This is a transcription of the captains from A List of The Revolutionary Soldiers of Dublin, N.H. by Samuel Carroll Derby, Columbus, Ohio: Press of Spahr & Glen, 1901.
REGIMENTAL AND COMPANY COMMANDERS.
A List of Regimental and Company commanders under whom Dublin men served in the Revolutionary War has been compiled and short biographical sketches have been added. These notices are, almost necessarily, very fragmentary and presumably erroneous in some details, but they are as correct as the writer has been able to make them. Additional facts and corrections will be gladly received. Even these brief accounts will, it is hoped, be helpful to those who have occasion to make similar investigations in the early history of the same neighborhood (southwestern New Hampshire) and serve to prolong the memory of men who deserved well of their fellow citizens and their country. The difficulty with which the few, brief data which follow have been secured, clearly shows that these local leaders and heroes are almost forgotten by a generation which has entered into their labors.
CAPTAINS.
JOSHUA ABBOTT of Concord, b. 1740; d. March 12, 1815; commanded the fifth company in Col. John Stark’s regiment (First N. H.). He was present with his company near New York, April, 1776. Later the regiment marched to the assistance of the northern army, and was at Mt. Independence, Nov. 1776. The next year he was a captain in Lt. Col. Henry Gerrish’s regiment which marched, Sept. 1777, and helped capture Burgoyne’s army at Saratoga. Capt. Abbott was a member of the well-known Concord family of that name.
SAMUEL BLODGETT of Goffstown, b. 1724, Woburn, Mass.; d. Goffstown, 1807. Capt. Blodgett was a man of great energy and business capacity, who took part in many enterprises. He saw service in the Louisburg expedition, was a sutler in the Crown Point campaign of 1757, and had a narrow escape from death at the surrender of Fort William Henry. In 1775, he was sutler in Sullivan’s brigade at Winter Hill. Since he was more than fifty years old at the beginning of the war, he did less active service, yet, in 1777, commanded a company in Col. Nathan Hale’s regiment, but resigned his captaincy, Dec. 22, 1777. Captain Blodgett was accounted the wealthiest citizen of Goffstown, and was prominent in its affairs, civil and religious. He had been a justice under the royal government, 1774, a fact which shows that he was an influential citizen.
JOSIAH BROWN of New Ipswich, b. Concord, Mass., 1744; d. 1831. Capt. Brown removed to New Ipswich in 1765 and settled there upon “Flat Mountain.” He was a lieutenant in Capt. Ezra Towne’s company, Col. James Reed’s regiment, at Bunker Hill, and saw service at Ticonderoga, also, May, 1777. In the company which went from New Ipswich, April 20, 1775, Josiah Brown was sergeant. His name appears as selectman, 1782, and with other officers of New Ipswich, as a member of a committee to get pay for war expenses, 1785; Capt. Joseph Parker was another member and Col. Thomas Heald, a third.
BENJAMIN BULLARD of Sherborn, Mass., appears to have been one of the “Alarm List ” of Holliston foot company in 1757, and a private in Capt. Jones’ company at Crown Point, 1759. He was captain of a company of “minute men ” who marched upon the alarm of April 19, 1775, and served for 5 days. Later he was a captain in Col. Laommi Baldwin’s regiment stationed at Prospect Hill. In October of the same year, he was a captain in Col. Jona. Brewer’s regiment, was transferred to Col. Jos. Henshaw’s regiment, and then to the 7th company of the 6th regiment, Col. Asa Whitcomb’s, with which he was connected while at Ft. Ticonderoga, Nov. 27, 1776. In the following year he appears to have commanded a company (the 9th) in Col. Samuel Bullard’s regiment (5th Middlesex) which took part in the capture of Burgoyne, 1777. His family is probably connected with that of the Bullards who settled in Dublin. Capt. Bullard is believed to have been present at the battle of Bunker Hill.
ISAAC DAVIS of Chesterfield, son of Simon Davis, of Greenwich, Mass., came to Chesterfield about 1762, being then thirty years old. He died there, Nov. 28, 1776, only twelve days after the end of his service in the army, which probably caused his death. He signed the “Association Test” at Chesterfield, 1776, and commanded a company in Col. Samuel Ashley’s regiment which went to reinforce the “Northern Army,” Oct. 21-Nov. 16, 1776.
HENRY DEARBORN, b. Hampton, N. H., 1751; d. 1829; was captain in Col. John Stark’s regiment, took part in Arnold’s winter expedition against Quebec, was major in the 3d N. H. regiment, Lt. Col. of the same in 1780, and after Col. Scammel’s death, Oct. 6, 1781, became its commander. He was Secretary of War during Jefferson’s administration, and rose to the rank of Major General in the War of 1812. In 1822 he was appointed minister to Portugal and held that post for two years. In the mooted question who commanded the American troops at Bunker Hill, Gen. Dearborn vigorously attacked the claim of Gen. Putnam.
