A journal kept by Isaac Bangs of Harwich, Mass. after he joined the Continental Army as a 2nd lieutenant. In journal entries dating from January - July 1776, Bangs recounts his service in a militia regiment stationed near Boston during the Siege and as an officer in New York from April - July. The entries he kept during the Siege mention the following locations: Roxbury, Dorchester, Prospect Hill, Lechmere's Point, Cobble Hill, Nooke Point and the Neck. Throughout his diary, Bangs mentions fatigue duty, the manual labor such as digging ditches or trenches that soldiers were often required to do. Bangs continues to record entries in his diary after the Siege of Boston. In late March, Bangs continued his enlistment and marched to New York. It was there on 6 July 1776 (page 89) where he heard the news of the Declaration of Independence and on 8 July 1776 (page 91) when he heard it read. Bangs reports “it was received with Joy which [the Brigades] Severally testified by three Cheers.” Bangs also discusses a major water work project in NY and attends several religious services talking at length about "the method of the Jewish worship."
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