The Society Of the Cincinnati in The State of Connecticut

The Capture of the Hessians at Trenton, December 26, 1776-1828. Left: Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (1740-1809) - Speaker of the Us House of Representatives. Right: Jonathan Trumbull Sr. (1710-1785) - Governor of Connecticut
The Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775. Right: William Hull (1753-1825) - Lieutenant-Colonel in the Continental Army
The Resignation of General Washington, December 23, 1783. Left: Thomas Y. Seymour (1757-1811) - Lieutenant in the 2nd Continental Regiment of the Dragoons
The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, January 1777

Category Archive: 1st Connecticut

  • Ensign Ebenezer Daggett

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    Birth:

    Ebenezer Dagget was born at New Haven, Connecticutt on 21 December 1760. He was the son of the Rev. Naphtali Daggett, D.D., and Sarah.

    Death:

    Ebenezer Dagget died of smallpox on 20 November 1781 at Head of Elk, Maryland on the return march from Virginia and Yorktown.

    Military:

    Ensign 7th Connecticut 20th June, 1779; transferred to 1st Connecticut, 1st January, 1781; died 20th November, 1781.

    Discussion:

    Two of Ebenezer Daggett’s siblings had issue. His brother, Henry (1758-1843), married Anna Ball. They had nine children. His brother, Ezra (1765-1844), married Eunice Tuttle. They had eleven children.

    Ebenezer’s brother, Henry Daggett, served as a Lieutenant with the 2d Connecticut until 3 June 1783. During course of the war Henry Daggett not only lost his brother, he lost his father.

    During the British raid of New Haven, Connecticut in July 1779, Ebenezer’s father, the Rev. Naphtali Daggett, took up arms against them. He actively opposed the British, incited his students at Yale against them, and openly preached and prayed against them. British troops captured him and after beating him severely left him for dead. He was taken to a nearby house, and when the British troops came to collect him as a prisoner, the mistress of the house refused to surrender him. He died 18 months later from the effects of his beating by British troops.

    References:

    Connecticut. Adjutant-General’s Office. Record of Service of Connecticut Men In the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War. Hartford: [Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co.], 1889. p. 352.

    Samuel Bradlee Doggett, A History of the Doggett-Daggett Family. Boston: Press of Rockwell and Churchill, 1894. pp. 119-120 & 147

    Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution April, 1775, to December, 1783. Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914. p. 184.

    Henry Phelps Johnston, Yale and her honor-roll in the American revolution, 1775-1783. New York : Privately printed [by G.P. Putnam’s Sons], 1888. p. 340.

    Biographical information compiled by V. Allen Gray.

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  • Capt Richard Douglas/Douglass (CT/NY)

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    Death:

    Richard Douglas died in 1816.

    Military:

    Private in the Lexington Alarm, April, 1775; Ensign and Regimental Quartermaster in Selden’s Connecticut State Regiment, 20th June to 25th December, 1776; 2d Lieutenant 1st Connecticut, 1st January, 1777; 1st Lieutenant, 1st January 1778; Captain Lieutenant, 11th August, 1780; Captain, 22d August 1780; transferred to 5th Connecticut, 1st January, 1781; transferred to 3d Connecticut, 1st January, 1783; transferred to Swift’s Consolidated Connecticut Regiment, June, 1783, and served to 3d November, 1783.

    References:

    Connecticut, Adjutant-General’s Office. Record of Service of Connecticut Men In the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War. Hartford: [Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co.], 1889. p. 353.

    Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution April, 1775, to December, 1783. Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914. p. 202.

    Military service posted by V. Allen Gray.

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  • Capt Jonathan Heart/Hart

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    Birth:

    Jonathan Heart was born in 1748 in Kensington, Connecticut, a part of Farmington. He was the second son of Deacon Ebenezer Hart and his wife, Elizabeth Lawrence Hart. Deacon Hart was a descendant of Stephan Hart, who was among the early settlers of Hartford and Farmington.

    Ebenezer and Elizabeth had five sons: Ebenezer Hart, born 29 July 1742, who removed to New Hampshire. Jonathan Hart, our subject, born in 1748. Elihu Hart, born 4 March 1751, who removed to New York where he failed in business and died in debtor’s prison at Coxsackie, New York. Doctor John Hart born 11 March 1753, who served in the army as a surgeon, and died 3 October 1798. Thomas Hart, born in 1754, never married, and died in 1832. Thomas Hart adopted Lydia Hart, the daughter of his brother Ebenezer.

