THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 299 



" raise a sum of Money to incurrage our proportion of 

 Men voluntarily to engage in the Service until the last 

 day of Nov. next." 



A committee was appointed to get twelve men either 

 from this town or elsewhere as cheaply as they could. 

 They had much trouble and it took eight men on the 

 committee to procure twelve soldiers, and that only at 

 excessive cost. But the men had to be furnished. There 

 were some opposers to the patriot cause in this com- 

 munity, for the town clerk was allowed " to draw out a 

 sum of money from the treasury to carry on a Process 

 against those persons of the town who are esteemed 

 inimical * to these States," The soldiers to reinforce the 

 Northern army went, and the following is the diary of 

 one of them : — 



DIARY OF AMBROSE BATES. 



(The Campaign against General Burgoyne which ended in his surrender at 



Saratoga, N. Y). 



Cohasset August the 27'^^ day 1777. 



that night stopt in Hingham. 



the 28 day that night stopt in Roksbury. 



the 29 day that night stopt in Sutbury. 



the 30 day that night stopt in Suseburry. 



the 31 day night Spenser. 



Sep stopt in ware town. 



the 2 day that night stopt in hadlay. 



the 3 day that night stopt in North hamton. 



Several pages are missing here. They may have re- 

 counted the incidents of a march to Lake Champlain for 

 the purpose of cutting off the supplies of Burgoyne. At 

 any rate, Gen. Benjamin Lincoln's strong force of mi- 

 litia pressed down upon Burgoyne from the North, while 

 the army of General Gates pressed from the South. The 

 diary continues after twenty-five days : — 



*See note on p. 285 about Dr. Lazarus Beal. 



