General Gilbert Eddy

He served on his father's privateer; was captured and imprisoned at Halifax for a year in the Revolution; was at Bennington and Saratoga; general of a division in New York in the war of 1812; was a presidential elector; lived in Rensselaer County, N. Y. He died in 1846 {Eddy Genealogy) .

THE GROTON AVERY CLAN, Vol. I, by Elroy McKendree Avery and Catherine Hitchcock (Tilden) Avery, Cleveland, 1912. p. 290

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GEDCOM Note

On his tombstone it is stated that Gilbert Eddy was captured on the ocean and taken prisoner to Halifax, Nova Scotia. There is a tradition handed down in the family that he killed his keeper by throwing an iron kettle at him, and thus escaped. He served on his father's privateers and it was probably on one of these expeditions that he was captured. His name appears on a pay-roll of Capt. Hewit's Co. of Col. Latimer's Regt. of Militia at Saratoga, dated Nov. 7, 1777. He enlisted in Capt. Prentice's Co. of Militia, Oct. 1.1782. He was a corporal and was discharged Nov. 29' 1782. He was at the battles of Saratoga and Benningyon. He was a general over a division during the War of 1812 and he commanded a brigade at the invasion of Plattsburg. He was once chosen presidential elector.

On his tombstone it is stated that Gilbert Eddy was captured on the ocean and taken prisoner to Halifax, Nova Scotia. There is a tradition handed down in the family that he killed his keeper by throwing an iron kettle at him, and thus escaped. He served on his father's privateers and it was probably on one of these expeditions that he was captured. His name appears on a pay-roll of Capt. Hewit's Co. of Col. Latimer's Regt. of Militia at Saratoga, dated Nov. 7, 1777. He enlisted in Capt. Prentice's Co. of Militia, Oct. 1.1782. He was a corporal and was discharged Nov. 29' 1782. He was at the battles of Saratoga and Benningyon. He was a general over a division during the War of 1812 and he commanded a brigade at the invasion of Plattsburg. He was once chosen presidential elector.
PITTSTOWN HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER FALL 2023
By Chris Kelly, Historian of the Town of Schaghticoke

        The best known of the four elderly veterans today is Gilbert Eddy.  His tombstone in the Hillside Cemetery in Raymertown tells much of his military history.  “At the age of 16 he participated in the capture of Burgoyne at Bemis Heights.  And at a later period of the Revolutionary struggle was captured at sea and carried to Halifax, where he was for a long time incarcerated in an odious prison ship.”  His later service is indicated by the prefix “General” before his name, referring to his service in the war of 1812.

