Author: Edward Lary
Much of the following was included in Elnathan Weed’s testimony supporting his war pension application, dated 20 Dec 1835.

Elnathan Weed was born in Stamford CT on 17 April 1758, son of Reuben and Lydia (Holly) Weed. He first enlisted in May 1775, marching to battle in Ticonderoga NY. From there they marched to St. Johns, Canada, where they defeated the British and captured the Fort. He became ill, was carried to a hospital first in St. Johns, then back to Ticonderoga, remaining there until February 1776. He was honorably discharged in Stamford that March.

A short time later he enlisted in New Canaan CT, joining a Company that marched to Newport RI. From Newport the Company marched to an island off New Jersey close to Staten Island NY. From there, in the summer of 1776, they joined up with other American troops under the command of General Washington. Elnathan well remembers it was sometime in December of 1776 when, under General Washington, they crossed the Delaware River at Trenton. Elnathan continued serving in Pennsylvania “…after crossing at Trenton, ‘til his said nine months was faithfully served out”. He returned to Stamford in the winter of 1777.

Elnathan next enlisted in Bedford NY in May 1777. Much of his time was spent guarding prisoners in the Guard House kept there. Next, in May 1778, he enlisted in Stamford and marched to West Point with two yoke of oxen and a cart. He was engaged in building the Fort at West Point, and “…then to do whatever the Commanding Officer directed this declarant to do”. Once again honorably discharged, Elnathan returned home to Stamford about 1 June 1779.

During the summer and fall of 1779, Elnathan volunteered for duty guarding the Connecticut shores along Long Island Sound against frequent enemy engagements from New York. During this enlistment, he volunteered to join a company of thirty men under the command of Capt. Samuel Lockwood. Their charge was to infiltrate the British camps on Long Island NY; capture Judge Jones; and bring him back to Connecticut. The Governor of Connecticut hoped for a prisoner exchange for General Silliman, whom the British has previously captured and were holding in New York. The Company achieved its mission, and the prisoner exchange took place about a week later.

But Elnathan was not quite finished. He enlisted as a Corporal in April 1780, serving out his nine month enlistment; then once more in the summer of 1781 as a Sargent under General Mead when the breakout continued, serving until that winter. He was honorably discharged for the last time, and returned home to Stamford for good.

Elnathan Weed married Lydia Bouton in Stamford, in 1781. They shared a long and fruitful marriage of almost sixty years, and had seven children. Lydia died in 1840, and Elnathan in 1844 at the age of 85. They are both buried in the North Stamford Cemetery, Stamford, CT.