In 1755, William Keyser, Patriot Ancestor to Kenneth and Paul Keyser, was born in Northampton County, Virginia, then a part of the British American colonies. Nothing is currently known about his early family life, including his parents or siblings. Theories persist that his father may have been Charles Keyser (born 1701, and a veteran of the French-Indian Wars). Reports describe his appearance as tall and straight as an arrow, with straight hair as black as a raven and eyes dark and piercing. He was very physically active and legend says he could, from a standing start, in three leaps cover 36 feet.
In March of 1777, William decided to join the fight for American independence and enlisted in the Continental Army at the age of 21. At this time the Continental Army had begun fighting for their independence from Britain. The ranks of the Patriot forces continued to grow, as more Americans joined their ranks. William enlisted in Gloucester County in the state of Virginia as a private in the 2nd Virginia State Regiment, 1st Virginia brigade as part of the 5th division, commanded at the time by Captain Thomas Baytop. Each soldier who enlisted was promised a complete uniform and regular reissue. But this rarely happened, even though Congress or their home state tried to provide clothes once a year. Every soldier was also issued a musket, bayonet, cartridge box, and tools to keep weapons in working condition. A haversack (bag) held important personal belongings as well as eating utensils. Canteens were often suspended from the haversack or worn over the shoulder on a strap. Small musical instruments, dice, and playing cards made the drudgery and hardship of the war and winter more bearable.
William was first marched to Hampton, New Jersey, where he was inoculated for smallpox. Smallpox inoculations were very new and controversial at this time but General George Washington was a great believer in the inoculations. General Washington had seen the consequences of a smallpox epidemic during the closing months of the failed American attempt to conquer Canada during the years 1775 and 1776. In May of 1776, the British defeated some 1,900 sickly Continental soldiers, who left behind several hundred smallpox cases in their abandoned camps. This disaster prompted George Washington to order inoculations for all new recruits to the Continental Army. But some existing soldiers did not elect to receive the protection from smallpox inoculations, and many would later suffer the consequences of that decision.
On October 6, 1777, William’s regiment, under Colonel Samuel Hawes, defended the unfinished Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton against 2,100 British, Hessian and Loyalist troops attacking from the landward side of the forts. The Americans had placed an iron chain and a boom across the Hudson River and protected the barrier by four warships, in order to stop the British ships. The British sent Lieutenant Colonel Mungo Campbell and several British soldiers to Fort Montgomery with a flag of truce indicating that they wish to avoid “further effusion of blood.” General James Clinton then sent Lieutenant Colonel William S. Livingston to meet the enemy. The British officer requested that the patriots surrender and promised that no harm would come to the Colonial soldiers. The American commander, in turn, invited the British to surrender and promised him and his men good treatment. Fuming at this audacity, the British resumed the battle. While leading his men into battle, British Lieutenant Colonel Campbell was killed in a violent attack north of Fort Montgomery.
After a fierce battle lasting until dark, the British pushed William and the other courageous American soldiers from the forts at the points of their bayonets. The American defenders of the forts were overpowered by the large numbers of British troops and the British gained possession of Fort Montgomery and Fort Clinton. American casualties numbered about 350 killed, wounded and captured, while the British paid a price of at least 190 killed and wounded.
William knew that twenty-eight men and two officers in his regiment had been taken by the British. He knew that their fate was grim – British prisoners of war were put on prison ships and usually did not survive long. But he knew that there was more work to be done, and he had to keep moving forward.
It was normal for 18th century armies to cease combat during the coldest months and take up "winter quarters”. So on December 12, 1777, William was marched with the other troops to the west bank of the Schuylkill River at Valley Forge. It was a 13 mile march that was delayed and took eight days. The troops crossed the Schuylkill on a wobbly, makeshift bridge in an area called the Gulph. They were forced to camp at the Gulph for several days after a snowstorm and quite a few days of icy rain made roads impassable. On December 18th, the soaked and miserable troops observed a Day of Thanksgiving declared by Congress for the American victory against the British in October at Saratoga, N.Y. On the 19th, William, along with the rest of the famished and exhausted troops, finally marched into Valley Forge. The ragged soldiers might have thought the worst was over, but they were wrong. A cache of American military stores had previously been placed at Valley Forge. After the Battle of Brandywine the British had learned of the cache and raided the village, seizing the goods and burning houses. Arriving American troops found trees in the area but little else – no shelter or supplies.
