COLE, BENJAMINBorn: August 1, 1754Died: January 2, 1834Remarks: Born in Ireland and came to America as part of Lord Howe’s army, but deserted at the Battle of White Plains and joined the American army. He enlisted November 2, 1776 and served as a private in the 2nd Troop of the Second Light Dragoons until the end of the war. Shortly after his enlistment he was detailed as a secretary at Washington’s headquarters and remained in that capacity through to the British capitulation at Yorktown. He was a graduate of Trinity College (now Dublin University) and became a minister. His pension certificate is dated March 23, 1823, and signed by John C. Calhoun, Secretary of War. He died in the town of Humphrey, NY. FITCH, EPHRAIMBorn: March 29, 1736Died: ??/??, 1832Remarks: A native of Norwich, CT, he began his service in Col. Parson’s 6th Regiment and fought at Bunker Hill. He later became a Corporal in the 2nd Light Dragoons. He died in Ellicottville, NY.
Continued…
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY
LOOMIS, SIMON
Born: ??/??, 1756. Died:
Nov. 26,1842
Remarks: Born in Tolland, CT. He started his service as a private in 3rd
CT Regt. under Capt. Experience Storm and Col. Putnam. In 1775 he commenced
service in the 2nd troop, Col. Sheldon’s Light Dragoons. In 1779 he
served in a detachment of Militia Horse, in command of Col. Seymour. It is of
family record that he was with the troops of Washington at the crossing of the
Delaware and also was at the Battle of Yorktown and witnessed the surrender of
Cornwallis. He was married to Mary [Molly] Carpenter in 1787. They moved from
Thompkins Co., NY about 1836 to Chautauqua settling in the Town of Harmony
where they had been preceded by a son, Daniel. Another son, Solomon Loomis,
born 1786 married Hannah Armstrong. Simon’s wife died aged 85 years, 5 months
on 9 [2] Mar. 1853. Town of Harmony-Blockville Cemetery.
GREENE COUNTY
HALLENBECK, SAMUEL
Born March 3, 1764
Died March 16, 1851
Remarks:
Born in Sharon, CT, he enlisted at Canaan, Conn., March 29, 1781, in
Capt. Matthew Smith’s Company of Conn. Troops, Gen. Waterbury’s Brigade consisting
of two battalions raised for the defense of Horse Neck, and places adjacent. He
was afterwards assigned to Col. Sheldon’s cavalry for duty on the east side of
and near the Hudson River, where he was wounded, and lost an eye. He was taken
prisoner and incarcerated in the old sugar house on Liberty St., New York City,
and kept there until the British Troops evacuated New York. The prison guards
called him the young rebel. On July 3,
1787, he married Wealthy Beebe, born November 3, 1771. He died in Athens, NY
PECK, BENJAMIN; Catskill, NY
Born: ??/??/1757 Died:
??/??/1820
Remarks: Served in the army all through the Revolution. Enlisted in
cavalry regulars of Col. Sheldon of Richfield (sic), was with him on the Hudson
when Esopus was burned. He came to Palenville from Litchfield, Conn, about 1796
and was a nephew of Paul Peck. He married and had a son named Hezekiah. He
passed away at age 63 and is buried in Plot 45, Town of Catskill.
Continued…
JEFFERSON COUNTY
WATERTOWN
RISING, JOSIAHBorn: April 20, 1765Died: April 3, 1844 Remarks: Josiah Rising enlisted in 1781 for three years, serving in Capt. William Stanton’s Co. of Col. Elisha Sheldon’s Regt. Of the Conn. Line and served until the close of the war. He was discharged at West Point, October 1783 (Veterans Administration, Washington, D. C. W.C. 18818). He married Hilda Miller on November 19, 1788 at Cambridge, Oneida Co., N.Y. Josiah Rising and his wife are buried in the old cemetery at Talcott’s Stand, Town of Watertown, N. Y. ONEIDA COUNTY TOWN OF VERNON EVERETT, ANDREWBorn: ??/??, 1755 Died: ??/??, 1833Remarks: Born in Woodbury, CT and enlisted 1776 as a private in Capt. Noadiah Hooker’s company of Col. Erastus Wolcott’s regiment and fought in the Battle of Harlem. Served in Capt. John Watson’s Company, Col. Sheldon’s 2nd Connecticut Dragoons. He was placed in the Pension Rolls of Vernon, NY in 1832.
