Tag: revolutionary war

I saw HAMILTON

On By jenbumannIn colonel william shepard, ShepardLeave a comment

Because I know people, it’s always good to know people, I was able to see HAMILTON when it breezed through my neck of the woods. And I was able to get excellent seats. It was fantastic. Although, there is so much going on on stage that you can’t see it just once.

And after having seen the show I feel even more of a connection to history when I read things like this:

To George Washington from Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, 15 November 1777

Peeks Kill [N.Y.] November 15. 1777. Mr Kennedy’s house.

I arrived at this place last night and unfortunately find myself unable to proceed any further. Imagining I had gotten the better of my complaints while confined at Governor Clinton’s & anxious to be about, attending to the march of the troops, the day before yesterday I crossed the ferry in order to fall in with General Glover’s brigade which was on its march from Poughkepsie to Fish Kill. I did not however see it myself but received a letter from Col. Shepherd, who commands the Brigade informing me he would be last night at Fish Kill and this night at Kings Ferry.3 Waggons &c. are provided on the other side for his accomodation, so that there need be no delay but what is voluntary; and I beleive Col. Shepherd is as well disposed as could be wished to hasten his march. General Poors Brigade crossed the ferry the day before yesterday. Two york regiments Cortlandts & Livingstons are with them. they were unwilling to be separated from the Brigade and the Brigade from them. General Putnam was unwilling to keep them with him, and if he had consented to do it, the regiments to replace them would not join you six days as soon as these. The troops now remaining with General Putnam will amount to about the number you intended, though they are not exactly the same. He has detached Col. Charles Webbs regiment to you. He says the troops with him are not in a condition to march being destitute of Shoes stockings and other necessaries; but I beleive the true reasons of his being unwilling to persue the mode pointed out by you were his aversion to the york troops, and his desire to retain General Parsons with him. I am with much respect & esteem Yr Excellys Most Obedt servt

A. Hamilton
ALS, DLC:GW.

3. Col. William Shepard’s letter to Hamilton has not been identified.

This is a letter that Alexander Hamilton is writing to George Washington, talking about my great grandfather William Shepard. And my great grandfather, Col. William Shepard, was writing to both of these historical figures.

Awesome! History can sometimes be so cool.

Happy Thanksgiving.

P.S. I celebrate giving thanks on this day, not the genocide of the Indigenous Peoples of this continent.

Source: What’s this?https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-12-02-0252

Promotion Woes

On By jenbumannIn ShepardLeave a comment

I thought this might be an interesting short post for Veteran’s Day. My ancestral grandfather William Shepard, of Westfield, Massachusetts, retired a Colonel of the Revolutionary War.

When he first joined up to help further the cause of the Revolution he was a 2nd Lieutenant, as he had had prior experience in the military when it was British. Over the years during the war he was eventually promoted to Colonel, and in 1782 he was recommended for promotion to Brigadier General. It appears that they needed more Generals to run the brigades in the army.

Osgood Gilman
Whereas it appears that there are two Brigades of Troops of the Massachusetts Line now commanded by Colonels
therefore
Resolved that Col. John Greaton & Col. William Shepard the two Senior Colonels in the Massachusetts line of officers be and hereby are promoted to the Rank of Brigadier General in the Army of the United States.
Vote taken December 1782[?] Ayes 9, Nays 11. The Nays have it.

Unfortunately, William didn’t get that promotion. He retired from military service January 1, 1783, possibly because he felt it was a promotion he should have gotten, plus he had served his county for many years, it was time to go home.

However, nine months after he retired a Congressional Resolution dated September 30, 1783, was passed, it appears that his service was finally being recognized, as he was promoted to Brig. General, although without pay of that rank.

Source: Images from Fold3 website.

If it dresses like a man, and says it’s a man, she must be a woman

On By jenbumannIn billings, colonel william shepard, Shepard3 Comments

Sometimes I find the coolest things hunting and pecking around the interwebs researching my ancestors in an attempt to flesh out their lives. This one was a very convoluted find, because it all started with questions about a probate record for Samuel Billings of Vermont, and ended up in Massachusetts during the Revolutionary War.

So, here’s what happened — I was working on creating a timeline for Samuel, to get a general sense of the whens and wheres, and it turns out that he had been a Captain in Colonel Learned’s 4th Massachusetts Regiment during the Revolutionary War. Upon further research into this regiment I find out that this is the same one that William Shepard took over after Learned died. Cool. Now I know that Samuel served under my 5x great grandfather Col. William Shepard. That, in and of itself, is pretty interesting. But then, this little gem pops up on my radar:

In 1778 Deborah Sampson wanted to enlist in the army as a Continental soldier. But the army said no, because, well, because women can’t serve you silly ninny. So, she disguised herself as a man. She had little difficulty passing as a man because she was 5′ 7″ in height, which was tall for a woman at that time. She ended up serving 17 months in the army, as “Robert Shurtlieff,” (wounded in 1782, honorably discharged in 1783).

Sampson was chosen for the Light Infantry Company of the 4th Massachusetts Regiment under the command of Captain George Webb. The unit, consisting of fifty to sixty, er…, men, was first quartered in Bellingham, Massachusetts and later the unit mustered at Worcester under the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, commanded by Colonel William Shepard.

~~ taken from (and, well, edited a bit by me, a girl has to spice things up a bit): https://military.wikia.org/wiki/Deborah_Sampson
Deborah Sampson statue.

In the town where she died, Sharon, Massachusetts, they have statues of her, buildings named after her, and lots of history honoring her service and life. I seriously doubt that William or Samuel ever knew they being snookered at the time. Good for her! Of course, it would have been even better if the military had said “by all means, the more warm bodies to help us kick English ass, the better.” But they didn’t.