The Last Men of the Revolution

Last updated
The Last Men of the Revolution.jpg
Title page of first edition
AuthorRev. E. B. Hillard
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreBiography
Published1864
PublisherN. A. & R. A. Moore

The Last Men of the Revolution is a compilation of biographies written by Rev. E. B. Hillard (Elias Brewster) documenting six of some of the last living veterans of the American Revolution who were alive in 1864. [1] [2] The book contains six albumen prints, one for each veteran documented excluding James Barham. [3]

Contents

List of interviewees

Edward Everett's letter

Letter in Front Flyleaves of First Edition Edward Everett's Letter Page 1 and 2.jpg
Letter in Front Flyleaves of First Edition

On January 15, 1865, Edward Everett, former Governor of Massachusetts, wrote a letter to the publishers N. A. & R. A. Moore expressing his appreciation for their book. The letter was written the day he died and is his last known letter. Soon after the letter was written it was in possession of Mr. James Parker, of Springfield Ma., an antiquary and collector of autographs. [4] He had the letter lithographed and made copies of the book with the letter's facsimile in the front, copies were given to his friends.

Edwards Everett's letter:

Boston, 15 Jan. 1865.

GENTLEMEN,- Since I received your favor of the 7th and the little volume accompanying it, I have been very ill, and now am able to answer but very briefly. I have looked through the Biographies with interest, and they appear to me to contain all that can be expected. The anecdote of General Washington's stopping to "jerk stones" with the men is excellent, and is in accordance with the traditions of his youth which describe him as being able to throw a stone over the Rappahannock below Fredericksburg. In the year 1836, being governor of Massachusetts, I signed a Pension Warrant for a person who lost an arm at Fort William Henry in 1757.

I remain, Gentlemen, respectfully yours,

Edward Everett.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel F. Bakeman</span> Last surviving American Revolutionary War soldier

Daniel Frederick Bakeman was the last survivor receiving a veteran's pension for service in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783).

This is an incomplete list of the last surviving veterans of American wars. The last surviving veteran of any particular war, upon their death, marks the end of a historic era. Exactly who is the last surviving veteran is often an issue of contention, especially with records from long-ago wars. The "last man standing" was often very young at the time of enlistment and in many cases had lied about his age to gain entry into the service, which confuses matters further.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Paterson (New York politician)</span> American politician (1744–1808)

John Paterson was a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, and a U.S. Congressman from New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Brahmin</span> Upper class Bostonians

The Boston Brahmins or Boston elite are members of Boston's traditional upper class. They are often associated with Harvard University, Anglicanism, and traditional Anglo-American customs and clothing. Descendants of the earliest English colonists are typically considered to be the most representative of the Boston Brahmins. They are considered White Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemuel Cook</span> American Revolutionary War veteran

Lemuel Cook was one of the last verifiable surviving veterans of the American Revolutionary War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Leonard (congressman)</span> American politician

George Leonard was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from Norton, Massachusetts. Besides service on state court benches and in both houses of the state legislature, he represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac N. Carleton</span>

Isaac N. Carleton was an educator. He taught at Phillips Academy and was the principal of State Normal School in New Britain, Connecticut for twelve years. He was the founder of Carleton School in Massachusetts. He was the president of the American Institute of Instruction for two years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">28th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment</span> Military unit

The 28th Massachusetts Infantry regiment was the second primarily Irish American volunteer infantry regiment recruited in Massachusetts for service in the American Civil War. The regiment's motto was Faugh a Ballagh

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boodle's</span>

Boodle's is a London gentlemen's club, founded in January 1762, at No. 50 Pall Mall, London, by Lord Shelburne, the future Marquess of Lansdowne and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

John Stuart was a Scottish-born official of the British Empire in the colony of South Carolina, North America. He was the superintendent for the southern district of the British Indian Department from 1761 to 1779; his northern counterpart was Sir William Johnson, based in the colony of New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Nutt</span> Colonel in the American Civil War

