Colonel Jacob Kingsbury (1756–1837) was a career officer in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
. He was one of the few U.S. Army officers who was a veteran of both the
American Revolution
The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
and the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. He was a
Federalist
The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''.
History Europe federation
In Europe, proponents of deep ...
.
Biography
He was born in the
West Farms Society of
Norwich, Connecticut
Norwich ( ) is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic River, Yantic, Shetucket River, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River f ...
, on July 6, 1756, to Nathaniel and Sarah Hill Kingsbury.
American Revolutionary War
Aged 19, he enlisted in the
8th Connecticut Regiment on July 11, 1775. The 8th Connecticut Regiment was part of 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 ...
during 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 ...
. Kingsbury was promoted to corporal prior to the Regiment's disbandment on December 16, 1775.
Kingsbury remained in the Continental Army when it was reorganized in January 1776. He was promoted to sergeant and then was commissioned an ensign in
Webb's Additional Continental Regiment
The 9th Connecticut Regiment was a regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. It was first called Webb's Additional Continental Regiment (after its colonel, Samuel Blachley Webb) before being added to the Connecticu ...
on April 26, 1780. He served until the Continental Army was disbanded on November 3, 1783. After the war, he became an original member of the Connecticut
Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a lineage society, fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of milita ...
.
Post Revolution
After a break in service of almost four years, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the
First American Regiment
The First American Regiment (also known as Harmar's Regiment, The United States Regiment, The Regiment of Infantry, 1st Sub-legion, 1st Regiment of Infantry and 1st Infantry Regiment) was the first peacetime regular army infantry unit authorized ...
(today known as the
3rd Infantry Regiment
The 3rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Army. It currently has three active battalions, and is readily identified by its nickname, The Old Guard, as well as Escort to the President. The regimental motto is (from ...
) on October 15, 1787. He served in the ill-fated campaigns of Colonel
Josiah Harmar
Josiah Harmar (November 10, 1753August 20, 1813) was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for six years and seven months (August 1784 to ...
in 1790 and General
Arthur St. Clair
Major-General Arthur St. Clair ( – August 31, 1818) was a Scottish-born American military officer and politician. Born in Thurso, Caithness, he served in the British Army during the French and Indian War before settling in the Province of Pe ...
in 1791 against the
Miami Tribe
The Miami ( Miami–Illinois: ''Myaamiaki'') are a Native American nation originally speaking the Miami–Illinois language, one of the Algonquian languages. Among the peoples known as the Great Lakes tribes, they occupied territory that is no ...
in what is modern-day
Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
.
On January 10 and 11, 1791, Kingsbury distinguished himself at the
Siege of Dunlap's Station
The siege of Dunlap's Station was a battle that took place on January 10–11, 1791, during the Northwest Indian War between the Northwestern Confederacy of American Indians and European American settlers in what became the southwestern region ...
, where he led a detachment of only 12 soldiers, along with a few settlers, in defending a small outpost against a far superior force of
Native Americans. Following
St. Clair's Defeat
St. Clair's defeat, also known as the Battle of the Wabash, the Battle of Wabash River or the Battle of a Thousand Slain, was a battle fought on 4 November 1791 in the Northwest Territory of the United States. The U.S. Army faced the Northweste ...
in November 1791, he was promoted to captain in April 1792 retroactive to December 28, 1791.
Kingsbury was assigned to the
1st Sub-Legion when the army was re-organized in 1792 and commanded the 3rd Sub-Legion of the United States in the
Battle of Fallen Timbers
The Battle of Fallen Timbers (20 August 1794) was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Indigenous peoples of North America, Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their Kingdom of Gre ...
on August 20, 1794, which decisively defeated the Native Americans in Ohio. When the army was re-organized in 1796, the 1st Sub-Legion reverted to being designated as the 1st Infantry Regiment.
Kingsbury was promoted to major of the 1st Infantry Regiment in 1797 and lieutenant colonel of the Second Infantry Regiment in 1803.
Early in 1802, he was assigned to command
Fort Wilkinson
Fort Wilkinson was a U.S. fort near Milledgeville, Georgia established in 1797 near the Oconee River. It supplanted Fort Fidius. A historical marker commemorates the site. The fort carried out trading relations with Creek peoples through the Uni ...
in Georgia, where he was under the command of Brigadier General
James Wilkinson
James Wilkinson (March 24, 1757 – December 28, 1825) was an American army officer and politician who was associated with multiple scandals and controversies during his life, including the Burr conspiracy.
He served in the Continental Army du ...
.
