Personal Facts
- Born: Circa 1733 or 1734 in Farmington, Connecticut.
- Parents: John Paterson (father) and Ruth Bird (mother).
- Spouse: Elizabeth Lee (1766).
- Died: July 19, 1808, in Lisle (present-day Whitney Point), New York. He was 63 or 64.
- Buried: Church on the Hill Cemetery in Lenox, Massachusetts.
- Significance: John Paterson is important to American History because of his military service during the American Revolutionary War, his role in helping suppress Shays’s Rebellion, and his part in establishing Marietta, Ohio, the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory.
Biography
Early Life
John Paterson was born in Farmington, Connecticut, in late 1743 or early 1744.
- His father, also named John Paterson, served in six campaigns during the French and Indian War.
- His father died in Havana on September 5, 1762, just before John graduated from Yale College.
Paterson taught school for several years while studying law. He started practicing law after completing his studies.
- In 1774, he moved to Lenox, Massachusetts, in Berkshire County.
- He was elected to the Massachusetts General Court in May 1774.
American Revolution
While living in Lenox, he became involved with the Patriot Cause.
- He attended the Berkshire County Convention in July 1774, which supported Boston’s boycott of British imports, known as the “Solemn League and Covenant.”
- He served in the First Massachusetts Provincial Congress (1774) and Second Provincial Congress (1775).
- The Provincial Congress appointed him Colonel of his local Minuteman regiment.
- In a notable move, Paterson enlisted men from the Stockbridge Indians in his regiment.
Solemn League and Covenant — An agreement designed by Patriot leaders in Boston in response to the Boston Port Act. It was intended to halt all trade between the towns in Massachusetts and merchants in Great Britain and served as a precursor to the Continental Association.
Siege of Boston
The Lexington Alarm reached Lenox on Friday, April 20, 1775, around noon. After learning of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, Paterson gathered his men and they marched to Boston within 18 hours on April 22, 1775, and joined the New England Army of Observation. His regiment was noticeable because it was fully armed and nearly all the men were in uniform.
- On May 27, 1775, he was commissioned as a Colonel in a regiment built from six former Minuteman companies.
- Paterson was stationed near Prospect Hill and oversaw the construction of Fort No. 3, one of the first defensive works built by the Americans.
- They garrisoned Fort No. 3 during the Siege of Boston.
- The regiment was held in reserve during the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17, 1775).
- Paterson and his men helped repel a British foraging raid at Lechmere Point.
Battle of Lechmere Point (November 9, 1775) — British forces successfully raided Lechmere Point during the Siege of Boston, seizing ten cattle before American troops fired on them and drove them off. The Americans arrived too late to keep the British from removing the cattle.
New York, Canada, and New Jersey Campaigns
Paterson was appointed as Colonel of the 15th Continental Regiment in the Continental Army on January 1, 1776. After the Siege of Boston ended in March 1776, he went with Washington’s Army to New York City.
- Soon after, he was sent to Canada with General William Thompson to support American forces in their attempt to capture Quebec City.
- On May 20, 1776, Major Henry Sherburne led 100 men from Paterson’s Regiment to assist at The Cedars but was nearly destroyed when British forces ambushed them.
Afterward, Paterson and the rest of the regiment retreated south along Lake Champlain with Benedict Arnold’s forces to Fort Ticonderoga. From July to November 1776, Paterson and his men helped build defenses at Mount Independence, across from Fort Ticonderoga.
- Invasion of Quebec (1775–1776) — A military expedition carried out by the Continental Army in 1775–1776, during the war. American forces failed to capture Quebec City and convince Canada to become the 14th Colony, leading to a disastrous retreat from Canada that set the stage for the Saratoga Campaign in 1777.
- Battle of the Cedars (1776) — The Cedars was a small American military post on the St. Lawrence River, 43 miles from Montreal, established in March 1776. Garrisoned by Timothy Bedel’s New Hampshire Regiment, the post was attacked by British forces under Captain George Forster. After Bedel left to seek reinforcements, Major Isaac Butterfield surrendered the garrison without strong resistance. A relief force also surrendered after an ambush. The British victory ended American hopes of capturing Quebec, and the Northern Army started its retreat to Fort Ticonderoga.
