William Miller, Philadelphian

Miller entered the Royal Irish on 27 May 1771 most likely somewhere near Philadelphia. He was originally assigned to the General’s Coy. So he may have travelled to Ft. Pitt in the fall of 1771 and then down the Ohio to Illinois in the spring of 1772. If so, he returned from Illinois shortly and was back in Philadelphia by the end of October 1772, at which point he was transferred to Payne’s Coy. When the regiment prepared to leave Philadelphia, Miller was transferred to the Grenadier Coy on 9 October 1774 for the trip to Boston.

While in Boston, Miller stayed out of trouble and wasn’t mentioned in any of the documents related to the regiment other than in muster returns. He most likely fought at both Concord and Bunker Hill. He was present with the company at Charles Town Heights on 7 October 1775 and was drafted into the Grenadier Coy of the 52^nd Foot in December 1775.  He was present with the 52^nd Grenadiers for the Long Island Campaign, being listed as present at Staten Island on 12 July 1776. He was at Brunswick on 19 April 1777 prior to the start of the Philadelphia Campaign. He fought at Brandywine and Germantown. He was still present with the 52^nd on 9 February 1778 when the company was mustered at Philadelphia. He decided to end his service on his own terms and deserted on 19 June 1778 from Philadelphia. It is probable he was a native Pennsylvania and took the opportunity go back to his previous life before the army left Philadelphia.[1]

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[1] WO 12/6240, Returns of the 52^nd Regiment of Foot.

Archibald McEwan (also McOwen), Draftee to the 35th Foot

McEwan arrived with the Royal Irish at Philadelphia on 11 July 1767. He served with the Grenadier Company throughout its American Service travelling to Ft. Pitt, Ft. Chartres, Cahokia and then from Philadelphia to New York City before embarking on the Empress of Russia for Boston in October 1774. He would have been on the March to Concord and at Bunker Hill. He was present when mustered on 7 October 1775 at Charles Town Heights. 

On 5 December 1775, McEwan was drafted into the 35^th Regiment of Foot and received into Capt. Phillip’s Coy. He was present with that company on 25 June 1776 at Staten Island. He was transferred to Cpt. Massey’s Coy on 19 April 1777 while at Brunswick, New Jersey. He was then transferred to the Grenadier Coy for the Philadelphia Campaign which included fighting at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. He wintered at Philadelphia being still present on 6 February 1778. He returned to New York City and was mustered their on 22 July 1778 with his regiment. That fall, McEwan was embarked for the Caribbean with General Grant’s Command and the 35^th Foot fought at St. Lucia in December 1778. He was listed as present on St. Lucia on 10 April and 19 August 1780. No further record of McEwan shows up until he is listed as present at Dorchester, England on 4 August 1783. He was a lucky man to have survived several years of active campaigning as well as the disease ridden climate of the West Indies.[1]

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[1] WO 12/3501 & 12/4949/2, Returns of the 35^th Regiment of Foot. 

John Tyrrel, Drunkard but excellent Soldier?

Tyrrel arrived in America with the Grenadier Coy in July 1767. He was one of the two “supernumerary” privates beyond the establishment of 45 privates. He wasn’t listed as a supernumerary on the April 1768 return, but was listed as the last soldier on the roster. This was due to the transfer of James Knight to a battalion company in November 1767. He remained with the Grenadier Coy during the entire time of its American Service. He must have had some redeeming military qualities to consistently remain a grenadier however, since his behavior was less then outstanding during his tenure in America. The complete regimental court martial rolls are only available for the three companies in Boston from October 1774 through June 1775. During that time, Tyrell was brought before a court martial four separate times.

On 7 October 1774, Tyrell was charged For constant Drunkenness & unsoldierlike Behavior. He was to receive 300 lashes. However, all were remitted Clearly his near miss with the drummers and the cat didn’t impact his behavior as Cpt. Shee had hoped. For a month later, Tyrell reappeared before a regimental court on 8 November 1774, this time for being drunk on Guard. He was found guilty and ordered to receive 300 lashes.  He received 260 on 15 November 1774. Only 40 lashes were remitted. Two months later on 27 January 1775, Tyrell added some larceny to his bag of tricks about appeared before a regimental court charged with “being beastly drunk on the time of Devine Service, and defrauding of his Comrade of his Bread.” He earned 50 more lashes, but once again his officers remitted the sentence and we escaped without any additional punishment. However, he did remain out of trouble for three months.

Potentially, it was the stress of the march to Concord that sent Tyrell back over the edge. On 25 April 1775, he was charged For being drunk at Roll callg & threatening the life of Serjt Bell of sd Compy. This was not the behavior of a model soldier. He was found guilty and sentenced to 300 lashes. Justice was swift and Tryell received 160 lashes later that same day. One hundred and forty were remitted. Tryell was listed as present for duty on 7 October 1775 on Charleston Heights.

