Henry Sherburne (colonel)

Last updated
Henry Sherburne
BornAugust 3, 1748
Newport, Rhode Island
DiedMay 21, 1824
AllegianceFlag of the United States (1777-1795).svg Continental Army
Years of serviceMay 1775 - January 1781
RankColonel

Colonel Henry Sherburne (1748-1824) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He commanded Sherburne's Additional Continental Regiment from 1777 to 1781, and served as the General Treasurer of Rhode Island from 1792 to 1807.

Contents

Early life

Henry Sherburne was born in Newport, Rhode Island, on August 3, 1748. He was the son of Benjamin Sherburne, a colonel in the Rhode Island Militia.

Revolutionary War

Sherburne was commissioned as the major of Church's Regiment (a.k.a. 3rd Rhode Island Regiment) in May 1775. He served with this unit during the Siege of Boston until it was discharged on December 31, 1775.

On January 1, 1776, he became the major of the 15th Continental Regiment. He was captured at the Battle of The Cedars near Montreal in May 1776, as the result of a plan formulated by Jean-Baptiste-Jérémie Testard Louvigny de Montigny (1741 - 1799), a son of Jacques Testard de Montigny. [1] and was later exchanged. He was noted for his heroism at the Battle of Trenton in December 1776, where he led a successful bayonet charge. On January 1, 1777, he became the major of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment, commanded by Colonel James Varnum. He held this position for only a few days before he was given command of his own regiment. [2]

Sherburne's Additional Continental Regiment

On January 12, 1777, Sherburne was commissioned as colonel of his own regiment, named Sherburne's Additional Continental Regiment, one of sixteen regiments authorized by the Continental Congress to expand the Continental Army. The regiment consisted of soldiers mostly recruited in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

The regiment was at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, during the winter of 1777 to 1778 and was engaged at the Battle of Rhode Island in August 1778. In 1779 the regiment was stationed at West Point, New York where its soldiers built Sherburne's Redoubt, a small fortification covering the land approaches to Fort Clinton. The regiment was also located in the area around White Plains, New York.

It was also engaged at the Battle of Staten Island on January 15, 1780. It was disbanded in January 1781 when it was consolidated with the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island regiments to form the Rhode Island Regiment.

Colonel Sherburne served in command of the regiment until it was disbanded on January 1, 1781. He was retired from the Continental Army at the same time since there was a surplus of higher-ranking officers. [3]

Post war

Sherburne lived in Newport, Rhode Island, after the war. In 1782, he served as a deputy from Newport in the Rhode Island General Assembly. In 1783, he became an original member of the Rhode Island Society of the Cincinnati. [4] He also served as the Society's secretary. [3]

On May 29, 1785 he was married to Katherine Honeyman Tweedy (1740-1815) of Newport, who was the granddaughter of Reverend James Honeyman, a longtime rector of Trinity Church in Newport. Sherburne was a member of Trinity Church for most of his life. [3]

In January 1790, shortly before Rhode Island ratified the U.S. Constitution, he wrote to President Washington asking to be appointed collector of the port of Newport. In the letter he mentioned that during the British occupation of Newport (1776-1779) his home in Newport was burned by the British which left his mother and two "maiden sisters" homeless. Sherburne did not receive the appointment. [5] That same year, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Newport.

In 1792 Sherburne was elected as a vestryman of Trinity Church and in April 1794 he was appointed to the standing committee of the church. He stepped down from the church vestry in 1814 after 22 years of service and was voted "grateful thanks" by the congregation of the church for his long service. [6] He was the owner of pew number 27. [7]

Public service

Colonel Sherburne was elected in October 1792 as General Treasurer of Rhode Island by the General Assembly to fill a vacancy in the office. He was re-elected annually and served until May 1807. [3]

On January 6, 1800, he was one of six pall bearers at a mock funeral held in Newport to honor the passing of President Washington.

In 1817 he served on a mission to negotiate with the Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians for which he received the thanks of Congress. [3]

Death and burial

Colonel Sherburne died insolvent at the age of 75 on May 21, 1824. He was buried in the churchyard of Trinity Church in Newport. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Mitchell Varnum</span> American politician and pioneer (1748–1789)

James Mitchell Varnum was an American legislator, lawyer, general in the Continental Army, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country.

