Captain Nathan Smith:
Nathan Smith led one of the units which marched to the relief of Boston in the Lexington Alarm of April, 1775. Immediately after this service, Smith joined the Third Company of the First Regiment and served at the Siege of Boston.
    There is a record of Nathan Smith of Derby being promoted from Captain to Major in May of 1779. In that year, Captain Nathan Smith served in Lieut. Col. Sabin's Regiment in the New Haven Alarm. One of the men serving in his unit was Lieut. Bradford Steele.

Lieutenant Bradford Steele:
Lieutenant Steele is variously known in history books as Captain Bradford Steele, or Bradford Steele, Sr. to distinguish him from his son Deacon Bradford Steele, or Bradford Steele, Jr. Both men served in the American Revolution and were jointly associated in business. The Lieutenant who marched to the relief of Boston was the father, at that time a Lieutenant. The Lieutenant was a prominent local citizen and in November, 1774 was elected by the Derby Town Meeting to a committee which was to elect a member of the committee to serve as delegate to a county congress, if one should be held. In March 1780, he was appointed with Mr. Gideon Johnson to a committee to take care of the Indian lands. Captain Steele was one of the early members of the first Congregational Church in Great Hill Seymour, signing the original papers in 1789.
    Lieut. Steele was among those who marched to the relief of Boston and then saw service as 1st. Lieutenant in the Third Company of the First Regiment at the Siege of Boston. Steele served from May 1, to December 1, 1775.  He was promoted to Captain and served at New Haven during Tyron's raid of that city.
    Captain Steele also played a part in the history of Chauncey Judd and was one of the patriots who pursued the traitor Graham from his hiding place in Oxford to the Housatonic River.
    In 1798 Bradford Steele was carrying on a business at the mouth of Little River, with a fulling mill and dye shop at the foot of the bin and a finishing shop at the top of the hill east of the church. This business was shared with his son and other partners.