A diary written by a young Connecticut soldier 250 years ago offers a rare, firsthand account of what it was like to fight in the American Revolution — and to learn, days late, that a new nation had just been born.
The diary belongs to Joab Daggett, a soldier stationed in the New York City area in 1776 whose main duties were those of a wheel maker for wagons. His diary is now preserved at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison.
Leo Landis, a historian for the Wisconsin Historical Society, carefully flips through the pages to prevent any damage…