Jacob Kingsbury

Colonel
Jacob Kingsbury
Born (1756-07-06)July 6, 1756
Norwich, Connecticut
Died July 1, 1837(1837-07-01) (aged 80)
Franklin, Connecticut
Buried at Franklin, Connecticut
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch Continental Army
United States Army
Years of service 1775-1815
Rank Colonel
Unit 1st United States Infantry
Commands held 1st United States Infantry
Spouse(s) Sally Palmer Ellis

Colonel Jacob Kingsbury (1756 to 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.

Biography

Jacob Kingsbury was born in Norwich, Connecticut on 6 July 1756 to Nathaniel and Sarah Hill Kingsbury. [1]

On 11 July 1775, at the age of 19, he enlisted in the 8th Connecticut Regiment which was part of the Continental Army in the Siege of Boston. He was promoted to corporal before the regiment was disbanded on 16 December 1775.[2]

Kingsbury remained in the Continental Army when it was reorganized in January 1776. He was promoted to sergeant and then was commissioned an ensign in Webb's Additional Continental Regiment on April 26, 1780. He served until the Continental Army was disbanded on 3 November 1783. After the war, he became an Original Member of the Connecticut Society of the Cincinnati.

Post Revolution

After a break in service of almost four years, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the First American Regiment (today known as the 3rd Infantry Regiment) on 15 October 1787. He served in the ill fated campaigns of Colonel Josiah Harmar (in 1790) and General Arthur St. Clair (in 1791) against the Miami Tribe in what is modern day Ohio.

On January 10th and 11th of 1791 Kingsbury distinguished himself at the Siege of Dunlap's Station where he led a detachment of only 12 soldiers, along with a few settlers, in defending a small outpost against a far superior force of Native Americans. Following St. Clair's Defeat in November 1791, he was promoted to captain in April 1792 retroactive to 28 December 1791.

Kingsbury was assigned to the 1st Sub-Legion when the Army was re-organized in 1792 and commanded a company in the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794, which decisively defeated the Native Americans in Ohio. When the Army was re-organized in 1796, the 1st Sub-Legion reverted to being designated as the 1st Infantry Regiment.

Kingsbury was promoted to major in 1797 and lieutenant colonel in 1803.

Early in 1802 he was assigned to command Fort Wilkinson in Georgia where he was under the command of General James Wilkinson.

In 1805 he established Fort Belle Fontaine on the Missouri River and served there until he was promoted to colonel and placed in command of the 1st Infantry in 1808. [3]

In 1807 Kingsbury was elected to membership in the United States Military Philosophical Society which was the first professional association of officers of the United States Army.

War of 1812

During the War of 1812, Kingsbury was appointed to command the defenses of Newport, Rhode Island. He served as Inspector General for Military District No. 2 (comprising the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island) from 8 April 1813 to 31 October 1814.

At the end of the war, Colonel Kingsbury was discharged from the Army on 15 June 1815 after 33 years of service to his country.

He died on July 1, 1837 at his home in Franklin, Connecticut. [4] He is buried in the Plains Cemetery in Franklin. [5]

Family

He married Sally Palmer Ellis (1778-1857), by whom he had five sons and three daughters:

Eliza Rosanna Thayer Kingsbury (1800-1800); died in infancy.

James Wilkinson Kingsbury (1801-1853); Graduated from West Point in 1823. Served with distinction during the Black Hawk War and resigned from the Army in 1836 to become keeper of U.S. military stores in St. Louis. [6]

Julia Ann Ellis Kingsbury (b. 1804)

Thomas Humphrey Cushsing Kingsbury (1806-1880); Colonel of the 11th Connecticut Infantry during the American Civil War.

William Eustis Kingsbury (1809-1835); Collector of the Port of Presque Isle, Pennsylvania.

Benjamin Ellis Kingsbury (1812-1813); died in infancy.

Sarah Hill Kingsbury (1815-1840)

Charles Ellis Kingsbury (b. 1818); Commissioned 2nd lieutenant in the 2nd Dragoons in 1836. Died in Florida in 1837. [7]

Dates of rank

Continental Army service

United States Army service

Legacy

Colonel Kingsbury's papers are located at the Missouri Historical Society Archives. [10]

References

  1. ↑ The Genealogy of the Descendants of Henry Kingsbury. Frederick John Kingsbury. Hartford Press. 1905. pp. 221-222.
  2. ↑ Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1789-1903. Francis B. Heitman. 1903. Volume 1. pg. 601.
  3. ↑ http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Belle_Fontaine
  4. ↑ http://genealogytrails.com/conn/newlondon/deaths.html
  5. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=kingsbury&GSfn=jacob+&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1837&GSdyrel=in&GSst=8&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=15542410&df=all&
  6. ↑ The Genealogy of the Descendants of Henry Kingsbury. Frederick John Kingsbury. Hartford Press. 1905. pp. 314-315.
  7. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=kingsbury&GSfn=jacob+&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1837&GSdyrel=in&GSst=8&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=15542410&df=all&
  8. ↑ Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army. Francis B. Heitman. pg. 333.
  9. ↑ Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1789-1903. Francis B. Heitman. 1903. Vol. 1. pg. 601.
  10. ↑ http://www.mohistory.org/files/archives_guides/KingsburyPapers.pdf
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.