March 18, 1775

A return of Sutton militia in companies in the Regiment commanded by Ebenezer Learned, March 18th, 1885

A month before the Lexington Alarm, Sutton was asked to provide the number of men it had ready to fight. John Blanchard was given the task and this document was the result. 

For each company, men, flintlocks, powder, bullets, flints, swords or bayonets, and cartridge boxes were accounted for. Sutton had 550 men in six companies:

• Captain John Putnam (47 men)
• Captain Elliot (56 men)
• Captain Dagget (43 men)
• Captain Samuel Sibley (33 men, plus 87 "training soldiers")
• Captain Nathaniel Sibley (46 men, plus 74 "training soldiers")
• the North Parish under the command of Captain Trask (74 men, plus 84 "training soldiers")

Unfortunately, they only had 400 flintlocks for 550 men, and the provision of powder was worse, with only 371 measures available. This may account for the fact that the numbers in each company were lower when the Minutemen first mobilized in April 1775. 

Images from the collection "Sutton (Mass.) : Records [manuscript], 1683-1883; 1940."  Courtesy, American Antiquarian Society.