Christopher Latham, Jr.

Defender of Fort Griswold, September 6, 1781

Christopher Latham, Jr. was 22 years old on September 6, 1781 when wounded in the arm at the Battle of Groton Heights opposing General Benedict Arnold's troops after Benedict Arnold became a traitor and went over to the British side.

The 1840 U.S. Census showed Christopher as 84 years old, in agriculture and receiving a military pension.

The Hale Cemetery Inscriptions record shows his date of death as July 28, 1848 and his age as 93.

The National Archives in Washington, D.C. do not have his military service. Apparently the military records for this time period were lost in a fire. They do, however, have a lot of information under pension and bounty land claims.

The Red Book states that Christopher Latham (5) had married and died before distribution of his father, Christopher Latham (4)'s, estate in 1850, but left the following children of Christopher Latham (4) who shared in the distribution of grandmother's estate: Mary (Mrs. Comstock), Hannah (Mrs. Fanning), Christopher, Hosea and Abigail.

COMMENT BY DALE LATHAM; It is true that Christopher Latham (5) did die July 28, 1848 (age 93 per Hale Cemetery Inscriptions). However his mother, Jemima, probably did not live to 1850. According to the 1830 census, Jemima was over 90 years old then. I believe that she probably died about 1837. It is unlikely that she lived to be 110 years old.

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