ONONDAGA COUNTY
TOWN OF FABIUS
CLARK, WILLIAM
Born: Unknown Died: Unknown Remarks: Enlisted May 1,
1777, in Wethersfield, Conn., in Captain Tallman’s (Rhode Island Militia?)
company and later in Col. Elisha Sheldon’s Regiment of Dragoons. He served five
years and two months. Settled on lot 25 and was one of the twelve
Revolutionary soldiers who took up their residence here. He had a son, Lewis,
who in 1823 was “put out to a trade.”
COOK, LEMUEL Born: November
10, 1763
Died: May 20, 1866
Remarks:
A historical name in the town of Pompey, NY, he served two years and six
months, from December, 1780, in Colonel Sheldon’s Regiment of Light
Dragoons. In 1810 he was one of the subscribers toward the erection of
the famous Pompey Academy, and was one of the incorporators. He married twice. He married
Hannah Esther Curtis April 26th, 1783 in Cheshire, Conn. Hannah was
born on April 23rd, 1768. Hannah was the daughter of Thomas Curtis
III and Esther Benham. Hannah died
Sept. 15th, 1832 at age 64. He married Ruth Cooper about 1834
in Clarendon, NY. Ruth was born about 1787. Ruth died July 2nd, 1860
at age 73. The following is an excerpt from the reminiscences of a family
member: "Lemuel was the oldest and last living survivor of the American
Revolution and the last full pensioner of that war. He enlisted at age 16 and
was wounded several times. I can picture him marching alone in parades. He was
an active Mason and a life long Democrat. His church was Congregational. He
lived in Plymouth Conn. until 1890 when he moved to Clinton, NY. In 1795 he
returned to Plymouth (then Northbury) Conn. and moved to Pompey, NY. In 1805 he
moved to North Bergen in 1821 and to Clarendon, NY in 1832 where he died May 20th1866 (of old age,
being 102 years, 8 months and 10 days old.)
RENNSELLAER COUNTY
DOLE, JAMES
Rank: Lieutenant; Regt. or Co.: Col.:
Sheldon;
Residence: Lansingburg (now Troy NY); Remarks: 1) Wounded in hip
by a gunshot at King Street, NY on Aug. 17, 1780; 2) Conflicting citation states
captured at Camden (NJ or SC?) on Aug. 16, 1780. Enlisted May 7, 1777, was
subsequently promoted to lieutenant. He received commutation which was not
returned. James Dole became the Treasurer of the Lansingburgh (Troy) Museum. He
died in Lansingburgh November 5, 1821 at the age of 71 and is buried in the Old
Lansingburgh (a/k/a Troy) Cemetery.
Continued…
JANES, ELIJAH
Rank: Lieutenant;
Regt. or Co.: Col.: Sheldon;
Residence: Lansingburg (now Troy NY);
Remarks: Wounded by a horseman’s sword on the right wrist on Nov. 20,
1780. Commissioned as a lieutenant Nov. 16, 1779. He received commutation which
was not returned. In 1811 Elijah Janes
became one of the original directors of the Farmers Bank of Troy. He died
February 22, 1823 at the age of 64 and is buried in the Old Lansingburgh (a/k/a
Troy) Cemetery.
N.B. The friendship that
developed between Janes and Dole continued after the war and their move to
Lansingburgh, NY. Janes was Godfather to Dole’s daughter and was taken in by
Janes and his wife upon Dole’s death.
