Brigadier General Peleg Wadsworth, Continental Army

A Patriot of the American Revolution for MASSACHUSETTS with the rank of BRIGADIER GENERAL. DAR Ancestor # A119859

Peleg Wadsworth (May 6, 1748 – July 18, 1829) was an American officer during the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from the District of Maine. He was also grandfather of noted American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Wadsworth was born in Duxbury, Massachusetts, to Peleg and Susanna (Sampson) Wadsworth. He graduated from Harvard College with an A.B. (1769) and an A.M. (1772), and taught school for several years in Plymouth, Massachusetts, with his former classmate Alexander Scammel. There he met Elizabeth Bartlett (1753 to 1825), whom he married in 1772.

The Wadsworths lived in Kingston, Massachusetts, until 1775, when Wadsworth recruited a company of minutemen, of which he was chosen captain. His company marched to battle April 20, 1775, in response to the alarm of April 19, 1775, and the Battle of Lexington and Concord on that day.

Wadsworth served as aide to Gen. Artemas Ward in March 1776, and as an engineer under Gen. John Thomas in 1776, assisting in laying out the defenses of Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was present at the Battle of Long Island on August 1, 1776. He was made brigadier general of militia in 1777 and Adjutant General of Massachusetts in 1778.

Wadsworth's finest military engagement was in one of the worst American military defeats of the war. In the summer of 1779 he served as second in command to General Solomon Lovell over the land forces sent to make a combined arms attack on the British fort at Castine, in the so-called Penobscot Expedition. Commodore Dudley Saltonstall was in command of the naval forces. Lt. Colonel Paul Revere also served in this expedition as commander of artillery. While General Lovell remained aboard the Commodore's vessel, Wadsworth and Revere landed with the infantry and artillery and laid siege to the fort for about two weeks. Due to the reluctance of the Commodore to launch a naval attack in support of the ground forces, the British garrison held out until ships of the Royal Navy arrived from Halifax and drove the American Navy up the Penobscot River where all 43 American warships were sunk or were scuttled and burned, comprising most of the American fleet, making it the worst American naval disaster prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Wadsworth, still with the forces on shore organized and led a successful overland retreat through the Maine frontier. Colonel Revere and Commodore Saltonstall were court-martialed for their roles in the debacle (Revere was acquitted, Saltonstall was "dismissed the service").

In March 1780, Peleg was given command of all the troops raised for the defense of the Province of Maine. On February 17, 1781, British soldiers overran his headquarters in Thomaston. Wadsworth was captured and imprisoned in Fort George at Bagaduce (Castine) (the same fort he had led the attack against in the summer of 1779), but he and fellow prisoner Maj. Benjamin Burton eventually escaped by cutting a hole in the ceiling of their jail and crawling out along the joists. Wadsworth then returned to his family in Plymouth, where he remained until the war's end.

In April 1784 Wadsworth returned to Maine, purchased 1.5 acres (6,000 m²) of land on Back Street (now Congress Street in Portland), engaged in surveying, and opened a store in early 1785. There he also built a house, now the historic Wadsworth-Longfellow House. He headed the committee that organized the first convention to discuss independence for Maine from Massachusetts, held in January 1786. He and his wife had ten children, one of whom later gave birth to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Although he continued to live in Portland, in 1790 he purchased 7800 acres (30 km²) from the Commonwealth in what became the town of Hiram, Maine, settled his son Charles there in 1795, and in 1800 built Wadsworth Hall there for his retirement.

In 1792 Wadsworth was chosen a presidential elector and a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and from 1793-1807 was the first representative in Congress from the region of Massachusetts that later became Maine. In January 1807 he moved to Hiram where he incorporated the township (February 27, 1807) and served as selectman, treasurer and magistrate. For the remainder of his life devoted himself to farming and local concerns. He died in Hiram on July 18, 1829, and is buried in the family cemetery at Wadsworth Hall.

Wadsworth-Longfellow House In 1784 Peleg and Elizabeth Bartlett Wadsworth, the poet's maternal grandparents, arrived in Falmouth, Maine, which was soon to be renamed Portland. Falmouth had been bombarded and burned by the British in 1775, but was being rebuilt from the ruins. Peleg, commanding general of American forces in Massachusetts's District of Maine during the war, had been wounded, taken prisoner, escaped, and continued the fight against British encroachment on the northeastern frontier. After the war, he, like so many other veterans, saw opportunity for a new, prosperous life in Maine. In 1785 he began building in the promising seaport. The house was completed in 1786. Peleg and Elizabeth moved to the new house with their six children: Charles, Zilpah (mother of the poet), Elizabeth, John, Lucia, and Henry (called Harry). Four more Wadsworth children were born there: George, Alexander, Samuel, and Peleg Jr. Zilpah's son, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, grew up in the house.

