continued his service even after the harrowing experience at Fort Freeland.  He joined the Pennsylvania state troops when he came of age, and remained in service until he was discharged in December 1783.  His service consisted primarily of guarding the inhabitants against the Native Americans, or tracking the Native Americans as an “Indian Spy.”

In his pension testimony, he described being provisioned clothing from the state of Pennsylvania when he was part of the state troops.  As a rifleman, he was provisioned a short blue coat with white trim.  Their officers wore blue coats with red facing and trim.  He also described being provisioned powder and lead, but they had to remake all of the lead balls to fit their rifles.

At one point his unit went on an expedition to “Ealtown” with 350 men.  But he reported that “the Indians had heard of our coming + had left their town.  We burnt the town + then came home…”

Thomas Layton moved to New York in 1791, then moved to Clark County IL around 1804.  He applied for and received a pension in 1833.  His final pension payment was dated 3 Sep 1841 and died some time after that, though no further details of his death or burial are known.

 

Thomas Layton’s signature, from his pension testimony

 

Sources

Find-a-Grave Memorial #244502757, Moses Johnson

Find-a-Grave Memorial #147925086, Thomas Layton

Find-a-Grave Memorial #52993873, Dr. Jonathan Ford Morris

Find-a-Grave Memorial #24741330, Morgan Young, Jr.

Buckalew, John M., The Frontier Forts Within the North and West Branches of the Susquehanna River, Vol. 1 of the Report of the Commission to Locate the Site of the Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania by Clarence M. Busch, 1896, online at http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/1pa/1picts/frontierforts/ff15.html

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/boones-fort-pennsylvania/

U.S. Revolutionary War Pension W787, Abraham Fairchild, National Archives and Records Administration, M804, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG15

U.S. Revolutionary War Pension S13551, Moses Johnson, National Archives and Records Administration, M804, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG15

U.S. Revolutionary War Pension S32371, Thomas Layton, National Archives and Records Administration, M804, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG15

U.S. Revolutionary War Pension W135, Jonathan Ford Morris, National Archives and Records Administration, M804, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG15

U.S. Revolutionary War Pension S4741, Morgan Young, National Archives and Records Administration, M804, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, RG15