Christmas arrived, but there were no feasts that winter at Valley Forge. William and the other troops endured a diet of "fire cakes and cold water." A fire cake was simply a flour and water batter fried on a griddle. The morning after Christmas, William awoke to find four additional inches of snow on the ground. He knew he was in for a long, hard winter.
The first priority of the soldiers was keeping warm and dry. The troops faced a typical Delaware Valley winter with temperatures mostly in the 20s and 30s. There were 13 days of rain or snow during the first six weeks. Washington ordered the building of huts to house the soldiers. His orders spelled out the style and size of the small quarters. Every 12 men shared a 16 by 14 foot log hut with walls six and a half feet high. Each would have a stone fireplace. The roof would be of wood boards. Most huts were built in a pit about two-feet below the ground. Generally, there was only a dirt floor and some sort of cloth covering for a door. The huts were drafty, damp, smoky and terribly unhealthy. The primitive shelters were laid out in regular patterns to form streets. Officers built their huts behind the enlisted men's cabins. These were similar in construction but not as crowded, befitting the officer’s rank.
Clothing and feeding the troops was an overwhelming challenge. Transportation of supplies to Valley Forge was the major stumbling block. The supplies were out there, but getting them there seemed impossible. Roads were rutted swamps. It was difficult for the army to recruit wagoneers. Continental money was nearly worthless, so Pennsylvania farmers often hid their horses and wagons rather than contract with the Army and be paid with useless money. The man in charge of military transportation, Quartermaster General Thomas Mifflin hated his job. Mifflin was a wealthy Philadelphia merchant and a born politician who wanted glory on the battlefield not the headaches of transportation. He literally ignored the job. It wasn't until the spring when Washington's most capable general, Nathanael Green, took over the quartermaster's post that supplies began to move in decent quantity.
Once spring came, the weather lightened a little. Many soldiers did not live to see the spring, as smallpox went through the camps, and many of the underfed troops caught the pox and died. Other soldiers died from typhus and dysentery. William had heard that more than one thousand men had died during the difficult winter. He was glad he had gotten a smallpox inoculation when he enlisted – he escaped the smallpox plague untouched. But by spring, William had lost a great deal of weight and needed a new uniform and a pair of good shoes, as did almost all of the troops. They were all very glad to see Quartermaster Green assume his new post – soon adequate supplies began flowing into Valley Forge.
Quartermaster Green arranged for a baking company of some 70 men headed by Philadelphia gingerbread baker Christopher Ludwig to set up at camp. William had been told that the German-born patriot refused to profit from his labor. Once Mr. Ludwig was able to get started, William and the other soldiers got the daily pound of bread promised by Congress. William was so glad to finally get some decent food – hopefully things would keep improving with the weather. Just the smell of the baking bread made him feel better.
Washington issued daily military orders for the Valley Forge troops, but there was little real military discipline in the camp. There were no regular roll calls. Sizes of units that were supposed to be equal varied radically. Orders prohibiting gambling, fighting, selling Army equipment and wandering away from camp were routinely ignored. William tried to stay out of trouble, but he did enjoy an occasional card game with his cabin mates. As he saw it, the trouble was that the men were miserable and bored.
General Washington then contracted with Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Steuben, who was known as Baron von Steuben. Benjamin Franklin had met the Baron in Paris and recommended to Washington that he may be of use. Washington assigned the Baron the task of training the Valley Forge troops in modern warfare techniques. While brave, Continental troops possessed few skills in the art of 18th century warfare. They didn't know how to march in ranks or maneuver on the battlefield. The bayonet - crucial to battlefield success - was used mostly to cook food over a fire.
Steuben was appalled by what he observed during his first weeks at Valley Forge. Washington asked the German to study the situation and provide reports on camp defenses, troop morale and military readiness. Steuben's reports were detailed and astute. In a short time, Steuben was named acting inspector general. His primary mission involved training, and he attacked the task with dedication and zeal.
William loved his gruff manner, his cursing in broken English and his hands-on-style of demonstrating every move personally. The Baron insisted that officers drill with their men, and he pared down the officers’ staffs of personal servants. William, for the first time, felt like a real soldier, ready to do his duty for his new country. He learned how to use the bayonet, and how to properly use his musket. After he learned what his officers felt he needed to know, William was assigned to train other troop members in these skills, until all of the soldiers were ready for battle. Within weeks, William could see a new proficiency and new pride among the formerly dispirited men.
In March, an extra month's pay was issued to all in camp for having stuck it out through the miseries of the winter. Washington added a ration of rum for each soldier. William felt happy and proud to be a part of the Continental Army. It was time for the war to begin again.
