to take Fort Ticonderoga from the British, securing commitments of both public and private funds to underwrite the expedition. Like most active politicians of the period, Parsons served as a militia leader. He was appointed Major of the 14th Connecticut, Militia Regiment in 1770. In 1775, he was commissioned Colonel of the 6th Connecticut Regiment, a new regiment raised "for the special defence and safety of the Colony". In June he was ordered to lead his regiment to Boston, where he fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. He remained in Boston until the British evacuated the city in March 1776. In August 1776 Congress appointed Parsons Brigadier General in the Continental Army. He was ordered to New York with his brigade of about 2,500 men. Stationed in Brooklyn, Parsons was in the thick of the fighting with British troops under Lord Sterling at Battle Hill on August 17, 1776. He took part in the Council of War on August 29, at which it was decided to retreat from New York. Parsons successfully transported his men from Long Island, joining the main body of the army as it withdrew from the city. While in New York, Parsons played a central role in the American efforts to destroy the British fleet. David Bushnell, an inventor from Connecticut, had devised a submarine called the Turtle which he planned to use to place torpedoes on British ships. Parsons selected his brother-in-law, Sergeant (later Captain) Ezra Lee, to undertake this risky mission. Lee succeeded in reaching the British flagship Eagle undetected, but was unable to attach the torpedo to its hull. The bomb exploded, much to the consternation of the British, but without causing any harm to the ship. After the retreat from New York, Parsons' brigade was assigned to General Israel Putnam's division north of the city. He fought in the battle of White Plains. In January 1777, he returned to Connecticut to help recruit the Connecticut Line to bolster depleted Continental forces. He led raids on Loyalist enclaves on Long Island, and took part in efforts to defend Connecticut towns against raids by British forces under General William Tryon. He organized the raid led by Return Jonathan Meigs against Sag Harbor in retaliation for Tryon's raid on Danbury, and led a failed assault on Setauket, New York in August 1777. In the winter of 1777–78, Parsons took command of West Point, and