Gilbert was born in 1761 in Swansea, MA, the son of Devotion (1734-1813) and Mercy Sherman Eddy (1739-1834). During the war, Gilbert lived in CT. According to his pension application, Gilbert first enlisted for just 3 months as a private in Capt. Grant’s Company of Col. Ely’s Regiment sometime in 1776. According to the website of the Society of the Cincinnati, Jon Ely was a physician in CT, who sold most of his property to equip a regiment of militia to fight in the war, of which he was the colonel. The very young Gilbert marched from Groton to Providence, RI, where he was stationed. This is confirmed by a card in the US Compiled Revolutionary War Records, which records that Gilbert, in Capt. Oliver Grant’s Company of Col. Ely’s Regiment, marched ten miles. It is bout 60 miles from Groton to Providence, so this card records an additional march or is incomplete.
Gilbert said that in fall 1777 he was drafted for 3 months into the company of Capt. Hewitt in Col. Lattimore (sic) Regiment. According to a couple of sources cited on Wikipedia. Jonathan Latimer’s regiment of militia was drafted quickly in august 1777 to reinforce the American Army at Saratoga. It arrived just in time to participate in both battles and was “at the taking of Gen. Burgoyne and his army. “ It arrived just in time to participate in both battles of Saratoga and was disbanded in November 1777. This confirms Gilbert’s statement that he marched immediately after being drafted to Saratoga, where he participated in the battle and was at “the taking of Gen. Burgoyne and his army.” He said 52 men in his regiment were killed. There was certainly no time for these militiamen to be trained. And it was a long way for them to walk, carrying packs and weapons. Google maps states it is 165 miles from New London, CT. to the Saratoga battlefield, and optimistically states it would take 55 hours to walk it, presumably on paved roads, not having to stop and make a fire to cook foo9d! A record card records this service, from August 24-November 7, 1777, including travel money for 160 miles-which was definitely only one-way!
Next Gilbert joined up for 9 months, in the company of Capt. Richard Hewitt’s company of Col. McLennan’s Regiment Militia interestingly; Asahel Eastman also served in Col. Samuel McClelland’s Regiment though earlier in the war. Gilbert did garrison duty at New London and Groton, CT. but he does not remember the dates. McClellan became a general in 1778. I wonder if Asahel and Gilbert knew each other as old men, and, if so, if they knew of the regiment they had in common.
The next stop in a varied military career was 4 months with Capt. Buckley’s Company of militia. Gilbert was on guard on a prison ship in the Norwich River at Groton. I do not know were those British prisoners would have come from. Gilbert next served in Capt. Avery’s company, guarding stores around New London and Groton. Back with Capt. Buckley, Gilbert was a teamster. He transported stores (supplies) for three months.
Finally, in 1871, he shipped out on a privateer. In the past, it was said that his father, Devotion, was the captain of the ship. It seems to me that Gilbert would have mentioned this in his pension application, but maybe not. In any case, “soon after they put out to sea they were taken by the British fleet and sent into Halifax (Nova Scotia), where they were kept prisoner 6 months.” Ashis tombstone said, he was imprisoned on a hulk-a dismasted ship in the harbor-in what were definitely awful conditions. Then he was exchanged and taken home to Groton. Gilbert adds that it is possible that the service with the Captains Buckley and Avery occurred after he was released from prison and not before. This is confirmed by 2 entries on rolls of soldiers in Col. McClellan’s Regiment in 1782, when Gilbert was listed as a Corporal, and a service card listing his discharge in November.
The next year, the Eddy family moved to Pittstown where they became farmers. I do not know when Gilbert was married, but when he did, he married a woman from Groton, Prudence Avery. Ellen Wiley, Pittstown Historian, though that Devotion, their father, and Gilbert lived near modern NYS Route 7 and the reservoir. It is sure that Gilbert and Michael Vandercook had property that abutted. The early Pittstown records reveal that Gilbert was very active in town government as early as 1787. He served in various roles through the years, for example as a tax collector and a town constable, as late as 1824. He also served two terms as a Presidential Elector in the election of 1824.
Gilbert and Prudence had 6 children who survived childhood: Sally who married Michael Vandercook and died in 1823; Elizabeth, Tisdale, Russell, Sybil and Maria. Prudence died in 1831, and Gilbert married Prudence Chapman (1782-1856) in 1832. She was also born in CT.
Unlike the other three veterans of this article, Gilbert served in the state militia for many years beyond what was required, rising in the ranks. The militia of the 1800s was the National Guard of its day, organized by county. All men from 18 to 45 had to be in the militia. The 1786 militia law mandated 4 training sessions per year. According to Ron Bachman in his wonderful biography of Michael Vandercook, “A Fine Commanding Presence,” Gilbert was a Lieutenant of the local militia unit in 1793. He was a Captain by 1795, a Major by 1798, and a Lieutenant Colonel by 1802.
When the War of 1812 began, the militia became much more important. The standing US Army was very small and the, as now, the local militia units were activated to help. In March 1814, Gilbert was appointed Brigadier General of the 8th Brigade of Militia. A Brigade would compromise several regiments, an in this case, numbered 2,000 men. On September 4, the Brigade was mobilized to march to Plattsburgh, where a battle with the British was anticipated. It took a while to get organized and equipped, apparently at a camp in Speigletown, and it rained every day. The men finally set off on September 13 and marched 44 miles to Granville. At that point, they got word that the battle had already occurred, the British defeated, so they turned around and went back home. Gilbert received credit from the Federal Government for 19 days a General, which entitled him to some military tract land.
Gilbert retired from the Militia in 1818, aged 57, but continued to be active in politics and his town. By the time of the 1840 census, Gilbert and his second wife, also named Prudence, lived with one female aged 15-20 and one aged 20-30. Gilbert made a will in 1832 and left his estate to his children, and to the children of his deceased daughter, Sally Vandercook. Though Gilbert had remarried, he added no provisions to his will for the 2nd Prudence before he died in 1848. A new pension law passed in 1855meant that Prudence was entitled to receive Gilbert’s $80 per year. She did apply, and was approved, but died the following year. After Gilbert’s death she lived with her younger brother, William Chapman, who was a farmer in Pittstown, rather than with any of her children.
We must conclude that all four of these men were blessed with strong constitutions. They survived extreme old age in an age of poor medical care after living demanding lives. All served in a military notorious for providing its soldiers with poor equipment and rations. They walked many, many miles in poor footwear in all weather. One, Isaac VanWart, suffered a career ending knee injury. I a war where very few men were prisoners of war lived in even worse conditions than soldiers. All moved from their original homes to end their lives at Pittstown. All married and probably farmed, but Gilbert Eddy distinguished himself through the elaborate procedure necessary to receive a pension for their service gives us a window into their lives 250 years after they were soldiers.