Seth Pomeroy

Seth Pomeroy (* 20th May 1706 in Northampton , Province of Massachusetts Bay colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain , today USA ; † 9. February 1777 in Peekskill , New York ) was a British and American gunsmith and a general in the French and Indian wars and in the American War of Independence .

Private life

His parents were Sarah Pomeroy, née King, and Ebeneezer Pomeroy, a prominent local politician and major in the colonial militia . Seth Pomeroy became a mechanic and armorer, as well as a member of the local militia in Hampshire County . He earned a reputation as the colony's finest armourer. Pomeroy married Mary Hunt (* 1705, † 1777) on December 14, 1732, with whom he had a son, Dr. Medad Pomeroy (* 1735; † 1819) and who died only seven months after him.

French and Indian Wars

French and Indian wars in North America are called the military actions that took place in North America as part of European dynastic wars.

King George's War

When Massachusetts undertook a campaign against the French settlers in Nova Scotia , Major Seth Pomeroy responded to Governor William Shirley's call for volunteers. He was part of the campaign under William Pepperell , who took the fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia in 1745 . Pomeroy used his professional skills in support of Richard Gridley , the campaign's chief military engineer. He restored the cannons that had been captured in a remote position after the French made them unusable and supported the 46-day heavy bombardment.

French and Indian War

In 1755, Lieutenant Colonel Seth Pomeroy was second officer in Colonel Ephraim Williams ' regiment . They marched on New York to support the capture of Crown Point . While they were en route, they were attacked by a force of 800 French and Canadian troops, supported by 600 Iroquois warriors and led by Baron Johann Hermann von Dieskau . Colonel Ephraim Williams was killed and Pomeroy took command. Despite great losses, they reached the British camp at the south end of Lake George . There they hurriedly erected a wall of logs and wagons, and resisted with the support of cannons and additional forces under General William Johnson . The Indians and Canadians did not want to attack in the open. When Baron Dieskau was wounded, the entire French army withdrew to Fort Frontenac (now Fort Ticonderoga ). Baron Dieskau was captured and William Johnson began building Fort Edward to protect the area.

American War of Independence

Memorial in honor of Pomeroy in Hillside Cemetery

Although he was a veteran officer in the Massachusetts Army at the start of the war, Pomeroy played only a limited role. In the end, he was almost 70 years old. However, when the siege of Boston began in 1775 , Pomeroy was among the volunteers who rushed to assist. On June 17th, British bombardment heralded the Battle of Bunker Hill . Pomeroy borrowed a horse from General Artemas Ward and went to Charlestown . When he reached the Isthmus of Charlestown, he encountered dispersed troops because the narrow strip of land was under fire from British warships. He gave his horse to a soldier to bring it back, shouldered his musket, and marched through the barrage. Pomeroy refused any command post, but took up position at the fence to fight with John Stark's regiment.

The following week the Continental Congress named him Brigadier General of the Continental Army . Because his health was not the best and doubts arose about his age, he declined the appeal.

But when George Washington asked for help in New Jersey , he marched with his militia unit. However, he did not complete the trip, but fell ill and died in Peekskill. He was buried there in St. Peters Church Cemetery, which is now part of Hillside Cemetery.

literature

• Louis E. DeForest (Ed.): The Journals and Papers of Seth Pomeroy, sometimes general in colonial service . Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, New Haven, Conn. 1926.