Subject: Waltham Boy Became One of the "Immortal Band" - Revolutionary War Source: Groton Historical Series by Dr. Samuel A. Green Volume I, Chapter XIV, 1887 - from Article in the Boston "Columbian Centinel" Jan 11, 1834. Part 2 of 2 Abraham Childs, A Revolutionary Officer p.17 In 1779 he was appointed to the command of a company of Light Infantry under Major William Hull; and on the 15th of July, as senior captain of the infantry, he headed the assault at the storming of Stoney Point. General Wayne, in order to prevent the possibility of early discovery, ordered the muskets to be unloaded and the flints with- drawn. Advancing thus in solid columns to the assault, they suddenly deployed to the right and left, sprang boldly to the walls, under a murderous fire of grape and musketry from the now aroused Britons, and gained the ramparts with the exulting shout of "Hurrah! the fort is ours!" We have the authority of the late General Hull that the first man who gained the rampart and raised the cry of victory was Capt. Abraham Childs. In the act of parrying a thrust from a British officer, Capt. Childs received a slight wound in the hand, which was the only injury he received through all his campaigns. Soon after this, domestic affairs imperiously calling for his presence, he bade a final adieu to the army. After residing several years in Wendall, he removed in 1795, to Groton, Mass. In 1818 he applied for and received, the half-pay pension. During the remainder of his event- ful life, beloved and respected, he calmly pursued his course, retaining all his faculties and strength to the last, and finally expired - "Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." >From Dr. Samuel Green's Epitaphs From the Old Burying Ground in Groton, Massachusetts, pub. Boston, 1878: p.180 Tombstone, a monument [North Side] Man lives his little hour and Falls, too oft unheeded down. "Sacred to the Memory of Capt Abram [Abraham] Child who was born at Waltham, 1741 and died at Groton, Jan. 3, 1834, Aged 93 yrs. He entered the army in the French War at the age of 17 yrs. Was with Gen. Amherst at the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point in 1759. he was a lieutenant among the Minute Men and aided in the Concord Fight, and the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775. "Joining Washington, he was one of the Immortal Band which crossed the Delaware, Dec. 25, 1776, and turned the tide of war, in the Victories of Trenton and Princeton. De- tached to the North, he fought in the two Battles of Still- water and witnessed the surrender of Burgoyne in 1777. Rejoining Washington, he bore equally the Frosts of Valley Forge and the Heats of Monmouth in 1778. Detailed with Gen. Wayne, he crowned his Military career by heading the Infantry as oldest Captain in the gallant capture of Stoney Point in 1779, where he received the only wound that marked his eventful services. Buried with her husband is the body of: Rebecca Stowell His wife died Nov 1830 AEt 84. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth