On this day 250 years ago in New York, a roster of Capt. William Smith’s Company of the 21st Regiment of Connecticut Militia commanded by Col. J. Douglass listed Private William Foster as dead. The roster recorded that Pvt. Foster enlisted on September 7, 1776 and marched 112 miles to camp in New York, but does not explain how or even exactly when he died. Today I want to honor his contribution to American Liberty with this post.

Source: Rolls and Lists of Connecticut Men in the Revolution, 1775-1783 Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society (1901) at p. 166 accessed at https://archive.org/details/rollslistsofconn08conn/page/166/mode/2up

On this day 250 years ago in Philadelphia, Matthew Thornton of New Hampshire presented his credentials to the Continental Congress and took his seat as a Delegate to the Congress from New Hampshire. That same day he added his signature to the Declaration of Independence. Thornton was an immigrant to America from Ireland and served in Congress or in political office in New Hampshire for the duration of the War. You can visit his home today in Derry, New Hampshire.

Sources: https://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/declaration-of-independence-signers/; https://aroundus.com/p/13664086-matthew-thornton-house; https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=74577;