Undoubtedly the greater number of the first arrivals in Fryeburg had seen service in the French and Indian wars, some of whom enlisted in the Patriot service at the breaking out of the Revolution. Of this number was General Frye, the grantee under whom many of his townsmen had fought at Fort William Henry and other early engagements. At the breaking out of the Revolution he was called to Cambridge to command a patriot force, but soon after returned to his home town. Many volunteers proceeded to Portland and other points where they entered the Patriot lines, some of whom never returned, while others for their heroic conduct and courage rose to the rank of commanders and returned with titles by which they were afterwards known.
In 1780 over £17,000, probably paper, and £108 of “hard money” was voted for this cause, together with 10,515 pounds of beef, and seven men to fill the ranks of the depleted Continental Army. During that summer six men were sent to the aid of Falmouth, two men for six months and two men for three months were hired for service in the Continental Army.
This town has ever responded readily and liberally of her best men. For a period of several decades prior to the Civil war, the able bodied men of the town were regularly trained on the “Muster Grounds,” while the annual parade was only equaled by the modern county fair.
The Civil War enlistments for Fryeburg will appear at the end of the historical section of this volume.