MOODY DUSTIN of Litchfield, b. —; d.?; was first lieutenant in Col. Loammi Baldwin’s (Mass.) regiment which, Sept. 26, 1775, was stationed at Sewall’s Point. In 1777, he held a similar position in Capt. William Scott’s company, Col. John Stark’s regiment, and after Col. Joseph Cilley succeeded to the command of that regiment, was made captain, March 5, 1778. This rank he held until he was mustered out, Jan. 1, 1784.
DANIEL EMERSON, JR., of Hollis, b. 1746; d. Oct. 4, 1821; commanded a company in Col. Joshua Wingate’s regiment which marched to reinforce the northern army in 1716. In June, 1777, he was a captain in the regiment commanded by Col. Moses Nichols; in August, 1778, he was captain of a company and took part in the Rhode Island campaign, under Col. Nichols. The following year he was a captain in Col. Hercules Mooney’s command which went to defend R. I. In civil life, Capt. Emerson was a prominent citizen of Hollis; he was justice of the peace, representative in 1782, and councillor, 1787. He was a son of the Rev. Daniel Emerson, one of the proprietors of Dublin, and a person of much influence in Hollis, both because of his official position and of his personal character.
ROGER GILMORE of Jaffrey, b. 1738; d. 1807; a native of Londonderry, N. H.; was an early and leading citizen of Jaffrey and often employed in its service. He was its first tything man, 1773, its delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1791, and its first justice of the peace. In military affairs he was no less prominent, having been lieutenant and afterwards captain of the first military company of the town. He led a company, June 29, 1777, under command of Lt. Col. Thomas Heald, to reinforce the garrison at Ticonderoga. Capt. Gilmore was also a land surveyor, and his memory is kept alive through the name of Gilmore Pond in Jaffrey.
ELISHA MACK, b. Lyme, Conn., came from Marlow to Gilsum, and removed thence to Montague (Mass.). He was a private in Capt. Samuel Wetherbee’s company of Col. Isaac Wyman’s regiment, July, 1776, and was at Ticonderoga, Nov. 1776. The following year he was lieutenant in Capt. Davis Howlet’s company, and marched to Lake Champlain, in May; later he was a captain in Col. Moses Nichols’ regiment, Stark’s brigade, July-Sept. 1777. May 31, 1 779, he led the “Keene Raid,” an unlawful attempt to seize a much disliked Tory of Keene. Capt. Mack was prominent in various ways, was a mill owner, and in 1778-79 bridged the Ashuelot River.
BENJAMIN MANN, b. about 1740, Woburn, Mass.; d. 1831, at Troy, N. Y. Benjamin Mann came with his family to Mason, N. H., about 1771. He was twelve times moderator; town clerk; selectman, six years; four times representative and a member of the Committee of Public Safety. He was the first justice of the peace in Mason. The fine elm trees on the Common in that town were planted by Capt. Mann in 1790 (on the day of Rev. Mr. Hall’s ordination). June, 1775, he was captain in Col. James Reed’s regiment and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. In August, 1778, he had command of a company in the regiment led by Col. Moses Nichols during the Rhode Island campaign. Some time in the winter of 1775-76, he stated that he was in command of Capt. Robert Oliver’s company which was, perhaps, one of the thirty-one companies sent to replace Connecticut troops during the siege of Boston. Nothing has been learned respecting Capt. Oliver. Mr. Mann was a thrifty and useful citizen. He removed from Mason about 1800.
JOHN MELLEN, b. 1744, Holliston, Mass.; d. July 25, 1784; came to Fitzwilliam before the Revolutionary War, and was one of the most reliable and energetic citizens of that town. In 1775, he was commander of its military company. In 1777, Capt. Mellen was a member of the Committee of Safety, and led a company to reinforce Ticonderoga in June of that year. The next year (1778) he was quartermaster in Col. Enoch Hale’s regiment during the Rhode Island campaign. Capt. Mellen was a person of unusual business capacity and his early death was a severe loss to Fitzwilliam.
JACOB MILLER of Holliston, Mass., when 28 years of age was a sergeant in Capt. White’s company under command of Col. Ephraim Williams, 1758, and appears to have served with the same rank in Capt. John Nixon’s company, 1759. Oct. 6, 1775, he was a captain in Col. Ephraim Doolittle’s regiment, stationed at Winter Hill. The next year he was commissioned Major in Col. Whitney’s regiment. The presence of Dublin men in the commands of Captains Bullard and Miller is readily explained by the fact that many of the early settlers of Dublin went from Sherborn and Holliston, the towns to which those officers respectively belonged.
