Benjamin Lincoln
Benjamin Lincoln | |
---|---|
Charles Wilson Peale | |
1st Collector of the Port of Boston | |
In office 1789–1809 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Henry Dearborn |
2nd Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts | |
In office 1788–1789 | |
Governor | John Hancock |
Preceded by | Thomas Cushing |
Succeeded by | Samuel Adams |
1st United States Secretary at War | |
In office March 1, 1781 – November 2, 1783 | |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Henry Knox |
1st Clerk of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress | |
In office October 7, 1774 – May 31, 1775 | |
Preceded by | office established |
Succeeded by | Samuel Freeman |
Committee of Safety | |
In office October 7, 1774 – February 1, 1775 | |
Constituency | At-large (Commissary Officer) |
Personal details | |
Born | Hingham, Massachusetts Bay, British America | January 24, 1733
Died | May 9, 1810 Hingham, Massachusetts, U.S. | (aged 77)
Resting place | Old Ship Burying Ground, Hingham |
Political party | Federalist |
Spouse |
Mary Cushing (m. 1756) |
Children | 11 |
Signature | Second Battle of Saratoga (Bemis Heights) • Siege of Savannah • Siege of Charleston • Yorktown campaign Shays' Rebellion |
Benjamin Lincoln (January 24, 1733 (O.S. January 13, 1733)[1] – May 9, 1810) was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln was involved in three major surrenders during the war: his participation in the Battles of Saratoga (sustaining a wound shortly afterward) contributed to John Burgoyne's surrender of a British army, he oversaw the largest American surrender of the war at the 1780 siege of Charleston, and, as George Washington's second in command, he formally accepted the British surrender at Yorktown.
Lincoln served from 1781 to 1783 as the first
Early life
Benjamin Lincoln was born on January 24, 1733,[1] in Hingham, Province of Massachusetts Bay, the sixth child and first son of Colonel Benjamin Lincoln and his second wife Elizabeth Thaxter Lincoln.[2] Lincoln's ancestors were among those who first settled in Hingham, beginning with Thomas Lincoln 'the cooper,' who was among several Lincolns who settled in Hingham when it was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.[3] Lincoln's father, one of the wealthiest men in Suffolk County, served as a member of the governor's council from 1753 until 1770, and occupied many other civic posts before his death in 1771.[4] Lincoln's maternal grandfather, Col. Samuel Thaxter, one of the most prominent and influential citizens in Hingham, became Colonel in a regiment and one of those commissioned to settle the boundary between Massachusetts and Rhode Island in 1719.
In his early life, Lincoln worked on the family farm, and attended the local school. He followed his father into government, becoming town constable at 21, and in 1755 he joined the 3rd Regiment of the Suffolk County militia (where his father was colonel) as an adjutant.[5] In 1756, at the age of 23, Lincoln married Mary Cushing, daughter of Elijah Cushing of Pembroke, Massachusetts, whose ancestors were also among the founders of Hingham.[6] They had eleven children, seven of whom survived to adulthood.[5] In 1757, he was elected the town clerk of Hingham, a post he held for twenty years. He continued to be active in the militia during the French and Indian War, but saw no action, and was promoted to major by the end of the conflict in 1763.[7]
Lincoln was elected a Hingham town selectman in 1765, a post to which he held for six years. During this tenure political opposition rose in the province to Parliamentary tax measures, polarizing the political landscape of the colony. Lincoln sided with the opposition, eventually becoming a leading force among Hingham's Patriots.[8] In 1770, in a list of resolutions passed by the inhabitants of Hingham, Lincoln outlined the measures urged by residents towards the non-importation of British goods, and he condemned the Boston Massacre.[9] In 1772, Lincoln was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 3rd Regiment of the Suffolk militia.[10] That same year he won election as a representative of the town to the provincial assembly.[11]
American Revolution
With the arrival of
Defense of New York
In January 1776, Lincoln was promoted to
Despite his lack of combat experience, Lincoln began lobbying state representatives to the Continental Congress for a Continental Army officers commission, anticipating that the aging and ill General Ward might soon step down. The idea was generally well received, with one representative writing that Lincoln was "a good man for a Brigadier General" and "a man of abilities", even though he had not "had much experience".[15] While a Continental commission was not immediately forthcoming, Lincoln was placed in command of a brigade of militia the state sent to join General George Washington at New York Town in September 1776.[16]
When Lincoln reached southwestern
Lincoln's first command was that of a forward outpost at Bound Brook, New Jersey, only 3 miles (4.8 km) from British sentries outside New Brunswick. He established his headquarters at the nearby Van Horne House.[20] After months of skirmishing, his post was the target of a surprise attack on April 13, 1777. In the Battle of Bound Brook he was defeated by a much larger force under the command of Lord Cornwallis, barely escaping capture.