Sources:

• http://www.hwlongfellow.org/family_peleg.shtml
• http://www.hwlongfellow.org/house_exterior.shtml

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Added by Elwin Nickerson II -American Revolutionary War

The Wadsworths lived in Kingston, Massachusetts, until 1775, when Wadsworth recruited a company of minutemen, of which he was chosen captain. His company mustered in response to the alarms generated by the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. The Plymouth County battalion, commanded by Col. Theophilus Cotton marched to Marshfield, Massachusetts to attack a garrison of British troops there. The attack was delayed for two days, allowing the British time to escape Marshfield by sea. During that time, Capt. Wadsworth, frustrated with the delay, advanced his company to within firing range of the British encampment, nearly instigating combat.[2]

Wadsworth served as aide to Gen. Artemas Ward in March 1776, and as an engineer under Gen. John Thomas in 1776, assisting in laying out the defenses of Roxbury, Massachusetts. He was present at the Battle of Long Island on August 1, 1776. He was made brigadier general of militia in 1777 and Adjutant General of Massachusetts in 1778.

Wadsworth's finest military engagement was in one of the worst American military defeats of the war. In the summer of 1779 he served as second in command to General Solomon Lovell over the land forces sent to make a combined arms attack on the British fort at Castine, in the so-called Penobscot Expedition. Commodore Dudley Saltonstall was in command of the naval forces. Lt. Colonel Paul Revere also served in this expedition as commander of artillery. While General Lovell remained aboard the Commodore's vessel, Wadsworth and Revere landed with the infantry and artillery and laid siege to the fort for about two weeks. Due to the reluctance of the Commodore to launch a naval attack in support of the ground forces, the British garrison held out until ships of the Royal Navy arrived from Halifax and drove the American Navy up the Penobscot River where all 43 American warships were sunk or were scuttled and burned, comprising most of the American fleet, making it the worst American naval disaster prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Wadsworth, still with the forces on shore organized and led a successful overland retreat through the Maine frontier. Colonel Revere and Commodore Saltonstall were court-martialed for their roles in the debacle (Revere was acquitted, Saltonstall was "dismissed the service").

In March 1780, Peleg was given command of all the troops raised for the defense of the Province of Maine. On February 17, 1781, British soldiers overran his headquarters in Thomaston. Wadsworth was captured and imprisoned in Fort George at Bagaduce (Castine) (the same fort he had led the attack against in the summer of 1779), but he and fellow prisoner Maj. Benjamin Burton eventually escaped by cutting a hole in the ceiling of their jail and crawling out along the joists. Wadsworth then returned to his family in Plymouth, where he remained until the war's end. [edit] After War Years

In April 1784 Wadsworth returned to Maine, purchased 1.5 acres (6,000 m²) of land on Back Street (now Congress Street in Portland), engaged in surveying, and opened a store in early 1785. There he also built a house, now the historic Wadsworth-Longfellow House. He headed the committee that organized the first convention to discuss independence for Maine from Massachusetts, held in January 1786. He and his wife had ten children, one of whom later gave birth to poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Although he continued to live in Portland, in 1790 he purchased 7800 acres (30 km²) from the Commonwealth in what became the town of Hiram, Maine, settled his son Charles there in 1795, and in 1800 built Wadsworth Hall there for his retirement.

In 1792 Wadsworth was chosen a presidential elector and a member of the Massachusetts Senate, and from 1793-1807 was the first representative in Congress from the region of Massachusetts that later became Maine. In January 1807 he moved to Hiram where he incorporated the township (February 27, 1807) and served as selectman, treasurer and magistrate. For the remainder of his life he devoted himself to farming and local concerns. He died in Hiram on July 18, 1829, and is buried in the family cemetery at Wadsworth Hall.

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U.S. Congressman. Revolutionary War officer, serving in various capacities including aide to General Artemas Ward and later as brigadier general of militia-gained fame for escaping British capture and helping liberate the city of Bagaduce (now named Castine), Maine from British control. Appointed Adjutant-General of Massachusetts, 1778. Elected to the U. S. House of Representatives as a Federalist from Massachusetts in 1792; re-elected six additional times, serving in Congress from 1793 to 1807. Also served in the Massachusetts Senate, 1792. Grandfather of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882). (bio by: GravesScribe)

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GEDCOM Note

Last Will and Testament of Peleg Wadsworth, as found in his probate packet. Abstract.

Peleg Wadsworth of Hiram, County of Oxford, State of Maine.

To Zilpah Longfellow & Lucia Wadsworth, my daughters, the house & lot situated in Portland, now occupied by the Hon. Stephen Longfellow, with all there privileges & appurtenances thereunto belonging, in common & undivided.

To Alexander S. Wadsworth, my son, one house lot situated in Portland, being the same which I purchased of William Vaughan.

