Jamestown 1610

Thomas WEST 3rd Baron de la Warr (1577 – 1618)  (Wikipedia)  was the Englishman after whom the bay, the river, and, consequently, an American Indian people and U.S. state, all later called “Delaware“, were named.

In 1597 he was elected member of parliament for Lymington, and subsequently fought in Holland and in Ireland under the Robert Devereux 2nd Earl of Essex, being knighted for bravery in battle in 1599. He was imprisoned for complicity in Essex’s revolt (1600-1601), but was soon released and exonerated. In 1602 he succeeded to his father’s title and estates and became a privy councillor. Becoming interested in schemes for the colonization of America, he was chosen a member of the council of the Virginia Company in 1609, and in the same year was appointed governor and captain-general of Virginia for life.

After the Powhatans murdered the colony’s governor, Lord Ratcliffe, and attacked the colony in the first First Anglo-Powhatan War, Lord De La Warr led the reinforcement of Virginia.  Sailing in March 161o with three ships, 150 settlers and supplies, he himself bearing the greater part of the expense of the expedition,

Even with the arrival of the two small ships from Bermuda under Captain Christopher Newport, the colonists were faced with abandoning Jamestown and returning to England. On June 7, 1610, both groups of survivors (from Jamestown and Bermuda) boarded ships, and they all set sail down the James River toward the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.  On June 9, 1610, Lord De La Warr and his party arrived on the James River shortly after the Deliverance and Patience had abandoned Jamestown. Intercepting them about 10 miles  downstream from Jamestown near Mulberry Island, the new governor forced the remaining 90 settlers to return, thwarting their plans to abandon the colony. Deliverance and Patience turned back, and all the settlers were landed again at Jamestown.

As a veteran of English campaigns against the Irish, De La Warr employed “Irish tactics” against the Indians: troops raided villages, burned houses, torched cornfields, and stole provisions; these tactics, identical to those practiced by the Powhatan themselves, proved effective. He had been given instructions by The London Virginia Company to kidnap Native American children. These instructions also sanctioned attacking Iniocasoockes, the cultural leaders of the local Powhatans. The campaign ended the Powhatan siege and resulted in the marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe which introduced a short period of truce between the English and the Powhatan Confederacy.

Pequot War  1634 – 1638

Maj. John MASON(1600 – 1672) was the commanding officer in the Pequot War.   At the time, he was a victorious hero who later became  Deputy Governor of Connecticut and founded Norwich, Connecticut.  Now, he is viewed by some as a war criminal due to his responsible for the Mystic Massacre.

Capt. William HEDGE (1602 – 1670)  is favorably mentioned by a soldier in the Pequot War , who served with him, as a gentleman, of Northamptonshire, England. He was several times captain of the military company in Yarmouth and of the council of war.

Thomas CLARKE (1605 – 1697) Headed list of volunteers to act against the Pequot Indians in 1637 in Plymouth being then mentioned as of Eel River now Chiltonville.

Robert  CROSS (1613 – 1693) was one of the young men of Ipswich, seventeen in number, who saw service as soldiers in the Pequot war. The war lasted six months and the men were paid at the rate of 20s. a month.

King Philips War 1675 – 1676

Lt. William CLARKE (1606 – 1690)He was chosen Lieutenant of the first military company ever organized in Northampton, when that was the office of highest rank to which the company, on account of its small number of men was entitled, and was in active service during King Philip’s War and was at the same time a member of the military committee of the county. He supplied the commissary department to some extent during King Philip’s Indian War and the Legislature ordered the Treasurer to pay him in 1676 ‘thirty-eight pounds, eighteen shillings for “Porke and bisket” delivered to the country’s use’.

Thomas MINER (1608 –  1690) He was the chief military officer of Stonnington CT and in 1676, when King Philip’s War started, Lieutenant Thomas Minor, then 68 years old, picked up his musket and marched off to battle accompanied by several of his sons.  The draft age at that time was sixty.

The 24th of Aprill, 1669, I Thomas Minor am by my accounts sixtie one yeares ould I was by the towne and this year Chosen to be a select man the Townes Treasurer The Townes Recorder The brander of horses by the General Courte Recorded the head officer of the Traine band by the same Courte one the ffoure that have the charge of the milishcia of the whole Countie and Chosen and the sworne Commissioner and one to assist in keeping the Countie Courte.

Lt. John TOMSON (1616 – 1696) became a Lieutenant of the military company in 1675, and was in that year a commander of a garrison in King Philips War.

Capt. John GORHAM (1620 – 1675) –  John was Captain in the 2nd Barnstable Company, Plymouth Regiment in King Phillip’s War .Our ancestor Captain  Jonathan Sparrow was John’s Lieutenant in the same company.  While they are both related to us, they are five generations removed from each other.  John led his troops in the Great Swamp Fight  of 19 Dec 1675 and  died  5 Feb 1675/76.  He was wounded by having his powder horn shot which split against his side, and he was severely weakened further from exposure. He died of the resulting fever.

Sgt. Thomas WILMARTH (1620 – 1690) appears in the contributors to the expenses of King Philip’s War.

Lt. Ephraim MORTON (1623 – 1693) In 1664, having previously served as sergeant, he was elected by the General Court lieutenant of the Plymouth Military Company, and in 1671 was chosen a member of the council of war, in which he was of ”much service” many years, including the period of King Philip’s war. In March, 1677, owing to the great distress consequent upon the war, he was appointed one of a committee of three to distribute to the people of Scituate the moneys contributed by divers Christians in Ireland for the relief of those who suffered during the war.

George POLLEY Sr. (1625  – 1683)A George Polly served in King Philip’s War under Captain John Carter (or Cutler). (See Bodge’s 1906 King Philip’s War, p. 286 and D. H. Hurd’s 1890 History of Middlesex Co., Mass., pp. 382-383. The latter quotes some of Bodge’s earlier articles in the NEHGR.) Authorities disagree as to whether it was George Polly, Sr. or George Polly, Jr. who actually served. The senior Polly would have been about 49 and the son would have been about 20. Thus it could have been either. Since there is no “Junior” indicated on the rolls, many believe it to be the father. However, the oldest son John POLLEY Sr. (1650 – 1711), aged about 26 at the time, also served in the war. This fact might lead one to believe that it was the case of two brothers going off to wa

Major John FREEMAN (1627 – 1719)    First as a Lieutenant, then as Captain, and later as Major, John took an active part in the Indian Wars including King Philip’s War.

“The militia companies in the Cape Cod area; Barnstable, Eastham, Sandwich, and Yarmouth, were organized into a regiment called “The Third Regiment” of which John Freeman, of Eastham, was commissioned Major Commandant. The company at Falmouth was added in 1689, and company of Rochester, 1690. A company at Harwich was added in 1694 and one at Chatham in 1712. The colonial regiment continued until June 2, 1685, when the colony was divided into 3 counties, and the militia of each county was made to constitute a regiment of itself.

4 Oct 1675 –  As a Captain, was one of a committee to take an account of the charges ‘arising by this psent warr’, meaning King Philip’s War. He also served actively in that campaign and as a result his estate received a grant of land in Narragansett Township No. 7, at what is now Gorham, Maine. This section was not assigned to the heirs of the participants until 1733, or fifty-eight years after the battle occurred, but it finally assured lot No. 34 to the estate of John.  (Gorham Maine is named after our ancestor John Gorham)

1675-6 – While John Freeman and Jonathan Sparrow were members of the council of Eastham their duties included the assignment of men to both watch and ward, to keep garrison and to do scout duty; included also arrangement for the supply, conservation and apportionment of the town’s stock of ammunition and for laying a tax to cover the purchase of the same. ‘Watch’ implied service from sunset to sunrise and ‘ward’ from sunrise to sunset. If anyone who was called for such service failed to appear, he was to be fined five shillings for each failure and a distress warrant therefor levied on his estate; or if he had no property he was ‘to be sett necke and heeles (a punishment described as tying the neck and heels together so as to force the body into a round ball) not exceeding halfe an houre.’ Fines were also specified for those who were tardy in arrival as watchmen or who came without ‘fixed armes and suitable ammunition.’

Jun 1676 –  The Treasurer’s account showed that ‘Capt. Freeman’ owed the Colony L1 for a gun. ‘The suffering and loss occasioned to the colonies by King Philip’s War stirred the sympathies of many people across the water and contributions were made which were apportioned between the colonies, Plymouth receiving a share of over L120.

