Seth Pomeroy
Encyclopedia
Seth Pomeroy was an American
gunsmith
and soldier from Northampton, Massachusetts
. His military service included the French and Indian War
and the early stages of the American Revolutionary War
. He fought as a private soldier in the Battle of Bunker Hill
, but was later appointed a major general
in the Massachusetts militia
.
to Ebeneezer and Sarah (King) Pomeroy. His father was a prominent local citizen, and had been a Major in the militia
. Seth became a mechanic and gunsmith, as well as joining the local militia in Hampshire County
. He earned a reputation as one of the best gunsmiths in the colony.
Pomeroy married Mary Hunt (1705–1777) on December 14, 1732. They would have one son, Dr. Medad Pomeroy (1735–1819). Mary would survive her husband by only seven months.
undertook an expedition against the French
in Nova Scotia
, Major Pomeroy answered Governor William Shirley
's call for volunteers. He was part of the expedition led by William Pepperrell
that captured Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia
in 1745. He used his professional skills in support of Richard Gridley
, the expedition's chief engineering officer. He reconditioned the guns captured from an outlying position after the French had spiked them and supported 46 days of heavy bombardment.
Seth and Mary (Hunt) Pomeroy had more than one child.
Children: Seth b.1733, Quartus b.1735, Medad b.1736, Lemuel b.1738, Martha b.1740, Mary b. 1742, Sarah b. 1744, A child b.1747, Asahel b.1749.
. They marched to New York
to support a move to capture Crown Pont
.
While on the march, they were ambushed by a force of 800 French
and Canadian
troops, supported by 600 Iroquois
warriors, and led by Baron Dieskau
at the Battle of Lake George
. Of all the commanding officers, Pomeroy was the only one to survive the battle, and in lieu of Williams' death assumed the rank of Colonel. Although suffering significant losses, they withdrew to the English camp at the south end of Lake George
. There they built a hasty wall of wood and carts and made their stand, supported by cannon and additional forces under General William Johnson. The Indians and Canadians would not attack in the open. When Baron Dieskau was wounded, the entire French force withdrew for Fort Carillon (later called Fort Ticonderoga
).
Dieskau was captured, and Johnson would build a more permanent Fort William Henry
to protect the site.
began in 1775, he was among the volunteers that went in support of it. On June 17 a British naval bombardment marked the start of the Battle of Bunker Hill
. He borrowed a horse from General Artemas Ward
and set out for Charlestown. When he reached the neck of the peninsula, he found troops piled up because the narrow strip was under fire from British warships. Giving the horse to a soldier to return, he shouldered his musket
and marched through the barrage. He declined any command, but took a post at the rail fence, fighting with John Stark
's 1st New Hampshire Regiment
.
The next week, the Continental Congress
named him a brigadier general in the Continental Army
. Since his health was not the best, when difficulties arose about seniority, he declined this commission and served instead as a major general in the Massachusetts militia.
When General George Washington
asked for support in New Jersey
the following year, Pomeroy marched with his militia unit. He didn't complete the trip, but fell ill and died in Peekskill, New York
. He is buried in St. Peter's Churchyard there in an unmarked grave. The churchyard is now part of Hillside Cemetery.
Honoring Seth Pomeroy in Hillside Cemetery is an estimated 26-foot high monument, being a large square base, a column, and a ball on top. Inscribed in a wreath on one side is "General Seth Pomeroy. Born at Northhampton, Mass., May 20th 1706. Died near this spot Feb. 19th 1777. Inscribed on another side is a quote from him dated February 11, 1777, at Peekskill, perhaps referring to his facing his last days: "I go cheerfully, for I a sure the cause we are engaged in is just, and the call I have to it is clear, and the call of God."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
gunsmith
Gunsmith
A gunsmith is a person who repairs, modifies, designs, or builds firearms. This occupation is different from an armorer. The armorer primarily maintains weapons and limited repairs involving parts replacement and possibly work involving accurization...
and soldier from Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
. His military service included the French and Indian War
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...
and the early stages of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. He fought as a private soldier in the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
, but was later appointed a major general
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
in the Massachusetts militia
Massachusetts militia
Militia of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts.-List of Massachusetts militia units of the American Revolution:*Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts *Cogswell's Regiment of Militia...
.
Private life
Seth was born in Northampton, MassachusettsNorthampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
to Ebeneezer and Sarah (King) Pomeroy. His father was a prominent local citizen, and had been a Major in the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. Seth became a mechanic and gunsmith, as well as joining the local militia in Hampshire County
Hampshire County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 152,251 people, 55,991 households, and 33,818 families residing in the county. The population density was 288 people per square mile . There were 58,644 housing units at an average density of 111 per square mile...
. He earned a reputation as one of the best gunsmiths in the colony.
Pomeroy married Mary Hunt (1705–1777) on December 14, 1732. They would have one son, Dr. Medad Pomeroy (1735–1819). Mary would survive her husband by only seven months.
King George's War
When MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
undertook an expedition against the French
French colonization of the Americas
The French colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century, and continued in the following centuries as France established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France founded colonies in much of eastern North America, on a number of Caribbean islands, and in South America...
in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Major Pomeroy answered Governor William Shirley
William Shirley
William Shirley was a British colonial administrator who served twice as Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and as Governor of the Bahamas in the 1760s...