SCHUYLER COUNTY
TOWN OF CATHARINE
This excerpt is from the Journal of the State of NY, 34th
session, June 1841.
It shows Revolutionary War Veterans still
living in the Catharine, Schuyler Co. area in 1840:
CATLIN, PHINEAS. Remarks:
In 1792, Phineas Catlin, later known as Judge Catlin, took up a soldier’s
warrant for lands three miles from Montour Falls. He was Sergeant of
Dragoons under Col. Elisha Sheldon’s Continental Regiment, from June 1778 until
close of the war, enlisting when only 16.
WASHINGTON COUNTY
CRAWFORD, HENRY
Rank: Dragoon; Regt.
or Co.: Col.: Sheldon;
Residence: Washington Co.; Remarks:
Wounded by a musket ball in the thigh at Mile square in Nov. 1777; Enlisted May
7, 1777. Discharged Nov. 15, 1780.
Continued…
HODGE, ABEL Born: ??/??/1757 Died
??/??/1850
Remarks: Enlisted in Capt. Thomas Bull’s company of Sheldon’s
Connecticut Light Horse. Died in Shushan, NY.
OHIO
SUMMIT COUNTY
GALPIN, DANIEL
Born: December 31, 1757 Died: July
9, 1844
Remarks: From Berlin, CT, Galpin first served as a trooper and later as
a corporal from January-March, 1776 and 3 March 1777 to 12 June 1783. He was a
member of the Fourth troop, Col. Elisha Sheldon’s Light Dragoons, which served
along the Hudson and on the Westchester Front. He married Mehetable Dorr.
Daniel Galpin is buried at Glendale Cemetery, Section 2, Lot 58, Grave 5.
PENNSYLVANIA
FAYETTE COUNTY
DOUGHERTY, SAMUEL
Born: Unknown Died: Unknown Listed
on Pennsylvania Pension Records as having served with the “Connecticut Light
Dragoons”.
TIOGA COUNTY
ALDERMAN, EBENEZAR
(A/K/A GAD) Born: ??/??/??
Died: ??/??/??
Remarks: Enlisted as a
private in the Revolutionary War, on February 1, 1781, his term of service
being three years. He enlisted in Simsbury, Connecticut. He served at and
around Fairhaven, Connecticut. His occupation was that of a farmer. He was 5
feet 10 inches in height, had light blue eyes, brown hair and dark skin. He
belonged to Sheldon’s Dragons, under Benjamin Tallmadge, Major of 2nd
Regiment of Light Dragons. This can be verified by referring to the record of
Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution, pages 282 and 640, which may be
seen in the Newberry Library of Chicago, Illinois. Gad Alderman’s name also
occurs in Revolutionary Lists of Returns of Men, on pages 279 and 349 in the
same Library. The records state that the said Gad Alderman enlisted from
Simsbury instead of Sheffield.
BARNES, AMOS
Born: ??/??/1762
Died: ??/??/1814
Remarks: From Litchfield, CT, he served in Sheldon’s Dragoons.
SEELY,
EBENEZER Born:
??/??/??
Died: ??/??/??
Remarks: Seely
(for so he spelled his name) was a Revolutionary soldier. He served the seven
years of the war in Sheldon’s Light Horse-a Connecticut company. After the war
he emigrated to this State. He married Mehetabel Todd in Connecticut, by whom
he had ten children that grew to manhood and womanhood, married and produced
unto him 101 grandchildren. We regret our inability to give more details of his
service in the Revolutionary army. He did not become a Quaker until after his
settlement in Deerfield.
About 1789
Colonel Sheldon and his sons, Elisha Jr., George and Samuel, moved to Vermont.
Other settlers soon followed and the town's name was changed from Hungerford to
Sheldon in 1792. Colonel Sheldon and Elisha Jr. were elected selectmen at the
first town meeting, and Samuel was elected town clerk. Later Samuel was to
become the town's first justice of the peace and first representative to the
Vermont legislature. Elisha Sheldon served as one of the Presidential Electors
for Vermont in the 1796 election.
