3 General Nathaniel Folsom

3) G en eral Nath an iel F o l som AN A D DR ESS D EL I ' ER E D A ' R I L 8 , 19 0 8 ' E F O R E T H E NE ' H AM ' S H I R E H I S T O R I CAL S O CI ET ' A H ENR' M . ' ' ER GENE AL NATHANIEL F R OLSOM . w h o m w orl d , There are m any men the does n ot call great, wh o by lives of uprightness and efficiency deserve well of their fellow- men an d leave behin d them records of public service faithfully performed which chall enge attention an d comman d are h th e admiration . Such men substan ce of the state , the strength of the past , the hope of the future . They are more liable to be forgotten th an the brillian t few whose n ames e i illumine history , but they are n on the less essent al to the public welfare . They are those wh o keep the state true to its wh o principles , the church faithful to its precepts an d lead the ff r people to higher ideals an d more earn est e o t . We are met - - to day to con sider the life work of such a man , Gen . Nathaniel h i s Folsom , to commemorate service to our state , th e n ation , - an d to his fellow men . E The Folsom family was of good nglish stock . John Fol som , an ancestor of Gen . Nathaniel Folsom an d the first of ’ m D zl z m t this family to settle in A erica , came on the ship g of - E 1 6 8 a d Ipswich , ngland , in 3 , n foun d a home in Hingham , M assachusetts . Less th an two years before , he had married th e M ary Gilman . Thus , even while in the mother country, Fol s o m s families of the and th e Gilmans , both so distinguished . E in New Hampshire , were associated He removed to xeter, 1 1 6 . F 0 this state , about 5 3 It is probable that others of th e som family accompanied h i m or emigrated about the same tim e as the records of the town of Exeter show th at Goodwin Fol 2 1 6 i n 1 6 6 2 som was on e of the selectmen in 5 9 an d a juryman . Th e grandson of the emigrant , John Folsom , was Jon athan Fol E som , who was a farmer in xeter . He married Ann a, daughter . of Nathaniel Ladd They had twelve children , on e of whom , i e n Nathan l Folsom , the subject of this address , was bor in 6 E 1 2 . xeter, New Hampshire , in 7 He was twice married . By d the first marriage there were six chil ren , and by the second , one , a daughter . h At the death of his father , Nat aniel was only fourteen a years of age . The family was l rge and it became n ecessary for each member of it to con tribute all possible for its support . He was soon apprenticed to a trade at which he worked for several years , though later in life he was kn own as a merchan t . In 1 7 6 1 he formed a copartnersh ip with Joseph and Josiah Gilman under the firm n ame of Folsom , Gilman Gilman . Th e duration of the firm was limited to seven years an d its ' objects were stated to be to keep a gen eral store o n a large ' scale , to build ships an d carry on foreign commerce . ’ In the days of young F ol s o m s early manhood the military i n w n spirit of the colony ran high and deeds of d ing ere freque t . I n common with the young men of his time he joined a militia company at an early age , an d in its service un doubtedly developed that liking for military affairs which so largely determined his public career . I have foun d n o record to show what offices he held in his company or regimen t prior to the Cro wn Poin t E xpedition of 1 7 5 5 . The fact that he was as signed to the comman d of on e of th e ten companies con s ti tu t ’ ing New Hampshire s quota in that expeditio n is proof in i t self that h e must have held good rank an d excellen t reputation in the military circles of the colony . His company consisted o f his n eighbors and acquai n tan ces i n Exeter an d adj oining Al town s . He marched with his men through the woods to ' E bany, New ork , and thence to Fort dward , where he j oin ed the other New Hampshire troops . The men from our state s erved largely as rangers , which implies a knowledge of the wiles and skill of Indian warfare . The French and Indian s attacked the Americans at Fort n George, were repulsed an d their commander , Baro Dieskau , 3 l ' m ortal y wounded and taken prisoner . During th e day Cap tain Folsom was ordered to scout with his men in th e direction ’ n o f Lake George . About 4 o clock in the aftern oo he met the retreating Fren ch and In dians an d immediately scattered his men according to the ranger system of fighting, protecting o them by trees an d other defences , leaving each man to sho t f ' when and as often as he could do so e fectively . nder his immediate con m an d were th e eighty- four men of his own com pany an d about on e h alf that n umber from New ' ork . They h fl maintain ed a s arp firing until dark, in icting great loss upon ow n . re the enemy, though their loss was slight Then they e turned to their camp bringing with them their wound d , several a n d e prison ers , considerable supplies captured from the n emy . ; Hon Theodore Atkin son , secretary of the province of New E s . Hampshire , in a letter to Joh n Tomlin son , q , relative to the ' E x ed iti on w rote : Crown Point p , In the engagement with Gen ’ eral Die skau about eighty of our men 'Captain F ol s o m s company — of eighty- four' with about forty ' orkers many of whom were —I of little service though others of them behaved well say, this small party under the command of Captain Folsom of New Hampshire it is thought killed more of the Canadians an d ’ Indians than was killed at General Johnson s camp ; they con tin ned an obstin ate engagemen t with more than on e thousan d —indeed all that retired from before Gen eral Johnson ’s camp — killed great n umbers of the enemy, recovered about twelve off hun dred packs , beat the enemy , carried their own woun ded men to the camp . This engagement lasted about three hours , when night came o n and the French and Indians wen t off an d e l ft all . After this our regimen t was ordered to the camp at Lake George and was never put upon duty but in the scouting e way, which they performed in so acc ptable a way that n o duty n but that was required of them . General Johnso could or ' would have h ad n o intelligen c e had it n ot been for our men . ’ It is said of Captain F ol s o m s victory that it served more t ' han anything else to revive the spirit of the colonies . This was the last active movemen t in this campaign . The regulars wen t into camp at Fort William Henry an d the New Hampshire men returned home . 4 It does n ot appear that Captain Fol som engaged in any a c tive campaigning from this time until the outbreak of hostilitie s in the Revolutionary war . He was probably at home engaged H . e in his trade or in business , living an active but quiet life 1 6 did n ot, however, abandon his service in the militia for in 7 7 - he was promoted to be maj or, later to lieuten ant colonel an d. subsequently to be colonel of the Fourth New Hampshire regi ment , which command he probably contin ued to exercise until he was chosen brigadier - general by the Provincial congress E which met at xeter two days after the battle of Lexington . His duty was tersely stated to be to command the tr00ps that had gon e or m ight go ' from this govern ment to assist our suf feri n g brethren in the province of M assachusetts Bay, who are r n n ow t o o s . a d to opposing the hostile violence of the regular p , m order for the troops that may be un der his command , fro th e time to time , all necessary supplies an d to transmit to us earliest accounts thereof an d what may be thought furthe r e u nec ssary for the s pport of the common cause .

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