A Soldiers’ Story: A Waggoner’s Tale — Isaac Hinds, 1780

The following report was written by Eric Olsen, Historian at Morristown National Historical Park, under the title “Morristown’s Camp Followers.” It is reprinted here with permission.

“engaged in his business of carting military stores”

Sixteen-year-old Isaac Hinds was one of the unsung heroes of the Morristown encampment. Everyone knows about the soldiers, officers and even the camp followers, but without men like Isaac the army would not have survived. Hinds was a wagoner who brought food, clothing, firewood and sundry other supplies to the soldiers during the winter of 1779-1780.

Teamsters like Hinds rarely appear in the history books, but fortunately Isaac applied for a veteran’s pension when he was 69 years old in 1832. In his pension application he provided the details of his duties.

Isaac’s father, Benjamin Hinds was commissioned as a Wagon Master in Somerset County. Working for the Quarter Master’s Department, Benjamin was responsible for hiring teamsters in his county and assigning them jobs transporting goods for the Quartermaster of the Continental Army. One of the teamsters he hired in 1779 was his own son Isaac.

Isaac’s first job was to carry officer’s and their baggage by sleigh through the snow and ice over 80 miles to Philadelphia. When he returned to Morristown Isaac “was steadily engaged in his business of carting military stores.” He took supplies from Morristown to troops serving at the outposts watching British-occupied New York. His travels took him to Westfield [20 miles], Newark [22 miles], Scotch Plains [17 miles] and Amboy [30 miles]. He also transported goods either by sleigh or wagon north to King’s Ferry and Stony Point [50 miles] and south to Trenton [50 miles] as part of the great inland transportation route that moved supplies from New England south to Philadelphia.

If you are a fan of math, you can do some calculations to attempt to figure out how much time Isaac spent on the road. Sleighs on good roads could travel at a rate of 12 miles per hour. So potentially his sleigh ride to Philadelphia was a 7 or 8-hour trip. But that doesn’t allow for bad weather or any rest for horses or passengers. It took Mrs. Washington two days to travel from Philadelphia to Morristown in late December 1779. At other times Isaac traveled by wagon which on good roads could do about 6 miles an hour. Potentially, Newark was a 4- hour trip and Trenton was 8 ½ hours. But my guess is Isaac’s trips took longer and many of his trips were multi-day affairs.

Isaac Hinds moved “Clothing, shoes, ammunition &c.” [ &c = etc]. He also “was directed to cart wood to the huts for the soldiers & quarters of the officers.” Additionally, he “was often sent out with his team & sled or wagon around to farm houses to bring in camp provisions as grain, flour & meat for the army, which often was reduced to great want.” When the Continental Army headed south in 1781 to face Cornwallis and his army at Yorktown Isaac Hinds transported army baggage as far as Princeton. After serving some 20 months as an army teamster, Isaac left the service. Then he did one tour of militia duty in 1781 in Morristown guarding the jail.

The Hinds family moved from Somerset County to Morris County sometime during the Revolutionary War. In 1795 the family moved to the new lands in Ohio where Isaac’s father Benjamin died. Isaac either didn’t move to Ohio or he returned to New Jersey after his father’s death because he noted in his pension application that he was well known to Morris County residents Lewis Condict and Israel Campfield for forty years.

Isaac Hinds applied for a veteran’s pension in the summer of 1832. But his application was rejected in December because “All his services were as Teamster with the exception of one monthly tour in the militia.” Apparently even though he had provided an invaluable service to the Continental Army, by law it didn’t rate a pension.

For those who are really interested, here is my transcription of Isaac Hinds pension application.

Isaac Hinds Pension Application R 5030 [rejected]

August 2, 1832 – “…Isaac Hinds a resident of Pequanock Township in the County of Morris and State of New Jersey, aged sixty nine years…His father, Benjamin Hinds then living in Somerset County, was regularly commissioned and engaged as a Waggon Master, by the Quarter Master Department of the Army of the United States in or about the winter of 1779’80, whilst General Washington had his head quarters at Morristown & his army was encamped in huts upon the hills & mountain near that Town. This Deponent often saw the commission of his father as Waggon Master, but can not recollect by whom it was subscribed. His father’s papers & book of account as Waggon Master he often saw in his father’s possession whilst he resided in Morris County, but in the year 1795, he removed with his family into the state of Ohio & he died then as this deponent believes & these papers & books this Deponent has not seen since, nor can he now obtain any evidence of their existence. This Deponent entered the service under his father by a written engagement in the Waggon Derpartment in the winter of 1779’80, & his first trip with his sled or sleigh team was to Philadelphia, upon the snow & ice, to carry some officers with their baggage. From Phila. He returned to the camp & was steadily engaged in his business of carting military stores from Morristown to Westfield – from Morristown to Kings Ferry on the North River – to Stony Point – to Trenton & various other places in Jersey – to Newark & other places on the lines – Amboy – Scotch Plain &c – where small bodies of regular troops or militia or both were stationed on guard duty. Larger stores of Clothing, shoes, ammunition &c: were located at Morristown & had to be distributed to other places, as circumstances required, & deponent was much employed in this service – He was often sent out with his team & sled or wagon around to farm houses to bring in camp provisions as grain, flour & meat for the army, which often was reduced to great want. He often was directed to cart wood to the huts for the soldiers & quarters of the officers. When the main army moved toward the South for the purpose of taking Cornwallis, this deponent aided in carrying baggage to Princeton, on its way from about the period of 1781, this Deponent was not engaged in the Waggon Service.
He performed some tours of Militia Service under Capt. Peter Layton of Long Hill, Morris County & assisted in performing guard duty, in guarding prisoners in Morristown jail, after leaving the Waggon Service & protecting Military Stores at that place, but cannot remember the month – it was warm weather – He remembers whilst there, an affray or quarrel between Lieutenant Benjamin Pierson commanding the guard & one Ward of Chatham – Was not out with his gun upon the lines along the Jersey Shores; the above tour in guarding the prisoners at Morristown, being the only one & continued for one tour, the precise time not recollected – He was however by order of his officers, always in readiness at a minutes warning to march in defense of his country. He verily believes, that he was engaged in the duty of the Quarter Master or Waggon Department, as before stated, for a period not less than about twenty months of active & steady duty & in the militia of one month.
He was born in Somerset County in April 27th day 1763 as he believes & lived in that County when he entered the Waggon Service under his father. He has a record of his age at home, taken from his fathers record of family ages.
He never recd. A commission or discharge. Has been well known to Dr. Lewis Condict for about thirty years & to Israel Campfield Esq. who has known him for forty years & more & to whom he refers for his character for truth.”

“Rejected
26 Dec. ‘32
All his services were as Teamster with the exception of one monthly tour in the militia”

Sources

• Isaac Hinds Pension Application R 5030, National Archives (Fold3, Ancestry)
• NPS Commissioned Artwork, Harpers Ferry Center — Continental soldiers unloading military provisions
• NPS Commissioned Artwork, Harpers Ferry Center — Wagon and soldiers on the road