To the children of my son Samuel B. Wadsworth, one house lot situated in Portland, being the same I bought of William Gorham.

To Peleg Wadsworth Jr., my son, the home farm with all the stock, household furniture, & everything appertaining thereunto, except so much thereof as I have deeded to said Peleg Wadsworth Jr. before, also lands adjoining.

I also bequeath to Peleg Wadsworth Jr. my lot of land called the Bucknell Lot except that part sold to the Town of Hiram, where the Town house stands.

To Charles L. Wadsworth my son, a tract of land [location described in detail].

To Frank Wadsworth, my grandson & son of Charles L. Wadsworth, lot No. 3 of the fourth range; excepting the pine timber thereon.

My mills in Brownfield, with the pine timber cut & hauled in the ponds & brook above the mill I give to my five sons, viz. Charles Lee, John, Alexander Scammel, Samuel Bartlett (or rather, I give what would have been Samuel Bartlett's part, to his children); & Peleg.

Signed 11 November 1829.

Peleg Wadsworth

Witnesses: Dura Wadsworth, Lydia Wadsworth, Theodotia Wadsworth _______________________________

The Maine Society of the Sons of the American Revolution

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Application for Membership of ALEXANDER WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW Descendant of PELEG WADSWORTH and GEN. PELEG WADSWORTH

Accepted by the State Board of Management Jan. 2, 1897

I, ALEXANDER WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, being of the age of twenty-one years and upwards, to wit, of the age of [blank], hereby apply for membership in the Society by right of lineal descent in the following line from Gen. Peleg Wadsworth who was born in Duxbury, Mass., on the sixth day of May 1748 and died in Hiram, Maine, on the twenty ninth day of Sept. 1829 and who assisted in establishing American Independence.

I was born in Portland, County of Cumberland, State of Maine on the 20th day of May 1814.

I am the son of Stephen Longfellow born March 23, 1776, and Zilpah (Wadsworth) Longfellow, his wife,

and grandson of Gen. Peleg Wadsworth born May 6, 1748 and Elizabeth (Bartlett) Wadsworth, his wife,

and great-grandson of Deacon Peleg Wadsworth born Aug. 29, 1715 and Lusanna (Sampson) Wadsworth, his wife,

and great-great-grandson of John Wadsworth born March 12, 1671 and Mercy (Wiswell) Wadsworth, his wife,

and great-great-great-grandson of John Wadsworth and Abigail (Andrews) Wadsworth, his wife,

and great-great-great-great-grandson of Christopher Wadsworth, the Emigrant, and Grace Wadsworth, his wife,

and he, the said Gen. Peleg Wadsworth is the ancestor who assisted in establishing American Independence, while acting in the capacity of an officer in the Revolutionary army.

ANCESTOR'S SERVICE.

Gen. Peleg Wadsworth graduated from Harvard College in 1769, and taught school until the war of the Revolution. He was commissioned a captain in Sept. 1775 and served in Cotton's and Bailey's regiments. Previous to this he was in command of a company of militia. He was an engineer with Gen. Thomas at Dorchester Heights in March 1776, taking an active part in the seige of Boston. He was then Aid-du-Camp to Gen. Artemas Ward and remained with him until he retired from the service. In 1778, Gen. Wadsworth was appointed Adjt. Genl. of Mass. and in 1779 was placed second in command of the land forces in the disastrous Bagaduce Expedition and was commended for his services during that unfortunate affair. In 1780, he was placed in command of the Eastern Dept. of Maine with headquarters at Thomaston where he lived with his wife and child until he was surprised and captured in Feb. 1781, being badly wounded in the arm. He was carried to Castine and confined in Fort George but escaped June 18th and returned home. In 1784, he came to Portland and the following year commenced the erection of the "Longfellow House." He was selectman of Portland four years, state senator in 1792; was the first representative, in his district, to Congress in 1792, serving until 1806 when he declined re-election. In the winter of 1806-7 he moved to HIram, and [was] a selectman there six years, where he and his wife are buried. His son Henry was with Com. Preble at Tripoli and perished there by the explosion of a fire ship. Another son, Alexander Scammel, was second lieutenant in the Constitution when she fought the Guerriere in 1812.

Gen. Peleg Wadsworth's father, Deacon Peleg Wadsworth, took an active part as a Committee of Safety at Duxbury, Mass. in the Revolutionary War, the particulars of which can be found in the History of Duxbury, Mass.

The following are references to the authorities for the above statements:

Mass. Archives, Williamson's History of Maine, Dwight's Travels written 1797, History of Portland, Portland in the Past, &c. _______________________________

Wadsworth Cemetery, Hiram, Oxford Co. ME Findagrave memorial 10461189

Sacred to the memory of GEN. PELEG WADSWORTH, born at Duxbury, Mass. May 6, 1748, died Nov. 12, 1829. AEt. 81. _______________________________