One might think that the officers of the Royal Irish would be thrilled to get rid of a drunkard like Tyrell when the regiment was drafted in December 1775, but amazingly, he was one of the few privates not drafted. He returned to England in early 1776 and finally left the Grendaider, being posted to the General’s Coy. He actually listed as on furlough in March 1777. One might think a soldier who received so many punishments would desert, but Tyrell returned. He received additional furloughs in March 1780 and February 1781. He was still listed as one furlough in October 1781. He isn’t listed in the February 1782 returns. It is unclear if he deserted, died or was discharged.[1]

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[1] Punishment Book; WO 12/3501 & 3502. 

John Walker (also Watson), Drummer

Walker was the drummer of the Grenadier Coy when it mustered on 27 October 1767 at Philadelphia. He embarked with the regiment from Cork on 1 May 1767 and arrived at Philadelphia in July 1767. He traveled with the regiment to Ft. Pitt in the spring of 1768 and went down the Ohio to the Illinois Country. He was listed as on command in the April 1768 muster, so he may have been among the advance party that went to Ft. Pitt prior to the main body of the regiment.  Once in Illinois, Walker was among those who succumbed to the sickness rampant in the Illinois Country. He died at Ft. Chartres on 10 January 1769. He was listed as a private under the casuals on the April 1769 muster as private, but he almost certainly remained a drummer until his death. His replacement was appointed on 5 February 1769.[1]

Even a man with a simple last name like Walker could have his name appear in multiple ways on muster rolls. It isn't clear if different men were filling out the returns or if the clerk simply wasn't being careful or potentially the orderly sergeant was dictating the return from another list or roster and the clerk misheard the name. 

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[1] WO 12/3501.

William Namock, 18th Regiment

Namock arrived in America as a private in the Lt. Colonel’s Coy at Philadelphia on 11 July 1767. He remained with the Lt. Colonel’s Coy for the trip overland to Ft. Pitt in the spring of 1768 and then down the Ohio to Ft. Chartres. He was most likely stationed at Kaskaskia with the Lt. Colonel’s Coy during at least part of 1769. On 25 October 1770, he was transferred to the General’s Coy as a corporal. So, at least at the time, he would have been in the good graces of Lt. Col. Wilkins who would have approved of the promotion. He remained a corporal of the General’s Coy until reduced to private on 7 March 1773.

He was transferred to the Grenadier Coy on 24 September 1773 and was present in Philadelphia with that company when it was mustered on 21 January 1774. When the regiment was reorganized in October 1774 prior to leaving Philadelphia, Namock remained in the Grenadier Coy. Soon after arrival in Boston, however, Namock got himself into some significant trouble. He was arrested for robbery and tried on 18 November 1774. He was found guilty of “disguising himself in colour’d Cloaths. Absenting himself from Quarters & biding Guilty of Robbery.”[1]

For this he was to receive 800 lashes. However, he deserted prior to being punished. His desertion date is listed as 25 January 1775. It is possible that he did receive some of his lashes and his desertion made entering the rest of the sentence in the punishment book a moot issue.  

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[1] Punishment Book. 

Samuel Lee, Deserter or POW?

A classic case of dramatic change due to the events of April 19, 1775 is the story of Private Samuel Lee. Originally from London, Lee was a career soldier who came to America with the Royal Irish in July 1767 disembarking at Philadelphia. When he enlisted is unclear. Lee was stationed with his company at Philadelphia until the spring of 1768, when a large portion of the regiment including the Grenadier Company was ordered to Fort Chartres on the Mississippi River in the Illinois Country.^[1] The regiment marched through Pennsylvania to Ft. Pitt where the five companies bound for Illinois embarked upon flatboats for the journey down the Ohio and up the Mississippi. The detachment arrived in Illinois in September 1768. The Grenadier Company, including Lee, was assigned at Cahokia, Illinois for at least some time during 1771. The majority of the regiment, including Lee’s company, returned to Philadelphia via Ft. Pitt in November 1772. Lee remained in Philadelphia until 1774, when the regiment assumed postings in New Jersey as other regiments were being consolidated at Boston after the Tea Party. Lee appears to have been a stable soldier in the regiment having become the regiment’s “master taylor” by March 1773. Lee’s trade as well as his being deaf or hard of hearing are articulated in the court martial of John Green, another of the regiment’s tailors in 1773. Lee testified as a witness for the Crown against Green in the May 1774 court martial at Amboy, New Jersey. In a company that had more than its share of courts martial, Samuel Lee’s name is never included among those punished. Lee appears to have been a solid, obedient soldier; albeit one without good, or possibly even fair, hearing.^[2] In October 1774, the Grenadier Company along with two of the 18^th Foot’s battalion companies were ordered to Boston. Samuel Lee was among those arriving in Boston on October 23, 1774. Beginning on December 1, 1774, the detachment’s orderly book shows the men being ordered to fire live rounds. Training that shows evidence of the serious nature of the tensions between the British government and her American colonies. Such firing with ball continued through the spring of 1775^[3].