1677 – A major in the expedition against Indians at Saconet.

June, 1678 –  Taunton still owed the colony certain sums ‘for billetting Captaine Freeman and his men and theire horses’ ‘in the late warr with the Indians,’ ‘likewise to pay for beef which was disposed off when Capt. Freeman was att youer towne, either by Capt. Freeman or any of youer celect men for the releiffe of some of youer poor, whoe were in extreamyty.’

Nov 1679 – Thomas Clark asked L50 damage from him, claiming that John had pulled up a boundary stake by Clark’s land and the jury gave the plaintiff ten shillings and costs to the amount of L3.

Feb 1682-3 – For unseen reason, the Deputy Governor, John Freeman,Jonathan Sparrow, John Doane, and John Miller departed this Court before it was finished, all being members thereof,’ therefore, ‘this Court orders that if att June Court they render not a suffient excusse they shalbe fined according to law.’

2 Jun 1685 – The military companies of Barnstable, Sandwich, Yarmouth, and Eastham were made the 3rd Regiment and John Freeman was commissioned Major Commandant thereof, with other companies added later.

1691 – the town of Eastham mortgaged to him two islands, as security for the payment of L76 which he had advanced as the town’s proportion of the expense of obtaining the new charter from England.

John LOW (1629 – 26 Mar 1676)  died  at Nine Men’s Misery a site in current day Cumberland, Rhode Island where nine colonists were tortured by the Narragansett Indian tribe during King Philip’s War. A stone memorial was constructed in 1676 which is believed to be the oldest veterans memorial in the United States.  Cumberland was originally settled as part of Rehoboth, Mass  which is listed as the location of John’s death.

Pierce’s Fight was followed by the burning of Providence three days later, and then the capture and execution of Canonchet, the chief sachem of the Narragansetts. The war was winding down even at the time that Pierce’s party was destroyed, and in August, King Philip himself was killed.  Our ancestors children, John Millard, son of John MILLARD and Benjamin Buckland, son of William BUCKLAND also died in the battle.

Daniel THURSTON (1631 – 1693) was a military man. He bequeathed to his son James his pistols and his “houlsters”, to his son Joseph a gun and to his son Steven  his carbine. He was a soldier in King Philip’s war in 1675, a trooper in Capt. Appleton’s  company. Eight of the “kinsman’s” descendants were soldiers in all the various wars prior to Revolution.  Sgt. Oliver Thurston was with Sullivan in his  expedition asainst the six nations, and was wounded at the battle of Newtown.

Capt. Jonathan SPARROW (1633 – 1707) was Lietenant in the 2nd Barnstable Company, Plymouth Regiment in the war with King Phillip.  Our ancestor Captain John Gorham was Jonathan’s Captain in the same company.  While they are both related to us, they are five generations removed from each other.  John Gorham led his troops in the Great Swamp Fight (aka Massacre) of December 19, 1675, was wounded and died two months later..

Clement MINER (1638 – 1700) was a Lieutenant in the Militia which was a considerable honor in his day. In the records of New London, Clement is mentioned as “Deacon” or “Ensign”, but the record of his appointment as Ensign has not been found. With his father and brothers, he served in King Philip’s War in 1676, and as a volunteer, was granted a lot in Voluntown, Connecticut.

Samuel PERRY (1648 – 1706) was a soldier in King Philip’s War

John WILLEY (ca. 1649 – 1688) granted lands posthumously in Voluntown, Conn., in 1696, for his services in the Connecticut volunteers in King Philip’s War [Narragansett Hist. Beg., 1882, p. 146.]

Samuel HADLEY Sr. (1652 – 1745) was one of the training band of Amesbury in 1680 and a soldier in the Narragansett War under Capt. Frank Davis

Samuel PERKINS (1655 –  1700) served as a soldier in the Narragansett war, for which he received a portion of land at Voluntown, on the eastern border of Connecticut, which land afterward came into possession of his son Ebenezer, who settled upon it, and in 1735 sold it to John Wildes of Topsfield, Mass.

Jonathan WILMARTH (1656 – 1713) of Rehoboth Mass appears in the list of those participating in the Narragansett expedition  known as the Great Swamp Fight.

18 Sep 1675 – Leonard Harriman’s son John was killed at the Battle of Bloody Brook with Captain Lathrop. At a given signal, hundreds of warriors, who were lying concealed all around the spot, opened fire on the convoy. Chaos followed, bullets and arrows flew from every direction. Captain Lathrop immediately fell. Of the 80 soldiers, only 7 or 8 escaped.

19 Dec 1675 – Joseph Batcheller’s son Mark was killed as a soldier in the company of Capt. Joseph Gardner of Salem,  in King Philip’s War, in the Great Swap Fight with the Indians. The colonists lost many of their officers in this assault: about 70 of their men were killed and nearly 150 more wounded.  Mark’s estate was valued at £131.

10 Feb 1675/76 –  Jonathan Fairbank’s son Joshua and grandson Joshua were killed during a raid in King Philip’s war. Several hundred Indians attacked Lancaster, setting many homes on fire.  More than 50 English were killed, and twenty four taken captive with the Indians, who roamed about with their prisoners for the next few months. Our ancestors John Houghton and Jonas Houghton were made homeless  in this same attack and they fled  to Charlestown under escort. (See John Houghton’s page for the story of Indian captive Mary Rowlandson.)

Battle of Quebec – 1690
The Battle of Québec was fought in October 1690 between the colonies of New France and Massachusetts.

Following the capture of Port Royal in Acadia, during King William’s War, the New Englanders hoped to seize Montréal and Québec itself, the capital of New France. The loss of the Acadian fort shocked the Canadiens, and Governor-General Louis de Buade de Frontenac ordered the immediate preparation of the city for siege.

When the envoys delivered the terms of surrender, the Governor-General famously declared that his only reply would be by “the mouth of my cannons.”  Sir William Phipps led the invading army, which landed at Beauport in the Basin of Québec. However, the militia on the shore were constantly harassed by Canadian militia until their retreat, while the ships were nearly destroyed by cannon volleys from the top of the city.

Edmund GREENLEAF’s son Captain Stephen Greenleaf (1628-1690) drowned 1 Dec 1690 off Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, at age 62 . In the French and Indian War, Captain Stephen Greenleaf, Lieutenant James Smith, Ensign William Longfellow, Sergeant Increase Pillsbury, William Mitchell and Jabez Musgrave were cast away and lost on an expedition against Cape Breton.

“The expedition under Sir William Phips, consisting of thirty or forty vessels, carrying about two thousand men, sailed from Nantasket on the ninth day of August, 1690, but did not arrive at Quebec until the fifth day of October. Several attempts were made to capture the town, without success; and, tempestuous weather having nearly disabled the vessels and driven some of them ashore, it was considered advisable to re-embark the troops and abandon the enterprise. On their way back to Boston, they encountered head winds and violent storms. Some vessels were blown off the coast, and ultimately arrived in the West Indies. One was lost upon the island of Anticosti, and several were never heard from. Capt. John March, Capt. Stephen Greenleaf, Lieut. James Smith, Ensign William Longfellow, and Ensign Lawrence Hart, of Newbury, Capt. Philip Nelson, of Rowley, and Capt. Daniel King, of Salem, were among the officers commissioned for service in the expedition to Canada, under the command of Sir William Phips.”

Ezekiel JEWETT’s son Ezekiel Jr (1669 – 1690)  was in the Canada expedition 1690 and no further mention is found of him.” The town records of Rowley of May 6, 1691 show that the town paid the following named persons, in bills of credit, the sum set against their names for military service in Canada. To Deacon Ezekiel Jewett for his son Ezekiel £5 0s. 3d..

John ORMSBY Sr. (1641 – 1718)  John ORMSBY Jr. (1667 – 1728) Were in Gallup’s Company in 1690 in Phips’ expedition against Quebec.”

Elisha HEDGE (1640 – 1732) served in the 1690 Canadian expedition under [Col. Shubal Gorham, the son of Lt. Col John Gorham  and grandson of our ancestor  Capt. John GORHAM

Capt. Stephen CROSS (1646 – 1704) was a commander of the ketch Lark in the Battle of Quebec.  The Lark was a Salem vessel and Cross brought her back to her home port on March 18, 1690/91, and the arms on board were placed in Mr. Derby’s warehouse.  His was one of about thirty-two ships (only four of which were of any size) and over 2,3000 Massachusetts militia men.

