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" ' On
mtUin=mioUoU
all the questions preliminary to the Revolutionary War he was a
firm advocate of the American cause.' " He drew up an eloquent preamble
and resolutions which were adopted by the town of Litchfield, in 1774,
with reference to the Boston Port Bill. He was a Member of the Conti-
nental Congress in 1775, and performed an important service for his
country in the pacification of Indian tribes of the North, and the settle-
ment of disagreements about boundaries, between certain of the colonies,
which threatened to alienate them from one another. He was, as is well
known, one of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.^'
In 1777 he was made Brigadier-General, and "'aided in reducing the
British Army under Gen. Burgoyne.' " In 1779 he was in the field in
defence of the sea-coast. From 1781 to 1783 he occasionally attended
Congress ; in 1 784-85 he was a Commissioner for Indian affairs.
" ' His
military services, his known probity and judgment, his ardent
attachment to the Republican cause, and his social standing, all contributed
to give him an extended influence, which was faithfully exerted for the
public good. From the beginning to the end of the Revolutionary War
he was constantly engaged either in the Council or in the field.' " In 1786
he was chosen Lieut.-Governor of Connecticut, and for the next ten years,
until he became Governor, he continued to hold that office. In 1 788 he
was a Member of the Convention for the ratification of the Constitution
of the United States by Connecticut. In 1796 he was a Presidential
Elector, voting for John Adams and Thomas Pinckney. Yale College
conferred upon him the honorary doctorate of laws in 1792. He died, the
Chief Magistrate of his native State, in 1797.
From a funeral-sermon preached on his death " we also make the
following extracts, the purport of which is amply verified by letters of his
printed in the " Memorial " before us :
" During the session of Congress of this year he made a visit to Connecticut, and took with him
from New York the broken pieces of a leaden statue of George III., which three of his children and
some other persons in Litchfield made into cartridges for the American army.
" By Rev. Azel Backus of Bethlehem, Conn.
188