The 18^th Foot’s Grenadier Company was ordered to march to Concord as part of Lt. Colonel Smith’s column. The 18^th Grenadier Company appears to have been involved in the search of Concord for military stores. The activities of neither the company nor any of the officers are mentioned in contemporary reports, excepting those enumerating losses of men or material. While that searching was conducted, Cpt. John Shee or one of his subalterns appears to have posted sentries around the search area. One of those sentries was Private Samuel Lee.

Posting a deaf, or hard of hearing, sentry doesn’t appear to have been a stellar idea. One Sylvanus Wood, a minuteman from Woburn, Massachusetts, claimed to have taken advantage of the situation. In his pension declaration, Wood snuck up on Lee (not a particularly tough task to sneak up on a deaf man) and relieved him of his weapon. Wood then marched Lee back to Lexington following the British column. In Wood’s own account, Lee was standing sentinel in Concord when captured. Lee was carrying a musket and bayonet along with a “cutlash and Brass fender” and two cartridge pouches. One over the shoulder with 22 rounds and one “box round the waist with 18 rounds.”^[4]

Secondary accounts place the capture at Fiske Hill outside of Concord where Lee was to have left the rear of the column and sat down, having determined his soldiering days were over. If it was there where Wood came upon Lee, Lee may have readily handed his musket over to Wood. Wood would serve three enlistments with the Massachusetts state troops in Continental service. He would serve as a sergeant and was later promoted to ensign and finally to lieutenant before retiring from the service. At the end of the war, Wood returned to his trade as a cobbler.^[5]

The exact facts of whether Wood captured the first prisoner of the war, as he claimed, or simply came upon the first wartime deserter may never be conclusively known. However, in 1775, the British Army was unclear as to Lee’s disposition as well. He was still listed as missing since April 19 in the 18^th Grenadier Company’s muster roll on October 7, 1775. Both published regimental histories of the 18^th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot list Lee among the dead.^[6] By December 1775 when the men of the 18^th Foot were drafted at Boston, Lee appears to have been believed to be a “prisoner with the rebels” and neither dead or deserted.. Lee was among the draughts assigned to the 10^th Regiment of Foot. He was assigned to Major John Vattas’s Company. He continued to be listed as a prisoner of war in the returns of the 10^th Regiment until that regiment was drafted in September 1778. At that time, the British Commander in Chief in America ordered Lee taken off the strength of the 10^th Regiment of Foot. It is at that time the British Army appears to have given up on regaining Lee’s services^[7]

However, Lee was not dead. He had a valuable trade and set himself up as a tailor in Concord. His exact reasons for deserting or remaining with the rebellious colonists may never be known. One secondary account states that he bribed the Lexington jailer to release him. Another account lists him as being wounded, which might explain his falling out of the ranks on the return from Concord and the ease of his capture. Regardless of how or why, Lee ended up setting up shop as a tailor in Concord. He appears to have improved his standing among the townspeople by trying to pass himself off as a British officer.^[8]

Another version of the story has Lee being left behind by his fellow soldiers, who determined there “wasn’t enough life left in you [him]” to justify continuing to carry Lee on the retreat. In this version of the story, he was wounded by a Yankee ball while passing the Concord Meeting House and was left at the house of a Dr. Minot. Minot then tended to him, but the ministrations of the doctor’s female assistant, Mary Piper, are what actually led Lee back from the precipice of death.^[9]

Whatever his rationale, Lee appears to have become a successful member of Concord society. Lee married Mary Piper on July 11, 1776 in Concord. Samuel and Mary Lee had five children, three boys and two girls. The first, a girl named Polly, was born in January 1777.^[10] The 1790 census lists Lee as the head of a household in Concord with three free white males under 16 in his household and four free white females. These were likely his wife and five children and another female relative or servant girl.^[11]

Lee died on August 6, 1790 in Concord. He was listed as 45 years old at his death. If that age was accurate, Lee was approximately 30 years old when captured.^[12] Lee became prosperous enough in his new county to leave a will. It appears that the United States treated its first prisoner of war extremely well.^[13]

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[1] Fort du Chartres was originally constructed by the French in the 1720s. The third version of the post was built by the French in the 1750s. It was occasionally known as Ft. Cavendish by the British, but the Royal Irish Regiment nearly always referred to it as Ft. Chartres.

[2] British National Archives, War Office Series 71/79, Court Martial of John Green private soldier in the 18th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot; 240-244; Abraham English Brown, Beneath Old Roof Trees, Boston: Lee and Shepard Publishers, 1896, 99.