William Nutt was a colonel in the American Civil War, a representative to the Massachusetts General Court from 1871 to 1872 and again in 1901, he was also the chairman of the board of the Natick Five Cents Savings Bank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1689 Boston revolt</span> 1689 popular uprising in colonial New England against Governor Edmund Andros

The 1689 Boston revolt was a popular uprising on April 18, 1689 against the rule of Sir Edmund Andros, the governor of the Dominion of New England. A well-organized "mob" of provincial militia and citizens formed in the town of Boston, the capital of the dominion, and arrested dominion officials. Members of the Church of England were also taken into custody if they were believed to sympathize with the administration of the dominion. Neither faction sustained casualties during the revolt. Leaders of the former Massachusetts Bay Colony then reclaimed control of the government. In other colonies, members of governments displaced by the dominion were returned to power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooks's</span> Gentlemens club on St Jamess Street in London, England

Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Kendall Hosmer</span> American writer, academic and librarian

James Kendall Hosmer was an American (Union) soldier during the American Civil War, a pastor, library director, historian, author and a professor of history and literature. Members of the Hosmer family fought in the French and Indian War, American Revolution and the Civil War. As a pastor of the First Church in Deerfield, Massachusetts he left the ministry, feeling duty bound to join the U.S. Army to serve in the Civil War, insisting to serve at the front, where he participated in several major campaigns. As an author and historian he later wrote and published several works about and involving the Civil War and how he viewed the cause of both the North and South. He also authored a number of other works relating to early American history, along with several novels and a fair number of poems. Hosmer also reviewed and published accounts about the Lewis and Clark Expedition at a time when full accounts of the expedition were very few in number and out of print. During his career he corresponded with many prominent writers and historians involving his works. In his latter life he held several prominent positions in various literary associations, including his position as president of the American Library Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Enos</span> American politician

Roger Enos was a colonial Vermont political and military leader during the American Revolution. In 1775, he took part in Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec, and he later commanded the Vermont Militia as a major general.

Jonas Fay was a military and political leader of Vermont during its period as an independent republic, and during the early years of its statehood. Born in Massachusetts, he served in the militia during the French and Indian War, studied medicine, and became a physician. His father moved to Vermont during its formative years, and Jonas Fay moved with him. Fay was active in the Green Mountain Boys and their resistance to New York's efforts to assume jurisdiction over Vermont. In 1775, he served as physician for the contingent of Green Mountain Boys that captured Fort Ticonderoga.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provincial troops in the French and Indian Wars</span>

Provincial troops were military units raised by colonial governors and legislatures in British North America for extended operations during the French and Indian Wars. The provincial troops differed from the militia, in that they were a full-time military organization conducting extended operations. They differed from the regular British Army in that they were recruited only for one campaign season at the time. These forces were often recruited through a quota system applied to the militia. Officers were appointed by the provincial governments. During the eighteenth century militia service was increasingly seen as a prerogative of the social and economic well-established, while provincial troops came to be recruited from different and less deep-rooted members of the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Massachusetts Militia Regiment</span> Peacetime infantry regiment

The 6th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia was a peacetime infantry regiment that was activated for federal service in the Union army for three separate terms during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The regiment gained notoriety as the first unit in the Union Army to suffer fatal casualties in action during the Civil War in the Baltimore Riot and the first militia unit to arrive in Washington D.C. in response to President Abraham Lincoln's initial call for 75,000 troops. Private Luther C. Ladd of the 6th Massachusetts is often referred to as the first Union soldier killed in action during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Smith (Paymaster general)</span> U.S. Army Paymaster-General

William Smith was a career officer in the United States Army. A Union Army veteran of the American Civil War, he served from 1861 to 1895 and was most notable for his service as Paymaster-General of the United States Army from 1890 to 1895.

References

  1. Finefield, Kristi. "The Last Men of the Revolution". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  2. "American Revolution.org; The Last Men of the Revolution".
  3. "The last men of the Revolution". Internet Archive. 16 November 2018.
  4. "Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society". Books.Google. 1912.