History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

424 HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTON. [1779.
behalf of the town) that these had been obliged to pay each
man $30, over and above the sum that the town had voted
to give them, and had also been obliged to expend considera-
ble money for liquors, but the town refused to pay these
expenses. Nineteen men^ were enlisted under this call.
They went to Springfield then to Great Barrington, where
they waited some time for orders. Thence they marched
to Claverack (Hudson), where there was another tedious
delay. Finally they were sent to Albany, where they remained
till their term of service expired. They enlisted
for three months, went away early in October, and returned
the latter part of December. Joseph Clapp, who lived in
Timothy Lyman
what is now Easthampton, was Captain ;
of Goshen, Lieut. ; Dea. Sanderson of Whately, Ens. ; and
Elijah Wright of Easthampton and Nathan Strong of
Northampton, Sergeants. This expedition is called the
" Claverack Tour," in the town documents.
Results in 1T79. The fifth year of the war has been styled
with truth a year of disasters. It was the
gloomiest thus far during the conflict. No decisive engagements
occurred at the north, yet the success of the enemy
in marauding along the sea-coast, the capture of Verplank
and Stony Point, though the latter was gallantly recaptured
only to be dismantled, were among the most disheartening
influences. Money was steadily depreciating and the
loan from France was but a drop in the bucket. Expeditions
to the frontiers against the Indians and the English
settlements along the Ohio and in the Genesee valleys,
though successful, had little influence upon the general
result. The most important theater of warfare was at the
South, where the British overran Georgia and the Caroli-
nas, carrying everything before them. The French fleet
under D' Estang failed not only in the combined attack
upon Savannah, but also in the anticipated attempt upon
New York, which was at one time the only northern port
in possession of the enemy. Gen. Washington went into
winter quarters at Morristown, and despondency and despair
settled down upon the patriot cause. The first enthusiasm
of the people, dampened by the constant efforts re-
1 For list of names see Appendix.