John GUILFORD’s son Paul (1653 – 1690) died during an expedition for an assault on Quebec, possibly of small pox.  He first marched under Capt. Joshua Hobart of Hingham in 1675 during King Philip’s War, being on the roll of payments 24 August 1675. He once more marched under Capt. Samuel Wadsworth and was paid on 24 July 1676 and Hingham paid him further for service under Capt. John Holbrook .  Paul was on expedition with Sir William Phipps [of Maine] who first sailed from Boston early in the spring of that year to Port Royal [Nova Scotia] to fight the French [in King William’s War]. That effort being successful, Phipps again regrouped at Boston with about 30 ships and 2,000 Massachusetts men for an assault on Quebec, this expedition meeting with disaster. Paul was among those who were either killed or carried off by smallpox during this expedition.

Thomas WOOD’s son Samuel died 25 NOV 1690 at Port Royal.

Queen Anne’s War 1702 – 1713
the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought between France and England  in North America for control of the continent.  The war was fought on three fronts.

The English colonies of New England fought with French and Indian forces based in Acadia and Canada, whose capital, Quebec, was repeatedly targeted (without ever being successfully reached) by British expeditions.  The war between New France and New England was dominated by French and Indian raids against targets in Massachusetts (including present-day Maine), and repeated English attacks that resulted in the taking of Acadia’s capital, Port Royal.

On Newfoundland, the English colonial presence at St. John’s disputed control of the island with the French based at Plaisance.

Spanish Florida and the English Province of Carolina were also each subjected to repeated attacks from the other, and Carolinians also tried to dispute the French presence at Mobile.

The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 resulted in the French cession of claims to the territories of Hudson Bay, Acadia, and Newfoundland to Britain, while retaining Cape Breton and other islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Jonas HOUGHTON (1663 – 1723) At sunrise on February 10, 1676, during King Philip’s War, Lancaster came under attack by Narragansett, Wampanoag, and Nashaway/Nipmuc Indians.   Jonas was thirteen and after the massacre, he fled with his family to Charleston.  Jonas and Mary were married while staying in Woburn, Massachusetts due to Indian hostilities.  He was in the garrison at Lancaster and served in the Queen Anne’s War.

Edward HARRADEN (1624 – 1683)  son John Harraden (1663- 1724) was pilot of HMS Montague, (sixty guns, commanded by Sir George Walton) in the disastrous 1711 expedition against Canada.

The Quebec Expedition, or the Walker Expedition to Quebec, was a British attempt to attack Quebec in 1711 in Queen Anne’s War, the North American theatre of the War of Spanish Succession. It failed because of a shipping disaster on the Saint Lawrence River on 22 August 1711, when seven transports and one storeship were wrecked and some 850 soldiers drowned; the disaster was at the time one of the worst naval disasters in British history.

Colonial  Militias

John PERKINS(1583 – 1654)  served in the local militia until 26 March 1650, when “John Perkins Sr., being above sixty years old, is freed from ordinary training.”

John HOWLAND (1591 – 1673) was  in command of Kennebec Trading Post in Maine in 1634.    He and John Aldenwere the magistrates in authority there.     Unfortunately, Pilgrims and Indians were not the only ones on the Kennebec. Agents of Lord Say and Seal and Lord Brooke also were on hand to make a fast pound or two.

One April day John Howland  found John Hocking riding at anchor within the area claimed by Plymouth. Hocking was from the nearby Piscataqua Plantation. Howland went up to him in their “barke” and asked Hocking to weigh anchors and depart.  Apparently Hocking used some strong language and the two exchanged some words not recorded, but the result of the conversation was that Hocking would not leave and Howland would not let him stay. Howland then sent three of his men—John Irish, Thomas Savory and William Rennoles (Reynolds?) — to cut the cables of Hocking’s boat. They severed one but the strong current prevented them from cutting the other cable so Howland called them back and ordered Moses Talbott to go with them. The four men were able to maneuver their canoe to the other cable, but Hocking was waiting on deck armed with a carbine and a pistol in his hand. He aimed first at Savory and then as the canoe swished about he put his gun almost to Talbott’s head. Seeing this, Howland called to Hocking not to shoot his man but to “take himself as his mark.” Saying his men were only doing what he had ordered them to do. If any wrong was being done it was he that did it, Howland shouted. Howland called again for Hocking to aim at him.

Hocking, however, would not even look at Howland and shortly afterwards Hocking shot Talbott in the head and then took up his pistol intending to shoot another of Howland’s men. Bradford continues the story in his history of Plymouth:  Howland’s men were angered and naturally feared for their lives so one of the fellows in the canoe raised his musket and shot Hocking “who fell down dead and never spake word.”  The surviving poachers must have skedaddled for home where they soon wrote to the bigwigs in England but failed to tell the whole truth including the fact that Hocking had killed a Plymouth man first. The lords “were much offended” and must have made known their anger.

The Hocking affair did have severe international implications. Colonists feared that King Charles might use it as an excuse for sending over a royal governor to rule all New England. This was a real threat for early in 1634 the king had created a Commission for Regulating Plantations with power to legislate in both civil and religious matters and even to revoke charters.  Not long after the killings Plymouth sent a ship into the territory of Massachusetts Bay and authorities there quickly seized John Alden who was aboard the ship. Alden was imprisoned although he had no direct part in the Kennebec tragedy. When Alden was jailed Plymouth was quite obviously upset for Massachusetts Bay had no jurisdiction over the Kennebec area or over citizens of Plymouth. This was not of their business. Plymouth dispatched Capt. Myles Standish to Boston to present letters explaining the situation and Gov. Thomas Dudley quickly freed Alden, and after a later court hearing all blame was laid to Hocking. The matter was settled.

William TWINING (1599 – 1659) In 1643 included in the list of those able to bear arms at Yarmouth, and for the next two years the records rank him among the militia, consisting of fifty soldiers, to each of whom was given, on going forth, one pound of bullets and one pound of tobacco.

1645 – William  was one of eight soldiers sent out on a fourteen-day mission against the Narragansett Indians.  Of the eight soldiers, the leader of the expedition was Jonathan Hatch , and other members included Nathaniel Mott .  The famous Myles Standish  of the Mayflower was the overall military leader of Plymouth at the time.

William BEAMSLEY (1605 – 1658) – Admitted to the Boston Artillery Company in 1657  and attained the rank of ensign

John GOULD (1610 – 1691) Military service in the early days must have been very exacting, for it appears that he was excused from training in 1682, when he was seventy-three years old.

John PARMENTER Jr. (c. 1612 – 1666) A list of Officers and Soldiers of the first Foot company in Sudbury under the command of Capt. Moses Maynard, Lt. Joseph Curtis and En. Jason Glezen included John Parmenter Jr. [History of Sudbury, 340]

Captain John FITCH (1615 – 1698) may have received his rank as a soldier in the English Civil Wars [1642-1646 and 1648] or in the colonial militia. One of his brothers was also a Captain and another was a minister.

Capt. Thomas BAYES (ca. 1615 – 1680) In 1656 he was selected as leader of the train band for Martha’s Vineyard. This office he also held in 1661, 1662, and 1663. Trainbands were companies of militia  , first organized in the 16th century and dissolved in the 18th.  In the early American colonies the trainband was the most basic tactical unit. However, no standard company size ever existed and variations were wide. As population grew these companies were organized into regiments to allow better management. But trainbands were not combat units. Generally, upon reaching a certain age a man was required to join the local trainband in which he received periodic training for the next couple of decades. In wartime military forces were formed by selecting men from trainbands on an individual basis and then forming them into a fighting unit.

Thomas HUCKINS (1617 – 1679)  was one of the twenty-three original members of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, charted in 1638. Thomas bore its standard in 1639.

The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts is the oldest chartered military organization in North Americaand the third oldest chartered military organization in the world.   While it was originally constituted as a citizen militia serving on active duty in defense of the northern British colonies, it has become, over the centuries primarily an honor guard and a social and ceremonial group in Massachusetts. Today the Company serves as Honor Guard to the Governor of Massachusetts who is also its Commander in Chief.

