Last updated: November 10, 2024
Person
Benjamin Warren
Quick Facts
Date of Birth:
1738
Place of Death:
Stillwater, NY
Date of Death:
September 19, 1777
Benjamin Warren (born 1738) of Winchester, New Hampshire, was one of the many transplants from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island who sought new opportunities in New Hampshire, Vermont (then the Hampshire Grants), and New York following the successful conclusion of the French and Indian War in 1763. He and his wife, Margaret, were parents of at least three young children: Eusebia, Benjamin Jr. (born 1772), and John (born 1774).
Despite New Hampshire’s desperate springtime pleas for men to volunteer in the Continental Army in 1777, Benjamin didn’t want to take part. Was it because he needed to focus attention on his farm? His family? Nevertheless, Benjamin was selected via draft on May 9 to serve in Captain Ellis’s company of Colonel Alexander Scammell’s 3rd New Hampshire Regiment. He opted to serve for the shortest term possible – 8 months – after which he would be discharged and allowed to return home to his family. Benjamin’s appointment to the rank of corporal in the company suggests that he had previous military experience, perhaps during the French and Indian War.
1777 was a challenging year for the 3rd New Hampshire Regiment, and elements of the corps fought in the July 7 Battle of Hubbardton, the July 8 Battle of Fort Anne, and in other skirmishes with the British Army from Canada. Beaten, threadbare, hungry, wet, and suffering from cold nighttime temperatures, soldiers of the American Northern Army retreated in the face of British domination. Finally, by mid-September, the Northern Army was ready to defend United States sovereignty at Bemus Heights, located just north of Stillwater, New York.
The British advanced toward Bemus Heights on September 19 and the subsequent Battle of Freeman’s Farm was fought. The 3rd New Hampshire Regiment was hotly engaged and took a great number of casualties in the fighting. Benjamin, the 38-year-old husband, father, and corporal, was killed.
Benjamin was probably buried by the victorious British in an unmarked trench-grave near where he was killed.