    Death:

    Jonathan Heart, serving as a Major with the 2d United States Infantry, was killed 04 November 1791 while covering the retreat of Gen. St. Clair’s army after it was surprised and defeated near the source of the Maumee River in Ohio. A month later, his remains were identified and subsequently buried with remains of others from the battlefield. St. Clair’s army consisted of men from the militias of Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and North Carolina along with a battalion of the 2d United States Infantry. Of St. Clair’s force of over 1,400 men, 632 were killed and 264 wounded in the battle.

    Marriage:

    Jonathan Heart married to Abigail Riley in 1777. On 03 August 1797, nearly six years after the death of Jonathan Heart, Abigail married the Rev. Cyprian Strong of Chatham, Connecticut.

    Children:

    Jonathan Heart left one child, a son, Alces Everlin Heart who was born 10 October 1782. Alces Everlin Heart was married to Charlotte Overton. They had no children.

    Education:

    Jonathan Heart graduated from Yale College in 1768.

    Occupation:

    Shortly after graduating from Yale, Jonathan Heart removed to New Jersey where he served as a district schoolmaster until about 1773 when he returned to Farmington, Connecticut. There he was engaged in mercantile operations. When war broke out, he turned his business over to his brother and enlisted in Putnam’s battalion of Connecticut militia. He participated in the Battle of Bunker Hill.

    Military:

    Served as a volunteer with 2d Connecticut, May to December, 1775; Ensign 22d Continental Infantry, 1st January, 1776; 2d Lieutenant, 10th August, 1776; Adjutant 3d Connecticut, 1st January, 1777; Captain Lieutenant, 1st July 1779; Captain, 1st May, 1780; transferred to 1st Connecticut, 1st January, 1781; Brigade Major and Inspector, 2nd January, 1781 to June, 1783; retained in Swift’s Connecticut Battalion in June, 1783, and served to 3d November, 1783.

    At the end of the war, Jonathan Heart returned homw to a failed business. After attempting to establish a career as a surveyor, he enlisted in the Army. He served as a Captain United States Infantry Regiment, 9th June, 1785; Captain 1st United States Infantry, 29th September, 1789; and Major 2d United States Infantry, 4th March 1791. He was shot and killed on 04 November 1791 in action with Indians during St. Clair’s defeat near Fort Recovery, Ohio.

    Cincinnati:

    Jonathan Heart was a original member.

    Discussion:

    Jonathan Heart’s younger brother, John Heart, also served as an officer in the Revolution. Jonathan and his brother, John, both spelled their surname as “Heart” rather than “Hart”.

    Jonathan Heart was a member of one of two traveling Masonic Lodges at West Point, American Union No. 1. Among the other members were Col. Samuel Wyllys, Lt. Robert Allyn, Capt. Stephen Betts, Dr. John Simpson, Dr. Jedediah Ensworth, Col. Rufus Putnam, Lt. Isaac Tiffany and others of the Connecticut Line. Dr. Simpson was the lodge Secretary.

    References:

    Edward M. Coffman. The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784-1898. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. pp. 5, 25 & 35

    Connecticut. Adjutant-General’s Office. Record of Service of Connecticut Men In the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War. Hartford: [Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co.], 1889. pp. 351 & 373.

    Jonathan Heart, Journal of Capt. Jonathan Heart On the March With His Company From Connecticut to Fort Pitt, In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Albany, N.Y.: J. Munsell’s sons, 1885. pp. viii – xiii.

    Gary L. Heinmiller, Membership in American Union Lodge No. 1 during the Revolutionary War. (http://www.omdhs.syracusemasons.com/sites/default/files/history/American%20Union%20Lodge%20No.%201%20-%20Membership.pdf)

    Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution April, 1775, to December, 1783. Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914. p. 283.

    Francis B. Heitman. Historical Register of the United States Army, From Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to September 29, 1889. Washington, D.C.: National Tribune, 1890. p. 333.

