Moses Dunbar (3 June 1746 – March 19, 1777) was a Connecticut land-owner and officer in a Loyalist regiment during the American Revolutionary War. He was one of the few men in the state of Connecticut to be convicted of high treason and executed.[note 1]
Moses Dunbar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 June 1746[1] Wallingford, Connecticut, British America |
| Died | 19 March 1777 (aged 30) Hartford, Connecticut, United States |
| Cause of death | Hanging |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Great Britain |
| Years of service | 1776 |
| Children | 7 |
Early life
editMoses 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
editOn 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 buried in 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
editCitations
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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