Back in July 1776, Windham was one the many towns in Massachusetts.

Richard Dole was the town clerk and would be one of 91 Windham soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. It must have been very satisfying for Dole to “inscribe” Windham’s copy of the Declaration of Independence into the town records and even more so to join the army and help win that independence.

His job as town clerk was part time, as one of his descendants writes that after returning home following three years’ service, “he went to work in his joiner shop the next morning to finish a job he started before he joined the army.”

It’s a history mystery as to just where the town clerk records from 1776 – and prior – are located, but a search is on to find them.

The “Windham Company,” led by Capt. Richard Mayberry, included 11 men from Windham. They included many of the town’s leaders of the day and their service records are well recorded in the town history books.

Some of the unique things about those fighting for independence included the report that in Capt. Mayberry’s company there were only two pair of shoes, and they belonged to Josiah Chute.

Chute enlisted in January 1777 and was wounded in July that same year. The 18-year-old, whose home was at the corner of Swett and Chute Roads, was taken prisoner by the British. He escaped and wandered for a couple of weeks in the woods before he found his allies.

He was a sergeant of the company and since he had been wounded by a musket ball, he was “rendered unfit for duty” and returned home, continued farming and raised his family. He died in 1834 and is buried on his former farm near his neighbor and companion in arms, John Swett.

Copy the Story Link