Col. Ebenezer Ledyard

"Ebenezer Ledyard, the eldest of the Ledyard brothers: Ebenezer, John, Youngs, and William, was a ship owner and West India merchant of wealth and influence. His position was such that in the common accounts of the time his given name is hardly ever used being always called "Squire Ledyard." A very public spirited man he was among those foremost in all actions tending to help the Colonies to success perhaps nothing can be quoted more characteristic of the man than the action described by Rufus Avery in his account: "Captain Bloomfield paroled the wounded men who were left and took Ebenezer Ledyard Esqr as a hostage for them left on parol to see them forthcoming if called for." Here he is seen daring to brave the dangers of the British Prison Ship that his wounded friends and neighbors might have the care of their friends in their sufferings. Nothing would have been easier than to have fled and left the wounded to look out for themselves as many if not all did. Stephen Hempstead speaks of the same circumstance and also of the fact of his procuring a sentinel to guard the wounded from molestation until the last of the enemy embarked.

His house and all other property burnable was destroyed by fire such a prominent and efficient enemy must be made to suffer as much as possible In the fire land awards his loss is much the largest of any one in Groton the entire allowance not amounting to seven times his His children by two marriages were thirteen sons." source: The Battle of Groton Heights: A Collection of Narratives, Official Reports ...By William Wallace Harris

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“…the colonial records of Connecticut tell us the fort was built by two Groton men. One of these was Ebenezer Ledyard, that fine man who offered himself to Captain Bromfield as hostage for his wounded friends and neighbors after the battle of Fort Griswold, that they might have proper care at home, and it is said he also procured a sentinel to guard the wounded until the enemy had embarked. As Ebenezer Ledyard sailed away he left his brother, Col. William Ledyard, dead in the fort and his home in ashes, and it was not until the close of the war that he was allowed to return to Groton. But in spite of this, so true was his nature that he named one of his 13 sons, Guy Carlton, in honor or Sir Guy Carlton, whom he admired and became very fond of during the time he was under his charge as prisoner.” Source: Article "How Griswold Looked Nearly Eighty Years Ago", Recollections of Elisha Miner of Groton. in "The Day", September 8, 1913

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Date of death from his grave marker in the Ledyard Cemetery, Groton, Connecticut, which reads: Sacred to the Memory of EBENEZER LEDYARD who died Sep 29th AD 1811 aged 75 years & 5 months

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• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Apr 25 2020, 15:50:45 UTC