A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
Amos Barnum, age 24, enlisted for the duration of the war on 15 Mar 1777 in Kent, Connecticut. He was assigned to Captain Phineas Beardsley's 9th Company, in Colonel Heman Swift's 7th Regiment. Amos was on scout duty until Sep 1777; muster rolls for the prior month show that his rank was that of corporal, and his monthly pay was 2 pounds, 4 shillings. On 29 Feb 1778, following the winter at Valley Forge, he was granted one month's extraordinary pay.
His unit fought at the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse (28 Jun 1778), spent the summer camped near Chatterton Hill in White Plains, New York, and wintered in Reading, Connecticut. In Nov 1778, command of the 9th company was given to Captain Ephraim Chamberlain when Captain Beardsley resigned due to ill health.
On 10 Jul 1779, Amos was among the troops ordered by General George Washington on a forced march to the coast to repel the British invasion of several coastal towns. However, the British departed before they could be engaged. Upon returning to quarters, Amos' company was selected for special service and detached to the 3rd Regiment, under Colonel Meigs. The new unit was part of the Light Infantry Corps being formed under General Anthony Wayne for the assault on Stony Point, which took place on the night of 15-16 Jul 1779.
The value of the stores and ordnance seized in that successful operation was estimated at $158,640, an amount which was divided among the troops in proportion to their pay. Effective 18 Aug 1779, an additional 3 pounds per month was added to Amos' pay as a subsistence allowance, and by December his monthly pay was expressed in dollars as $7.30, plus $10.00 subsistence. The unit passed the winter of 1779-80 (the worst of the war) at Kimbol's Farm, 3 miles south of Morristown, New Jersey, and in Jun 1780 moved back to the Highlands opposite West Point, New York. The following month Amos transferred to Major Woodbridge's 3rd Company, in the same regiment. On 10 Jul he was promoted to sergeant and his monthly pay was increased to $10.00, plus $10.00 subsistence. On 1 Aug Amos was again transferred within the regiment, this time to Captain Hall's Light Infantry.
Because the Continental Congress had ordered a consolidation of the army into fewer regiments, the 5th and 7th regiments were combined on 1 Jan 1781 to form a new 2nd Regiment, still under the command of Colonel Heman Swift. By March of that year, Amos had again been transferred -- to Captain Billings' company in the new 2nd Connecticut Regiment. The company was known as the 6th Company until Nov 1782, when it became the 7th Company.
The regiment marched to Peekskill, New York on 21 Jun 1781 and took up position at Phillipsburg (now Yonkers) in July. The spring following the winter of 1781-82 brought a new set of clothes for the troops and, on 12 Apr 1782, a review by General Washington. In Sep 1782 the regiment moved by water to Verplanck's Point and wintered at West Point. In Jun 1783 when the war was formally ended, those who had enlisted "for the duration of the war," including Sergeant Amos Barnum, were officially discharged. Amos' discharge papers were signed by George Washington, and he received the Badge of Merit for six years of loyal service.
Amos received 100 acres of land on 1 Aug 1795 (Bounty Land Warrant 5437), and in 1818 he was granted a pension of $8.00 a month for life (Certificate 13, File S37707).
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
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