Moses Dunbar
Moses Dunbar | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 3, 1746 [O.S. June 14, 1746][1] Wallingford, Connecticut Colony |
| Died | 19 March 1777 (aged 30) |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Resting place | East Church Cemetery, Plymouth, Connecticut |
| Known for | Executed for treason during American Revolutionary War |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | Kingdom of Great Britain (Loyalist) |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | King's American Regiment |
Moses Dunbar (June 3, 1746 – March 19, 1777) was a Connecticut land-owner and officer in a Loyalist regiment during the American Revolutionary War, who became one of the few men in the state of Connecticut to be convicted of high treason and executed.[note 1]
Early life[edit]
Moses Dunbar was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, on June 3, 1746 to John and Temperance Dunbar,[2] the second of sixteen children. In 1764, Moses married Phebe Jerome of Farmington, Connecticut,[3] with whom he had seven children. Soon after marriage, Moses and Phebe joined the Church of England,[4] causing a rift with Moses' Congregationalist father.
Involvement in the American Revolution[edit]
On May 26, 1776, Dunbar's wife Phebe died after months of illness.[5] Dunbar subsequently married Esther Adams.[6] In September, Dunbar traveled to Long Island and, in October, he accepted a commission as a Captain in the King's American Regiment, a British provincial regiment which was raised for Loyalist service.[7] He then went back to Farmington, Connecticut, and was trying to persuade some other young men to enlist in the British army when he was arrested, and his royal commission and a list of Loyalist recruits was found in his pocket.[8]
He was indicted for high treason, tried in the superior court in Hartford, Connecticut, and on January 23, 1777, found guilty.[9] on March 19, he was executed on the gallows which stood near the present site of Trinity College.[10] Dunbar is interred at the Ancient Burying ground, in Hartford.[11]
Notes[edit]
- ^ William Stone of Stamford and Robert Thomson of Newton were two others; they each also were hanged in 1777 [citation needed]
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ Anderson, Virginia DeJohn (2017). The martyr and the traitor : Nathan Hale, Moses Dunbar, and the American Revolution. Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780199916863.
- ^ Anderson p.12
- ^ Anderson p.30
- ^ Anderson p.35
- ^ Anderson p.150
- ^ Anderson p.156
- ^ Anderson p.159
- ^ Anderson p.161,165
- ^ Anderson p.165
- ^ Anderson pgs.177-179
- ^ Ryan, J. Francis. "Chapter XVII." Plymouth Conn., 1776–1976. Plymouth, Conn.?: n.p., 1976. N. pag. Print.
Sources[edit]
- Anderson, Virginia DeJohn (2017). "The Martyr and the Traitor: Nathan Hale, Moses Dunbar, and the American Revolution", Oxford University Press
- Pond, E. LeRoy (1909). "The Tories of Chippeny Hill, Connecticut", Grafton Press
External links[edit]
- Moses Dunbar, The Other Connecticut Man Hanged in the Revolution
- Nathan Hale & Moses Dunbar – Two Very Different Victims From Revolutionary America
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- 1746 births
- 1777 deaths
- American Revolutionary War executions
- British military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War
- Loyalists in the American Revolution from Connecticut
- Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War
- People from Wallingford, Connecticut
- Connecticut stubs
- People executed by Connecticut by hanging
- People executed for treason against a state of the United States