When the Drummer Met the Sergeant: Cheshire's Atwaters and Joseph Plumb Martin

Richard {Reggie} Smith
Jun 12
7 min read

By Richard "Reggie" Smith

Research/Editor Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0

The story of the American Revolution is often told through the actions of generals and statesmen, but the war was ultimately fought by ordinary men who endured extraordinary hardships. Few accounts capture that reality better than the memoir of Joseph Plumb Martin, the Connecticut soldier whose vivid recollections remain one of the most important firsthand narratives of the Revolutionary War.

What is less widely known is that many of the experiences Martin described were shared by soldiers from what is now Cheshire, Connecticut. Among them were members of the prominent Atwater family, whose service during the Revolutionary War closely paralleled Martin's own journey through some of the conflict's most difficult campaigns.

By comparing Martin's memoir with military records, local histories, and family accounts, a remarkable picture emerges of Cheshire men who marched the same roads, endured the same privations, and faced many of the same dangers as one of America's most famous Revolutionary War veterans.

The Atwaters of Revolutionary-Era Cheshire

In the 18th century, the Atwater family was among the most influential and widespread families in the Cheshire-Wallingford area. Local tradition has long held that for nearly two miles along what is now State Street, virtually every home belonged to members of the Atwater family.

When war broke out between the American colonies and Great Britain in 1775, the Atwaters answered the call in large numbers.

Among them was Abraham Atwater, a man approximately sixty years old when the Revolution began. While many men of his age might have remained home, Abraham enlisted alongside his son Isaac in Captain Bunnell's Company of the 5th Battalion of Connecticut troops serving under Brigadier General James Wadsworth.

Initially, younger sons Samuel and Timothy Atwater remained behind to help support the family and protect their mother, Mary Ball Atwater, and their sisters. However, like many young men of the era, Samuel was drawn to military service and eventually joined the Continental cause himself.

Samuel Atwater: The Young Drummer

Military musicians played a critical role during the Revolutionary War. Drummers communicated battlefield commands, regulated camp activities, signaled troop movements, and maintained order during marches.

Samuel Atwater entered military service as a drummer, a position requiring courage and discipline. Drummers often stood close to the action, relaying commands amid the confusion of battle.

Family tradition suggests that Samuel's arrival in camp may have surprised his father Abraham. Having left home to join the army, the young drummer found himself serving alongside family members during one of the most challenging periods of the war.

As Joseph Plumb Martin would later write, many young soldiers entered military service with romantic notions of glory, only to discover the harsh realities of warfare. Samuel Atwater's experience was likely no different.

The Defense of New York

During the summer of 1776, American forces concentrated around New York City in anticipation of a British attack.

Joseph Plumb Martin arrived in New York during this critical period and later recalled spending long days constructing fortifications while observing the growing British military presence. He described a city transformed into a military encampment, with soldiers laboring under difficult conditions while awaiting the inevitable confrontation.

The Atwaters arrived during this same campaign.

Like Martin and thousands of other Connecticut soldiers, Abraham and Isaac Atwater participated in the enormous effort to defend New York. They dug trenches, built earthworks, stood guard, and prepared for battle as British forces assembled one of the largest expeditionary armies ever sent overseas by the British Empire.

Many soldiers expected a decisive confrontation. Few understood just how overwhelming British strength would prove to be.

The Battle of Long Island

On August 27, 1776, the British launched their assault against American positions on Long Island.

The battle became one of the largest engagements of the Revolutionary War and nearly ended the American cause before it had fully begun.

Joseph Plumb Martin later recalled the confusion, noise, and terror of the fighting. He witnessed soldiers attempting to escape through marshes and waterways while British regulars and Hessian troops pressed forward.

The Atwaters, serving within Wadsworth's Brigade, occupied defensive positions associated with the American lines around Brooklyn Heights.

Although American forces suffered a significant defeat, General George Washington successfully executed one of the most remarkable retreats in military history. Under cover of darkness and aided by a dense fog, the Continental Army evacuated thousands of soldiers across the East River to Manhattan.

Both Martin and the Atwaters survived what many historians regard as a near-catastrophic defeat.

Without that evacuation, the American Revolution may have ended in 1776.

Tragedy at Kip's Bay

If Long Island represented a military setback, the British landing at Kip's Bay on September 15, 1776, became a personal tragedy for the Atwater family.

The British attack was preceded by a massive naval bombardment. Five British warships anchored in the East River unleashed devastating cannon fire against American positions along Manhattan's eastern shoreline.

