Enoch Poor

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Enoch Poor
Painting by Ulysses Dow Tenney, 1873, after an earlier portrait by Tadeusz Kościuszko
Born(1736-06-21)June 21, 1736
Andover, Massachusetts
DiedSeptember 8, 1780(1780-09-08) (aged 44)
Hackensack, New Jersey
Buried
Hackensack, New Jersey
Allegiance United States
Service/branch Continental Army
Years of service1775–1780
Rank Brigadier general
Battles/warsAmerican Revolutionary War
Spouse(s)Martha Osgood
Other workShip builder, merchant

Enoch Poor (June 21, 1736 (Old Style) – September 8, 1780) was a brigadier general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was a ship builder and merchant from Exeter, New Hampshire.

Biography

Poor was born and raised in

expulsion of the Acadians
. After the war, he came home to Andover, but only briefly. He eloped with Martha Osgood, and they settled in Exeter where he became a successful ship builder.

Poor supported the separatists as early as the

invasion of Canada
.

After the disaster in Canada, Poor led the survivors of his regiment in early 1776 back to Fort Ticonderoga. The unit was renamed as the 8th Continental regiment and joined Washington's main army in December 1776 at winter quarters near Morristown, New Jersey.

The monument to Gen. Poor, just a few feet from his burial site in Hackensack, New Jersey

The

Battle of Saratoga, and his brigade was expanded by two regiments of Connecticut militia (Cook's and Latimer's
).

In the

Battle of Freeman's Farm, Poor's brigade was the first to come to the aid of Daniel Morgan's attack. Poor held the American left flank, extending into the woods and even wrapping around the British position. They performed well, keeping General Simon Fraser's regulars engaged while Benedict Arnold
led attacks on the central column.

In the

Battle of Bemis Heights, Poor's brigade was in General Benjamin Lincoln's division on the western end of the American line. They were closest to the center of the advancing British, so they came under fire from the grenadier battalion of the British center. The fire was ineffective, so Major John Dyke Acland led the grenadiers in a bayonet charge. Poor held fire until they came very close, then opened up with the massed fire of his 1,400 men. These were the first American shots in the battle. The charge was completely broken, and Acland himself fell wounded. With this collapse of Burgoyne's center, the Americans captured the wounded Acland and Major Williams along with the column's artillery. Poor then turned to his left and gave support to Ebenezer Learned
and Morgan's men.

Poor's burial site. The inscription includes: In 1824, Lafayette re visited this grave, and turning away much affected, exclaimed, Ah, that was one of my Generals.

Poor's brigade again spent the winter with the main army, this time at Valley Forge. He led the last maneuvers in the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778. He accompanied the Sullivan Expedition in 1779, leading a brigade in the victory at Battle of Newtown.

Afterward Poor was assigned to

First Reformed Dutch Church Cemetery in Hackensack.[4] George Washington
and Lafayette both attended his funeral, and Washington wrote to inform Congress of Poor's death. He noted that "he was an officer of distinguished merit, one who as a citizen and soldier had every claim to the esteem and regard of his country."

See also

References

  1. ^ Heitman, Francis B., Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution (Washington, DC: 1914), p. 446
  2. ^ Fisher, Elijah (1780). "Journal of Elijah Fisher". Journal of Elijah Fisher. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  3. ^ "The Mysterious Death of New Hampshire's Enoch Poor, Revolutionary War Hero". newenglandhistoricalsociety.com. Retrieved July 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Revolutionary War New Jersey

External links

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