source: The Harlem Valley Times, N.Y., Thursday, January 21, 1926

Mr. Bosworth is Mrs. H. M. Caulkins' great grandfather, and the following is his war record.

Nathaniel Bosworth enlisted in the Revolutionary War from Mansfield, Conn., when twenty-two years of age and early in 1776 was taken prisoner by British and put on the prison ship in the mouth of the Delaware river. At first he was treated kindly, but after a while not so well, and he and several others became aware of being fed poison and so they thought out a way to escape. Thus they asked for grease to oil their boots and knapsacks, and got these in good shape to keep out water, and for several nights before the escape was to be attempted he went around and awoke the officers, and as soon as they were alone went sound to sleep again. On the night before the new moon in March, 1776, the six men had things ready and as soon as the guards had fallen asleep they made their way to the ship's cable slipped down to the water.

The noise of going down awoke the guards and they rushed to them in time to see the men drop into the water. They shot several times but to no effect and ere long lowered a boat and went in pursuit, and captured one, killed another, and perhaps a third, then returned to the boat.

Nathaniel swam to the shore and being exhausted had to rest a while before going ashore, finally he got out of the water and finding a hogshead crawled into it, wringing out as much of the ice cold water from his clothes as possible, he went to sleep.

A lark singing in the morning awoke him, making haste to get into the woods near by he then went to a house some distance away and asked for food, and the woman gave him what she had. She had one son and her husband had been killed in the war.

The men worked their way back to headquarters and went on fighting.

During the war Mr. Bosworth had the smallpox and once was left on the battlefield as dead, but he recovered.

He married Mary Ranney, July 1, 1779, their first child was born in Lebanon, N.H. They were in Corinth, Vt., for a while then in Chelsea, Vt., and in 1796 moved to Berlin.

They had eleven children. Mr. Bosworth lived to be 91 years old.