[Pamphlets. American history]

PRE FACE.
TnIE following diary, kept by Lieutenant Paul Lunt, of Newbury-.
port, durling a part of the Revolutionary War, came into my possession
for a short time, through the kindness of the Hon. George Lunt, of
this city. Extracts fiom it were read at the meeting of the 3Iassachusetts Historical Society, for February, 1872, and it is published in full
in their Proceedings of that date. A small edition is now printed from
the forms used at that time. The spelling and punctuation have been
made to conform to modern usage; and a change in the arrangement
of some of the dates has also been made for the sake of uniformity.
With these exceptions the diary is printed as it was written. For the
following sketch of the writer I am indebted to Mr. Lunt.
Paul Lunt was a descendant of Henry Lunt, one of the original
settlers of the town of Newbury, in the year 1635. His descendants
still occupy the farm in Newbury (Oldtown) on which he resided. He
was a first lieutenant of the company commanded by his kinsman,
Ezra Lunt, at Bunker Hill. Of this company, one of the historians
of Newburyport, Mrs. E. Vale Smith, says: "'The Rev. Jonathan
Parsons having made an appeal at the close of one of his sermons, in
which he called on his hearers to form volunteer companies, and invited those to walk out into the broad aisle who would do so, 1Mr. Ezra
Lunt was the first to do so; and a volunteer company was immediately
formed, with Ezra Lunt as captain. His was the first volunteer company formed for the purpose of joining the continental army."
The same historian, writing of the final retreat of our troops from
the redoubt on Bunker Hill, says: "Captain Ezra Lunt's company
was ordered up to cover the retreat of these exhausted troops, whose
ammunition was now all expended. His company did good service,
and, with aid of others forming this devoted rear guard, effectually kept