Richard Douglass
Encyclopedia
Captain Richard Douglass (1746-1828) was born in New London
, Connecticut
in 1746 to Stephen and Patience Douglass. Richard Douglass ran a successful cooper
business. Already in 1760 where there more than 40 ships from Brigs to Sloops registered in New London many under the Shaw Family flag conducting business in the East and West Indies as well as such foreign ports at Lisbon
, Barcelona
, Amsterdam
and even as far as Russia in addition to the mother country England
. Being a cooper was a valuable trade especially with New London and the Colonies thirst for Bajan (Barbados
) Rum
.
, William Coit, John & James Chapman and other New Londoners to Boston in William Coit's Independent Company. At this point it is not yet known if his unit under Capt.Chapman participated at Bunker Hill but it is suspected as William Coit was with a 200 man strong unit that fought at the "fence" with Thomas Knowlton of Connecticut. John Chapman eventual served under Knowlton in the elite Army Ranger unit, the first of its kind. 2 companies of New London County men were at Bunker Hill including John Tubbs of modern day East Lyme and Christopher Darrow (East Lyme/Montville) then called "Northern Parrish". It is most likely that according to documentation that William Coit's Independent Company protected the retreating soldiers from Bunker Hill (Breeds) thwarting any British engagements thus allowing the survivors to return in safety.
It is known that Capt. Chapman's Regiment of Foote or "Company" served under Lyme's General Samuel Holden Parsons then living in New London and participated at the Battle of New York (Long Island) and the defense of New York
and eventual retreat to the Highlands. It is thought that here Richard Douglass "suffered atrocities of the British" and was taken prisoner, eventually escaping a prison ship in 1776-77. Richard fought at the defense of Philadelphia, Monmouth
, New Jersey
, Germantown
and Brandywine
engagements along with many other Eastern Connecticut men. It is also "possible" that he was taken prisoner at Germantown as many from New London County were as their poorly led unit was outflanked. This part of the story is also yet to be told.
Richard Douglass served throughout the war and it has come to our knowledge that he was again the victim of atrocities when Benedict Arnold
returned in 1781 burning New London and the attack on Ft. Griswold in Groton that eventually claimed the lives of 83 men on the Groton side and 6 more on the New London side. While Bradley Street was spared the torch it is possible that Richard Douglass and family suffered harassment. This part of the story is yet to be told.
It is said that Richard Douglass enlisted in 1775 and served distinguishably throughout the war ending service in 1783.
Not much is known "yet" of the man as a person, what he looked like or what people like Nathan Hale
, William Coit or John Chapman
thought of him but having served distinguishably appears that he was a good foot soldier and very loyal to cause becoming respected in that area.
)
Douglas, Richard (Conn). Private in the Lexington Alarm, April, 1775;
Ensign and Regimental Quartermaster in Selden's Connecticut State Regiment, 20 June to 25 December, 1776; 2nd Lieutenant 1st Connecticut, 1 at January,
1777; 1st Lieutenant, 1 January, 1778; Captain Lieutenant, 11 August,
1780; Captain, 22 August, 1780; transferred to 5th Connecticut, 1 January, 1781, transferred to 3d Connecticut, 1 January 1783; transferred
to Swift's Consolidated Connecticut Regiment, June, 1783, and served to 3d
November, 1783. (Died 1828.)
At the close of the War with New London nearly burned to the ground and its economy in shambles, it appears Richard Douglass's business began to slowly rebound. Just a few short years after the war's conclusion he purchased the land from Timothy Green at the corners of the new Golden Street and Cross Street (now Green's Alley) to build a house. At nearly 40 years of age he removed from Bradley Street, which was known as "Widows Row" from the British attack on New London to this new street even closer to the wharves on Bank Street. His cooper business took place at 102 Golden Street for some time and eventually purchased the plot at 77-79 Green Street (immediately next door) for 117 dollars on June 30 1801 from Timothy Green then living in Fredricksburg, VA to manage his family business interests there. The house was built a short time after and is one of the few homes of its type remaining in New London.
