Morrison's Pensions

Pension Application for Bela Armstrong

S.22625
Private in the company commanded by Captain Johnson of the Regiment commanded by Col. Abbott in the New York Line for 22 months.
State of New York
Livingston County SS.
            On this twenty fifth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred & thirty two personally appeared in open County [Court] before the Court of Common Pleas held in & for the County of Livingston aforesaid now sitting Bela Armstrong a resident of the town of Leicester in the County of Livingston & State of New York aged Seventy Seven years who being first duly sworn according to law, doth on his oath make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress passed June 7th 1832.
            That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as herein stated.
            That he enlisted in the Connecticut State troops April 15th AD 1775 in the town of Norwich County of New London & State of Connecticut (in which place he was born & resided until about fifteen years since) under Major John Dungy for the term of eight months in Colonel Storr’s Regiment the Christian name of Storr’s is not recollected but he believes his name was John that said Storrs then resided in Mansfield in the State aforesaid, that Col. Johnson then of Jewitts City acted as Lieutenant Colonel of the same regiment—That Jo[?] Huntington of Norwich was first Lieutenant and Lemuel Bingham of Canterbury was second Lieutenant and Boswich Bill of Norwich was Ensign of the Company to which he belonged, that after he enlisted he rendezvoused with his company in Norwich until about the beginning of May when he marched with his company to Cambridge in Massachusetts at which place they arrived about the 10th of May where he remained until the Battle of Bunker Hill which took place on the 17th of June following that the night previous to said battle he was entrenched with a pat of his company to assist in building a fort on Bunker Hill, that Capt. Knowlton (who was afterwards Colonel) took command of the entrenchment, that this applicant acted as drummer in which capacity he had enlisted, that in the battle he was in the division commanded by Genl. Israel Putnam, that Daniel Preston then of Norwich in the State of Connecticut belonged to the same company with this applicant and stood at his right hand in said battle when he received a wound for which he afterwards obtained a pension, that after the battle of Bunker Hill he remained with his company in the vicinity or neighborhood of Boston until about the first of December when his first term of eight months being about expired he again enlisted for the term of three months but obtained a furlough from his officer Major Dungy to return home to Norwich to which place he returned & remained until the troops returned home which was in the latter part of March AD 1776 when he obtained a discharge from Major Dungy which discharge has long since been lost or destroyed.
            That in August AD 1776 he was draughted with other Militia in the State of Connecticut to march to serve [?] in the State of New York to which place he marched with a company commanded by Captain Isaac Johnson, Eli Hyde was a lieutenant & Ezekiel Hyde was Ensign in the same company, the regiment to which he belonged was commanded by Major Zebediah Rogers, the Colonel John Abbott, not being present with the troops.  That he remained at the same of its vicinity for the term of four months except the time necessarily taken up in going & returning meaning by this that he was absent from home & in the service at this time four months, that while the saw pits he was engaged at the saw pits he was engaged in no battle except a light skirmish with the British in which  Colonel McIntoch of Massachusetts commanded  August 4th 1777.  He joined Captain Ebenezer Leethrops company as volunteer & marched with his company to Saratoga in the State of New York, that the Regiment to which he then belonged was commanded by Colonel Luttimore of New London aforesaid, that we remained at Saratoga until after the capture of General Burgoyne, that on the day previous to the general engagement he was sent out with the scouting party commanded by Colonel Morgan, that the party remained in the woods through the night & on the day of the battle they were driven in to the American Camps by the British & in consequence of their fatigue the party was directed to remain behind a breast work during the battle.  The battle above mentioned was fought at Stillwater, that he was absent on this tour four months—after the battle & before his return home he marched down the North River [Hudson] with his Regiment as far as Esopus [Kingston] which place the British had burned before his regiment arrived.  Previous to the above mentioned tour to wit, on the 3d of March AD 1777 he went on a tour to New London in a company commanded by Captain Elisha Morgan in the regiment commanded by Colonel Abbott on this tour he was absent three months, on this tour the attachment to which he belonged [?] Fort Griswold on the Groton and September 5th AD 1781 he again went on a tour to New London at which time the place was burned by Benedict Arnold at this time he was also absent from home & he served three months in a company commanded by Captain Pnineas Peek the Regiment was under the command of Colonel Zebediah Rogers. 
            This applicant further states that in addition to the times above particularly specified he was frequently called with the militia to New London on alarms form the years AD 1776 to the end of the war and in some of the years he was called out as many as five or six times in a year.  That according to the best of his recollection & belief the time he was thus employed in the whole six years in addition to the particular times above mentioned would amount in the whole to at least five months, and this applicant  further states that he was born in Norwich County of New London and State of Connecticut on the third day of November one thousand seven hundred & fifty four, that here is record of his age in the books kept by the church of the town of Norwich but he has no record with him, that he lived in the town of Norwich until the year AD 1817 when he removed into the town of Leicester aforesaid where he has ever since resided, that he has no documentary evidence of his services in the war of the revolution as above stated, but that Samuel Smith of Wheatland In the County of Monroe & Joshua Smith of Elber in the County of Genesee have personal knowledge of a part of the services above mentioned & whom he produces herein in court to testify as to their knowledge of said facts, that Ebenezer Armstrong of Monroe in the County of Genesee, State of New York a brother of this applicant is also knowing to a part of the facts above stated whose attendance he also hopes to procure at this court, that he believes he can procure many witnesses in the neighborhood where he now lives to prove his character as a man of truth but from the fact of his having resided where he now does but a few of the past years of his life he does not know that he is generally reputed there to have served in the war of the revolution on this subject however he refers the court to the testimony of Felix Tracy & Daniel Bissell.
            He hereby relinquishes every claim whatever to a pension or annuity except the present and declares that his name is not on the pension roll of the agency of any state.  (Signed) Bela Armstrong
            Subscribed and sworn to in open court this 25th of Sept. 1832.  S.G. Haven, Dep. Clerk

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