Martin later described the terrifying impact of British artillery and the panic that swept through portions of the American line.

The bombardment was followed by the landing of thousands of British and Hessian troops near present-day East 34th Street.

American resistance quickly collapsed.

General Washington famously rode among retreating troops in an unsuccessful attempt to rally them. Several accounts describe him becoming so frustrated by the disorder that aides feared for his safety and physically restrained him from advancing toward the enemy.

During the confusion and retreat, Isaac Atwater was killed.

Unlike many soldiers whose remains were recovered after battle, Isaac left no known individual grave. Because the British gained control of the battlefield, many American dead were never formally identified or buried in marked locations.

Today, Isaac's sacrifice is remembered through family memorials and local historical records rather than a known burial site.

His death serves as a reminder of the countless Revolutionary War soldiers whose final resting places remain unknown.

Redemption at Harlem Heights

The day after the disaster at Kip's Bay, American morale received a much-needed boost.

On September 16, 1776, American and British forces clashed at the Battle of Harlem Heights.

Joseph Plumb Martin later recalled how the victory helped restore confidence among soldiers whose spirits had been badly shaken by previous defeats.

According to accounts from the period, British light infantry sounded hunting calls associated with fox hunts, apparently mocking the retreating Americans. Rather than retreating again, Continental forces counterattacked.

For the first time during the New York campaign, American troops demonstrated that they could successfully challenge British regulars in open combat.

Abraham and Samuel Atwater likely participated in the operations surrounding Harlem Heights and witnessed the renewed confidence that followed.

The victory was modest in military terms but significant psychologically.

The Continental Army had proven it could fight and win.

White Plains and the Hardships of Campaigning

The campaign continued northward through the fall of 1776.

At White Plains and other engagements, soldiers faced hardships that often rivaled battlefield dangers.

Martin's memoir provides a vivid account of army life during this period. He described inadequate food, worn clothing, exposure to harsh weather, disease, and exhausting marches.

Meals frequently consisted of little more than salted meat, hard bread, or simple mixtures of flour and water known as firecakes.

Footwear was often scarce.

Blankets and tents were inadequate.

Disease spread rapidly through crowded camps.

The Atwater soldiers endured the same conditions.

Military records reveal no special treatment for Cheshire's volunteers. Whatever comfort or prosperity they may have known at home disappeared once they entered the ranks.

By the end of their service, even men from established families often found themselves wearing ragged uniforms and surviving on limited rations.

The reality of Revolutionary War service differed sharply from popular images of patriotic heroism.

It was frequently cold, hungry, exhausting, and dangerous.

A Shared Soldier's Experience

Although Joseph Plumb Martin and the Atwaters served in different units, their wartime experiences reveal striking similarities.

Experience	Joseph Plumb Martin	The Atwaters
Food	Sparse rations, hard bread, salt pork, firecakes	Endured the same shortages and field rations
Shelter	Often inadequate tents and exposure to weather	Faced identical campaign conditions
Equipment	Frequently worn or inadequate	Relied on available militia and military equipment
Disease	Camp illnesses common and deadly	Family records suggest losses from disease as well as combat
Combat	Long Island, Harlem Heights, White Plains	Participated in the same New York campaign operations

The similarities help place Cheshire's Revolutionary War veterans within the broader story of the American struggle for independence.

Their service was not unique because it was different from other soldiers' experiences.

It was important because it was the same.

They endured the same sacrifices that thousands of ordinary Americans made to secure independence.

Returning Home

Unlike Joseph Plumb Martin, who later settled in Maine and eventually recorded his wartime memories in one of the Revolution's most valuable memoirs, the Atwaters returned to Cheshire.

Their contributions became woven into the town's history.

Samuel Atwater survived the war and married Patience Peck in 1781. His descendants remained connected to the community for generations.

Major Reuben Atwater served in the Connecticut militia and became a prominent figure in the Wallingford-Cheshire parish.

Caleb Atwater earned recognition as a merchant who supplied materials, including gunpowder, to the American cause during the Revolution.

Abraham Atwater eventually returned to the community he had left to defend. He carried home memories of battles won and lost, of military service undertaken late in life, and of a son buried far from Connecticut.

Today, visitors to Hillside Cemetery can still find Abraham Atwater's memorial.

It stands as more than a gravestone.

It is a reminder that Cheshire's Revolutionary War story was not merely a local footnote. The town's soldiers marched through some of the most important campaigns of the war and shared many of the same experiences preserved by Joseph Plumb Martin.