Erastus Wolcott (September 21, 1722 – September 14, 1793) was an American politician and a

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

state militia commander 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 ...

. He served in the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. The ...

for over twenty years and was a justice of the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit i ...

from 1789 to 1792.

Early life and family

Wolcott was born on September 21, 1722, in Windsor,

, to parents Roger Wolcott and Sarah Drake. Little is known of his early life or education. The Wolcotts were a prominent family in one of the largest and wealthiest towns in Connecticut. Roger Wolcott was colonial governor of Connecticut between 1751 and 1754. Erastus’s brother-in-law, Matthew Griswold, was Connecticut governor from 1784 to 1786 and his younger brother,

Oliver Wolcott Oliver Wolcott Sr. ( ; November 20, 1726 December 1, 1797) was an American Founding Father and politician. He was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Articles of Confederation as a representative of Connecticut, ...

, served as lieutenant governor of Connecticut from 1787 to 1795 and governor from 1796 to his death in 1797.

Political career

Erastus Wolcott served in the Connecticut General Assembly in 1758 to 1762, returning as representative of the newly formed town of East Windsor in 1768. In May 1773 he was named to the colony's committee of correspondence, which selected him as a delegate to the

First Continental Congress The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates of twelve of the Thirteen Colonies held from September 5 to October 26, 1774, at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia at the beginning of the American Revolution. The meeting was organized b ...

in 1774, though he refused to serve outside Connecticut. He was also appointed to the

Constitutional Convention (United States) The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia from May 25 to September 17, 1787. While the convention was initially intended to revise the league of states and devise the first system of federal government under the Articles of Conf ...

in 1787 but again refused the appointment.The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution, Vol. I, p. 195. In May 1776 he was elected Speaker of the Assembly. From May 1778 through March 1779 he advised on the war effort as a Council of Safety member. Following the war, Wolcott served on the Council of Assistants from 1786 through 1789. During the

Confederation Period The Confederation period was the era of the United States' history in the 1780s after the American Revolution and prior to the ratification of the United States Constitution. In 1781, the United States ratified the Articles of Confederation and ...

, he advocated for Connecticut's interests but voted in favor of ratifying the Constitution in 1788. In October 1789 Wolcott accepted appointment to the Connecticut Supreme Court, resigning due to ill health in 1792. He had been a longtime justice of the peace for East Windsor and neighboring Ellington. In 1790, he received an honorary degree from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

Military career

Concurrent with his legislative service, Wolcott rose through the ranks of the colonial militia. He became a major in October 1762 and colonel in 1774. In 1775, he accompanied

William Samuel Johnson William Samuel Johnson (October 7, 1727 – November 14, 1819) was an American Founding Father and statesman. He attended all of the four founding American Congresses: the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, the Congress of the Confederation in 1785–1 ...

to Boston to treat with General

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator best known for his many years of service in North America, including serving as Commander-in-Chief, North America during the early days ...

. Early the following year, he led a regiment of militia to reinforce

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's army besieging Gage's army in Boston. In July he moved to New London, commanding a state militia regiment and strengthening fortifications at

Fort Griswold Fort Griswold is a former American defensive fortification in Groton, Connecticut named after Deputy Governor Matthew Griswold (governor), Matthew Griswold. The fort played a key role in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, in corr ...

and Fort Trumbull. In December 1776 he became brigadier general of the first brigade in Connecticut's reorganized militia. Wolcott served primarily in an administrative capacity, recruiting, marching, and supplying the troops. From April to June 1777 he personally commanded a detachment stationed on the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, north of New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

. He resigned his commission in January 1781 in protest over Governor Jonathan Trumbull's direction of the war effort.

Personal life

Wolcott married Jerusha Wolcott on February 10, 1746. They had seven children, five of whom survived him. Wolcott died in South Windsor on September 14, 1793, at the age of 70, one week shy of his 71st birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolcott, Erastus 1722 births 1793 deaths Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court Connecticut militiamen in the American Revolution Militia generals in the American Revolution People from Windsor, Connecticut People from East Windsor, Connecticut Military personnel from Connecticut Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Council of Assistants (1662–1818) 18th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly Candidates in the 1788–1789 United States elections