Capt Samuel Bliss

DAR Ancestor # A011316

Patriot: Captain Samuel Bliss (#473) is associated with Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Born in 1730, the son of Nathaniel Bliss and Mehitable Whittaker, Samuel was a farmer who commanded a company of 43 Minute Men that marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775 to April 27, 1775. He also served as Captain in Colonel Timothy Walker’s (Bristol County) Regiment for eight months and served three years under Captain Slade. Captain Samuel served as General George Washington’s steward at Morristown in 1777. He is listed in the DAR’s Patriot Index, Centennial Edition, page 284.

from: http://www.usgennet.org/family/bliss/features/2001/april01/april.htm

Was this Samuel Bliss a deserter? The list of Commander-in-Chief Guards compiled by the SAR lists a Samuel Bliss who was a deserter. There was a second Samuel Bliss (see below) who was a loyalist. Could there be some confusion between the two men?

Loyalist: Captain Samuel Bliss (#416) is associated with Greenfield and Concord, Massachusetts and St. Andrew, New Brunswick, Canada. Born in 1750, the son of Daniel Bliss and Phebe Walker, Daniel was a merchant who favored the cause of Great Britain and was charged with pointing out contraband of war to the British on April 19, 1775. He was arrested and later released due to testimony of witnesses. Samuel was banished under the Massachusetts Proscription Act of 1778 as an enemy of the state. He joined the British Army and served with distinction in New York and New Jersey during the war. He later removed to New Brunswick where he was rewarded with an island in the Bay of Fundy for his military service.

from: http://www.usgennet.org/family/bliss/features/2001/april01/april.htm