In late 1776, Paterson moved south to join Washington’s Army in Pennsylvania. From there, he participated in the Crossing of the Delaware River, fought in the Battle of Trenton, the Second Battle of Trenton, and the Battle of Princeton.
The Reverend David Avery, the pastor for Paterson’s Regiment, recalled these key battles, saying:
“More than a thousand Hessians readily fell into our hands at Trenton. The tidings flew upon the wings of the wind and at once revived the hopes of the fearful, which had almost fled! How sudden the transition from darkness to light; from grief to joy! Jehovah Jireh: in the mount, the Lord will be seen! Record it, O my countrymen! And trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength! A general panic immediately ran through all the hosts of our enemies, and they who a few hours before were triumphing in their inglorious deeds, spreading distress and terror all around, now fled by thousands from the river in wild, frantic disorder, like so many murderers before the avenger of blood. What a reverse of fortune! How wounding to tyrannic pride! Surely salvation did God appoint for walls and bulwarks!”
- AHC Note — This passage was included in Avery’s sermon, which he gave on December 26, 1777, the first anniversary of the Battle of Trenton.
Saratoga Campaign
Paterson was promoted to Brigadier General on February 21, 1777, and was sent back to Fort Ticonderoga with his troops.
- At Ticonderoga, he served under Arthur St. Clair and alongside the brigades of Matthias de Fermoy and Enoch Poor.
- General John Burgoyne led an army out of Canada and approached the fort, laying siege to it. Believing they could not hold the fort, St. Clair and his officers decided to evacuate and march southward.
General Horatio Gates eventually took command of the Northern Army and made a stand against Burgoyne at Bemis Heights, New York, near Saratoga Springs.
- Paterson commanded the 3rd Massachusetts Brigade, which included the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 14th Massachusetts Regiments.
- They helped hold the American lines at Bemis Heights and did not participate in the Battle of Freeman’s Farm (September 19, 1777).
- On October 7, 1777, during the Battle of Bemis Heights, his brigade joined Benedict Arnold in attacking the Balcarres Redoubt, one of the two significant British positions held by the British.
- Paterson’s horse was killed by a cannonball during that attack.
- Paterson was present when the British formally surrendered at Saratoga.
Saratoga Campaign (1777) — A British military campaign designed to seize control of the Hudson River Valley and isolate the New England States from the others. British forces led by General John Burgoyne captured Fort Ticonderoga but faced resistance from American forces that slowly weakened his army. At Saratoga, Burgoyne withdrew and was surrounded by the Northern Army, forcing him to surrender.
Philadelphia Campaign
- After Saratoga, Paterson and his brigade returned to Washington’s Army.
- They spent the winter of 1777–1778 at Valley Forge.
- They participated in the operations that led to the Battle of Monmouth, but did not engage in the actual battle, which was the last major engagement in the Northern Theater.
Hudson Highlands and West Point
Paterson spent the remainder of the war in the Hudson Highlands. While there, the lack of action led to the decline of the Massachusetts Line.
By this time, the fort at West Point on the Hudson River had become one of the most important positions held by the Continental Army.
On December 18, 1778, he was placed in command of the fort at West Point by General Alexander McDougall, who issued the following orders:
“His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief, having been pleased to order me (General McDougall) to take charge of all the posts on the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie downward, and signified that it was determined in a council of general officers that Brigadier-General Paterson should take command of the post at West Point; he will please in pursuance of that order to take the command to-morrow morning after guard mounting.”
In September 1780, he sat on the court-martial that sentenced British officer Major John André to be hanged as a spy for conspiring with General Benedict Arnold to turn West Point over to the British.
- AHC Note — The fortifications at West Point included Fort Arnold, which was named after Arnold. Following Arnold’s Treason, it was renamed Fort Clinton, after James Clinton. On July 4, 1802, West Point became the United States Military Academy.
Postwar Highlights
- Paterson helped establish the Society of the Cincinnati.
- He was breveted major general on September 30, 1783.
- He retired from the army on November 3, 1783.
Society of the Cincinnati — Led by Henry Knox, the officers from the Continental Army organized a fraternal organization. It was named after Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus, a Roman military leader who gave up his political and military power after defeating the Roman Empire’s enemies. The Society continues to operate, calling itself the “nation’s oldest patriotic organization.”
