While researching my 5x great-grandfather Colonel Augustine Willett, my husband discovered a copy of a Muster Return dated 1776. A Muster Return is an official military status report used to track personnel. It details which members are present, absent, transferred or discharged.
Colonel Bull’s Return of the 1st Battalion Pennsylvania lists the strength and condition of Captain Willett’s company:
Sergeants: 4
Corporals: 4
Drummers: 1
Privates Fit For Duty: 69
Sick: 4
Total Present: 73
Wanting To Complete (needed to reach full strength): 3
Arms On Hand: 32
This document was most likely created in the late 19th or early 20th century by archivists who transcribed information from original Revolutionary War returns onto standardized cards to make soldiers and officers easier to locate.
I don’t know why, but seeing that there was a drummer in the battalion was especially captivating to me. Drummers were the vital communication system of the American Revolution. Because loud gunfire and heavy smoke made verbal commands impossible on the battlefield, drummers used specific rhythmic patterns to relay orders – such as advancing, retreating, or firing – and to regulate camp life, including wake-up calls, mess times, and assemblies.
It was exciting to find this record. Once I got past the initial thrill, I was able to study the numbers of this company, making it easy to picture what this battalion must have looked like upon this roll call . . . and marching into battle.
Seventy-three men and only 32 weapons were not favorable odds; multiply this by the approximate 100 total American battalions and it is a miracle that I am not typing this story with a British accent.
Of course each of these soldiers is so much more than a number. They are sons, brothers, husbands and 5x great-grandfathers. They are Patriots.
And they are a part of all of us regardless of our DNA.
Sister Rain’s Note:
For more on Augustine Willett, click here. Though a captain at the time of this Muster Return, he would be promoted Colonel during the war and then to Brigadier General after.
#SisterRain #ALittleSightALotOfHeart #LegallyBlindWriter #USHistory #AmericanHistory #USA #America #UnitedStates #AmericanRevolution #AugustineWillett #America250