CHURCHILL, Elijah of Windsor/E. Windsor.
Answered the Lexington Alarm from East Windsor. Enlisted 5th Co. 8th
Continental Regiment, Col. Huntington, July 7, 1775; of Capt. Simons' Company,
Col. E. Wolcott's State Regiment, at Boston Jan. to March, 1776; enlisted Corp.
May 7, 1777, 4th Troop, Col. Sheldon's Light Dragoons. Described as a
carpenter, 5 ft. 9 in. tall brown complexion, gray eyes, dark hair, and as from
Enfield; but has been counted as from E. Windsor which supported his family.
SOURCE: [15] A History of the Town of Middlefield, Massachusetts, page 60;
Appen. E, page 378.
COLSTON, Joseph, BLW#5659-100 April 15
1776 to Nathaniel Ruggles, served as a private in Sheldon ‘s CT Dragoons (From
“Coulston Family Records.)
COLESON,
Joseph, Boston. Private, Col Elisha Sheldon’s 2nd Regt. of Light
Dragoons; Continental Army pay accounts for service from 4 April 1777 to 31 Dec
1779; also, return dated Durham, 22 Apr 1779; enlisted 4 Apr 1777; also, return
dated Fishkill, 18 June 1779; enlistment, during war; also, Capt. Nathaniel
Crafts’ Co., Col. Sheldon’s Regt. of Dragoons; depreciation roll to make good
the depreciation of wages for the first 3 years service in the Continental Army
from 1777 to 1780. Vol. 3, page 796. (From “Coulston Family Records”)
Capt. Davd Edgar’s Troop of Sheldon’s Light Horse
Capt. David Edgar
Morris DeCamp, Sergent in Sheldon’s
Light Dragoons
David
Martin (1760-1808) enlisted as a private, 1777, from Woodbridge, N. J., in Col.
Elisha Sheldon’s 2d regiment of Light Dragoons, Continental Army. He was born in
New Jersey; died in Woodbridge, N. J.
Samuel Adams (1753-1827) served as a private in the 4th troop, 2nd regiment, of Light Dragoons, commanded by Col. Elisha Sheldon, Continental Army. In 1818 he was placed on the Vermont pension roll. He was born in Canterbury, Conn.; died in Williamstown, Vt.
James Wells (1752-1781). Lt., 2nd Regt. of Light Dragoons, son of Edmond & Mary Welles. He died in Continental Service on Sept. 23, 1781, 29 years of age and is buried at Crump Pond (Crompond), NY Excerpts From The Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications For Sheldon’s Veterans:
DAY, Jonathan Private in Sheldon’s Dragoons CT BLWt 2729 issued 12/26/1789 to David Knap
DICKINSON, Silvanus, (1756-1832) enlisted, 1778, as
lieutenant in Captain Stoddard’s troop, Light Dragoons, Colonel Sheldon’s
regiment, Connecticut Line, and subsequently served as adjutant. He died in
Milford, Conn.
Hart, LewisWhile still a young man, but possessed with the courage of many thousands who had preceded him, and fired doubtless with the ambition to gain a greater success in life than was possible in the homeland, LEWIS HART, born in Devizes, England, March 26, 1757, sailed for America shortly prior to the outbreak of the War of the Revolution and settled at Stonington, Conn. He enlisted for military service against the country from which he had so recently migrated, and battled for six years for the freedom of the country of his adoption.He was a Trumpet Major in the 3rd Troop of Col. Sheldon’s Dragoons and the date of his enlistment was April 8, 1777. He served his full term and was honorably discharged in 1783. He is described as having been five feet seven inches in height, of light eyes and hair and a light complexion. He was later a seafaring man, a ship owner and a ship’s Captain, a vocation which was later followed by several of his descendants. In 1811, he, with Martin Warner, built a schooner of 170 tons burden, naming it after his eldest daughter “Nancy.” During the war of 1812, it was fired upon by the British off Bridgeport, Conn., and badly damaged and set on fire. The flames were extinguished, however, and the vessel saved. Later it was partly wrecked off the coast of Nantucket Island, but was again saved and repaired.