1801 Richard Douglass House
At the close of the American Revolution in 1783 Richard became one of the founding officers of the Society of the Cincinnati and it is noted in Bryce Metcalf's "Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati" (1938) that he served until November 3, 1783. Richard Douglass was a member of the Connecticut Society.
Richard married Ann Jennings, a widow from New Shoreham
, Block Island, Rhode Island
in 1777 and had 8 children. All lived to their adult years. Ann Jennings from the Champlin stock a well known Eastern Connecticut line of families, well respected and quite obviously a catch.
Richard Douglass' children Alexander b. 1778, Robert, Lucy, and Richard Jr. Alexander eventually became a whaling
captain
working in the firm of Benjamin Brown of New London as well as for the Williams firm. He purchased property in upstate New York or received it from a war
grant
from his father's service in the war and eventually retired there after his last whaling voyages in about 1838.
Richard Jr. became a lawyer
and moved to Ohio
Territory at Chillicote then being populated by many of Eastern Connecticut's citizens and later relocated to Marietta
, Ohio and had two sons, Luke Richard and Albert. Richard Sr. died in 1852 in Chillicote, Ohio.
The Benjamin Brown house (ca. 1817) still stands today on Bank Street as a "granite
" icon to the Whaling Era. Alexander was the captain to many of the most successful early whaling voyages out of New London. A yet unconfirmed story about him is his ship
eventually rescued stranded survivors of the Pequod
.
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
in 1746 to Stephen and Patience Douglass. Richard Douglass ran a successful cooper
Cooper (profession)
Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
business. Already in 1760 where there more than 40 ships from Brigs to Sloops registered in New London many under the Shaw Family flag conducting business in the East and West Indies as well as such foreign ports at Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
and even as far as Russia in addition to the mother country England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Being a cooper was a valuable trade especially with New London and the Colonies thirst for Bajan (Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
) Rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
.
American Revolution 1775-1783
At the outbreak of hostilities in the 1775 against England Richard Douglass enlisted in the militia and marched alongside Nathan HaleNathan Hale
Nathan Hale was a soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured by the British...
, William Coit, John & James Chapman and other New Londoners to Boston in William Coit's Independent Company. At this point it is not yet known if his unit under Capt.Chapman participated at Bunker Hill but it is suspected as William Coit was with a 200 man strong unit that fought at the "fence" with Thomas Knowlton of Connecticut. John Chapman eventual served under Knowlton in the elite Army Ranger unit, the first of its kind. 2 companies of New London County men were at Bunker Hill including John Tubbs of modern day East Lyme and Christopher Darrow (East Lyme/Montville) then called "Northern Parrish". It is most likely that according to documentation that William Coit's Independent Company protected the retreating soldiers from Bunker Hill (Breeds) thwarting any British engagements thus allowing the survivors to return in safety.
It is known that Capt. Chapman's Regiment of Foote or "Company" served under Lyme's General Samuel Holden Parsons then living in New London and participated at the Battle of New York (Long Island) and the defense of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and eventual retreat to the Highlands. It is thought that here Richard Douglass "suffered atrocities of the British" and was taken prisoner, eventually escaping a prison ship in 1776-77. Richard fought at the defense of Philadelphia, Monmouth
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Germantown
Germantown
- Places :in the United States* Germantown, California, former name of Artois, California* Germantown, Connecticut* Germantown, Illinois* Germantown, Decatur County, Indiana...
and Brandywine
Brandywine
-Geographic locations:In British Columbia*Brandywine Falls Provincial Park*Brandywine MountainIn Delaware*Brandywine Creek, a tributary of the Christina River.*Brandywine Hundred, an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County...
engagements along with many other Eastern Connecticut men. It is also "possible" that he was taken prisoner at Germantown as many from New London County were as their poorly led unit was outflanked. This part of the story is also yet to be told.
Richard Douglass served throughout the war and it has come to our knowledge that he was again the victim of atrocities when Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
returned in 1781 burning New London and the attack on Ft. Griswold in Groton that eventually claimed the lives of 83 men on the Groton side and 6 more on the New London side. While Bradley Street was spared the torch it is possible that Richard Douglass and family suffered harassment. This part of the story is yet to be told.
It is said that Richard Douglass enlisted in 1775 and served distinguishably throughout the war ending service in 1783.
