Owner id'd Rev war horn

[jdm]

I thought I had posted this before but couldn't find it when I did a search of my posts. Being a few days after our independence day celebration this might be of interest to some. This horn came into my possession years ago and eventually found it's way to Arnie Dowd . Arnie did most all the research on it.  The horn came back to me after Arnie past.
This is whats called a cameo horn . It is marked David Bouton  X His Horn X . It's been shortened a little at the butt end so  some of the carving has been cut off. There is what apeers to be part of a date 177.
I could find only one David Bouton  ( 1747_1830 ) listed in the rev war rosters so this is probably the guy.  Around 1775 he joined Col. Drakes 7th regiment militia as a private then a sergeant.He was in the 8th Connecticut regiment  Jan1 1777 and stayed in the " Continental Line " for the rst of the war . His discharge was June 22 1783 . Oct 4 1777 the 8th participated in the battle of Germantown. Oct22 1777 the battle of Red Bank. Dec1777 to June1778 the 8th wintered at Valley Forge where he is listed present every day in Varnum"s Brigade. Battle of Monmouth June 28 1778. There is a lot more info but I don't want to wear out my welcome. 
One more item .On July 4th 1782 David deserted and went home for 8 months.In march he returned to the army and joined the 3rd regiment.  I thought this was odd but come to find out that's when his wife died.I believe he went home to be with her at the end  then came back.   
I welcome any comments or questions.  Thanks   Jim

[Avlrc]

Our forefathers sure went through a lot of sacrifice & pain for our independence. It's hard to imagine he goes home to be with his wife dying, then resumes fighting. Thanks for sharing.

[jdm]

Our forefathers sure went through a lot of sacrifice & pain for our independence. It's hard to imagine he goes home to be with his wife dying, then resumes fighting. Thanks for sharing.

Yes it is hard to imagine. He must have been a good man.  The day to day struggle just to stay alive. What a hard life they lived and no one made them do it. They stayed on there own.  God bless them.  Jim

[Tim Crosby]

 Very nice horn, unique architecture, Great provenance, that took sometime to put together. Thanks for posting it.

   Tim

[Shreckmeister]

A horn perhaps in the presence of General Washington and at those battles. Doesn’t get any more interesting than that. This is why I visit this forum daily. Thanks for posting.

[Bob Gerard]

Fantastic story and wonderful horn.
I have participated in events and reenactments at all of those sights; it is always somewhat haunting to be at the same exact place where these original patriots fought and died, memorializing what they do through Living History.
He truly was an amazing man from your account. His horn is kinda like a National Monument.

[Dennis Glazener]

Jim,
Thanks for posting the research on your Rev War horn, very interesting.

David Bouton's wife's illness and death gives us one reason not to jump to conclusions while researching period documents. We need to remember that we may not have the "rest of the story"!
Dennis

[jdm]

Gentleman,thank you for your replies. He was like so many in that war . Just a regular guy doing remarkable things that to them was just what must be done. When he was applying for a land grant he listed his trade as a "cooper ". David remarried three years after the war in July of 1786.
You might notice on the horn the letters in his name were to big to fit in the cameo . The last letter   n and the x are marked outside the cameo on the horn.  Jim

[debnal]

Super nice horn. One that belonged to a soldier and not a fancy commemorative piece. I especially love stories like his. We cannot imagine how difficult it was to be a soldier in the 18th century. Exceptional item.
Al

[Tanselman]

It's a neat New England horn and I've enjoyed looking at the pictures. I have two questions about the horn, one tweaked by Dennis Glazener's prior comment on conclusions while researching historical documents.

1. Is there an "n" somewhere near the end of the last name, or is the "n" missing?

2. Some collectors of early KY-era Tansel horns have a tendency on War of 1812 era horns to conclude the name on the horn was in military service if the name, or one close to it, can be found in military records.... even if other men by the same name lived at the same time in central Kentucky. Were there other possible owner candidates with the same name living in New England at about the time this horn was made... or just one David Bouton?

Shelby Gallien

[jdm]

Shelby, The letter  "n '" is carved on the horn. The carver made the letters  to big for all of them to fit on the cameo. It might be hard to see in the pictures but it is just outside of the cameo followed by an X to end the sentence.
 I have  so far found just one David Bouton. Towards the end of his life he and his wife started spelling the last name Boughton. There was also a  John Bouton ( David's  cousin ). The fact that his last name was some what different makes it a little easier. If it was David Jones there is probably to many to sort out.   

I'm making the guess about him going home to be with his dying wife because the time frame  between his desertion and her passing coincided .  He could have just been on a bender. He certainly deserved one. 

Here is a little better picture of the  N and the X.  Jim

[Dan Herda]

What a treasure and story.
Thank you for sharing.

[Sudsy]

That's an amazing piece of history !

Varnum's Brigade was part of the vanguard under Colonel John Durkee and consisted of around 350men
(I live very close to the Monmouth Battlefield)