JAMISON, John (VA),
Originally enlisted for service in the 1st Continental Light
Dragoons, he later transferred as Lt. Colonel in Col. Sheldon’s
Cavalry Regiment; pension issued 8/10/1789 to Richard Platt,
assignee;-Nat’l Genealogical Soc.,p.595;
John Jameson, $655.00, Dragoons, Col. E. Shelton,
Connecticut, paid to January 1, 1784, Elijah Jones, paymaster.
John Jameson, $457. 45, Dragoons, Col. E. Shelton (sic),
etc.
John Jameson, $1,500.00, Dragoons, Col. E. Shelton (sic) etc., etc. John Jameson,
$1,500.00, Dragoons, Col. E. Shelton (sic) etc., etc., etc. John Jameson,
$1,425.00, Dragoons, Col. E. Shelton (sic) etc., etc., etc., etc. John Jameson, $75.00, Dragoons, Col. E. Shelton (sic) etc.,
etc.
EXCERPTS OF DAR DESCENDANTS OF
SHELDON’S VETERANS
PIERCE'S REGISTER, 17TH
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY OF THE D.A.R, 1976
"Register of the certificates issued by John Pierce,
Esquire, Paymaster General and Commissioner of Army Accounts for the United
States" to officers and soldiers of the Continental Army under act of July
4, 1783.
Issued 10/7/1789 to Benjamin Tallmadge. No papers.
________________________________________________________________________
PVT Joseph KING Amer. REV. War was born on 15 Apr 1741 in
Suffield, Hartford, CT.
He died on 19 Mar 1814 in Suffield, Hartford, CT.
He was buried on 20 Mar 1814 in Suffield, Hartford, CT.
Joseph King was a soldier in the American Rev. War
On the first call of the Lexington Alarm he was in Capt.
Elisha Kent’s Co with 18 days service at that time. Thereafter he was in Col.
Joseph Spencer’s Regiment, Captain Oliver Hanchet’s Company [of which his
brother Eliphalet King was Ensign] from May 8, to Dec 17, 1776. Then in Brig.
Gen. Erastus Wolcott’s Brigade at Peekskill, Col. Belden’s Regiment Capt.
Edward Griswold’s Co. April 7, to May 11, 1777. Afterward for 8 months in Capt.
John Hancock’s Co. of Suffield May 27, 1777 to Jan. 1st, 1778. Then
in the 4th Reg. Conn. Line and finally enlisted for 3 years in
Sheldon’s Dragoons Jan 7, 1781. He is described on the enlistment rolls as
Joseph King of Suffield, 5ft 7in high, light complexion, hair and eyes. [Record
of service of CT. men in the war of the Revolution [pp. 22, 52, 187, 283, 495
and 643] compiled by Authority of the General Assembly under the direction of
Adj. General of CT. Hartford, 1889] “
Continued…
Mrs. Catharine Hawley Fitch.
DAR ID Number: 21716
Born in Middlebury, Vermont.
Wife of Theodore Fitch.
Descendant of Col. John Ely, Charles Coe and Lieut. Joshua King.
Joshua King, (1758-1839), served as cornet of Continental dragoons, lieutenant,
1779, wounded at Eutaw Springs and served to the close of the war. He was born
in Braintree, Mass.; died in Ridgfield, Conn.
The National Society of the Daughters
of the American Revolution Volume 159
page 181
Miss Hazel Caldwell.
DAR ID Number: 158613
Born in Lewis County, Mo.
Descendant of David Martin.
David Martin (1760-1808) enlisted as a private, 1777, from Woodbridge, N. J.,
in Col. Elisha Sheldon’s 2d regiment of Light Dragoons, Continental Army. He
was born in New Jersey; died in Woodbridge, N. J.
