At the commencement of the French war he was the agent for supplying the British army with clothing. At the sanguinary attack and reduction of Oswego by the French troops under General Dieskau, Mr. Lewis was standing by the side of Colonel Mersey, who had command of the fort, when he was killed. He became a prisoner and was held a long time by the Indians, enduring every hardship they could impose short of death. As a small compensation for his sufferings and losses the British government, on his return, granted him five thousand acres of land. He was among the early and determined opposers to the pretensions of the crown in their mad career of taxation and oppression. He was a distinguished and active member of the colonial congress that assembled at New York in the autumn of 1765, to devise and mature measures to effectuate a redress of injuries and grievances. They prepared a petition to the King and House of Commons, and a memorial to the House of Lords. Their language was respectful, but every line breathed a firm determination no longer to yield to injury and insult. The chrysalis of the revolution was formed at that time. The eruptions of the volcano occasionally subsided, but as the crater again sent forth the lava of insubordination, its volume increased until the whole country became inundated by the terrific flood of war, tinged by the purple current from the veins of thousands. In 1771, Mr. Lewis visited England and made himself familiar with the feelings and designs of the British ministry. From that time forward he was fully convinced that the infant colonies in America could never enjoy their inalienable rights until they severed the parental ties that bound them to the mother country. On all proper occasions he communicated his views to the friends of liberty, and did much on his return to rouse his fellow citizens to a just sense of impending danger. When it was determined to convene the Continental Congress at Philadelphia, the minds of his friends were fixed upon Mr. Lewis as a man eminently qualified to represent their interests in that august body. On the 22nd of April, 1775, he was unanimously elected a member by the delegates convened for the purpose, and immediately repaired to the key stone city and entered upon the important duties assigned him. The following year he was continued in that proud station, and affixed his name to the chart of American Independence. His long experience in commercial and other business, united with a clear head, a patriotic heart, a matured and reflecting mind, richly stored with general intelligence, rendered him an influential and useful member of the Continental Congress. As an active and judicious man on business committees, he stood pre-eminent. As a warm and zealous advocate of his country’s rights, he stood unrivalled. He was continued a member of the national legislature until he obtained leave of absence in April, 1779, except a short interval in 1777.