An American Family History

"[L]iberty must at all hazards be supported.
We have a right to it, derived from our Maker.
But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us,
at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood."

During the American Revolution in 1776, the house of representatives voted to raise four companies of fifty men each to guard the western frontier. Colonel Samuel Ashley led one of these companies from Cheshire County, New Hampshire.

Ashley's Regiment was sent to reinforce the American army at Fort Ticonderoga from October 21st to November 16, 1776. In May, 1775, Americans under Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold had captured the fort in a surprise attack. Captain Isaac Davis died on November 28, 1776 after he was released from service.

They held it until June, 1777, when British forces under General John Burgoyne occupied the high ground above the fort. At that time, Ashley's Regiment with 109 men again marched from Westmoreland, Chesterfield and Hinsdale in Cheshire County to Fort Ticonderoga on the alarm of May 8, 1777. They were present at the evacuation of Ticonderoga by the American forces.

The only direct attack on the fort took place in September 1777, when John Brown led 500 Americans in an unsuccessful attempt to capture the fort from about 100 British defenders.