Ezekiel Cornell (27 March, 1733 – April 25, 1800) was a Revolutionary War general who represented

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

in the U.S.

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

from 1780 to 1782.

Early life

Ezekiel Cornell was born on March 27, 1733 in

Dartmouth, Massachusetts Dartmouth (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a coastal town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Old Dartmouth was the first area of Southeastern Massachusetts to be settled by Europeans in 1652, primarily English. Dartmouth ...

to Richard Cornell and Content Brownell. He was a descendant of Thomas Cornell. Ezekiel Cornell married Rachel Wood of Little Compton on March 25, 1760, and they had two surviving children, Ezra and Rhoda. Cornell attended the public schools and was employed as a mechanic. Cornell served as Scituate's town meeting moderator in 1768, 1781 and 1785 and as a Deputy (Representative) from Scituate to the General Assembly in 1772, 1774 and 1775. In August 1774 he was commissioned as the colonel of the 3rd Providence County Regiment of the Rhode Island Militia.

Revolutionary War service

During the American Revolution Cornell, nicknamed "Old Snarl," was appointed lieutenant colonel in Hitchcock's Regiment in April 1775 and was present at the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. In the siege, Patriot (American Revolution), American patriot militia led by newly-installed Continental Army commander George Wash ...

. The unit and fought at Bunker Hill in June 1775 and was taken into the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

when General

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 ...

arrived in July to take command. Following the British evacuation of Boston in March 1776, the army was redeployed to

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in September 1776. On Long Island he occupied the former British controlled St. George's Episcopal Church (Hempstead, New York), which had been founded by relatives of Cornell including his cousin William Cornell, and was a hotbed of Tory sentiment, and Cornell sought to root out Loyalists. Cornell "converted the Episcopal Church into a store house, forbid the parson to pray for the King or any of the Royal Family and made use of the communion table as a convenience for his Yankees to eat upon." Cornell was part of the Continental Army contingent, dispatched by General Nathaniel Greene that arrested Loyalist Mayor of New York David Mathews on June 22, 1776, on suspicion of Mathews' participation in the plot by Thomas Hickey to kill General

. Cornell left Hempstead sometime before August 1776. On October 1, 1776, Cornell was appointed Deputy Adjutant General of the Continental Army. Cornell resigned from the Continental Army in December 1776 and returned to Rhode Island. Cornell was appointed brigadier general of Rhode Island state troops on December 1, 1777, and served until March 16, 1780. He commanded a brigade of state troops consisting of two infantry regiments of eight companies each and an artillery regiment of four batteries. Cornell played an active role at the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778.

Continental Congress service

Cornell served as a member of the Continental Congress from 1780 until 1782 and chaired the military committee. After his service in Congress, he retired to his farm at Scituate, Rhode Island. Ezekiel Cornell died in

Milford, Massachusetts Milford is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 30,379 according to the 2020 census. First settled in 1662 and incorporated in 1780, Milford became a booming industrial and quarrying community in the 19th ...

on April 25, 1800. His site of burial is unknown.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornell, Ezekiel Continental Congressmen from Rhode Island Cornell family Continental Army officers from Rhode Island Militia generals in the American Revolution Rhode Island militiamen in the American Revolution 1730s births 1800 deaths People from Scituate, Rhode Island Politicians from Providence County, Rhode Island People from Dartmouth, Massachusetts