Not much is known "yet" of the man as a person, what he looked like or what people like Nathan Hale
Nathan Hale
Nathan Hale was a soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured by the British...
, William Coit or John Chapman
John Chapman
John Chapman may refer to :*Sir John Chapman, 2nd Baronet , British Member of Parliament for Taunton, 1741–1747*John Chapman , United States Representative from Pennsylvania...
thought of him but having served distinguishably appears that he was a good foot soldier and very loyal to cause becoming respected in that area.
Military history
(Provided by the Society of the CincinnatiSociety of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a historical organization with branches in the United States and France founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of the American Revolutionary War officers and to pressure the government to honor pledges it had made to officers who fought for American...
)
Douglas, Richard (Conn). Private in the Lexington Alarm, April, 1775;
Ensign and Regimental Quartermaster in Selden's Connecticut State Regiment, 20 June to 25 December, 1776; 2nd Lieutenant 1st Connecticut, 1 at January,
1777; 1st Lieutenant, 1 January, 1778; Captain Lieutenant, 11 August,
1780; Captain, 22 August, 1780; transferred to 5th Connecticut, 1 January, 1781, transferred to 3d Connecticut, 1 January 1783; transferred
to Swift's Consolidated Connecticut Regiment, June, 1783, and served to 3d
November, 1783. (Died 1828.)
At the close of the War with New London nearly burned to the ground and its economy in shambles, it appears Richard Douglass's business began to slowly rebound. Just a few short years after the war's conclusion he purchased the land from Timothy Green at the corners of the new Golden Street and Cross Street (now Green's Alley) to build a house. At nearly 40 years of age he removed from Bradley Street, which was known as "Widows Row" from the British attack on New London to this new street even closer to the wharves on Bank Street. His cooper business took place at 102 Golden Street for some time and eventually purchased the plot at 77-79 Green Street (immediately next door) for 117 dollars on June 30 1801 from Timothy Green then living in Fredricksburg, VA to manage his family business interests there. The house was built a short time after and is one of the few homes of its type remaining in New London.
1801 Richard Douglass House
At the close of the American Revolution in 1783 Richard became one of the founding officers of the Society of the Cincinnati and it is noted in Bryce Metcalf's "Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati" (1938) that he served until November 3, 1783. Richard Douglass was a member of the Connecticut Society.
Richard married Ann Jennings, a widow from New Shoreham
New Shoreham, Rhode Island
New Shoreham is the town located on Block Island in Washington County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 1,051 at the 2010 census...
, Block Island, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
in 1777 and had 8 children. All lived to their adult years. Ann Jennings from the Champlin stock a well known Eastern Connecticut line of families, well respected and quite obviously a catch.
Richard Douglass' children Alexander b. 1778, Robert, Lucy, and Richard Jr. Alexander eventually became a whaling
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
captain
Captain (nautical)
A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...
working in the firm of Benjamin Brown of New London as well as for the Williams firm. He purchased property in upstate New York or received it from a war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
grant
Grant (money)
Grants are funds disbursed by one party , often a Government Department, Corporation, Foundation or Trust, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. In order to receive a grant, some form of "Grant Writing" often referred to as either a proposal...
from his father's service in the war and eventually retired there after his last whaling voyages in about 1838.
Richard Jr. became a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and moved to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Territory at Chillicote then being populated by many of Eastern Connecticut's citizens and later relocated to Marietta
Marietta, Ohio
Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Ohio, United States. During 1788, pioneers to the Ohio Country established Marietta as the first permanent American settlement of the new United States in the Northwest Territory. Marietta is located in southeastern Ohio at the mouth...
, Ohio and had two sons, Luke Richard and Albert. Richard Sr. died in 1852 in Chillicote, Ohio.
The Benjamin Brown house (ca. 1817) still stands today on Bank Street as a "granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
" icon to the Whaling Era. Alexander was the captain to many of the most successful early whaling voyages out of New London. A yet unconfirmed story about him is his ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
eventually rescued stranded survivors of the Pequod
Pequod
Pequod may refer to:*Pequot, tribe of Native Americans*Pequod , a fictional whaleship that appears in Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick...
.