William was then assigned to the 1st Virginia State Regiment in Continental Service under Colonel Charles Dabney. The Regiment’s first orders were to proceed to Monmouth Courthouse in New Jersey, where they engaged the British army on June 28, 1778. The battle was almost single-handedly lost by an inept and arrogant General Charles Lee. When Washington learned that Lee was retreating instead of advancing, the seemingly stoic commander flew into a fury and galloped out to turn the men around himself and lead the attack.
William fought well at Monmouth, and eventually the British retreated and climbed aboard their ships. It was clear to him and the other Continental soldiers that they were now a fair match for the British. The troops celebrated the British retreat and were confident that they were going to win this war. William was happy that he escaped the battle unharmed, and had done his duty well.
William was extremely competent with the musket, so in 1778, William was assigned to the Light Infantry Corps. This was a very prestigious assignment, and William and his fellow infantry soldiers would play an important part in the Battle of Stony Point.
In 1779, General Washington sent Brigadier General Anthony Wayne and his Corps of Light Infantry, which included William, to lead a surprise midnight assault against Stony Point. General Wayne, unknown to his soldiers, believed this mission to be a suicide mission. He wrote the following letter to his friend Mr. Delaney: "This will not meet your eye until the writer is no more. The enclosed papers I commit in their rough state to your charge, that, in case any ungenerous reflections may hereafter drop from illiberal minds, my friend may be enabled to defend the character and support the honor of the man who loved him, and who fell in the defense of his country and of the rights of mankind. I know that friendship will induce you to attend to the education of my little son and daughter. I feel that their mother will not survive this stroke. Do go to her and tell her her children claim her kindest offices and protection. I am called to sup, but where to breakfast? Either within the enemy's lines in triumph or in the other world! Then farewell, my best and dearest friend, and believe me to the last moment, yours most sincerely." On July 15, 1779, William, as part of Wayne's troops, began the march to Stony Point. William still did not know the details of the mission. For eight hours they struggled over narrow mountain trails, arresting civilians they encountered on their way to avoid detection. When the soldiers arrived at Sprintsteel’s farm, two miles from Stony Point, they were told for the first time about their mission. Three columns would be organized for the Continental force. One column of 300 men would wade through the marched of the Hudson River from the north. A second column, led by Wayne, would wade through the waters of Haverstraw Bay and approach from the south. Each of these two columns would consist of three parts: twenty men called "the forlorn hope" would enter the enemy lines first, and overcome sentries; an advance party which would enter the fort and seize its works; and the main body, which would continue around the unfinished back of the fort and approach it from the river. William was part of the third column and proceeded under General Wayne.
William and the other soldiers in these two attacking columns wore pieces of white paper in their hats to avoid confusion in the darkness, and were armed with unloaded muskets and fixed bayonets, so that an accidental shot would not reveal their presence and reduce the element of surprise. When William entered the enemy fort he and the other soldiers were ordered to shout the watchword "the Fort’s our Own" to signal the other Continental soldiers. Finally, twenty-four artillery men would accompany the Light Infantry, so that the captured enemy cannons could be turned against the British ships and their other fort at Verplanck's Point.
The heaviest fighting lasted half an hour. William saw General Wayne wounded in the temple, and Colonel Christian Febiger took command while the General received treatment. By 1:00 AM the British garrison had surrendered. Fifteen Americans had been killed, twenty British had died, and the remaining British were taken prisoner. William again was unhurt after the battle. Three days later, General Washington abandoned Stony Point because he knew it could not be defended against the combined might of the British army and navy.
General Washington was very pleased with his decision to form the infantry corps, so after the Battle of Stony Point, the general traveled from West Point on July 17 to survey the infantry corps. William saw General Washington at close quarters on that day.
William Keyser completed his tour of duty in the Continental Army on approximately March 1, 1780 and received an honorable discharge after one term of three years. In December of 1783, at the age of twenty-eight years, he married Kesiah Sneed (or Snead) in Hanover County, Virginia. He and Kesiah had eight children while they lived in Hanover County – Polly, Christopher (“Kit”), John (“Jack”), William, Elizabeth (“Bettie”), Catherine (“Cat”), Fleming, and David. In 1799 the family moved to Bath County, Virginia and had two more children, James and Sarah (“Sally”). William died in Bath County, Virginia, in December of 1837 at the age of eighty-two years. He was survived by his ten children and his widow, Kesiah.