Benjamin Lincoln

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Benjamin Lincoln. Painting by Charles Willson Peale around 1784.

Benjamin Lincoln (born January 24, 1733 in Hingham , Province of Massachusetts Bay , colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain , † May 9, 1810 in Hingham, Massachusetts, USA ) was an American general in the American Revolutionary War .

Lincoln was born into a farming family in the Puritan town of Hingham. His great-great-grandfather was one of the city's founders and his father, who was also called Benjamin, held almost all the important offices in the city. He followed in his father's footsteps in his local office. He also worked his way up to lieutenant colonel in the local militia (1776). In 1776 he became brigadier general and on February 19, 1777 major general and commander of all Massachusetts troops in the Boston area. After the British evacuation of Boston, Lincoln joined General George Washington and commanded the right wing in the Battle of White Plains. Shortly after the fighting at Fort Independence , he was appointed major general in the Continental Army.

Lincoln went south with General Washington and was then sent to the Northern Department of the Continental Army to help fend off General John Burgoyne's Saratoga campaign . After recovering from several wounds, Lincoln became commander of the Southern Department of the Continental Army in September 1778. He failed to retake Georgia and was forced to surrender on May 12, 1780 in Charleston, South Carolina . After being exchanged, he soon returned to Washington's main Continental Army group, leading them straight south to Virginia and starring in the surrender of Charles Cornwallis after the Battle of Yorktown on October 20, 1781. Also in 1781, he was in elected the American Academy of Arts and Sciences .

Lincoln helped put down Shay's rebellion in 1787 , but later pleaded for mercy with the arrested insurgents. After the war he remained active in various functions in public life, including as Secretary of Defense, until he retired in 1809.

Honors

According to him, cities such as Lincoln in the state of Vermont and Lincolnnton and counties z. B.

named.

  • The Honorable Mr. B. Lincoln, Major General in the American Army. Engraving from 1782.

  • General Benjamin Lincoln's birthplace in Hingham, Massachusetts. Photo from 1936.

Web links

Commons : Benjamin Lincoln  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Howard Zinn: A People's History of the United States , Harper Perennial, 2005, p. 95 ISBN 0-06-083865-5
personal data
SURNAME Lincoln, Benjamin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American general in the American War of Independence
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1733
PLACE OF BIRTH Hingham , Massachusetts , colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain
DATE OF DEATH May 9, 1810
Place of death Hingham, Massachusetts, USA