[3] Orderly Book of the 18^th (Royal Irish) Regiment of Foot’s Boston Garrison, October 1774 to May 1775 National Army Museum (UK) Microfilm 7609-3.

[4] J. C. Dann, The Revolution Remembered: Eyewitness accounts of the War of Independence, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980, 6-8.

[5] Dann, 6.; Samuel Sewell, The History of Woburn, 1640 to 1860, Boston; Wiggin & Lunt, 1868, 363 –364; Lemuel Shattuck, The History of the Town of Concord, Boston; Russell, Osborne, 1835, 117.

[6] WO 12/3501, Returns of the 18^th Regiment of Foot; Cannon, 48, C. L. Gretton, Campaigns & History of the Royal Irish Regiment, Edinburgh; William Blackwood & Sons, 1911, 387.

[7] WO 12/2750, Returns of the 10^th Foot, Major’s Coy. Completed at Berwick upon Tweed 26^th March 1779; In another twist to this tale, some of the secondary accounts list Lee as being from the 10^th Regiment of Foot. Most likely that is simply a misreading of the stylized “18” often used in the 1770s. However, it is possible that the British authorities had communicated with him while he was confined to inform him of his being drafted onto the 10^th Regiment’s rolls. This would indicate that he was retained as a prisoner, or was released on parole, until at least December 1775. None of the accounts support such a long incarceration.

[8] R. Gross, The Minutemen and their World, 131. Gross also identifies Lee as an officer and states he married a local widow. Others incorrectly identify Lee as a member of the 10^th Foot. Brown’s version of the story includes that Lee met Mary Piper while she was living in Boston in the winter of 1775 and their attachment to each other began in Boston prior to Mary returning to Concord.

[9] Brown,90-100. Timothy Minot was a Concord physician. He did perform at least some surgery on the wounded the day in question. He appears to have graduated from Harvard in 1747 and 1750 and died in 1804. The Monthly Anthology and Boston Review, Boston: Munroe and Francis, 1804, 477. His Concord home and surgery is currently the home of the Colonial Inn.

[10] The children were Polly, born January 1777; Samuel, December 1779; Sarah, also Sally, September 1782, Amos, July 1785 & Rufus, December 1788. All were born in Concord.  Massachusetts Town Birth Records via www.ancestry.com

[11] US Census Bureau, 1790 Census for Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts., Roll, M637_4: Image 0178

[12] Vital Records of Concord; Massachusetts Town Death Records. Provo, UT; The Generations Network, 1999; Mary Lee is said to have married one Joseph Hoar on May 25, 1794; Samuel Lee (junior) and his son were to have been lost in American service during the War of 1812, but a primary reference to that service has yet to be uncovered. Brown, 100; Neither the regular army rosters available for the War of 1812 nor the list of Massachusetts Militia include a Samuel Lee among their rosters. However, he may have served within another state’s organization.

[13] Middlesex County, MA, Probate Index, Item Number 13943. Also the guardianship of his son, Samuel Lee appears to have been the topic of record 13944.

Sergeant Hugh Sergeant (c1729 - ?)

Hugh Sergeant was born at Stone (Scotland?) about 1729. He enlisted at the age of 24 in 1753. He listed his occupation as an unskilled laborer. He was the senior sergeant of the Grenadier Coy when the Royal Irish arrived at Philadelphia in July 1767. Sergeant was sent on command to Ft. Pitt with Cpt. Edmonstone, his company commander at the time, sometime in the early fall. He was still on command when the Royal Irish were inspected in October 1767.

Sergeant remained with the Grenadier Coy throughout its Illinois service being posted at Ft. Chartres, Cahokia and returning to Philadelphia with the Grenadiers. When the Royal Irish returned to Philadelphia in late 1772, the regiment was significantly reduced in strength, so a recruiting party was to be sent to England. Lt. Bewes of the Grenadier Coy was to command the party. Sergeant was sent as his second in command. However, to reduce the impact on the Grenadier Coy, Sergeant was transferred to Cpt. Robert Hamilton’s battalion coy. He never really served in Hamilton’s Coy as he remained on recruiting duty for the next two years. He was originally transferred to Hamilton’s Coy on 27 January 1773 and was still listed on recruiting duty on 8 February 1775.

He returned to the Royal Irish at Boston most likely in June 1775. At that time, he was posted to Cpt. Richardson’s Coy and was present with the company when they were mustered for pay at Boston on 2 October 1775. Sergeant returned to England with the cadre of the regiment in February 1776. He was discharged and recommended Chelsea Hospital that summer. He was interviewed by the Chelsea Board on 16 August 1776 and was admitted as an out pensioner as having been worn out in His Majesty’s Service.[1]

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[1] WO 12/3501; WO 116/7/45.