THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 293 



Washington's plans to oust the British were getting 

 into shape during the winter that followed his appoint- 

 ment. Heavy guns were necessary to be planted upon 

 the Dorchester Heights commanding Boston Harbor on 

 the southeast. 



Henry Knox, a trusty artillery colonel of General 

 Washington, under whom our James Hall was a sergeant, 

 brought in a great quantity of cannon by March i, 1776, 

 some of them dragged on sleds all the way from 

 Ticonderoga. 



During the night of March 4, a heavy roar of cannon- 

 ading disturbed the rest of our sleeping townsmen ; but 

 the noise of it was just what our crafty general wanted. 

 By keeping the attention of the British upon the guns at 

 Somerville and East Cambridge and Roxbury, his long 

 procession of wagons with timber and artillery moved 

 unnoticed to Dorchester Heights,* and in the morning 

 the outwitted British general, Howe, beheld with amaze- 

 ment the sudden fortress covering his fleet. 



The part of Cohasset in this first masterly stroke of 

 the war may be guessed by the thirty-three men who had 

 marched the preceding day to Dorchester under Captain 

 Obediah Beal to take part in this emergency. 



ROLL FOR CAPTAIN OBEDIAH SEAL'S CO. OP^ COHASSET, 

 MARCHED TO DORCHESTER, MCH. 4, 1776 — 20 MILES.f 



Obediah Beals, Captain. Caleb Pratt, Corporal. 



Levi Bates, Lieutenant. Levi Tower, Drummer. 



Gideon Howard, Lieutenant. Aaron Pratt, Private. 



Isaac Tower, Sergeant. James Lichfield, „ 



Zealous Bates, „ Ignatius Orcutt, „ 



Isaac Burr, „ Job Whitcomb, „ 



Simeon Stodder, „ John Burbank, „ 



Caleb Joy, Corporal. Nat'l Bates, „ 



Jerod Battles, „ Benja. Cashing, „ 



Jona. Bates, „ Lot Whitcomb, „ 



* Now South Boston. f Revolutionary Records, Vol. XVII, p. 71. 