Governor Winthrop granted a charter in March 1638, and on the first Monday in June following, an election of officers was held on Boston Common. Among the charter members was Nicholas Upsall, who later forsook his membership to join the Quakers. Since that time, the company has continued to hold their annual elections on the Boston Common on the first Monday in June by casting their votes on a drum head. Company membership has long been considered a distinction among the New England gentry in a similar manner to which regimental membership conferred distinction on the sons of the English gentry.   Since 1746, the headquarters of the Company has been located in Faneuil Hall. In this armory, the company maintains a military museum and library containing relics from every war in which the United States has been engaged since its settlement

Ralph DAY (1623 – 1677) was ensign of the Dedham military company, and used to beat the drum for meetings before the days of church bells.  An ensign carried the colors as the lowest commissioned officer of infantry.  Ralph left his tools and drum to his son Ralph, a citterne to Abigail and one of his swords to his son-in-law, John Ruggles.

Capt. John HAWES (1633 – 17 01)  was appointed ensign of Yarmouth’s military  company on 31 Oct 1682 and by 1700 was Captain.  He was of age to serve in King Philip’s War, but so far I have found no record of his service.

Capt. Phillip CROMWELL (1634  – 1708) was commisioned Captain of the Dover New Hampshire’s Militia in 1683.

Lt. Andrew NEWCOMB Jr. (1640 – 1707) Lieutenant in the Martha’s Vineyard militia.Mr. Newcomb was chosen Lieut. of Militia 13 Apr 1691, and that he was in command of fortifications is shown from the following:

Andrew Newcomb, Commander of the fortifications: who had such number of men as occasionally were ordered by the chief Magistrates.
“All debts to the king, customs, excise, wrekes &c. were the care of the collector, and the ordinarie let at 10 Ib. per annum, viz. custome & excise.

William FISKE (1643 – 1728) was a lieutenant in the militia of Wenham, Mass.

Capt. Thomas TABER (1646 – 1730) was a captain in the militia

Jean PERLIER II (1669 – 1823)  served in the French and Indian War in 1711 and in the South Company of the local Staten Island militia in 1715.

William MINER ( 1670 – 1725) served in some of the early colonial wars and got the title of lieutenant.  The Sons of Colonial Wars placed a Louisburg cross on his gravestone in the old Stone Cemetery in East Lyme on the 24th of June, 1924.

Battle of La Prairie – 1691

Hendrick Gerritse Van Wie was one of the members of the expedition against Fort La Prairie in the French and Indian War; was wounded while attacking the fort and died as a result in Albany NY.

In 1691 Pieter Schuyler petitioned the governor for the relief of Hendrick Gerritse, “a volunteer in the late expedition to Canada, who was desperately wounded at Paray in Canada and was cared for at the house of the widow of Jacob Tys Van Der Heyden.”

During the summer of 1691 a force led by Major Peter Schuyler invaded the French settlements along the Richelieu River south of Montreal. Callières, the local French governor, responded by massing 700-800 French and allies at the fort at La Prairie, on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River.

Schuyler surprised the much larger French force in a rainstorm just before dawn on August 11, inflicting severe casualties before withdrawing towards the Richelieu. Schuyler’s force might have remained intact but instead was intercepted by the force of 160 men led by Valrennes that had been detached to block the road to Chambly. The two sides fought in vicious hand-to-hand combat for approximately an hour, before Schuyler’s force broke through and escaped.

The French had suffered the most casualties during Schuyler’s initial ambush, but the casualties the Albany force suffered after Valrennes’ counterattack meant that they had incurred the greater proportion of loss. Instead of continuing his raids, Schuyler was forced to retreat back to Albany.

The battle was also the subject of a 19th-century poem by William Douw Schuyler-Lighthall.

French and Indian Wars 1689 – 1763

A series of conflicts in North America that represented colonial events related to the European dynastic wars. The title, French and Indian War, is used in the US specifically for the warfare of 1754-1763, the colonial counterpart to the Seven Years War in Europe.

Many of our Haverhill ancestors were members of a large company of soldiers, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Saltonstall, were also kept constantly armed and equipped, and exercised in the town; and, that these soldiers might be the better prepared for every emergency, the General Court (June 19. 1710,) ordered them to be supplied with snow shoes. Snow shoes were also supplied to the whole of the North Regiment of Essex.  Daniel BRADLEY’s son Joseph, Joseph HUTCHINS’ son John, Anthony COLBY II,  Josiah HEATH’s sons Josiah Jr and John, and Stephen DOW’s son Samuel were all members.

Capt. William CLARK (1656 – 1725) He was captain of militia, serving in the Indian Wars.

Capt. Nathaniel FITCH (1679 – 1759) He was a soldier in the French and Indian Wars; a Captain in military service.

Philip CALL II (1684 – 1757) He was an Indian Scout and died about 10 Aug 1757 either at Stevenstown or maybe at Ft. William. Henry in New York in battle.  His wife

Stephen GATES IV’s son Nehemiah (1723 – 1790) was one of the Connecticut soliders who marched in Aug 1757 on the alarm for the relief of Fort William Henry.  He was in the 3rd Regiment Connecticut Militia (New London, Norwich, Lyme) under Col. Eliphalet Dyer, Seventh Company under Captain Ichabod Phelps.   In August, 1755, this regiment was raised in eastern Connecticut to assist in the proposed expedition against Crown Point. Eliphalet Dyer was appointed lieutenant colonel of this regiment. Each town of the county was ordered to furnish its proportion of men.

In the French and Indian War Dyer was a Lt. Colonel in the militia. He was a part of the expedition that captured Crown Point from the French in 1755. In 1758, as a Colonel, he led his regiment to Canada in support of Amherst’s and Wolfe’s operations.  I’m not sure if Nehemiah participated in these other operations.

The Siege of Fort William Henry was conducted in August 1757 by French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry. The fort, located at the southern end of Lake George, on the frontier between the British Province of New York and the French Province of Canada, was garrisoned by a poorly supported force of British regulars and provincial militia led by Lieutenant Colonel George Monro. After several days of bombardment, Monro surrendezred to Montcalm, whose force included nearly 2,000 Indians from a large number of tribes. The terms of surrender included the withdrawal of the garrison to Fort Edward, with specific terms that the French military protect the British from the Indians as they withdrew from the area.

In one of the most notorious incidents of the French and Indian War, Montcalm’s Indian allies violated the agreed terms of surrender and attacked the British column, which had been deprived of ammunition, as it left the fort. They killed and scalped a significant number of soldiers, took as captives women, children, servants, and slaves, and slaughtered sick and wounded prisoners. Early accounts of the events called it a massacre, and implied that as many as 1,500 people were killed, even though it is unlikely more than 200 people (less than 10% of the British fighting strength) were actually killed in the massacre.

Charles B. WEBBER   (1741 – 1819) (Also Served in Revolutionary War)
09 Apr 1757, French & Indian Wars – Nathaniel Donnell’s Co.;
Jan 1759 – Capt. Ichabod Goodwin’s Co., Col.  Jedidiah Preble’s Regiment
Military service 1: Revolutionary War – 2nd Lt. in Capt. Dennis Getchell’s 2nd Lincoln Co., Regiment of Mass. Militia; also 2nd Lt. in Capt. Daniel Scott’s Co., Col. Joseph Korth’s regiment raised in 1776

Battle of Havana – 1762
Two sons of Stephen GATES IV (1690 – 1782) died in October and November 1762.  A 19th Century genealogy said they died in the French and Indian War.  I was confused because the French and Indian War ended that September.  I found their unit and commanding officer and through Major General Phineas Lyman found that they were casualties of the Battle of Havana.

Revolutionary War

Nathaniel PEASE I (1700 – 1771)’s son Captain Levi Pease (1729 – 1824) was enrolled in a Blandford company of minutemen at the outbreak of the revolution. but instead of serving in the field was assigned individual duties. For some time he was employed by General Thomas on the northern frontier as a postrider, and displayed much courage and discretion in eluding capture while conveying important despatches. He subsequently proved exceedingly useful to General Wadsworth, who as commissary-general employed him to purchase beeves and other supplies for the army. In these transactions he was often entrusted with large sums of money, for which no receipt was required by the General, who had implicit confidence in his integrity, and he never betrayed that confidence. Upon the arrival of the French fleet and troops at Newport, Pease was employed by the Continental government to procure horses for the purpose of conveying the artillery to Yorktown, and he was afterward engaged in foraging for the army. He was always referred to as Captain, but there is no record of his ever having been commissioned.

Thomas Gibson CARSON (1710 – 1790) was in the military in 1780 and 1781 in Georgia and Tennessee, serving as a horseman in Captain Joseph Carson’s Company of the South Carolina Militia, and participated in the battles of Rocky Mount and Hanging Rock under Colonel William Bratton. He was certified as a Revolutionary War Soldier by Colonel Elijah Clarke and received bounty land in Washington County for his services. Georgia sources show he served in the Battalion of Minute Men. He applied for an invalid soldier’s pension. His home was burned by the Tories during the Revolutionary War.

