Autograph note signed by Lieutenant Jonas Parker. Chelmsford, [Massachusetts], 18 February 1777. 1 page.

With: Autograph letter signed by John Bettey, to Andrew Bettey of Chelmsford, MA. Camp on Rhode Island, Portsmouth, 11 August 1778. 1 page.

"I have nothing to lay on but the ground and the open heavens to cover us but I am in hope we shall fare better before long."

Intriguing pair of Revolutionary War documents relating to soldier John Bettey of Chelmsford, Massachusetts. The first is an enlistment record dated February 18th, 1777, signed by Lieutenant Jonas Parker. It reads in full: “Know all men by these presents that I Jonas Paker do Enlist Enoch Cleavland and receive him in the stead or lieu of John Betteys to serve in the Continental army for the term of three years without sooner discharge. By authority. Jonas Paker, Liut."

The second is a one page letter written by John Bettey to his father, dated 11 August 1778. Penned from camp near Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Bettey's location suggests he was part of the American battalion commanded by Major General John Sullivan. Major General Sullivan had recently crossed onto the northeast side of Aquidneck Island in conjunction with French forces as they prepared to battle with the Royal Navy, which had occupied Newport, Rhode Island since 8 December 1776. Bettey reports on the troop presence: “we remain on the island yet and I trust we shall as long as we please for Continental State Regt. Militia and Volunteers. I hope we shall be able to give you a better account of them before it be long. But we have not had a fight at the yet.”

He continues poetically with a report on his own well-being: “I am well at present and have been ever since I came from home tho I have nothing to lay on but the ground and the open heavens to cover us but I am in hope we shall fare better before long.” But in a grand tradition of young people away from home, concludes his letter asking his father for money: “Sir, I want some money for I am short for it. Very expensive living in the camp…I don’t want no more clothes, only a pair of shoes.”

A personality-filled observational letter that is rare from the American Revolution.

Bettey's account anticipates the Battle of Rhode Island (Battle of Quaker Hill), when Continental Army and militia forces described in the letter began to besiege British forces in Newport. Though the operation was planned in conjunction with French forces, poor early relations between commanders and an unforeseen storm frustrated these efforts. Aquidneck Island remained under British control.

The military record for John Bettey is unclear, several men with similar names appear in the records, including Private Beaty who served in Captain Caleb Turner’s Company for 3 months in late 1776; John Battey who was a seaman aboard the Brigantine Freedom in 1777 under Captain Couson; and John Batty who received advance pay for his service under Captain Francis Symonds in Colonel Glover’s Regiment in 1775. None are clearly the Bettey writing here. Additional investigation will likely result a positive identification.


Enoch Cleveland (1754-1823) served for the entirety of the Revolutionary War, with surviving documents recording his initial enlistment as 13 November 1776, serving in Captain William H. Ballard’s company of Col. William Brooks’s 7th US Regiment. Transferred to Captain Cobourn’s Company at Fort Herkimer, New York on 7 May 1779. Returns and ration documents also note that his company served in Colonel Ichabod Alden’s Regiment from Massachusetts under General John Nixon. A document dated 10 June 1783 notes that Cleveland had been discharged since 1 January 1781 from the 7th Regiment by General Washington for time expired. The enlisting officer Jonas Parker, here a lieutenant, would see the rank of captain, also serving in the 7th and 27th Regiments.

Cleveland IV was actually the fifth Enoch Cleveland in his family, his great-grandfather was Enoch Cleveland I (1671-1721) married to Elizabeth Counts, and his grandfather was Enoch Cleveland II (1703-1736) who was married to Sarah Shepherd (1704-1791). Together, Enoch II and Sarah had several children including Enoch Cleveland III (#1) (1728-1730) who unfortunately died in early childhood. They named a subsequent son, Enoch IV’s father, Enoch Cleveland III (#2) (1732-1765) as well. The family history, though at times difficult to follow in part to several spelling variations and the lack of name distinction, is well-recorded in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.



[Revolutionary War, Colonial America, Manuscripts, Ephemera, Documents, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Society of the Cincinnati, Militaria]