586
HISTORY OF THE REDLON FAMILY.
and died in Buxton; Daniel domiciled upon a part of his father's land
in Saco; Abraham was a seaman, and never married; Jeremiah succeeded
to the homestead farm, and Jacob, the youngest, was drowned near the
place of his birth. These sons were plain folk, uneducated and uncul-
tured; reared in the rude colonial settlement, without the privileges of
schooling, they adapted themselves to the times and conditions in which
they lived, and became hardy, sturdy men. They had sterling qualities,
nevertheless, and possessed a high sense of honor; their courage and de-
termination were never questioned. They cleared away the forests and
led onward the tide of civilization; they established governments, and
defended the claims of justice. Members of this family were upon the
battle-fields of every war since their settlement in America. Magnus, the
ancestor, was one of fourteen soldiers under the direction of Sir William
Pepperell, to "scout along the coast eastward from Piscataqua to Casco"
(now Portland). During the Revolution, all male members of the family
who were of age, entered the colonial army, and some of the old men
died in the service, far from home. In this struggle for independence
they never shrank at duty's call, and some were specially noticed by their
commanders for their brave conduct when before the enemy.
In the war of 1812, another generation represented the example of
their fathers, and hastened to defend their country. Some won distinc-
tion upon the sea in the privateering service, some received wounds in
engagements upon the land, and others were captured by the enemy and
shut up in British prisons, from which, if they were released, they never
returned to their homes and kindred.
Upon the battle-fields of Mexico another generation so bravely fought
and suffered as to call forth high commendations from their superiors in
rank, and some died with malarial fevers and were buried in camp.
When the memorable struggle with the South took place, our noble
sons rallied at their country's call from every branch of the family, from
the coast of Maine to the Pacific slope, and poured out their blood like
water upon the altar of their country. Some of these were gray-haired
fathers, who, when the foe pressed hardest, girded on the armor and has-
tened to the front. From their stores, shops, manufactories, and farms
they went to the seat of war, determined to preserve the Union or die
in the service. Many were shot in action, others were thrown into the
filthy prison-pens of the South, and died of wounds, inhuman treatment,
and starvation. Some contracted disease in the malarial swamps and
returned home to linger, fail, and die, while many still live to suffer
from their wounds, and relate to their children their adventures in the
army. Thank God! the cause for which they fought and bled was not
lost to us, nor to the poor slave. Where once stood the auction-block of
the slave-master, at which families were separated ignominiously, and
hearts were wrung with the keenest anguish, now waves the grand old
flag, under whose starry folds our kinsmen so nobly fought and fell.
Though there were no soft hands of mothers, wives, and sisters to minis-
ter to them in their last hours, and to wipe away the death-damp from
their pale brows; though their graves were made, or their bones bleached,
upon Southern fields, far from homes and kindred, the sweet assurance of
duty well done made their death tranquil, and no tramp of marshaled hosts,
or beat of drum, shall arouse them again to meet the advancing foe.
As stated in this article, the first American ancestor was a member of
the church, and his numerous descendants have generally manifested a