Saratoga
In July 1777, Washington dispatched three of his best officers, Colonel Morgan, General Arnold and General Lincoln north to assist Philip Schuyler, and afterward Schuyler's replacement Horatio Gates, in the defense of upstate New York against the advance of General John Burgoyne's expedition from Quebec. Lincoln was ordered to coordinate the activities of the New England militia being recruited for the effort. General Schuyler asked Lincoln, from a base in southern Vermont, to harass the British supply line as the British moved south from Fort Ticonderoga toward Albany. Lincoln's job was complicated by New Hampshire's militia leader John Stark, who categorically refused to put his forces under Lincoln's command. Stark had previously held a Continental commission and resigned over a promotion snub, and had only agreed to serve in his native New Hampshire if he was not under Continental authority. Stark led his forces to victory in the Battle of Bennington in mid-August, which led to the capture or deaths of 1,000 Hessian soldiers from Burgoyne's army, while Lincoln's force was still growing.
By early September Lincoln had 2,000 men under his command, and launched several detachments at the British supply line. One of those detachments, led by Colonel
Lincoln's militia played no role in the American victory at the October 7
Lincoln was transported to Albany, where he was treated, and where he learned of Burgoyne's October 17 surrender. His son helped him return to Hingham in February 1778, where he convalesced for several months. The injury left his right leg two inches shorter than the left, and for many years the ankle wound was prone to reopening and the danger of infection. During his recovery Lincoln learned that General Arnold's seniority had been restored, reducing Lincoln to the lowest-ranked major general. Although he considered resignation over the slight, Washington and supporters in the Continental Congress assured him of his value to the army.
Southern theater (1778–1781)
Lincoln rejoined Washington outside New York in August 1778, and was appointed commander of the Southern department in September. Washington sent Lincoln, Lafayette and Lee (Henry "Light Horse Harry") to the Southern Department to oppose the British army under Clinton and Cornwallis. Lincoln participated in the unsuccessful French-led siege of Savannah, Georgia in October 1779, after which he retreated to Charleston, South Carolina. He took command of the garrison of Charleston. In March 1780, the city was surrounded by a sizable British force dispatched from New York. After a relatively brief siege, Lincoln was forced to surrender more than 5,000 men to Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton on May 12, 1780, but did so in a way that allowed the South Carolina militia to escape as well as some Continental forces, that annoyed the British toward Lincoln.
Lincoln, desperate for more troops, had pleaded with the
The loss of the southern army at Charleston was one of the worst Continental defeats of the war. He was denied the honors of war in surrendering, due to the British annoyance at his facilitating the escape of South Carolina militia units and some Continental forces, such as those with Lafayette and Lee, which deeply rankled Lincoln. Lincoln was paroled, and in the court of inquiry no charges were ever brought against him.
After being exchanged for the British Major General William Phillips in November 1780,[21] Lincoln returned to Washington's main army. He led a large portion of the Army south from Head of Elk Maryland to Hampton, Virginia, to march to the west to Yorktown where the British were encamped. Lincoln played a major role in the siege of Yorktown and the surrender of Lord Cornwallis on October 19, 1781. Cornwallis plead illness, and so did not attend the surrender ceremony, choosing instead to send his second-in-command, the Irish General Charles O'Hara. General Washington refused to accept Cornwallis' sword from O'Hara, directing O'Hara to present it instead to Lincoln, Washington's own second-in-command.[22]
Secretary at War (1781–1783)
From 1781 to late 1783, Lincoln served as the first
While
Post-war politics
In early 1787, Lincoln helped put an end to an uprising of western Massachusetts farmers opposed to increased taxation and government coercion in their trade, known as
On February 4, 1789, Lincoln was one of only 12 men who received electoral votes during the
Lincoln also served as one of the first trustees of Derby Academy, founded in Hingham by Sarah Hersey Derby, widow of a wealthy Salem shipping magnate.[32]
He stayed active in public life in various capacities, including a term as Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts and many years as the Collector of the Port of Boston. In 1806, Lincoln attempted to resign as Collector but President Thomas Jefferson requested he stay until he appointed a successor. This act led to Representative Josiah Quincy III to attempt to have Jefferson impeached in January 1809, even though Jefferson was set to leave office in March of that year.[33] He retired from public life in 1809 and died in Hingham on May 9, 1810.