    James Ripley Jacobs. The Beginning of the U.S. Army, 1782-1812. Fort Washington, N.Y.: Kennikat Press, 1972. pp. 32-33 & 89,

    Henry Phelps Johnston, Yale And Her Honor-roll In the American Revolution, 1775-1783: Including Original Letters, Records of Service, And Biographical Sketches. New York: Privately printed [by G.P. Putnam’s Sons], 1888. pp. 252-254.

    Catherine M. North, History of Berlin, Connecticut. New Haven: Tuttle, 1916. pp. 65-66.

    Wiley Sword. President Washington’s Indian War: the struggle for the Old Northwest, 1790-1795. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1993. pp 82, 181 & 184.

    Biographical information compiled by V. Allen Gray

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  • Lt-Col Ebenezer Huntington

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    Death:

    Ebenezer Huntington died on 17 June 1834.

    Military:

    Served in the Lexington Alarm, April, 1775; 1st Lieutenant 2d Connecticut, 8th September to 10th December, 1775; 1st Lieutenant 22d Continental Infantry, 1st January, 1776; Captain , May, 1776; Brigade Major to General Heath, August, 1776; Major of Webb’s Continental Regiment, 1st January, 1777; Lieutenant Colonel, 10th October, 1778; transferred to 1st Connecticut, 1st January, 1783; retained in Swift’s Connecticut Regiment, June, 1783, and served to 3d November, 1783; Brigadier General United States Army, 19th July, 1798; honorably discharged, 15th June, 1800.

    References:

    Connecticut, Adjutant-General’s Office. Record of Service of Connecticut Men In the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War. Hartford: [Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co.], 1889. p. 354.

    Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution April, 1775, to December, 1783. Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914. p. 310.

    Military service posted by V. Allen Gray.

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  • Lt John Mansfield

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    Birth:

    John Mansfield was born in 1748. He was the son of Moses Mansfield (1709-1754) and Ann Mary Kierstead (1709-1742)

    Death:

    He died at Wallingford, Connecticut on 01 June 1823. His obituary appeared in the Connecticut Herald on 10 June:

    At Wallingford, on the 2d inst. Capt. John Mansfield, in the 75th year of his age – He served his country faithfully during the Revolutionary War—was the same man (then Lieut. Mansfield) who commanded the ”Forlorn Hope”, at the storming of the redoubts at Yorktown—and whose name was honorably mentioned by Col. Hamilton, the Commander of the Detachment—he received a wound in that attack, which would have entitled him to a pension, but he refused to apply for it. When peace was concluded and the Independence of his country acknowledged, he was discharged from the service, with a captain’s commission and the thanks of the Commander and Chief. Poor in purse, but rich in honor, he returned to his family, and by strenuous exertions, succeeded in accumulating a small property. When the pension law was passed in 1818, his friends believed he was entitled to the benefit of that act; he petitioned and received a pension until the law was amended – the stipend was then withdrawn, on the ground that he was not wholly destitute of property, (although his circumstances were far from affluent.) He sustained through life the character of an industrious, honorable, upright man, died lamented by all the friends of worth who knew him.

    Marriage:

    John Mansfield was twice married. First to Sybil Sexton on 20 February 1772, and second to Esther Lewis.

    Children:

    He had two children: Ira Mansfield who settled at Atwater, Ohio, and Sybil Mansfield who married John Hiddleson of Georgetown, South Carolina. Ira Mansfield, who married Susan Kirtland, died at Atwater in 1849. Sybil Hiddleson and her husband, John, both died in Wallingford, Connecticut.

    Occupation:

    Farmer.

    Military:

    Sergeant 1st Connecticut, 1st May to 28th November, 1775; Ensign of Douglas’ Connecticut State Regiment, 20th June to 25th December, 1776; 2d Lieutenant 6th Connecticut, 1st January, 1777; 1st Lieutenant, 18th April, 1779; transferred to 4th Connecticut, 1st January, 1781; wounded at Yorktown, 14th October 1781; transferred to 2d Connecticut, 1st January, 1783, and served to 3d June, 1783.

    A more expansive discussion of John Mansfield’s military service follows:

    John Mansfield was a Sergeant in the company of Isaac Cook, Jr., in the 1st regiment, Colonel David Wooster, raised on the first call for troops in April-May, 1775. He served in New York and on Long Island during the summer. In September, his unit marched to the Northern Department, where it served under General Schuyler about Lakes George and Champlain. In October, he was present at the reduction of St. Johns. He was discharged 28 November 1775.