Mrs. Harriet Whitney Powe Baldwin.
DAR ID Number: 10393
Born in Connecticut.
Wife of Frank G. Baldwin.
Descendant of Abraham Batholomew, of Connecticut.
Abraham Bartholomew served in Sheldon’s Light Dragoons in the defense of the
Hudson. He died in 1785 at Farmington, where he was born in 1732.
·
DEATH: 1849
Sgt in Capt. Webb’s Co., Col. Sheldon’s Regiment of
Dragoons in Revolutionary War.
BOSTWICK, ANDREW(1754-1830), enlisted, 1777, from Waterbury, and served as corporal in Col. Elisha Sheldon’s Light Dragoons. He was born in Roxbury, died in Southbury, Conn.
The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume 52 Page 59 DAR ID Number: 51131; Volume 123 Page 9 DAR ID Number: 122027
Volume 63 page 146
Mrs. Harriet Catlin SANFORD Briggs. DAR ID Number: 62438 Born in
Chenango County, N. Y.
Wife of Byron S. Briggs.
Descendant of David Catlin.
David Catlin (1747-1839) enlisted, 1775, in a company of Horse, under Capt.
Moses Seymour, to defend New York. He served in the Burgoyne campaign and in
the Danbury raid. In 1832 he applied for a pension in Litchfield, Conn., and it
was allowed for nearly twelve months’ actual service as private, Connecticut
Line. He was born in Litchfield, Conn.; died in Rondout (Kingston), N. Y. Also
No. 41302.
Mrs.
Maud Sterling Brusie.
DAR ID Number: 24834
Born in Cleveland, Ohio.
Wife of Charles S. Brusie.
Descendant of Maj. John Canfield, of Connecticut.
John Canfield, (1740-86), served as brigade major in Sheldon’s Light Horse and
was with it at Saratoga. He was born in New Milford; died in Sharon.
Mrs. Mary Blakslee Elwell.DAR ID Number: 98606Born in Colesville, N. Y.Wife of W. D. Elwell.Descendant of Eaton Jones, Jr.
Eaton Jones, Jr. (1762-1838),
was pensioned as private in Captain Stanton’s company, Col. Elisha Sheldon’s
Light Dragoons. He was born in Connecticut; died in Litchfield.
A PARTIAL LIST OF MEN WHO SERVED AS DRAGOONS AT THE
BATTLES OF SARATOGA
ABBEY, Eliphalet A Private of Sheldon’s Continental Dragoons.
BOSTWICK, Andrew:Served in Light Dragoons Company commanded by John Lewis of the 2nd Regiment Light Dragoons commanded by Colonel Elisha Sheldon, a cavalry unit. CANFIELD, John EVERETT, Andrew CT
Served in Capt. John Watson’s Co., Col. Sheldon’s 2nd CTDragoons. Additional military history: enlisted, 1776, as a private in Capt. Noadiah Hooker’s company, Col. Erastus Wolcott’s regiment. He was in the battleof Harlem. In 1832 he was placed on the pension rolls of Vernon NY.Other: he was born 1755 in Woodbury CT, died 1833 in Vernon NY. GILBERT, Asahel CT
Trumpeter in Capt. Thomas Seymour’s Co., Sheldon’s Light DragoonsAdditional military history: was also at Pound Ridge, NY. In 1818 he applied fora pension in Troy, N. Y., and it was allowed for two years as trumpeter.Other: he was born 1760 in Hebron CT, died 1852 in Galesburg IL. SEYMOUR, Thomas Y. CT
Lieutenant in the 2nd Continental Regiment of Dragoons.After the Battles of Saratoga escorted General Burgoyne to Boston. He was born in Hartford CT, 19 Jun 1757, died there 16 May 1811. VERNEJOUX, Jean Louis De
Was a Captain in the 2nd Continental Dragoons. **HYDE, Elijah CT
Major, CT Light Horse regiment.