Legacy
Lincoln is buried in the Old Ship Burying Ground behind the
He was one of the few men to have been involved in the three major surrenders of the American Revolutionary War: twice as a victor (at Yorktown and Saratoga), and once as the defeated party (at Charleston). In spite of the major role he played during the war, he tends to be less well-remembered than many of his contemporaries in the Continental Army.
He was a founding member of The Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture (M.S.P.A.) one of the earliest agricultural societies in the United States. The Society was incorporated by an act of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on March 7, 1792.
Places named "Lincoln" in the
Lincoln's lifelong home still stands. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Benjamin Lincoln is believed to have married Mary Cushing.
Notes
- ^ a b In the Julian calendar, then in use in England, the year began on March 25. To avoid confusion with dates in the Gregorian calendar, then in use in other parts of Europe, dates between January and March were often written with both years. Dates in this article are in the Gregorian calendar unless otherwise noted.
- ^ Mattern, p. 9.
- ^ "History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts". Hingham, Mass. 1893.
- ^ Mattern, pp. 8–9.
- ^ a b Mattern, p. 14.
- ISBN 9781548464141.
- ^ Mattern, p. 15.
- ^ Mattern, pp. 16–19.
- ^ Lincoln, Solomon (1827). "History of the Town of Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts".
- ^ "History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts". Hingham, Mass. 1893.
- ^ Mattern, p. 19.
- ^ Mattern, p. 20.
- ^ Mattern, p. 22.
- ^ Mattern, pp. 23–25.
- ^ Mattern, p. 26.
- ^ a b Mattern, p. 27.
- ^ Mattern, p. 28.
- ^ Mattern, p. 31.
- ^ Mattern, pp. 33, 36.
- ^ Bertland, Dennis N. (March 8, 2002). "NRHP Nomination: Van Horne House". National Park Service.
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(help) - ^ "Patriot Resource, article: Benjamin Lincoln". Archived from the original on October 7, 2008.
- ^ "Eyewitness History: "The British Surrender at Yorktown, 1781"".
- ^ "The Articles of Confederation". Archived from the original on November 29, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
- ^ "Benjamin Lincoln". Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2016.
- ^ "Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter L" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 28, 2014.
- ^ The Society of the Cincinnati webpage Archived January 26, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, accessed January 25, 2019
- ^ Thomas, p. 94.
- ^ Metcalf, p. 199.
- ^ "Officers Represented in the Society of the Cincinnati". The American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati. Retrieved March 15, 2021.
- ^ “Convention of Massachusetts”, Elliot’s Debates: Volume 2, found at TeachingAmericanHistory online
- ^ "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875".
- ^ Massachusetts (1784). "Acts and Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts".
- ^ Dillingham, H. L. (1913). Handbook of the Port of Boston. Boston, MA: Boston Chamber of Commerce. p. 15.
- ^ "History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts". Hingham, Mass. 1893.
- ^ The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. p. 36.
- ^ Eaton, David Wolfe (1916). How Missouri Counties, Towns and Streams Were Named. The State Historical Society of Missouri. p. 186.
- ^ Cope, Tony (2016). It's Not That Lincoln. The Abercorn Press.
References
- Benjamin Lincoln
- The Articles of Confederation Archived November 29, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- Journal of the Senate, Vol 1, 1789, p8
- Mattern, David B. Benjamin Lincoln and the American Revolution. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1998. googlebooks Retrieved December 30, 2008.
- Thomas, William Sturgis Members of the Society of the Cincinnati, Original, Hereditary and Honorary; With a Brief Account of the Society's History and Aims (New York: T.A. Wright, 1929)
- Metcalf, Bryce 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., 1938)