The 16th Massachusetts Regiment, also known as Henry Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment, was a unit of the American Massachusetts Line, raised on January 12, 1777, under Colonel Henry Jackson at Boston, Massachusetts. The regiment would see action at the Battle of Monmouth and the Battle of Rhode Island. The regiment was disbanded on January 1, 1781, at New Windsor, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Rhode Island Regiment</span> Continental Army regiment

The 1st Rhode Island Regiment was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island during the American Revolutionary War (1775–83). It was one of the few units in the Continental Army to serve through the entire war, from the siege of Boston to the disbanding of the Continental Army on November 3, 1783.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Rhode Island Regiment</span> American Revolutionary War regiment

The 2nd Rhode Island Regiment was authorized on 6 May 1775 under Colonel Daniel Hitchcock in the Rhode Island Army of Observation and was organized on 8 May 1775 as eight companies of volunteers from Providence County of the colony of Rhode Island. As part of a brigade organized under Nathanael Greene, the unit participated in the Siege of Boston during the remainder of 1775. Some elements accompanied Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec late in the year. The unit was renamed the 11th Continental Regiment on the first day of 1776.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9th Connecticut Regiment</span> Military unit

The 9th Connecticut Regiment was a regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was first called Webb's Additional Continental Regiment before being added to the Connecticut Line in 1780. It saw action at Setauket in 1777, Rhode Island in 1778, and Springfield, New Jersey, in 1780, and was generally active in the defense of Connecticut, southern New York, and northern New Jersey. It was merged into the reorganized 2nd Connecticut Regiment in January 1781.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Line</span> American Revolutionary War military formation

The Connecticut Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Connecticut Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Connecticut at various times by the Continental Congress, the size of its allocation determined by the size of its population relative to that of other states. These, together with similarly apportioned contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line. The concept was particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers. Officers of the Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhode Island Line</span>

The Rhode Island Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Rhode Island Line" referred to the quota of numbered infantry regiments assigned to Rhode Island at various times by the Continental Congress. These, together with similar contingents from the other twelve states, formed the Continental Line. The concept was particularly important in relation to the promotion of commissioned officers. Officers of the Continental Army below the rank of brigadier general were ordinarily ineligible for promotion except in the line of their own state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Huntington</span> 18th/19th-century American politician

Ebenezer Huntington was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and afterwards United States Representative from Connecticut.

Israel Angell was a Continental Army officer of the American Revolutionary War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Jackson (Continental Army general)</span>

Henry Jackson was a Continental Army officer from Boston, Province of Massachusetts Bay, during the American Revolutionary War. For most of the war, he was colonel of Jackson's Additional Continental Regiment, which was redesignated the 16th Massachusetts in 1780. He commanded the last regiment of the Continental Army, the 1st American, which was disbanded in 1784. Jackson was a lifelong friend of Henry Knox, another Continental Army officer, whose business affairs he was also heavily involved in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Greene</span> American legislator and soldier

Christopher Greene was an American legislator and soldier. He led the spirited defense of Fort Mercer in the 1777 Battle of Red Bank, and for leading the African American 1st Rhode Island Regiment during the American Revolutionary War, most notably with distinction in the 1778 Battle of Rhode Island. He was killed in May 1781 at the Battle of Pine's Bridge by Loyalists, possibly because he was known to lead African American troops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Ward Jr.</span> Early American politician

Samuel Ward Jr. was an American Revolutionary War soldier, politician, and delegate to the secessionist Hartford Convention.

Jeremiah Olney was born into an old family from Rhode Island. He formed a company of infantry from that state at the start of the American Revolutionary War. After serving as captain in 1776, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the beginning of 1777. As second-in-command of the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment, he fought at Red Bank. After its commander was wounded early in the action, he led Varnum's brigade in bitter fighting at Monmouth in June 1778.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherburne's Additional Continental Regiment</span> Unit of the Continental Army

Sherburne's Additional Continental Regiment was a unit of the Continental Army which served from January 1, 1777, until it was disbanded on January 1, 1781. It was commanded by Colonel Henry Sherburne.

Thomas Hunt (1754—1808) was an American military officer who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and later served in the United States Army where he rose to the rank of colonel and served until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Kingsbury</span> American military personnel

Colonel Jacob Kingsbury (1756–1837) was a career officer in the United States Army. He was one of the few U.S. Army officers who was a veteran of both the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

Church's Regiment was a unit of the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island which served from May 3, 1775 to December 31, 1775 in the American Revolutionary War.

Richmond's Regiment was a regiment formed by the state of Rhode Island in November 1775, during the American Revolution for the defense of the state against an attack by the British.

Babcock's/Lippitt's Regiment was a regiment raised for the defense of Rhode Island during the American Revolution.

References

  1. François Béland, “TESTARD LOUVIGNY DE MONTIGNY, JEAN-BAPTISTE-PIERRE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed January 1, 2020
  2. Heitman. pg. 494.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Biographical Cyclopedia of Representative Men of Rhode Island. National Biographical Publishing Co. Providence, 1881, pp. 150-151.
  4. Metcalf, Bryce (1938). Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783-1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies. Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc. p. 283.
  5. "Founders Online: To George Washington from Henry Sherburne, 18 January 1790".
  6. Annals of Trinity Church, 1698-1821. George Champlin Mason. Newport. 1890. pg. 306.
  7. Mason. pg. 331.