Later Years
After the war, he returned to Lenox, where he resumed his legal practice and was involved in local politics.
- In early 1786, he helped organize the Ohio Company of Associates with Rufus Putnam and Benjamin Tupper. The company established Marietta, Ohio, the first permanent settlement in the Northwest Territory.
- He led the Berkshire Militia during Shays’s Rebellion.
- In 1790, he became a proprietor of the “Boston Purchase,” the acquisition of 10 townships in Broome and Tioga Counties, New York.
- He moved with his family in 1791 to Lisle (later Whitney’s Point), New York.
- He served in the New York legislature from 1792 to 1793.
- He participated in the New York State Constitutional Convention in 1801.
- He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1803 to 1805.
- In 1798, he became a judge for Broome and Tioga Counties.
- He died at Lisle (present-day Whitney Point) on July 19, 1808.
Appendix
Narrative
This narrative of John Paterson is from the Dictionary of American Biography (1943). Please note that minor text corrections have been made and additional spacing has been added to improve readability.
John Paterson was a Revolutionary War soldier and public official. He was born in Newington Parish, Wethersfield, Connecticut (now New Britain). His parents were Colonel John Paterson and Ruth Bird. His grandfather, James Paterson, emigrated from Scotland to New England before 1704.
John Paterson’s interest in military service likely stemmed from his father, who had served in the provincial forces during King George’s War and the French and Indian War.
He graduated from Yale College in 1762 and spent several seasons teaching in New Britain before beginning a legal career.
On June 2, 1766, he married Elizabeth Lee of Farmington. In 1774, he moved with his family and father-in-law to Lenox, Massachusetts.
His leadership abilities were quickly recognized. He took part in the Berkshire County convention in July 1774, where the “Solemn League and Covenant” was adopted, pledging to cease the use of British goods, and he represented Lenox in the first and second provincial congresses of 1774 and 1775.
During this period, he was actively raising a regiment from the central and southern parts of the county in preparation for conflict with Britain. When news of the Battles of Lexington and Concord reached him, he immediately marched to Cambridge with his men, who were already armed and nearly fully uniformed. He received a commission as a Colonel on May 27, 1775, and his regiment, after undergoing reorganization and expansion, became the 15th Continental Infantry.
Paterson constructed and manned Fort No. 3 near Prospect Hill. During the Battle of Bunker Hill, his regiment secured the rear, protecting American forces from a potential flank attack. Throughout the Siege of Boston, his men engaged in several skirmishes with British troops and received praise from General Washington for their promptness and readiness in facing the enemy.
In March 1776, he accompanied the army to New York. He was soon sent to support American forces in Canada and took part in the Battle of the Cedars. Following the engagement, he withdrew through Crown Point to Ticonderoga, where he spent a period fortifying Mount Independence. He later rejoined Washington’s army along the Delaware River and fought in the battles of Trenton and Princeton.
On February 21, 1777, he was commissioned as a Brigadier General and served in that role during the campaign that led to the capture of General Burgoyne. During the fighting, he narrowly escaped death when a cannonball struck and killed his horse beneath him.
He spent the winter of 1777–1778 at Valley Forge and took part in the campaign that led to the Battle of Monmouth.
For the remainder of the war, he was primarily stationed in the Hudson Highlands, occasionally commanding West Point. During this period, he developed a close friendship with Thaddeus Kosciuszko. He also served as a member of the court-martial that tried Major John André.
On September 30, 1783, he was brevetted as a Major General and soon after retired from military service.
After returning to Lenox and resuming his law practice, he was elected to several civil positions, including moderator, selectman, tax collector, school board member, and representative in the General Court. He also played a role in founding both the Society of the Cincinnati and the Ohio Company. As commander of the Berkshire Militia, he aided in suppressing Shays’s Rebellion.
During this period, he became a proprietor of the “Boston Purchase,” a tract of 230,400 acres in Broome County and Tioga County, New York. In 1791, he moved with his family to Broome County.
There, as in Lenox, his public service was quickly recognized. He held various town offices, represented his district in the state legislature (1792–1793), served in the New York Constitutional Convention of 1801, and was elected to Congress (1803–1805). In 1798, he was appointed judge of Broome and Tioga counties. He died in Lisle, New York.