's call for volunteers. He was part of the expedition led by William Pepperrell
William Pepperrell
Sir William Pepperrell, 1st Baronet was a merchant and soldier in Colonial Massachusetts. He is widely remembered for organizing, financing, and leading the 1745 expedition that captured the French garrison at Fortress Louisbourg during King George's War...
that captured Fortress Louisbourg in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
in 1745. He used his professional skills in support of Richard Gridley
Richard Gridley
Richard Gridley was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of Richard Gridley and Rebecca Scarborough. He was a soldier and engineer who served for the British Army during the French and Indian Wars and for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.He married Hannah Deming...
, the expedition's chief engineering officer. He reconditioned the guns captured from an outlying position after the French had spiked them and supported 46 days of heavy bombardment.
Seth and Mary (Hunt) Pomeroy had more than one child.
Children: Seth b.1733, Quartus b.1735, Medad b.1736, Lemuel b.1738, Martha b.1740, Mary b. 1742, Sarah b. 1744, A child b.1747, Asahel b.1749.
French and Indian War
In 1755 Lt. Colonel Pomeroy was second in command of the regiment led by Colonel Ephraim WilliamsEphraim Williams
Ephraim Williams Jr. was a soldier from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was killed in the French and Indian War. He was the benefactor of Williams College, located in northwestern Massachusetts.-Early life:...
. They marched to 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...
to support a move to capture Crown Pont
Crown Point, New York
Crown Point is a town in Essex County, New York, USA. The population was 2,119 at the 2000 census. The name of the town is a direct translation of the original French name, "Point au Chevalure."...
.
While on the march, they were ambushed by a force of 800 French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
troops, supported by 600 Iroquois
Iroquois
The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America...
warriors, and led by Baron Dieskau
Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau
Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau or Jean-Armand Dieskau, Baron de Dieskau or Ludwig August von Dieskau was a German-born soldier remembered mostly as a French general and commander in America for a part of the French and Indian War.-Biography:He was aide-de-camp of Marshal Maurice de Saxe, and visited St...
at the Battle of Lake George
Battle of Lake George
The Battle of Lake George was fought on 8 September 1755, in the north of the Province of New York. The battle was part of a campaign by the British to expel the French from North America in the French and Indian War....
. Of all the commanding officers, Pomeroy was the only one to survive the battle, and in lieu of Williams' death assumed the rank of Colonel. Although suffering significant losses, they withdrew to the English camp at the south end of Lake George
Lake George (New York)
Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake draining northwards into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River Drainage basin located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains in northern New York, U.S.A.. It lies within the upper region of the...
. There they built a hasty wall of wood and carts and made their stand, supported by cannon and additional forces under General William Johnson. The Indians and Canadians would not attack in the open. When Baron Dieskau was wounded, the entire French force withdrew for Fort Carillon (later called Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga
Fort Ticonderoga, formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century fort built by the Canadians and the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain in upstate New York in the United States...
).
Dieskau was captured, and Johnson would build a more permanent Fort William Henry
Fort William Henry
Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George in the province of New York. It is best known as the site of notorious atrocities committed by Indians against the surrendered British and provincial troops following a successful French siege in 1757, an event which is the...
to protect the site.
Revolutionary War
Although a senior officer in the Massachusetts militia at the start of the war, Pomeroy had a limited role. He was, after all, nearly seventy years old. But when the Siege of BostonSiege of Boston
The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...
began in 1775, he was among the volunteers that went in support of it. On June 17 a British naval bombardment marked the start of the Battle of Bunker Hill
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill took place on June 17, 1775, mostly on and around Breed's Hill, during the Siege of Boston early in the American Revolutionary War...
. He borrowed a horse from General Artemas Ward
Artemas Ward
Artemas Ward was an American major general in the American Revolutionary War and a Congressman from Massachusetts...
and set out for Charlestown. When he reached the neck of the peninsula, he found troops piled up because the narrow strip was under fire from British warships. Giving the horse to a soldier to return, he shouldered his musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
and marched through the barrage. He declined any command, but took a post at the rail fence, fighting with John Stark
John Stark
John Stark was a New Hampshire native who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He became widely known as the "Hero of Bennington" for his exemplary service at the Battle of Bennington in 1777.-Early life:John Stark was born in Londonderry, New...
's 1st New Hampshire Regiment
1st New Hampshire Regiment
The 1st New Hampshire Regiment was an infantry unit that came into existence on 22 May 1775 at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. John Stark was the regiment's first commander. The unit fought at Chelsea Creek and Bunker Hill in 1775. On 1 January 1776, while engaged in the Siege of...
.
The next week, the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
named him a brigadier general in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
. Since his health was not the best, when difficulties arose about seniority, he declined this commission and served instead as a major general in the Massachusetts militia.
When General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
asked for support in 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...
the following year, Pomeroy marched with his militia unit. He didn't complete the trip, but fell ill and died in Peekskill, New York
Peekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
. He is buried in St. Peter's Churchyard there in an unmarked grave. The churchyard is now part of Hillside Cemetery.
Honoring Seth Pomeroy in Hillside Cemetery is an estimated 26-foot high monument, being a large square base, a column, and a ball on top. Inscribed in a wreath on one side is "General Seth Pomeroy. Born at Northhampton, Mass., May 20th 1706. Died near this spot Feb. 19th 1777. Inscribed on another side is a quote from him dated February 11, 1777, at Peekskill, perhaps referring to his facing his last days: "I go cheerfully, for I a sure the cause we are engaged in is just, and the call I have to it is clear, and the call of God."
Further reading
- The Journals and Papers of Seth Pomeroy, edited by Louis DeForest. New Haven, Ct, 1926.
- The Taking of Louisburg 1745 by Samuel Adams Drake, Lee and Shepard Publishers Boston Mass. USA 1891 (reprinted by Kessinger Publishing ISBN 9780548622346)