Thomas FRENCH Jr. (1722 – 1793) was a Private in Captain Alexander Foster’s Company, Colonel John Daggett’s Regiment marching to Bristol Rhode Island on the alarm Dec 8, 1776.  Service 25 Days.   December 8, 1776 at Newport, Rhode Island – Gen. Sir Henry Clinton, under orders from Gen. William Howe, who had found Clinton’s insistent advice aggrevating, sailed into Newport with 6,000 soldiers and took possession of Newport without any resistance.
Conclusion: British Victory

Also Captain Stephen Richardson’s Company Attleborough Service 25 days.  Company marched from Attleborough to Rhode Island Apr 21, 1777 to hold the line until men could be raised for that purpose for two months .

Also Captain Israel Trow’s Company, Colonel Josiah Whitney’s Regiment May 14 – July 6 1777 in Rhode Island.  In July, 1777, the Massachusetts Council of War, suddenly aware of New England’s peril if the victorious progress of Burgoyne was not stayed, hurriedly sent heavy reinforcements of militia to aid Gen. Benj.  Lincoln, who was then harassing the rear of the invading army. Col. Josiah Whitney, on July 27 ordered a draft of one-sixth of the training bands and alarm lists in his regiment to march at once to Bennington with six days rations, and on Aug. 2 ordered one-half of the militia to follow with eight days rations.

Also Captain Richardson’s Company, Colonel George William’s Regiment.  Company marched on a secret expedition Sep 25 – Oct 29, 1777.  Thomas’ son-in-law Seth RICHARDSON II was on this same secret mission.

Oliver WELLES (1732 – 1810) On the 9th of July 1779, an alarm at Saybrook called for help from this town.  Captain John Ventres, with his company, responded, and repaired to the defense of that place. Nothing serious appears to have resulted, however, and the company was retained in the service only two days. This company was then attached to Colonel Worthington’s regiment. The pay roll for that expedition shows that the following wages—remarkably high, on account of a depleted currency—were paid, per day, for service: To the captain, £2 8s.; lieutenant, £1 12s.; ensign, £1 4s.; sergeants, £1 9s. 2d.; corporals, £1 7s. 3d.;
privates, 10s. 6d.

The company was then composed of: Captain John Ventres; Lieutenant James Arnold; Ensign Oliver WELLS ; Sergeants Thomas Shailer, Charles Smith, Reuben Smith, and Jonathan Smith; Corporals Samuel Arnold, Samuel Lewis, David Arnold, and Augustus Lewis; Drummer Daniel Smith.

In September 1781 another alarm appeared at Saybrook, and Capt. John Ventres and his company again entered the service. They were under the regimental command of Col. John Tyler, and used six days—from the 7th to the 12th, inclusive—in the expedition.

David WING IV (1732 – 1761)

19 Apr 1775 – Wing, David, Sandwich. Private, Capt. Ward Swift’s (2n Sandwich) co. of militia, which marched in response to the alarm.   On April 19, 1775, British and American soldiers exchanged fire in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Paul Revere’s Ride” tells how a lantern was displayed in the steeple of Christ Church on the night of April 18, 1775, as a signal to Paul Revere and others.

6 Sep 1778 – Also, Capt. Swift’s co., Col Freeman’s regt. service 10 days, on an alarm at Dartmouth and Falmouth.

1778 – In Capt. Ward Swift’s company of militia, which marched on the Lexington Alarm

John BRADLEY (1736 – 1830) A tall strong man with a fiery temper, he joined Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys in Vermont. When the Revolutionary war began, Bradley was with Ethan Allen at the capture of Ft Ticonderoga. When Benedict Arnold started his march through Maine, Bradley was chosen as a scout and hunter. Arnold expected to find enough wild game to feed his men, but game was scarce. After hunting all day, Bradley returned with only one partridge. Arnold sent for him and called him a worthless loafer. Bradley talked back to the commander who then drew his sword, which Bradley knocked from his hand. The fighting continued and Aaron Burr came with a file of soldiers and had Bradley arrested and bound to a tree. A man had been shot that morning and Bradley had no doubt that he would also be shot. He finally managed to twist the straps free from his wrists and attempted to escape. A guard tried to stop him and he killed the guard. Bradley had no weapons and his enemies were behind him as he ran into the woods.

Nathan BALCOM (1741 –  1787) was part of Capt Sedgwick’s company, Col. Hinman’s regiment which went from Winchester CT to Ticonderoga in 1775.

4th CONNECTICUT REGIMENT

Authorized 27 April 1775 in the Connecticut State Troops as the 4th Connecticut Regiment. Organized 1-20 May 1775 to consist of ten companies from Litchfield and Hartford Counties. Each company to consist of 1 captain or field grade officer. 2 lieutenants, I ensign, 4 sergeants, 4 corporals, 1 drummer. I fifer, and 100 privates.

COMMANDER: Colonel Benjamin Hyman (Hinman) May 1, 1775-December 20,1775.

Adopted 14 June 1775 into the Continental Army.  Took part in the Invasion of Canada, Battle of Quebec (Autumn and Winter 1775). Two companies from this regiment were garrisoned at Fort Ticonderoga.

Disbanded in December 1775 in Canada, less two companies disbanded 19-20 December 1775 at Cambridge, Massachusetts. These latter two were Lieutenant Colonel Ozias Bissell’s and Captain Hezekiah Parsons’ Companies, which stayed behind to serve at the Siege of Boston.

The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly-formed Continental Armyduring the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the revolution on the side of theThirteen Colonies. One expedition left Fort Ticonderoga under Richard Montgomery, besieged and capturedFort St. Johns, and very nearly captured British General Guy Carleton when taking Montreal. The other expedition left Cambridge, Massachusetts under Benedict Arnold, and traveled with great difficulty through the wilderness of Maine to Quebec City. The two forces joined there, but were defeated at the Battle of Quebec in December 1775.

Montgomery’s expedition set out from Fort Ticonderoga in late August, and began besieging Fort St. Johns, the main defensive point south of Montreal, in mid-September. After the fort was captured in November, Carleton abandoned Montreal, fleeing to Quebec City, and Montgomery took control of the city before heading for Quebec with an army much reduced in size by expiring enlistments. There he joined Arnold, who had left Cambridge in early September on an arduous trek through the wilderness that left his surviving troops starving and lacking in many supplies and equipment.

Charles B. WEBBER – (1741 – 1819) (Also served in French & Indian War)
– 2nd Lt. in Capt. Dennis Gatchell’s  (Getchell) 2nd Lincoln Co., Regiment of Mass. Militia. On July 23, 1776, Dennis Gatchell was commissioned captain of the 5th company, 2nd Lincoln County regiment of Massachusetts militia.  At the first town meeting at Vassalboro, held Apr 26, 1771, Gatchell was elected first selectman, an office which he held many times. Gatchell and his company of 50 men served at Riverton, Rhode Island in 1777.

Charles was also 2nd Lt. in Capt. Daniel Scott’s Co., Col. Joseph Korth’s regiment raised in 1776

Samuel FOSTER (1743 – 1825) was a Revolutionary soldier, corporal in Capt. David Dexter’s Company, Col. Israel Angell’s battalion, 2nd Rhode Island Regment; in service of United States August, November and December, 1778, January and February, 1779. Certif. Charles P. Bennett, Secretary of State of Rhode Island.

The 2nd Rhode Island Regiment served to February 1781, having distinguished itself at the Battles of Monmouth, Rhode Island, and Springfield with several other skirmishes and minor engagements.

Samuel participated in the Battle of Rhode Island, (also known as the Battle of Quaker Hill) which took place on August 29, 1778, when units of the Continental Army under the command of John Sullivan attempted to recapture the island of Rhode Island (now known as Aquidneck Island to distinguish it from the state of Rhode Island in which it is located), from British forces. The battle ended inconclusively but the Continental Army had to give up its goal of capturing the island and securing Narragansett Bay for American and French ship traffic.

John COLEMAN (1744 – 1823)  lived nearby during Battle of Bunker Hill – Boston.

John was a Private in Captain John Walter’s Company, Colonel David Green’s Regiment (2d Middlesex Co) which marched on the alarm of 19 Apr 1776 (Now celebrated as Patriot’s Day) (Service 5 days – Page 534 Mass Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War.