JOSEPH PARKER, b. about 1741; d. 1807; came to New Ipswich, 1766. He was known as an energetic and daring man and saw much military service. He served 13 days in the “April Alarm,” 1775, and in 1776 was captain of a company in Col. Enoch Hale’s regiment which joined the northern army at Ticonderoga in July of that year. It is probable that he had seen service in the French War.
DANIEL REYNOLDS of Londonderry, b. —; d. 1815; a well known citizen who was a captain, stationed at Winter Hill, Dec. 1775. In Sept. 1776, he held like rank in Col. Thos. Tash’s regiment. A year later he fought under Col. Moses Nichols against Burgoyne. From Jan. to Nov. 16, 1778, he was a captain in Lt. Col. Stephen Peabody’s regiment, and was major of Col. Hercules Mooney’s regiment in 1779. He held various civil offices in Londonderry. He was Lt. Col. of a regiment of six months’ men in 1781.
SAMUEL RICHARDS of Goffstown, b. —; d.?; was probably a son of Ensign Benjamin Richards, a soldier of the French and Indian War, early settler of Goffstown and grantee of that town. Capt. Richards during the summer and autumn of 1775 commanded a company in Col. John Stark’ s regiment. The family was one of the best-known in Goffstown, and Capt. Richards held a good place in the esteem of his townsmen. The King’s officers in 1772 seized pine lumber at the Richards mill upon the pretext that it was of size and quality suitable for the Royal Navy, and therefore forfeit to his Royal Majesty. Such seizures were not uncommon in colonial times in N. H.
CALEB ROBINSON, b. Exeter, 1746; d. —; held a lieutenant’s commission in Capt. Isaac Sherman’s company of Col. Loammi Baldwin’s regiment (Mass.) in 1775. Capt. Sherman had taught school in Exeter, and a number of men from that town joined his company at Cambridge, Mass. In 1777, Caleb Robinson was a captain in Col. Nathan Hale’s regiment (2d N. H.) and was made prisoner at Hubbardton, 1777, with Col. Hale and others. In 1781, he was a major in Col. George Reid’s regiment. Capt. Robinson belonged to an Exeter family of good standing. One of its members has founded, in recent years, the Robinson Female Seminary at Exeter.
ABIJAH SMITH of New Ipswich, came thither from Leominster, Mass., about 1764. He had been a soldier in the French and Indian War, and was accordingly made a leader in preparations to resist Great Britain. In Col. Nahum Baldwin’s regiment which marched in the autumn of 1776 to reinforce Washington’s army about New York, Abijah Smith held a captaincy. He had a large family and died in New Ipswich, 1786.
BENJAMIN SPAULDING was an early settler in Jaffrey, where he held various town offices. In later life he removed to Marlboro, N. H., where he kept a hotel. He went to Cambridge, “Lexington Alarm,” April, 1775, and, 1780, commanded a company in Col. Moses Nichols?s regiment which went to reinforce West Point, July-Oct. of that year.
JEREMIAH STILES of Keene, b. 1744; d. Dec. 6, 1800. A prominent citizen of Keene, who held there various civil and military offices. In 1775, he commanded a company at Cambridge under Col. John Stark; later in the year his commanding officer was Col. Paul Dudley Sargent of Amherst. Capt. Stiles was present at Bunker Hill. In 1776, Capt. Stiles was a member of the Keene Committee of Safety. He was well known as a surveyor and an active speculator in the land of the new townships in Cheshire County.
WILLIAM STILSON, said in N. H. State Papers to be of Hopkinton, but evidently (see N. H. State Papers 9 vol. VIII, pp. 94-95, 533), was a citizen of Somersworth. In Dec. 1775 he was 2d Lieut. in Capt. Nathl Odiorne’s company at Winter Hill. Nov. 20, 1776, he was at Mt. Independence, on Lake Champlain, in command of a company in Col. Isaac Wyman’s regiment which had been sent in the summer of 1776 to reinforce the American army in Canada. He was sent, Sept. 8, with a party to build a road from Mt. Independence to Castleton, Vt. Complaint was made to the New Hampshire authorities as to his accounts with the soldiers under his command, who continued as late as 1791 to send petitions for the balance of their pay (for the month of Nov. 1776). Other details are lacking.
SALMON STONE of Rindge, b. Groton, Mass., April 17, 1744; d. Rindge, Oct. 4, 1831; was an early settler in Rindge and prominent in its affairs. Salmon Stone was corporal in Capt. Nathan Hale’s company, April, 1775. He was captain in Col. Enoch Hale’s regiment July, 1777, and held the same rank in the regiment commanded by Col. Moses Nichols which fought at Bennington and Saratoga, in the autumn of 1777.