Additional military history: was appointed major of Light Horse in 1776.Wounded at Stillwater, 7 Oct 1777.Other: He was born 1735 in Norwich and died 1800 in Lebanon CT. AN EXCERPT FROM
Nimham’s Indian Company of 1778
The Events Leading up to the Stockbridge Massacre
of August 31, 1778
by Richard S. Walling
…Of the other men in the Indian
Company, most returned to their regiments. Upon his return from captivity,
Jabez Pottage served out the war with the 7th CT as did friend
Joseph Read. When discharged after three years of service, Pottage joined
Sheldon’s Dragoons in 1781. In fact, the entire corps of Light Infantry was
disbanded in the early fall, and the men went back to their regiments in
preparation for going into winter quarters…
AWARDED FOR
VALOR – THE BADGE OF MILITARY MERIT
Originally
established as the Badge of Military Merit, the Purple Heart was first awarded
to 26-year-old Sgt. Elijah Churchill, a member of the 4th Troop, Second
Continental Dragoons.
On the
afternoon of November 21st, 1780, Sergeant Churchill accompanied Major
Tallmadge with a party of 50 - 80 dismounted dragoons in a raid against a
supply depot on Long Island. After crossing Long Island Sound at night in eight
whaleboats they landed on a deserted shore but were held up by a storm. They
marched to Fort St. George at Mastic, at dawn on the 23rd.
The fort was a
triangular enclosure which held several acres. At two angles were fortified
houses and at the third, a strong redoubt, 96 feet square with bastions, a deep
moat, and an abatis. The fort was connected to the houses by 12-foot high
stockades. Sergeant Churchill was in charge of one of the three attacking parties.
At dawn the invaders rammed their way through the stockade. Shouting
"Washington and Glory," they ran across the parade ground and stormed
the redoubt from 3 sides. The fort was quickly taken, 300 prisoners were
captured, and the fort was destroyed. Several heavily laden vessels at the
wharf were burned and over three hundred tons of hay burned at a depot in
nearby Coram.
On October 2nd
1781 Churchill took part in a second raid, crossing the sound from Compo Point
in Westport with a force of 100 men from his 2nd Continental Dragoons and from
the 5th Connecticut Infantry Regiment. Their objective was the British outpost
at Fort Slongo, near present day Northport. Fort Slongo was an embankment
forming a hollow 50-foot square, constructed of trees set perpendicularly and
filled with earth. It was a notorious rendezvous for Tories and Loyalists, with
a usual compliment of 80 - 140 men who frequently raided neighboring farms,
seizing stores of produce and cattle. The successful attack resulted in the
destruction of a quantity of artillery, small arms and ammunition. Sergeant
Churchill was the only one wounded in the raid which captured 21 prisoners.
The order
conferring the Badge of Military Merit to Sergeant Churchill reads in part:
General
Washington Esquire
General and Commander in Chief of the Forces
of the United States of America, etc., etc.
That Sergeant
Elijah Churchill of the 2nd Regiment of Light Dragoons, in the several
enterprises against Fort St. George and Fort Slongo on Long Island, acted in a
very conspicuous and singularly meritorious part; that at the head of each body
of attack he not only acquitted himself with great gallantry, firmness, and
address; but that the surprise in one instance, and the success of the attack
in the other, proceeded in a considerable degree from his conduct and
management;..."
"Now
therefore Know Ye, that the aforesaid Sergeant Elijah Churchill, hath fully and
truly deserved, and has been properly invested with the Honorary Badge of
Military Merit, and is authorized to pass and re-pass all guards and military
posts as fully and amply as any Commissioned Officer whatever; and is hereby
recommended to that favorable notice which a Brave and Faithful Soldier
deserves from his countrymen.”
