Independent - William Littell (1748-1820)

I’ve been doing these prompts very out of order recently, and this week I’m jumping back to the July 4^th prompt of Independent.

William Littell was another one of my ancestors who fought in the American war for Independence. William was born in Ireland about 1748, and immigrated to Pennsylvania before the start of the war. In December 1775 he joined the fight and enlisted under Captain Courtenay and Col Thomas Proctor. At some point he was promoted from private to On April 13, 1777 William was part of a garrison at Bound Brook New Jersey. The British and Hessians mounted a surprise attack with the goal of taking the entire garrison prisoner. They did not succeed in capturing the entire garrison, but many were taken prisoner including William. The Littell family appears to have kept some transcripts of a letters William received during his captivity:

"My dear Littell',

This day I received your compliments and am most heartily sorry to hear you e prisoner, but Ihope you will {like every good soldier} submit with becoming fortitude to your present disagreeable situation. Nothing to wanting but courage to make your confinement more comfortable then you imagine, and I conjure you for your own sake and for my sake not to let any dispirit you- ! have sent you two dollars. It is all I can spare at present but I expect to receive some from home very soon. If I do, my dear Bitty shall not be forgotten. I hate also written to Captain Smyser who will deliver you this, Requesting him to use his influence to procure your liberty to go to work. I am persuaded he will do everything in his power to serve you. I shall endeavor to get In to town to see you but at present it is impossible. Prey write me immediately and deliver it to Captain Smyser who will forward; I it to me. I bet you will omit no opportunity to inform me of your health and it t can serve you in the toast appise  me of it— I know not well what I have written however I send it you and am. after wishing you all possible happiness. My dear Littell.

Your affectionate

Andrew Robinson

Gentlemen

“The day I was taken prisoner was on Sunday morning 13th of April and marched in Brunswick and there paroled. I heard a men call me by name I stared about to see I could see any person I knew. He called again and bid me come to him which I refused and said if he had anything to say to me to come forward and say so and he came forward end I knew him. He held out his hand and gave me a Guinea and told me that that would befriend me when he would have no chance and he gave a dollar to Kinard Srnick and told him to drink that with his acquaintanced,and then we were marched into New York and claped into the Sugar house; that evening or next morning {a line left out} to to go to ------- . Ferguson told Turnbull that he has not 6d. to buy his dinner and I gave him a dollar. Another prisoner came up with 2$ from Andrew Robinson in a letter and said that I should not want as long as twee a prisoner. Shortly after that I got the liberty of the city and boarded with a man the name of Conner beside fly market and then with Gen. — and continued in his employ until I heard of an exchange e-going to take place and then I went back to prison and continued for about two weeks and found the artillery man and John. the wagoner. 1 got one mess of spruce beer and bread from the oven every day during that time. Then I got my discharge without one dollar of all that was due me from the States.

Wittiem Littell

A prisoner of war.

After the war William married Elizabeth Walker and made his home in Hanover Township Pennsylvania. Some sources say than Elizabeth was the daughter of a former sweetheart of William’s. However, it is not clear if this is true. The ages listed in William’s pension file indicate he was only about twelve years older than her. Hanover was still a fairly unsettled part of the land and Elizabeth apparently sometimes spent the night hiding in the trees with her children. William and Elizabeth had ten children together, and nine of them lived to adulthood. William applied for a received a pension for his military service in 1818, though he only lived two years after that. His wife Elizabeth survived him by about ten years, dying in 1832.

Part of William Littell's pension file