OTHNIEL THOMAS, b. Topsfield, Mass., —; d. Rindge, April 21, 1794; was a leading citizen of Rindge; selectman, 1780, often moderator, and was sent to represent Rindge in the convention which ratified the Federal Constitution. He was lieutenant in Capt. Salmon Stone?s company, Col. Enoch Hale’s regiment, July, 1777, and had the rank of captain in the regiment of Lieut. Col. Daniel Reynolds (six months men) in 1781.
SAMUEL TWITCHELL, of Dublin, b. Aug. 24, 1740, at Sherborn, Mass.; d. at Dublin, April 16, 1820. Capt. Twitchell was the third permanent settler of Dublin, where, also, four of his brothers and three of his sisters made their homes. He removed to Dublin in 1762 and lived on lot 7, range 1. In addition to his farm, Capt. Twitchell owned a mill near his house and in 1769 bought the water privilege at the outlet of Thorndike Pond, of Col. Joseph Blanchard, the agent of the Jaffrey proprietors. Mr. Twitchell was a leading citizen of Dublin, as is proven by the offices which he filled there: he was moderator, 1782, ’83, ’91, ’94; selectman, 1773, ’88, ’92, ’93; representative, 1792, ’93, ’94; coroner for Cheshire County, 1791, and justice of the peace. He appears to have been a member of the church in Dublin from its organization under Rev. Joseph Farrar, 1772. His father, Joseph Twitchell, Esq., of Sherborn, was for many years one of the leading citizens of that town and, as an agent for the proprietors of Dublin, was very active and efficient in his efforts to secure settlers for the new town at the foot of Monadnock. It is said that twenty-seven of the early settlers of Dublin came from Sherborn, Mass., most of them, presumably, through the exertions of Joseph Twitchell. Samuel Twitehell (see N. H. State Papers, vol. XV, pp. 108, 536-37) was a lieutenant, June 28-July 2, 1777, in Capt. John Mellen’s company, Col. Enoch Hale’s regiment, which marched from Fitzwilliam and adjacent towns to reinforce the garrison at Ticonderoga. He was succeeded, it appears, by Oliver Wright of Marlboro. In August, 1778, Samuel Twitchell commanded a company from Dublin and neighboring towns, Col. Enoch Hale’s regiment, which took part in the Rhode Island campaign. It is presumed that Capt. Twitchell had been an officer in the military company of Dublin previous to his service in 1777. It is stated that he was the third commander of that company; his successor was commissioned Feb. 16, 1786. Capt. Twitchell’s father was one of the earliest purchasers of land in Dublin, as shown by an entry in proprietors’ records (N. H. State Papers, XXVIII, 493) “Martha Thornton Esqr Sold to Joseph Twitchell one Rite viz Peter Powers Rite the 41 draft Lott 14 in 4 Range & ye Lott 19 in 9 R & ye L 19 in 10.” The Twitchell family once had numerous members in Dublin, but few now remain. Samuel Twitchell was a descendant of Joseph Twitchell who took the freeman?s oath, May 14, 1634, and father of the famous physician and surgeon Dr. Amos Twitchell of Keene, N. H.
JASON WAIT of Alstead, b. —; d.—; was ensign of the first militia company of Alstead, 1773, In Feb. 1776, he was in command of a company in Col. Timothy Bedel’s regiment which went from the towns of western N. H. to reinforce the northern army. In November of that year he was captain of a company in Col. Joseph Cilley’s regiment. July 5, 1780, he was made major “vice Morris resigned,” in the 2d N. H. regiment under Col. George Reid, and resigned Dec. 8, 1782. Mrs. Prudence Baxter whose husband, Simon Baxter, was a Tory, stated, 1778, that Capt. Wait as a prisoner had experienced kind treatment from said Simon Baxter. Capt. Wait was a prisoner in New York, captured probably in the disastrous battle on Log Island.
WILLIAM WALKER of Dunstable, b. –; d. ?; is supposed to be the same person as the Wm. Walker who served in the French War, 1745-46, as a sergeant in Capt. (afterwards Col.) John Goffe?s scouting company, and who served the following year under Capt. John Webster. In less than a week after the Lexington fight he had a company at Cambridge and joined Col. James Reed’s regiment, being present at Bunker Hill. March, 1776, Capt. Walker was chosen a delegate to the County Congress, and was a member of a committee “to see that no British goods were sold in town.” In December of the same year, he raised a company for Col. Daniel Gilman’s regiment, which was to serve till March, 1777. In that year he was made major of Col. Daniel Moore’s regiment and took part in the campaign against Burgoyne.