    In June, 1776, he was Ensign of the 6th company of the 5th battalion, Wadsworth’s brigade, commanded by Colonel William Douglas, raised to reinforce Washington’s army at New York. He served in the city and at the right of the line during the Battle of Long Island, 27 August; was at the battle of White Plains, 28 October, and continued in service until 25 December 1776. He reenlisted in the Connecticut Line on 01 January 1777. On 14 March 1777, he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the 6th regiment, Connecticut Line which was raised to continue through the war. The regiment went into camp at Peekskill in the summer and served during the fall in Parsons’ brigade on the Hudson. It wintered, 1777-78, at West Point and in the summer was encamped with the main army at White Plains. It wintered, 1778-79, at Redding, and in the summer of 1779 served on the east side of the Hudson. It wintered, 1779-80, at Morristown Huts, New Jersey, and in the summer of 1780, it served on both sides of the Hudson. It wintered, 1780-81, at camp “Connecticut Village,” opposite West Point, and there consolidated for formation of 1781-1783. In this formation, John Mansfield continued as a Lieutenant in the 4th regiment, Connecticut Line, and was present with the regiment at Yorktown.

    In the attack upon Redoubt #10 at Yorktown, a “forlorn hope” of 20 men under Lieutenant Mansfield led the column. Mansfield was among the first to enter the redoubt and received a bayonet wound. The entire action was accomplished in less than 10 minutes in which under furious fire the attacking troops climbed over or broke through obstructions, crossed a defensive ditch, scaled the parapet and captured the redoubt. Lt. Col. Alexander Hamilton reported that Mansfield, of Lt. Col. Jean-Joseph Sourbader de Gimat’s battalion, deserved particular recognition for his “coolness, firmness, and punctuality”.

    In the formation of January-June, 1783, he continued as Lieutenant in the 2nd Regiment, Connecticut Line, commanded by Colonel Heman Swift, in service at West Point and vicinity, until in early June when the regiment was disbanded with the greater portion of the army by orders of Washington.

    Cincinnati:

    Original member.

    Sources:

    Frances Atwater, comp. Centenniel of Meriden, June 10-16, 1906. Meriden, CT: Journal Publishing Company, 1906. pp 232-233.

    Frederic William Bailey. Early Connecticut marriages as found on ancient church records prior to 1800.. vol. 4. New Haven, Conn.: Bureau of American ancestry, 1899. p. 61.

    Connecticut. Adjutant-General’s Office. Record of Service of Connecticut Men In the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War. Hartford: [Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co.], 1889.

    “Died”. Connecticut Herald. New Haven, Connecticut. 10 June 1823. p 3., col. 4.

    William Richard Cutter. Genealogical and family history of the state of Connecticut: a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation. vol. 4. New York: Lewis historical publishing company. 1911. pp 1734 & 1738-1739.

    Charles Henry Stanley Davis, History of Wallingford, Conn., From Its Settlement In 1670 to the Present Time, Including Meriden, Which Was One of Its Parishes Until 1806, And Cheshire, Which Was Incorporated In 1780. Meriden: The author, 1870. p. 847.

    Eckenrode, H. J. Official guidebook of the Yorktown sesquicentennial celebration, October 16-19, 1931. Richmond: Virginia Yorktown sesquicentennial commission, 1931. p. 14.

    “Letter from Alexander Hamilton to Marquis de Lafayette, [15 October 1781],” Founders Online, National Archives (http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-02-02-1200-0001 [last update: 2015-12-30]). Source: The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, vol. 2, 1779–1781, ed. Harold C. Syrett. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961. pp. 679–681.

    Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution April, 1775, to December, 1783. Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914. p. 378.

    Henry Phelps Johnson, The Yorktown Campaign And the Surrender of Cornwallis, 1781. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1881. pp. 145-146.

    J. E. Norris, R. C. Brown, Warner & Beers. History of Portage County, Ohio: Containing a history of the county, its townships, towns, villages, schools, churches, industries, etc; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; biographies; history of the Northwest territory; history of Ohio; statistical and miscellaneous matter, etc., etc. . . Chicago: Warner, Beers & co., 1885. p 583.

    Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 15. Fold3.com(http://www.fold3.com/image/23586654/). Connecticut. John J.

    Sons of the American Revolution. Connecticut Society. Year-book of the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution for 1897-1898. [S.l.]: Committee on Publication, Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, 1900. p. 537.

    Biographical information compiled by V. Allen Gray.

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  • 2nd Lt Isaiah Tiffany

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    Birth:

    Isaiah Tiffany was born at Lebanon, Connecticut on 16 February 1759. He was the son of John Tiffany and Mary Meacham.

    Death:

    He died at New Canaan, New York on 12 December 1800.

    Marriage:

    On 4 June 1789, Isaiah Tiffany married Anne Whiting (1762-1830).

    Children:

    The children of Isaiah Tiffany and his wife, Anne, were as follows: Nancy Whiting Tiffany (1791-1849) who married Elihu Phinney; John Lathrop Tiffany (1792-1878) who married Abbey Hoadley; Frederick Trench Tiffany (1795-1863) who married Hetty Elvira Moore; Harriet Bradford Tiffany (1798-1830) who married Charles S. Stewart; and Isaiah Whiting Tiffany (1801-1889) who married Mary Metcalf in early May 1826 at Albany, New York. Mary was the daughter of the late Judge Metcalf. Isaiah Whiting Tiffany was survived by a son and a daughter.

    Military:

    Corporal 1st Connecticut, 14th April, 1777; Sergeant 1st June, 1777; Ensign, 1st January 1778; transferred to 5th Connecticut 1st January, 1781; 2d Lieutenant, 22nd April, 1781; transferred to 2d Connecticut, 1st January 1783; retained in Swift’s Connecticut Regiment 3d June 1783, and served to 3d November, 1783.

    Isaiah Tiffany fought in 18 battles, including Monmouth and Yorktown, and was at Valley Forge. He was one of the forlorn hope in the storming of the redoubts at Yorktown. He was present at the hanging of Major Andre.

    References:

    ”Married”. Albany (New York) Argus, 11 May 1826, p. 3.

    Connecticut, Adjutant-General’s Office. Record of Service of Connecticut Men In the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War. Hartford: [Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co.], 1889. p. 353.

    Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution April, 1775, to December, 1783. Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914. p. 543.

    ”Isaiah Tiffany”. New York (New York) Tribune, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 07 August 1889, p. 7.

    Nelson Otis Tiffany, The Tiffanys of America: History And Genealogy. Buffalo: N. O. Tiffany, 1901. pp. 126-127.

    ”Died”. Western Star, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, 19 January 1801, p. 3.

    Biographical information compiled by V. Allen Gray.

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  • Lt Robert Allyn/Allen

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    Death:

    Robert Allyn died in 1811.

    Military:

    Sergeant 1st Connecticut, 10th February, 1777; Ensign, 1st November, 1777; 2d Lieutenant, 1st July, 1780; transferred to 5th Connecticut, 1st January, 1781; retired 1st January, 1783.

    References:

    Connecticut, Adjutant-General’s Office. Record of Service of Connecticut Men In the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War. Hartford: [Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co.], 1889. p. 353.

    Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution April, 1775, to December, 1783. Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914. p. 70.

    Military service posted by V. Allen Gray.

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  • Capt Lemuel Clift

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    Death:

    Lemuel Clift died in 1821.

    Military:

    Private in the Lexington Alarm, April, 1775; Sergeant 6th Connecticut, 6th May to 15th December, 1775; Ensign 10th Continental Infantry, 1st January, 1776; 1st Lieutenant 4th Connecticut, 1st January 1777; Captain Lieutenant, 1st June 1778; Captain, 20th May, 1779; transferred to 1st Connecticut, 1st January 1781; retained in Swift’s Connecticut Regiment June, 1783, and served to 3d November, 1783.

    References:

    Connecticut, Adjutant-General’s Office. Record of Service of Connecticut Men In the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War. Hartford: [Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co.], 1889. p. 355.

    Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution April, 1775, to December, 1783. Washington, D.C.: The Rare Book Shop Publishing Company, 1914. p. 160.

    Military service posted by V. Allen Gray.

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