On the night of April 18, 1775, General Gage sent 700 men to seize munitions stored by the colonial militia at Concord, Massachusetts. Riders including Paul Revere alerted the countryside, and when British troops entered Lexington on the morning of April 19, they found 77 minutemen formed up on the village green. Shots were exchanged, killing several minutemen. The British moved on to Concord, where a detachment of three companies was engaged and routed at the North Bridge by a force of 500 minutemen. As the British retreated back to Boston, thousands of militiamen attacked them along the roads, inflicting great damage before timely British reinforcements prevented a total disaster. With the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the war had begun.

Elihu MINER Jr. (1745 – 1821) enlisted 12 May 1775, 1st Company, Col Joseph Spencer‘s 2nd Connecticut Provincial Regiment Served at the Siege of Boston,  Bunker Hill, and Arnold’s expedition to Canada. He enlisted again 4 Mar 1777, in Capt Eliphalet Holmes 1st Connecticut Regiment, Col Jedediah Huntington‘s Brigade. Enlisted third time as Sgt in Capt Zechariah Hungerford’s Company, Col. Samuel McClellan‘s Connecticut militia. Elihu probably participated in theBattle of Groton Heights which was very near his home in East Haddam.  He filed for pension, S-36135, 14 Apr 1818 in Middlesex Co, CT.

 Capt. Thomas Brown (1745 – 1803)   He was first a private in Capt. Moses Little’s company of minute-men who marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775 to Cambridge – Service 5 days.  Next he was an ensign in Capt. Jacob Gerrish’s Company, Col. Moses Little’s Essex County Regiment. This regiment reach Cambridge the morning of battle of Bunker Hill 17 Jun 1775 and although not yet mustered into service, it volunteered to go into action.  Most of the Regiment including Gerrish’s Company crossed the Charlestown Neck under the fire of British ships on marched into the entrenchments on Bunker Hill.  Gerrish’s Company was with their townsman Little in the redoubt.

Mrs. Brown with her slave Titus followed the regiment to Cambridge.  The night after the battle, she filled a pillow case with provisions (mostly doughnuts made by herself) and placed it on Titus’ back and went with him to Winter Hill to which point most of the continental troops had retreated.  After his freedom had been given him, Titus remained a faithful servant of the family until his death.

Thomas later became First Lieutenant  under Capt. Barnard of the same regiment and then Captain of the Newbury Company under Col Aaron Willard’s Regimennt.  As Captain, he marched to Fort Ticonderoga and thence to Fort Edwards to join forces against Burgoyne

Seth RICHARSON II (1755 – 1824)

Joseph Read (March 6, 1732 – September 22, 1801) was a soldier and a Colonel in the American Revolutionary War.  He was a lieutenant colonel at the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19 1775. Note that Seth’s service started 8 days later on Apr 27.  Thereafter, until the end of 1776, Read served as colonel in command of several regiments of the Massachusetts Line.

The Massachusetts Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term “Massachusetts Line” referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Massachusetts at various times by the Continental Congress. These, together with similar contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line. The concept was particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers. Officers of the Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state.

The 4th Massachusetts Bay Provincial Regiment was commanded by Colonel Theophilus Cotton, of Plymouth,  who served as colonel until the end of the year.  In August 1775, Cotton’s Regiment was designated “The 16th Regiment of Foot.” It served in the Siege of Boston until its disbandment.

Seth’s father-in-law Thomas French was a corporal in this same secret mission which left from Taunton on Sept 27 1777.

Hendrik TURK (1756 – 1833) with his brothers Jacob and Johannes fought in the Revolutionary War in the Ulster County 1st Regiment under Colonel Johannes Snyder.

Snyder’s Regiment of Militia was known officially as The First Regiment of Ulster County Militia. It was the first regiment of four created in Ulster County, New York as ordered by the Provincial Congress ofNew York. It was also referred to as the Northern Regiment since it members were from the Northern section of Ulster County towns including Kingston, New York (then also called Esopus) and Saugerties, New York (then called Kingston Commons)

Johannes Snyder was given his commission and officially took his post as Colonel on May 1, 1776. At that time the 1st Ulster County Militia was reported to have 472 officers and men. In April of that year, he was elected to the Provincial Congress as a Delegate, and thus did not start active duty until September 1, 1776 when he was directed to proceed to Fort Montgomery in the Hudson Highlands and take command. He arrived on September 27.

The three months for which the Regiment had been called out expired on November 30. In the following year, 1777, he was with his regiment at Ft Montgomery as early as June 4. On July 30, he took his seat as a member of the Assembly in the first legislature chosen in New York State. His activity was said to be “untiring! ” He was at the head of his regiment in the Highlands, and was assigned to every court-martial convened by General George Clinton to try Tories who were active everywhere, and whom his Regiment seized on every hand. He was also a member of the Council of Safety in Ulster County. Colonel Snyder was thus in Kingston when Major General Vaughan landed to destroy Kingston, New York State’s first Capital. He could only muster 5 small cannons and about 150 men. The rest of the 1st Ulster were either with General, now Governor, George Clinton on their way to Kingston from the defeat at Fort Montgomery or as part of Colonel Graham’s Levies from Dutchess and Ulster counties which were facing John Burgoyne at Saratoga. Colonel Snyder along with Colonel Levi Pawling threw up a hasty earthwork at Ponckhonkie overlooking theHudson River and the mouth of the Rondout Creek, and a second one at the hill near O’Reilly’s Woods—the present site of Kingston’s City Hall, and placed his cannons. The British numbering over 2,000 of course drove the defenders out and commenced to torch the city on October 16, 1777. As General Vaughan wrote, “Esopus [Kingston] being a nursery for almost every Villain in the Country, I judged it necessary to proceed to that Town…they fired from their Houses, which induced me to reduce the Place to Ashes, which I accordingly did, not leaving a House.” After this, Governor Clinton assigned Colonel Snyder and a part of the regiment to assist and help rebuild the ruined city. He energetically took hold of the work with his men, and the town rapidly arose from the ashes. In 1778, and through the remainder of the war, Colonel Snyder was credited that no enemy descent was made upon exposed settlements in the northwest Catskills frontier where Governor Clinton committed its defense to him and his regiment. Part of the regiment was usually stationed at Little Shandaken to watch the approach through the valley of the Esopus Creek. Scouts constantly covered the territory from Hurley woods to the Palentine Clove along the foot of the Catskills. On at least three documented occasions, marauding Indians and Tories were turned back by finding their movements watched.

James McCAW (1762 – 1840) served eight tours between 1775 and 1781 in all at least two years and two months.   In his 1833 pension application he declared that he had to apply to history for the periods of the war but can well recollect his fighting and can pretty well recollect his service.

James took part in the Battle of Williamson’s Plantation, also called Huck’s Defeat. Captain Christian Huck, a Philadelphia Loyalist, came south as a part of Tarleton’s legion. He commanded a cavalry unit of about 100 Loyalists and was given marching orders to “push the rebels as far as you deem convenient.”

James took part in the Battle of Rocky Mount. The Battle took place on 1 Aug 1780 as part of the American War of Independence. Loyalists commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George Turnbull occupying an outpost in northern South Carolina withstood an attack by 600 American Patriots led by Colonel Thomas Sumter.

James also took part in the Battle of Hanging Rock on 6 Aug  1780 and the Battle of Fishdam Ford, an attempted surprise attack by British forces under the command of Major James Wemyss against an encampment of Patriot militia under the command of local Brigadier General Thomas Sumter around 1 am on the morning of 9 Nov 1780, late in the Revolutionary War. Wemyss was wounded and captured in the attack, which failed because of heightened security in Sumter’s camp and because Wemyss did not wait until dawn to begin the attack.

Revolutionary Loyalists

Nathaniel PARKS (1738 – 1818)  and his son Joseph enlisted in the loyalist 3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers (known as Skinners Greens) on 6 June 1778.  Nathaniel was 40 when he enlisted and his son was 18 years old. The N.J. Volunteers were relocated to Canada arriving in Parrtown New Brunswick  in Oct 1783 aboard the Duke of Richmond (Parrtown was renamed Saint  Johns in 1785.  The name is written out to distinguish it from St. John Newfoundland.  The name of the nearby St. John river is abbreviated).Both Nathaniel and Joseph are on the battalion land grant list for King’s County, New Brunswick on 14 July 1784.

