You Are There… Graphic History Series.
Nathaniel Holcomb, age 18, of Saybrook, Connecticut. Third son of a farmer, joined the Connecticut militia in spring 1776. Recruited by Sergeant Ezra Lee’s brother for the whaleboat crew supporting David Bushnell’s secret weapon. Slight build, 5’7”, sandy brown hair tied back, gap between front teeth, pockmark scar on left cheek from childhood smallpox. Calloused hands, sunburned nose perpetually peeling.
September 6, 1776 — 4:47 AM
Continental Army encampment, northern Manhattan Island, near present-day 145th Street
The gray wool blanket is damp with Hudson River fog. Somewhere a rooster crows from one of the remaining Dutch farms. The stench of the latrine trench twenty yards away mingles with woodsmoke from dying cookfires. Mosquitoes whine near the ear. The ground is hard-packed mud, still warm from yesterday’s late summer heat. In the distance, a sergeant’s voice barks orders. The taste of last night’s salt pork coats the tongue, rancid and persistent. Canvas tents sag with moisture. A horse stamps and snorts nearby.
September 6, 1776 — 6:15 AM
Camp cookfire, Manhattan encampment
