Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Peter Hare (11 May 1748 — 6 April 1834) was a company officer in

Butler's Rangers Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. T ...

, a militia unit during 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 the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

. After the war ended Hare emigrated and settled with his family in

Lincoln County, Ontario Lincoln County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. The county was formed in 1792. In 1845, the southern portion of Lincoln County was separated to form Welland County. In some census and election records from the late 19t ...

where he farmed until his death in 1834.

Early life

Hare was born on 11 May 1748 in

Mohawk River The Mohawk River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 river in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson R ...

, Tryon County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He was the third son and youngest of four children born to John Hare. Hare was likely to have first enlisted for duty in the 2nd Albany County Militia Regiment. However, on the onset of the American Revolutionary War he resigned from the Rebel regiment and instead joined the Loyalist Butler's Rangers led by

John Butler John Butler may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John "Picayune" Butler (died 1864), American banjo performer; may have been used by a number of performers * John Butler (artist) (1890–1976), American artist * John Butler (author) (born 1937), ...

Revolutionary War

Hare was a regimental company captain in Butler's Rangers, a British provincial regiment composed of

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

, during the American Revolutionary war. Hare participated in the

Wyoming Valley massacre The Battle of Wyoming, also known as the Wyoming Massacre, was a military engagement during the American Revolutionary War between Patriot militia and a force of Loyalist soldiers and Iroquois warriors. The battle took place in the Wyoming Valle ...

of July 1778 and the

Cherry Valley massacre The Cherry Valley massacre was an attack by British and Iroquois forces on a fort and the town of Cherry Valley in central New York on November 11, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It has been described as one of the most horrific f ...

in November of the same year. Due to actions by their allies,

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

under the command of

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York and, later, Brantford, in what is today Ontario, who was closely associated with Great Britain du ...

, the unit as a whole was seen as savage. When the war ended Hare moved to Lincoln County in Ontario where he, like several other veterans who had served with Butler's Rangers, was granted land to farm.

Family and descendants

Hare married three times. He first married Elizabeth Petree, a French lady, in October 1777. Their wedding took place in the Mohawk Valley of Tryon County. When Elizabeth died in 1785 he remarried Catherine Greenwalt in 1787. Hare thirdly married Margaret (Bowman) Secord, widow of Solomon Secord, after his second wife Catherine died. Throughout his three marriages Hare had a total of ten children: * Family of Capt. Peter and Elizabeth (Petree) Hare: ** Mary Hare (18 Jan 1779 — Mar 1849) married Robert Brown. ** Catherine Hare (24 Feb 1781 — Abt. 1812) married Isaac Walker. * Family of Capt. Peter and Catherine (Greenwalt) Hare: ** Elizabeth Hare (1788 — 1817) married Thomas Bradt. ** Annie Hare (1790 — ?) married John Bradt. ** John Hare (9 Jan 1792 — 1817) ** Peter Hare, Jr. (13 Feb 1794 — 1856) married firstly Magdalena Secord and secondly widow Jane McGaw. ** William Hare (12 Apr 1796 — 1856) ** Deborah Hare (12 Sep 1797 — 1884) ** James H. Hare (26 Jun 1801 — 1880) married Rachel Patterson. * Family of Capt. Peter and Margaret (Bowman) Hare: ** Margaret Hare (20 Jun 1812 — 1870) married Robert Henry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hare, Peter 1748 births 1834 deaths Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War People from Montgomery County, New York British America army officers People from the Regional Municipality of Niagara People from the Province of New York Loyalists in the American Revolution from New York (state)