Elisha Porter
(1742-1796) is not a household name unlike George Washington or Benedict
Arnold. Porter never betrayed his country, nor did he become president. Porter
though, like Washington and Arnold, did participate in the early phases of the
American Revolution. He was a colonel in the Fourth Hampshire Regiment of
Massachusetts. He fought at Bunker Hill, made the acquaintance of George
Washington, and soon became a courier for the General. After the fighting in
Boston subsided, he was ordered to Canada with his men to assist Benedict
Arnold in his siege. Porter later engaged in the battles at Saratoga ,and was
selected to escort Burgoyne to Boston after the surrender. After the war
shifted to the middle Atlantic and southern states, Porter returned home to
Hadley, Massachusetts, where he quietly lived out the rest of his life. Today
he is remembered by locals, but only by some. His brief time associating with
future legends was either unknown or forgotten.
In late 2017,
Historic Deerfield received a gift of the Porter Family Papers. comprising the
papers of Elisha and his older brother, Eleazer. Reading through the papers,
Elisha’s connections to the Revolutionary War became apparent. There are orders
written by George Washington, sending Porter to Canada; orders from Benedict Arnold directing him to
Quebec; orders from General Wooster; a signed commission from John Hancock; and
many other documents relating to the war.
These papers
encouraged further research into this important chapter in Porter’s life. Here
was proof that an ordinary man from a small town in western Massachusetts witnessed and even participated in, some of
the most significant events of the Revolution. The papers provide brand new
material for scholars of the Revolution.
As a colonel in
the local militia, Porter received militia returns from the neighboring towns
in 1775, reporting on the number of able soldiers, weapons, and gunpowder
present in each town. These returns were previously unknown. Some towns provided great detail, listing each man by
name, and distinguishing which were “minute men.” These returns give an idea of
the preparedness of small towns in the western part of the state were doing
prior to the Revolution. Porter, and other military leaders, could determine
which towns were best able to defend themselves from attack, and how many men
they could count on to join the fight, if needed. The wide-ranging results also
showed the diversity in population among the towns of Hampshire County.
The Porter papers
add depth to other existing Revolutionary War documents in the library. Many local
families fought in the war, some as part of Porter’s regiment. The families of
those who left traces of their time in war have passed their diaries, war
records, and other documents down, generation to generation. Some of that
material has come into the collections at Deerfield. The Porter materials are
just the newest and flashiest collection to be added.
“Sir I am this minute Informed of your
Arrival at St Johns, with part of your Regt. you will please on receit of this
to, Draw, Ten Days Provission at Chamble, & proceed In your Battoes, Down
the Sorell, to the Army before Quebec & join Genl. Wooster. you will please
to take as many Men in the Battoes as they will Carry with Two Chests of
Medicine at Chamble. I wish you Success, I am Sir Your Hbl servant B Arnold B Genl.” Montreal, April 20, 1776.
Heather
Harrington, Associate Librarian, Historic Deerfield Library
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