Luther Wheatley

Luther Wheatley (born 1760) was the youngest of seven children born to John and Submit (yes, that was her name) Wheatley of Lebanon, New Hampshire. When the Revolutionary War began in 1775, there was no mistaking which side the Wheatleys would take; channeling revolutionary fervor, Luther and his older brother John – first generation Irish Americans – were ready volunteers.

Seventeen-year-old Luther enlisted as a private soldier in Captain House’s company of Colonel Joseph Cilley’s 1st New Hampshire Regiment for a 3-year term in April 1777. Cilley’s regiment went to Ticonderoga, New York, a place where many expected the British to attack—they weren’t disappointed.

Luther and his regiment retreated in the face of the British invasion from Canada that summer. Finally, by mid-September, Luther and the Northern Army were ready to face the British head-on. In the Battle of Freeman’s Farm (September 19), the 1st New Hampshire Regiment was one of the first units General Benedict Arnold sent into the fight that day. No other American corps suffered so many casualties.

Sadly, Luther was one of them. The teenager was mortally wounded in the battle and died in the camp’s hospital 11 days later. His remains were probably laid to rest in the army’s hospital burial yard.

As for Luther’s brother, John, he was killed a year earlier in the Battle of Harlem Heights.

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