Hemingways Revolutionary War Study

Determining the facts surrounding each Isaac Hemingway's (Junior and Senior) Revolutionary War service is made difficult by the fact of their identical names and similar time of service. The hardest part is determining which is which (who is who), especially with the various spellings (Hemingway, Hemmingway, Heminway, Hemenway, Hemmenway, etc.) found on different records. It is made even more difficult by the attempts of descendants to make various pension and land grant claims on these soldiers and other Hemingway soldiers 50 to 150 years later with erroneous and/or incorrect information.

The principal surviving records in the National Archives directly pertaining to these men fall into two basic categories: (1) Individual Service Records, which are mostly made up of Muster Rolls and Payroll Records and (2) Pension Records. Although the Pension Records seem to include the most information, probably because of the nature of the narrative of the application process, they also seem to be the least reliable for that same reason. There is little to no official government information in these documents about the solider or his service apart from the outcome of the pension applied for and it's details or denials. All the information about the soldier, his service, the surviving descendants and the applicants is supplied by the applicants and in the case of these Isaacs, as well as the Pension Application regarding James Hemingway, a brother to the younger Isaac - which has references to the older Isaac, seems to be in conflict with some of the facts that can be found in the contents of Individual Service Records. It can be surmised that these Pension applications, which were made anywhere from 50 to over 100 years after the service were made without the benefit of those official records and with prejudice and probably folklore given the lapsed time. The Individual Service Records on the other hand are usually sparse. They contain only very basic information such as name, date of enlistment, intended duration, unit and sometimes commander, discharge or death and occasionally some payroll information. What they do have is official and is about as close to fact as we can get. Muster Rolls vary in usefulness as they are infrequent and usually incomplete. They are akin to a printed roll call and can only be taken as a stand alone snapshot of a specific time and place. However they can be useful as a fill in to a soldiers overall data as to who they served with and sometimes where.

Here is what the records say:

ISAAC HEMINGWAY (1730-1778)

According to his Individual Service Record #451 - R.&P., 436.786, Vol 3, Page 188 (H) (Publication # M881): (Under the name spelled Hemenway) 6 Massachusetts Regiment as Corporal, in Captian Thomas Barnes Company, commanded by Colonel Thomas Nixon. Enlisted March 15, 1777, for the term "During the War." Died 30th January 1778.

Note: Some say Isaac Hemingway Sr. died at Valley Forge, PA (Ralph Hemingway of Roxbury, Mass and his Descendants, Vol 2), even that he was killed there in Battle. Others say he died at Framingham, MA. These official records do not say where, but it apparently was while serving in the Army. It may be usefull to find the whereabouts of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment at that time. The Ralph Hemingway book says (p211) that "Washingtons orderly book for that year p.23 shows Col. Van Schaicks Reg. to which he belonged was joined with another...." Others have said (James Himmingway Pension Application) that the 6th Massachusetts Regiment was at Lexington and Concord MA.

Both Isaac and his son James were Minute Men at Concord and Lexington, and both were afterward soldiers in the Revolutionary Army. Their service records are to be found in Vol. VII, "Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War." In this book pages 701 to 714 are taken up with the War Records of this family whose members served in the Revolutionary War which resulted in American Independence.

ISAAC HEMINGWAY (1762-1833)

According to his Individual Service Record #452 - R.&P., 436.786, Vol 3, Page 206 (H) (Publication # M881): (Under the name spelled Hemenway) 6 Massachusetts Regiment as a Private, commanded by Colonel Thomas Nixon. Enlisted July 14, 1780, for the term "6 Mo." He was discharged December 3, 1780. His time of service was actually 4 months and 21 days for which he was paid 6 dollars 60 per month for a total of 31 dollars 30. Apparently he spent some of this time sick and in the hospital.

It was said of this Isaac by his son James Hemingway as part of a Pension application in an open court declaration in1857 (70+ yrs after), that "Isaac was a drummer in the company commanded by Captain Thomas Drury in the Regiment of “eight months min” commanded by Col. John Nixon in the War of the Revolution. That he said further (as he believes) entered the Service at Framingham in the State of Massachusetts about the 13th. Day of February AD 1775 for the term of eight months and continued in actual service in said war for the term of ten months and nine days and was honorably discharged at Framingham aforesaid on the 22nd day of December AD 1775. He again reentered the Service on the 10th day of July 1780 at Framingham aforesaid and continued in actual service in the War for the term of five months and five days and was honorably discharged at Framingham aforesaid on December 3, 1780. (Isaac Hemingway served for two different periods in the Revolutionary War) That (during his second period of Service) he served under the following officers in addition to those above mentioned (for his first period of Service) viz; Capt. Thomas Nixon, Micah Gleason and John Eames, Ensign Samuel Gleason, Clerk: Ebenezer Hemingway. That he has no documentary evidence of his service." Unfortunately no record of this early 1775 service can be found. Furthermore, As Isaac would only have been 12 years old (b.1762) this would seem unlikely.

In a Hemingway Book copyrighted in 1976 by the "Hemingway Book Committee" (Allen Library#2173282) it was written: "On July 14, 1780 while seventeen years of age he enlisted for six months in Colonel T. Nixon's Company of the 6th Massachusetts Regular of Foot. His father had died two years before at Valley Forge. Isaac was five foot seven inches tall and had dark complexion according to his military records. As a private he marched to camp under the command of Captian Hancock. In October 1780 he passed muster at Camp Toteway under command of Brigadier General Paterson. He was a private in the Colonel's company commanded by Captian Lieutenant Benjamin Parker. He was sick in camp in October 6, 1780 and was discharged December 3, 1780. His record doesn't say much about his military achievements, but he was said to have been a drummer."

There is a DAR record for Isaac Hemengway - 826 HEMINGWAY Isaac Hemingway of Framingham Mass was drummer in Capt Micajah Gleason's company of minute men Apr ig 1775 fourteen days He was drummer in Capt Thomas Drury's company Col John Nixon's regt enlisted May 4 1775 Private in Capt Peter Clages's company July 14 1780 service 5 months Mass Rev Rolls.