Joseph Frye (March 19, 1712 – July 25, 1794) was a renowned military leader from colonial

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

(then a part of Massachusetts).

Life

Born in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in '' The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of t ...

, he obtained the rank of general in the

Massachusetts militia This is a list of militia units of the Colony and later Commonwealth of Massachusetts. *Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts (1638) *Cogswell's Regiment of Militia (April 19, 1775) * Woodbridge's Regiment of Militia (April 20 ...

after serving in

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

and the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the s ...

. During the latter conflict, under the command of Edward Winslow, Frye helped build Fort Halifax in present-day Maine and then participated in the

Battle of Fort Beauséjour The Battle of Fort Beauséjour was fought on the Isthmus of Chignecto and marked the end of Father Le Loutre's War and the opening of a British offensive in the Acadia/Nova Scotia theatre of the Seven Years' War, which would eventually lead to t ...

and the

Battle of Petitcodiac The Battle of Petitcodiac was an engagement which occurred during the Bay of Fundy campaign of the French and Indian War. The battle was fought between the British colonial forces from Massachusetts and Acadian militiamen led by French officer C ...

. He was commander at

Fort Gaspareaux Fort Gaspareaux (later Fort Monckton) was a French fort at the head of Baie Verte near the mouth of the Gaspareaux River and just southeast of the modern village of Port Elgin, New Brunswick, Canada, on the Isthmus of Chignecto. It was built duri ...

. He was present on Lake George in August 1757 at the

Siege of Fort William Henry The siege of Fort William Henry (3–9 August 1757, french: Bataille de Fort William Henry) was conducted by a French and Indian force led by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry. The fort, located at the south ...

. Then he returned to Nova Scotia and took command of

Fort Cumberland A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere' ...

. He served in the 2nd General Assembly of Nova Scotia in 1759–1760, representing Cumberland Township. For services during that conflict, the Massachusetts General Court in 1762 granted him a township on the

Saco River The Saco River (Abenaki: ''Sαkóhki'') is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean ...

which had once been the Sokokis

Abenaki The Abenaki ( Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was pred ...

village of

Pequawket The Pequawket (also Pigwacket and many other spelling variants, from Eastern Abenaki ''apíkwahki'', "land of hollows") are a Native American subdivision of the Abenaki people who formerly lived near the headwaters of the Saco River in Carroll ...

. In 1777, the plantation was incorporated as

Fryeburg, Maine Fryeburg is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,369 at the 2020 census. Fryeburg is home to Fryeburg Academy, a semi-private preparatory school, and the International Musical Arts Institute. The town is also s ...

, named in his honor. Frye is best known for the role he played expanding the colonial frontier into lands formerly held by both the French and

s. He is regarded as the successor of

John Lovewell John Lovewell (October 14, 1691 – May 9, 1725) was a militia captain in the 18th century who fought during Father Rale's War (also known as Lovewell's War). He lived in present-day Nashua, New Hampshire. He led three expeditions against the Abe ...

, and also an enemy of

Molly Ockett Molly Ockett (also "Mollyockett", "Mollocket" and "Molly Occut") (born circa 1725–1744, Saco, Maine, died August 2, 1816, Andover, Maine), was a Native American woman of the Abenaki nation who lived in the regions of northern New Hampshire and Ma ...

, leader and sage among dispossessed

Algonquian peoples The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. T ...

. Frye served in the early stages of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, first as a major general of Massachusetts militia, and then briefly as a brigadier general in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

. He resigned on 23 April 1776, because his age made him ill-suited for active duty.

Family and legacy

Joseph Frye married Mehitable sometime before the birth of Joseph Jr on 17 July 1733. Samuel followed in 1735, and then Mehitable in April 1738, who died young, and was replaced by another Mehitable in May 1739, who died within the month. Mehitable Frye was born in April 1741. In the interim, Joseph Jr died and was replaced by another in July 1743. Tabitha followed in 1744, and next Hannah in 1748. Richard was born in 1751 to the Captain, and then Nathaniel in 1753. In the meantime, Samuel had expired and was replaced by another in 1758, this one born to the Colonel.

Legacy

He is the namesake of

Frye Island, Maine Frye Island is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. Located in Sebago Lake, the island is accessed via a public car ferry from Raymond Neck, or by private boat. All residents of the resort town are seasonal. The majority of propert ...

, and the aforementioned

References

External sources

Joseph Frye: Maine Proprietor and SoldierCollections of the Maine Historical Society By Maine Historical Society (1891 Original from the University of Michigan)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frye, Joseph 1712 births 1794 deaths Continental Army generals Continental Army officers from Massachusetts People of colonial Maine People of Maine in the French and Indian War Massachusetts militiamen in the American Revolution Militia generals in the American Revolution Fryeburg, Maine People of pre-statehood Maine Nova Scotia pre-Confederation MLAs