Nathaniel was a sergeant in Captain Thatcher’s company of the 3rd Battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers, which was commanded by Lt. Col. Isaac Allen. (The battalion was redesignated as the 2nd Battalion after a regimental reorganization in 1781.)  This battalion served in the New Jersey/New York area until it was ordered south to join in the Southern Campaign. Col. Allen’s battalion served with distinction at the siege of Fort Ninety Six, South Carolina, and later participated in the bloody battle of Eutaw Springs, SC.

Nathaniel’s eldest son, Joseph, served in the same outfit as his father and attained the rank of Corporal. For his service he was granted 200 acres in Sunbury County, NB, on 24 Feb 1785. Along with his father, Joseph was one of the 73 participants in the four acre St. John River island rights grant.

Nathaniel Parks was enlisted by Captain Peter Campbell for his company in the 3rd Battalion, New Jersey Volunteers (known as Skinners Greens) on 6 June 1778. Joseph Parks enlisted as a sergeant in the same company and battalion and on the same date, except that he was enlisted by Lieutenant Bartholomew Thatcher. Both Campbell and Thatcher were from Hunterdon County, New Jersey and the dates of enlistment of the men in their company suggest that the men were enlisted during the British march from Philadelphia to Sandy Hook.

In the muster of August 31, 1778 however, Nathaniel Parks is listed as the sergeant and Joseph Parks as a private, in now Captain Bartholomew Thatcher’s Company. This was the same company as before, except Peter Campbell did not have the command, as there was much confusion over his eligibility for rank.

In October of 1778, Joseph Parks participated in the successful raids on Egg Harbor, New Jersey under Captain Patrick Ferguson and the subsequent surprise of Pulaski’s Legion.

Both Parks sailed with the expedition to take Savannah, Georgia, which was effected on 29 Dec 1778. They subsequently took part in the Franco- American Siege of that city in September/October 1779. They were both listed as sick in quarters on November 29, 1779, Joseph now promoted to corporal, both still serving in the same company and battalion.

Both Parks continued in this situation through 1780 and into 1781. During that period the battalion march in July of 1780 from Savannah to Augusta, Georgia, and shortly thereafter to Ninety Six, South Carolina. At Ninety Six there were numerous small expeditions and skirmishes, which they may have taken part in. They took part in the Siege of Ninety Six by the Rebel forces under General Nathanael Greene through May and June of 1781, and the immediate evacuation of that post after the lifting of that event. They also took part in the very bloody Battle of Eutaw Springs, South Carolina, on 8 Sep 1781, surviving apparently unscathed. At this time they were serving in the same company but the battalion had just been renumbered to the 2nd. This was due to the “old” 2nd battalion being under strength and drafted into the 1st and late 4th battalions.

The two Parks were in their same situation, company and battalion at Charlestown in the April 1782 muster. They would continue there until the city was evacuated by the British in December of 1782, when they sailed back to the British garrison at New York. Joseph Parks was sent with an advance party of the battalion to Nova Scotia with the fleet in the Spring of 1783. There he remained until joined by Nathaniel and the rest of the battalion that did not take their discharge at New York. The battalion was disbanded on 10 Oct 1783 and they were discharged on that day. Both Nathaniel and Joseph are on the battalion land grant list for King’s County, New Brunswick on 14 July 1784.

The N.J. Volunteers arrived in Parrtown in Oct. of 1783 aboard the 865 ton warship Duke of Richmond, captained by Richard Davis.

24 Feb 1785 – Nathaniel received a grant of 600 acres in Sunbury County, NB on He was also one of 73 individuals who were granted four acres, designated as “Island Rights”, on an island in the St. John River, NB. This grant was dated 08-Aug-1789.  The island in question is in the vicinity of Frederickton.

War of 1812

Sgt or Ensign Charles WEBBER Jr. (1764  –  1819)  In 1814 the British fleet hovered on the coast of Maine. Vassalboro raised companies by enlistment. One was raised for Lieutenant Colonel Moore’s regiment,  and the captain was Jeremiah Farwell; lieutenant, Aaron Gaslin [Charles’ cousin]. Charles WEBBER, Eli French, John G. Hall and Elijah Morse were sergeants; Benjamin Bassett, Nathaniel Merchant and Heman Sturges, corporals; John Lovejoy, musician; and the file of privates numbered thirty men.

Another version of Farwell’s company: A company was drafted from Vassalboro, of which Jeremiah Farwell was commissioned captain; Nathaniel Spratt, lieutenant, and Nehemiah Gould, ensign. Charles WEBBER, Amariah Hardin, jun., Jabez Crowell and Elijah Morse were sergeants; Rowland Frye, Samuel Brand. Benjamin Melvin and Thomas Whitehouse, corporals; Washington Drake and Timothy Waterhouse, musicians. The company embraced sixty-seven men as privates.

A third version  has Capt. J. Farwell’s Company, Lieut. Col. E. Sherwin’s Regiment. From Sept. 24 to Nov. 10. 1814. Raised at Vassalboro. Service at Wiscasset.

Rank and Name.
Jeremiah Farwell, Captain
Nathaniel Spratt, Lieutenant
Nehemiah Gould, Ensign
Charles Webber, Sergeant
Amariah Hardin, Jr., Sergeant
Jabez Crowell, Sergeant
Elijah Morse, Sergeant
Rowland Frye, Corporal
Samuel Brand, Corporal
Benjamin Malone, Corporal
Thomas Whitehouse, Corporal
Washington Drake, Musician
Timothy Waterhouse, Musician

Privates include Charles’ cousins
John Webber
Sylvanus Webber

Seth RICHARDSON III (1778 – 1856) Two Seth Richardsons, Sr. and Jr served in the War of 1812 from Kennebec, Maine.  Seth III was 36, his father Seth II was 59 and his son Seth IV was 11.  As far as we know Seth II lived and died in Attleborough, Bristol, Mass.  Capt. J. Wellington’s Company, Lieut. Col. E. Sherwin’s Regiment.  From Sept. 24 to Nov. 10, 1814. Raised at Albion, Kennebec Maine and vicinity. Service at Wiscasset.

William LATTA (1795 – 1846)  served with Commodore Perry at the Battle of Lake Erie when he was 18 years old.  Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of Great Britain’s Royal Navy. This ensured American control of the lake for the remainder of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit and win the Battle of the Thames to break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh.

Lower Canadian Rebellion of 1838

The Lower Canada Rebellion, commonly referred to as the Patriots’ War,   is the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada (now Quebec) and the British colonial power of that province. Together with the simultaneous Upper Canada Rebellion in the neighbouring colony of Upper Canada (now Ontario), it formed the Rebellions of 1837

Samuel CRUTCHFIELD  Sr. (1796 -1876) was a private in the second company, (Jamestown Chateauguay River Concession) militia volunteers in the Beauharnois Battalion of Militia for the County of Beauharnois during the rebellion of 1838.  Privates got 1 shilling per day.

Civil War

John Morton McCAW (1789 – 1865) four of John’s son:  James,  Samuel, David, and John were all in the 11th Kansas Regiment during the Civil War.  The 11th Kansas Infantry ceased to exist at the end of April 1863 when it was mounted and changed to the 11th Kansas Cavalry.  John and Samuel enlisted in Company E on 24 Aug 1862 and were mustered out 7 Aug 1865. David and James enlisted 24 Feb 1864 and were mustered out 1 Sep 1865.   John was wounded in action,  7 Dec 1662 at the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.

The Eleventh Kansas Cavalry stayed fairly close to home during the Civil War. Part of the Eleventh engaged in the pursuit of William Quantrill following his devastating raid on Lawrence, Kansas, in 1863.

The Eleventh later participated in the Price Raid battles around Kansas City, and skirmishes around Mound City, in October of 1864. The latter actions made it the closest unit among all Kansas regiments to the Battle of Mine Creek, the only full-fledged Civil War battle in the state

Before the Eleventh was released from its duties, several companies–including Company A–were sent into what is now Wyoming to fight American Indians. This was not a popular decision among soldiers ready to go home after the defeat of the Confederacy. Until they were mustered out, though, they were still in the Federal army and could be deployed as needed.

