He also began the practice of giving every Rifleman a gill of what he called “grog,” a small quantity of rum, much diluted with lemon, fruit juice, or even water each night whenever possible. When he announced this policy, he said, “We will do this every evening until we run out of rum or liberate Quebec. Whichever comes first is up to you!”

Tuesday, September 26th, was generally a repeat of what we endured the day before with some new wrinkles in what the Kennebec has to offer its visitors. Shortly after noon we encountered a place where the river broadened and the current diminished. But instead of making the task of propelling the boats upstream easier, it became even more difficult.

For more than a two-mile stretch of river, the water is so shallow, all the batteaux ran aground. In order to move forward, each of our boats had to be lifted by eight men on each side, and four more men in front, pulling towropes. For the better part of four hours this is how we dragged all thirty-one vessels across the shoals. It was an incredibly time-consuming, exhausting endeavor which left every one of us thoroughly soaked and chilled.

By 6:00 p.m., we were back in deeper water but too weary to press further. As the night before, Capt. Morgan ordered the Rifle Companies to pull the batteaux close to the eastern shore of the Kennebec, set up perimeters, and build large bonfires.

Early this morning, Wednesday, September 27th, as we were preparing for our third day on the Kennebec, one of our sentries alerted us to what he described to be “a caravan approaching from the north.”

Captain Morgan immediately dispatched 1st Lt. Humphrey and three, five-man ambush teams up the old 1750’s-era military road toward Fort Halifax with the mission of intercepting anyone intent on doing us harm.

I sent Corporal Sullivan south along the river to alert Captains Hendricks and Smith of a possible threat from the north. Our little “Headquarters unit” charged our rifles and proceeded to take down our HQ tent and pack our baggage for loading on our batteaux.

While all this was going on, Captain Morgan pulled his spyglass out of his backpack and calmly moved to gain a clear view to the north. After resting the fully extended telescope against a tree and observing the approaching “caravan” for several minutes he said, “They are harmless. Pass the word to let them enter our lines.”

I did so and fifteen minutes later, a rough-clothed gentleman aboard a two-horse drawn light wagon pulled up and said, “I am Calvin Coolidge. I am a Patriot. So are the good people behind me. We saw your bonfires last night.