Muster Roll of Captain Lemuel Clapp's Dorchester Company, March 1780

This muster roll gives the names, date enlisted, and ranks of three officers and thirty-eight enlisted men in Captain Lemuel Clapp's company in Major Nathaniel Heath's detachment of guards in Massachusetts. The company enlisted in the United States service for three months on February 1, 1780.

The muster roll includes three commissioned officers, eight non-commissioned officers, two musicians, and twenty-eight privates. The forty-three men include ten Claps, including Captain Lemuel Clap and his son Lemuel Clap Jr. (1763-1783). It also includes seven members of the Bird family and three Withingtons. The two Capens on the roll were likely relatives of Clap's first wife Susanna Capen Clapp, who had died in 1767.

[REVOLUTIONARY WAR.] Manuscript Document, Billeting Roll for Captain Lemuel Clapp's Company, March 1780, Dorchester, Massachusetts. 2 pp., 16" x 12.5". Expected folds; minor edge tears; very good.

Historical Background
Lemuel Clap commanded several companies of Massachusetts militia from Dorchester that performed local service during the Siege of Boston (1775-1776), and each successive year to 1781, usually for three to six months. They served primarily around Boston at Dorchester Heights, Noddle's Island (now part of East Boston), and other places nearby.

On May 23, 1776, before the Declaration of Independence was completed, Dorchester's Town Meeting voted "that if the Continental Congress should think it best to declare an Independency with Great Britain, we will support them with our lives and fortunes." The town greeted the news of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 with toasts and "huzzahs," the entire document transcribed "in full on the Town Records." Not all of the town's residents, who numbered 1,550 (1,515 whites and 35 African Americans in 291 families), embraced the Patriot cause, but there were few Loyalists. According to the town records, which noted that a committee was formed in 17777 to provide evidence of "the inimical dispositions of any inhabitant or inhabitants of this town, towards this or any of the United States." Although there may have been "one or more tories in the town," "the inhabitants were very much united as a body, and had a love of and determination for liberty."

When it came to signing the muster rolls of the Continental Army, Dorchester's men and youths more than did their part. "During the time that the Revolution was going on," notes the History of Dorchester, "the town was continually having meetings to induce men to enlist in the army. They were called upon to go to New York, to Canada, to Rhode Island, Long Island, Peek's Kill, West Point, on secret expeditions." The calls for recruits were constant, and Dorchester "put forth all its energies, and the people sacrificed their comfort and estates." A recruitment bounty in 1777 of £20 proved an incentive for many men from Dorchester. Those who accepted the cash had to serve three years, Dorchester's Town Meeting even having "to borrow money to meet these demands." The enlistment bounties drained the town's treasury, and for "many of the most worthy and industrious of the inhabitants it was difficult to obtain the necessaries of life." By January 1777, nearly a third of Dorchester men above the age of 16 had joined Continental regiments. At first, many local soldiers were stationed close to home at various forts around Boston. "Being inhabitants of Dorchester," a soldier wrote, "we went to our own dwelling places and did business at home, except when on duty. We were allowed good provisions, and the duty was generally easy."

In March 1780, the Continental Army was in winter quarters at Morristown, New Jersey, and much of the British focus in the war had shifted to the southern colonies. They evacuated Newport, Rhode Island, in October 1779, but retained a substantial garrison in New York City. In the South, the British Army and Navy began a siege of Charleston, South Carolina, on March 29, which led to the surrender of that city on May 12. The militia in Boston largely guarded prisoners and protected the American coast and shipping from any incursions by the British Navy or privateers.

Lemuel Clap (1735-1819) was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and became a tanner. In 1760, he married Susanna Capen (1741-1767), with whom he had three children. After her death, he married Rebecca Dexter (1739-1823) in November 1768, and they had eleven children. On April 19, 1775, he was a lieutenant of a company assembled in Dorchester as part of the Lexington alarm. During the Revolutionary War, he commanded several companies that enlisted for short-term service and served at Dorchester Heights, Noddle's Island, and other places nearby. Clap invited George Washington's troops to encamp on his estate during the siege of Boston.

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