Colonel Peregrine William Fitzhugh, I

Fought in the Revolutionary War as an Officer under Gen.George Washington. He was taken prisoner by the British forces. His Father Colonel William Fitzhugh ransomed his release. He borrowed the money from Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

http://books.google.com/books?id=6Qr2m9QY-EAC&pg=PA363

Served as aid-de-camp on General Washington's staff. (Info added per Mary S Lockwood's "Lineage Book of the Charter Members" of the DAR.)

May 10, 1759 – November 28, 1811

From the book “Great Sodus Bay History, Reminiscences, Anecdotes and Legends ” written by Walter Henry Green in 1947

“The most distinguished of the veterans of the Revolution to settle in the Sodus Bay region was Colonel Peregrine Fitzhugh and it is well worth while to give his military record.

He joined the Army of the Revolution as lieutenant of the Third Regiment of Dragoons of the Virginia Continental line and soon was promoted to captain. During the last two years of the war he was aid-de-camp to General George Washington.

His lineage was of a distinguished family; his father held a commission in the English army and resigned rather than fight against the colonists.

At the close of the war, Col. Fitzhugh located in Ann Arundel, Maryland, and resided there until he removed to Geneva, N.Y., in 1799, where he remained while he cleared the land which he had purchased at Sodus Bay.

In 1803 he came to Sodus and dwelt upon his property on the south shore, the residence being about one mile south of the bay, on the crest of the hill which commands a beautiful view of the bay and the lake beyond.

He died November 28, 1811, and was buried in the cemetery on the bluff above the lake. His window, daughter of Samuel Lloyd Chew of Ann Arundel, Maryland outlived him forty-four years, and died June 4, 1854.

Having been so intimately associated with General Washington, Colonel Fitzhugh had several signed letters from him and also important memoranda. Unfortunately these, with his uniform and sword, were destroyed in the fire which burned Mrs. Fitzhugh’s dwelling at Sodus Point in 1846.

When Peregrine Fitzhugh came from Geneva, it was with quite an imposing caravan, consisting of Pennsylvania wagons, twenty-seven horses and more than thirty slaves; the entire number of the party being forty persons. In a few years he bought a tract of land about a mile and a quarter west of the Bay and liberating all of his slaves parceled it out among them. One writer said that nearly all of the Negroes in Western New York were descendants of the slaves of Peregrine Fitzhugh and his brother, William, who settled further west in the Genesee region.”

According to the 1974 Historic Sodus Bay Walking Tour, Colonel Fitzhugh also owned a brickyard located at the south end of Ontario Street.

In honor of Colonel Peregrine Fitzhugh, North and South Fitzhugh streets in Sodus Point were named after him.

FITZHUGH Peregrine Soldier of Rev Lt then as Capt in 3rd Reg of Dragoons in the VA Continental line and for the last 2 yrs of the war was aide to Gen. Washington born Calvert County, MD died Sodus 10/23/1810 Per: Graves of Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in Wayne County, New York whose graves have been officially reported, located or marked, by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Burial location per NY Gen Web

Fitzhugh, Col. Peregrine - 10/23/1810 Sodus, NY Aid de Camp to General Washington. Came to Sodus Point 1803 from Hagerstown, Md.died at Sodus Point, NY

Military History of Wayne Co:

Colonel Peregrine Fitzhugh

He entered the Revolutionary army as Lieutenant of the Third Regiment of Dragoons of the Virginia Continental line, and was soon after promoted to Captain. Two years prior to the close of the war he was appointed Aid-de-Camp to the Commander- in-Chief, General Washington, and served in that capacity until the declaration of peace. 

Colonel Fitzhugh was from a distinguished family. His father held a commission in the British army, and rather than fight against the colonies resigned his place. Colonel Peregrine Fitzhugh settled at Hagerstown, Maryland, at the
close of the war. He came to Geneva in 1799, and resided there three years, improving the lands purchased some time before at Sodus Point. He removed to the Point in 1803, his homestead being on the beautiful and commanding height opposite the Point to the south, now occupied by William E. Sill. He died in the midst of his enterprises October 23, 1810, and his grave is in the old burial ground on the banks of the lake. His widow, who was a daughter of Samuel Lloyd Chew, of Ann Arundel, Maryland, survived him forty-four years and died at the age of eighty-nine, June 4, 1854.

Colonel Fitzhugh, holding an intimate personal relation with General Washington, had among his papers several autograph letters from him and many important memoranda.
It is a matter of regret that these were lost, together
with other papers of Colonel Fitzhugh, his commissions,
his swords and his uniform by the fire which destroyed
the dwelling of Mrs. Fitzhugh at Sodus Point in the
year 1846.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: May 12 2023, 4:01:37 UTC