11th Regiment Actions include Old Fort Wayne or Beattie’s Prairie, near Maysville, 22 Oct 1862. Cane Hill, Boston Mountains, 28 Nov 1862. Boston Mountains 4-6 Dec 1862. Reed’s Mountain 6 Dec 1862. Battle of Prairie Grove 7 Dec 1862. Expedition over Boston Mountains to Van Buren 27-31 Dec 1862. Moved to Springfield, Mo., Jan 1863, and duty there until 17 Feb 1863. Moved to Forsyth, Mo., thence to Fort Scott, Kan. On furlough March. Moved from Fort Scott to Salem, Mo., thence to Kansas City, Mo., 6-20 Apr 1863. The regiment lost a total of 173 men during service; 61 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 2 officers and 110 enlisted men died of disease.

Oliver WEBBER (1797 -1862)   Most of our ancestors were either living in Canada, too old, or too young to participate in the Civil War.  Oliver Webber of Vassalboro, Maine  makes up for the good luck all by himself.   He lost four boys, two killed, one wounded and one broken.

Most of our ancestors were either living in Canada, too old, or too young to participate in the Civil War.  Oliver Webber (1797 – 1862) of Vassalboro, Maine  makes up for the good luck by himself.   He lost four boys; two killed, one wounded and one broken.

Before I delved  further, it was romantic to imagine that Oliver’s sons might have been part of the famous 20th Maine Regiment. The 20th Maine’s decisive defense of Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, where it was stationed on  at the extreme left of the Union line was a turning point in the Battle of Gettysburg.  This action is the central engagement of the movie Gettysburg.  It turns out that Virgil and Gustavus were part of the 16th Maine Regiment at Gettysburg who have their own story to tell.

Later on, I thought it was tragic that Oliver died a few months after he lost much of his family in the Civil War.  But in reality, he died in January 1862, a few months before the carnage.  Real life isn’t as tidy as a story.

While a few of our illustrious ancestors attended Oxford before leading  the Great Migartion, Oliver’s son Leigh Richmond Webber was the first I found who attended college in the United States.  These notes came from a Colby alumni record from the 1880’s.
1852, Sept. Entered Colby Sophomore class. In scholarship, one of the best of a superior class.
1855-56. Taught in New Portland, Me.
1856-57. Taught in Troy, Orleans Co., Vermont.
1858, April. Removed to Kansas, and engaged for three years in teaching and farming.
1861. Enlisted as a soldier, and served, during the late war, for three years.
1864, July. Returned to Maine, broken down In health by hardships of military life.
1865, Oct. 11. Committed to Hospital for the Insane, at Augusta. Died, Jan. 5,1866, of consumption, at Insane Hospital, Augusta. He did not marry.

His son Hermon S. Webber was wounded at Fair Oaks, 4 June 1862, and died 10 Aug 1862.  The Battle of Fair Oaks, also known as the Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks Station  took place on May 31 and June 1, 1862, in Henrico County, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign.  It was the culmination of an offensive up the Virginia Peninsula by Union Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, in which the Army of the Potomac reached the outskirts of Richmond.  Both sides claimed victory with roughly equal casualties, but neither side’s accomplishment was impressive. George B. McClellan’s advance on Richmond was halted and the Army of Northern Virginia fell back into the Richmond defensive works. Union casualties were 5,031 (790 killed, 3,594 wounded, 647 captured or missing), Confederate 6,134 (980 killed, 4,749 wounded, 405 captured or missing)

Oliver’s son Virgil was killed at the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg 1 Jul 1863 and his son and his son Gustavus was wounded in the same action.   Virgil served in the 16th Maine Regiment at Gettysburg. before I delved  further, it was romantic to imagine that Virgil was part of the famous 20th Maine Regiment. The 20th Maine’s decisive defense of Little Round Top on July 2, 1863, where it was stationed on  at the extreme left of the Union line was a turning point in the battle.  This action is the central engagement of the movie Gettysburg.

In real life, Virgil and his brother Gustavus (also wounded in this action) were in Company E, 16th Maine Regiment. which arrived around 11: 30 on the morning of July 1, 1863, as part of two divisions of the 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac arrived to join a fight that had been raging all morning, as the Confederates advanced on Gettysburg from the west and from the north. Among them was the 16th Maine. The regiment, along with the rest of the army, had been marching since June 12 up from Virginia.  16th Maine fought bitterly for approximately three hours in the fields north of the Chambersburg Pike; but by mid-afternoon, it was evident that, even with the addition of the rest of the 1st Corps and the entire 11th Corps, the position of the Union forces could not be held. They began to fall back toward the town of Gettysburg.

The 16th Maine was then ordered to withdraw to a new position to the east of where they had been fighting. “Take that position and hold it at any cost!” was the command. This meant that those of the 275 officers and men of the regiment who had not already become casualties had to sacrifice themselves to allow some 16,000 other men to retreat. This they valiantly did, but they were soon overwhelmed and forced to surrender to the Confederates.

As the Southern troops bore down upon them, the men of the 16th Maine spontaneously began to tear up into little pieces their “colors.” Like other Union regiments, the 16th Maine carried an American flag and a regimental flag, known collectively as “the colors.” “For a few last moments our little regiment defended angrily its hopeless challenge, but it was useless to fight longer,” Abner Small of the 16th Maine wrote after the battle. “We looked at our colors, and our faces burned. We must not surrender those symbols of our pride and our faith.” The regiment’s color bearers “appealed to the colonel,” Small wrote, “and with his consent they tore the flags from the staves and ripped the silk into shreds; and our officers and men that were near took each a shred.” Each man hid his fragment of the flags inside his shirt or in a pocket. The Confederates were thus deprived of the chance to capture the flags as battle trophies.   Most of the 16th Maine survivors treasured these remnants for the rest of their lives and bequeathed them to their descendents, some of whom still possess them as family heirlooms to this day.

By sunset on July 1, 11 officers and men of the 16th Maine had been killed, 62 had been wounded, and 159 had been taken prisoner.  Company E suffered heavy losses 3 killed, 8 wounded including Capt,William A. Stevens and Lt. Aubrey  Leavitt and 14 taken prisoner including Capt. Leavitt.  Only 38 men of the Regiment managed to evade being captured and report for duty at 1st Corps headquarters. But the 16th Maine had bought precious time for the Union Army. Those whose retreat they had covered were able to establish a very strong position just east and south of the center of the town of Gettysburg along Cemetery Ridge. During the night and into July 2 the 1st and 11th Corps were reinforced by the rest of the Army of the Potomac. For the next two days they would withstand successive assaults by the Confederates until the final repulse of Pickett’s Charge, on July 3.

1,907 men served in the 16th Maine Infantry Regiment at one point or another during its service. It lost 181 enlisted men killed in action or died of wounds. 578 members of the regiment were wounded in action, 259 died of disease, and 76 died in Confederate prisons for a total of 511 fatalities from all causes.

World War I

Horace Horton BLAIR (1894 – 1965)  Got influenza in France

Allied Occupied Germany

Lt. Everton Harvy MINER (19 29 – )

Assigned to Wildflecken is a municipality in the Bad Kissingen district, at the border of northeastern Bavaria and southern Hesse. In 2005, its population was 3,285.

In 1937 the German Army established a large training area in the Rhoen area. Northeast of the village a camp, large enough to house about 9,000 soldiers and 1,500 horses was built. The camp (Camp Wildflecken) and training-area was primarily used by the German Army (Wehrmacht) as well as by the Waffen-SS. During the war several Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS divisions were activated and trained for combat in Wildflecken. Also located in Wildflecken was an ammunition factory and two POW camps, one for Russian POWs and one for POWs of Belgian and French origin. In 1945 elements of the U.S. 14th Armored Division took control of the camp and the training area in April 1945.

From April 1945 to 1951, the base was a displaced persons camp housing approximately 20,000 displaced persons (DPs), primarily Poles, operated first by UNRRA, then by IRO. A Polish cemetery holds the camp’s residents who died during those five years.

After 1951, its range served as a US Army training base operated by the 7th Army Training Command in Grafenwöhr,and it was home station for several U.S.Army units to include Armored, Infantry (Mech), Military Intelligence and logistical units, primarily the 373d AIB of the 19th (later 4th) Armored Group. It also served as a base for Bundesgrenschutz (border police) units and later for the new German Army (Bundeswehr). The Wildflecken Kaserne was decommissioned by the U.S.Army and transferred to the Bundeswehr in 1994.

Lived in Bad Kissingen  a spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and is the seat of the district Bad Kissingen.

Reported to HQ in Würzburg– After the war, Würzburg was host to the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Infantry Division, U.S. Army Hospital and various other U.S. military units that maintained a presence in Germany. The U.S. units were withdrawn from Würzburg in 2008, bringing an end to over 60 years of U.S. military presence.