[Footnote 135: Upton is thirty-five miles southwest from Boston.]
[Footnote 136: The 20th was observed throughout the camps as a day of fasting and prayer. Before daylight that morning, a party from Heath's regiment landed on Nantasket point, set fire to the lighthouse, and brought away a thousand bushels of barley and a quantity of hay.]
the 25. Our Regement with four more were under arms and marched towards cambridg to meet general Ward.
the 26. General Heaths regement moved from Dorchester to cambridg and Jeneral Wards regement moved from cambridg to Dorchester and took general Heath's Baracks.
the 30. Being Sunday we had an alarm and went to our Fort[137] the same day there was a party of men draughted out to go to the Light house and major tupper was comander of the party.[138]
[Footnote 137: This was a very strong quadrangular work, on the highest eminence in Roxbury. It had four bastions, and in every respect was a regular work. It is now well preserved, the embankments being from six to fifteen feet in height from without.]
[Footnote 138: On that day the British, five hundred strong, marched over the neck, and built a slight breastwork to cover their guard. The American camp was in alarm all the day, and that night the troops lay on their arms. The tories in Boston were also alarmed, for they dreaded an invasion of the city by their exasperated countrymen.]
the 31. This day major tupper and his men returned to Roxbury with between thirty and forty prisoners some regulars and some torys and some mariens[139] and had something of a battle and we lost one man and another wounded and our men Burnt the Light house and took some plunder[140] thar was an alarm the firing began first at the floating Battery and then at the Brest Work and then the troops marched out and set the george tavern[141] on fire our men took one prisoner and the same night one of the enemy deserted and came to our centrys at Dorchester point and brought away with him too guns and too cartridg Boxes and 60 rounds of cartridgs all in good order and their was several more deserted to cambridg the same night.
[Footnote 140: The British commenced rebuilding the lighthouse on Nantasket point. Major Tupper, with three hundred men, attacked the working-party, killed ten or twelve men, and took the rest prisoners. He then demolished the works, but, before he could leave, some armed boats came to oppose him. In the skirmishing that ensued, fifty-three of the British were killed or captured. Tupper lost one man killed, and two wounded.]