Sergeant Elijah
Churchill had gone with the East Windsor Minuteman on the Lexington alarm but
was living in Enfield, Connecticut when he joined the Second Regiment of Light
Dragoons in 1777. Churchill was promoted to Corporal, then Sergeant, and became
a trusted aide to Major Benjamin Tallmadge, who was in charge of the
Headquarters Secret Service. Tallmadge made daring forays behind the enemy
lines and had contact with a vast ring of loyal secret agents. Churchill was
often detailed as the senior Non-commissioned Officer on Tallmadge's raids. In
November, 1780, a patriot spy on Long Island reported that the British and
Loyalists had stored tons of winter hay and other supplies at "Coram, and
that nearby Fort Saint George was susceptible to capture "by a daring
stroke." Tallmadge volunteered to lead the raid using two hand-picked
companies of dismounted Dragoons for the job. The 40 soldiers were joined by 20
whaleboat men tinder master Caleb Brewster who regularly crossed Long Island
Sound in the patriot's cause.
Tallmadge marched his troops to Fairfield, Connecticut across from Setauket.
There they waited through a blustery eight-day November storm. On the afternoon
of the 21st the storm abated, and with four hours of steady rowing the raiders
crossed the sound to Long Island. They landed at Old Man's Point just as a
driving "sou' easter" began to blow. They had to lie in a forest
hiding their boats all through the night and the next day while they waited for
the storm to end. The men were cut off from help behind British lines in an
area crawling with thousands of enemy troops. At dusk the storm slowed and they
crossed the island to surround Fort Saint George at dawn. Tallmadge divided his
troops into three squads, each assigned a separate blockhouse to attack. He
headed one group, Captain Edgar another Sergeant Churchill led the third, the
Pioneers, armed with axes and bayonets to break through the defenses. A British
guard saw the Americans advancing. He fired a warning shot and was bayoneted by
Churchill, who led his 15 men across a fortified ditch. They swarmed the
stockade and hacked their way into the blockhouse. The other squads met with
more resistance from the British. Churchill and his men turned to attack the
other blockhouses, and in ten minutes the fort was captured. Seven British soldiers
were killed and more than 50 prisoners taken. They were bound together and
forced to carry the usable supplies from the fort. Lookouts spotted several
small supply ships in the harbor and aiming the cannons from the captured fort,
sank them. One detachment marched the prisoners across the island. Another
stayed to burn the fort and supplies while Tallmadge and Churchill, with a
special squad, raced eight miles to Coram to burn the stored hay.
The force reassembled half-way across the island as the confused British rushed
to put out the fires. British leaders believed a large patriot army had taken
Long Island and waited for reinforcements to assemble before mounting a massive
counterattack. The raiders overcame scattered British units, reached Brewster's
boats and were rowed back to Connecticut. In less than two days they had
traveled 40 miles through rough water, marched 40 miles through enemy
territory, stormed, captured and destroyed a fort and several small vessels,
burned more than 300 tons of hay and captured 50 prisoners without losing a
man.
Tallmadge's spies continued to report British activity on Long Island, and in
October 1781 Tallmadge planned another lightning raid across the Sound. Major
Lemuel Trescott led a group of soldiers from the 5th Connecticut Regiment and
Second Light Dragoons against Fort Slongo. Sergeant Elijah Churchill was again
the ranking NCO. They crossed the sound on the night of October 2 and attacked
the fort within seven hours. Even Tallmadge expected the force would need to
lure the British from their defenses with a diversionary action, but Churchill
led a bold frontal assault. The attacking force hit with such surprise that the
fort fell in minutes. Only four Loyalists were killed before the fort was
surrendered. The Americans incurred no injuries. Again the raiders crossed the
sound with prisoners and quantities of small arms, ammunition and clothing,
leaving behind a destroyed fort and a bewildered enemy.
In both incidents Churchill was at the front of the assaults and astounded his
peers with his daring. His Badge of Military Merit citation praised him for
enacting a: very conspicuous and singularly meritorious part that at the head
of each body of attack he not only acquitted himself with great gallantry, firmness
and address but that the surprise in one instance and the success of the attack
in the other proceeded in a considerable degree form his conduct and
management.