the first known version of the song apparently about Ephraim Williams, who fought the French at the battle of Fort Ticonderoga and the Battle of the Bloody Morning Scout. References Wright, Wyllis (1970). Colonel Ephraim Williams, A Documentary Life. Berkshire County Historical Society. Pittsfield, MA. Colonel Ephraim Williams, an appreciation. 1919 A History of Williams College. 1860 External links Ephraim Jr.'s will Williams College archive Ephraim Williams Biography Richard Henry Winslow Dwight Collection (Vol. 50) at Williams College Special Collections and Archives Philanthropists from Massachusetts W001 People of Massachusetts in the French and Indian War People from Newton, Massachusetts People from Stockbridge, Massachusetts History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts 1715 births 1755 deaths Military personnel killed in the French and Indian War Deaths by firearm in New York (state) Burials in Massachusetts People of colonial Massachusetts 18th-century philanthropists American slave owners