In 1805, he established
Fort Belle Fontaine
Fort Belle Fontaine (formerly known as Cantonment Belle Fontaine) is a former U.S. military base located in St. Louis County, Missouri, across the Mississippi and Missouri rivers from Alton, Illinois. The fort was the first U.S. military installa ...
on the
Missouri River
The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
and was there until he was promoted to colonel and placed in command of the 1st Infantry in 1808.
In 1807, Kingsbury was elected to membership in the United States Military Philosophical Society, which was the first professional association of officers of the United States Army.
War of 1812
During the War of 1812, Kingsbury was appointed to command the defenses of
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...
. He was
inspector general for Military District No. 2 (comprising the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island) from April 8, 1813, to October 31, 1814. He was among the American officers leading the American defense in
Lyme, Connecticut
Lyme is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States, situated on the eastern side of the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, Conn ...
during the
April 9, 1814 raid on Essex, Connecticut. While serving as inspector general, command of Connecticut's military forces temporarily devolved onto him in May 1814 after Brigadier General
Henry Burbeck
Henry Burbeck (June 10, 1754 – October 2, 1848) was a senior officer of the United States Army who served as the Commandant of the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers from 1798 to 1802.
Early life
Henry Burbeck was born in Boston on June 10, 1 ...
was removed from command of District No. 2. Kingsbury was succeeded in command of the district in July 1814 by Brigadier General
Thomas Humphrey Cushing
Thomas Humphrey Cushing (December 20, 1755 – October 19, 1822) was an American military officer in the Continental Army, and later the United States Army. A veteran of the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, he attained the rank of B ...
.
At the end of the war, Colonel Kingsbury was discharged from the Army on June 15, 1815, after 36 years of service.
He died on July 1, 1837, at his home in
Franklin, Connecticut
Franklin is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The pop ...
. He is buried in the Plains Cemetery in Franklin.
Family
He married Sally Palmer Ellis (1778–1857), by whom he had five sons and three daughters:
* Eliza Rosanna Thayer Kingsbury (1800–1800); died in infancy.
* James Wilkinson Kingsbury (1801–1853); graduated from
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
in 1823. Served with distinction during the
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...
and resigned from the army in 1836 to become keeper of U.S. military stores in St. Louis. He was the father of Mary Virginia Kingsbury, who married in 1865 the French aristocrat Armand François Robert ''
comte'' de Giverville.
* Julia Ann Ellis Kingsbury (born 1804)
* Thomas Humphrey Cushing Kingsbury (1806–1880); first colonel of the
11th Connecticut Infantry Regiment
The 11th Connecticut Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Service
The 11th Connecticut Infantry Regiment was organized at Hartford, Connecticut, beginning October 24, 1861, and m ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
* William Eustis Kingsbury (1809–1835); collector of the Port of
Presque Isle, Pennsylvania
Presque Isle State Park ( ) is a Pennsylvania State Park on an arching, sandy peninsula jutting into Lake Erie, west of the city of Erie, in Millcreek Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The peninsula sweeps northeas ...
.
* Benjamin Ellis Kingsbury (1812–1813); died in infancy.
* Sarah Hill Kingsbury (1815–1840)
* Charles Ellis Kingsbury (born 1818); commissioned 2nd lieutenant in the
2nd Dragoons in 1836. Died in Florida in 1837.
Dates of rank
Continental Army service
*Private, 8th Connecticut Infantry – July 11, 1775
*Corporal, 8th Connecticut Infantry – c. 1775
*Discharged – December 16, 1775
*Sergeant, Selden's Connecticut State Regiment – June 1776
*Discharged – December 1776
*Marine Sergeant, Connecticut Schooner ''Spy'' - May 8 - September 26, 1777
*Ensign, Webb's Additional Continental Regiment – April 26, 1780
*Ensign, 3rd Connecticut Regiment – January 1, 1781
*Ensign, Swift's Connecticut Regiment – June 1783
*Discharged – November 3, 1783
United States Army service
*Lieutenant, United States Infantry Regiment – October 15, 1787
*Captain, 1st Infantry – December 28, 1791
*Major, 2nd Infantry – May 15, 1797
*Lieutenant colonel, 1st Infantry – April 11, 1803
*Colonel, 1st Infantry – August 18, 1808
*Colonel, inspector general – April 8, 1813 to October 31, 1814
*Discharged – June 15, 1815
Legacy
Reflecting his military service, Kingsbury's personal papers are located at a number of historical archives associated with locations he served at including the
Missouri Historical Society
The Missouri Historical Society was founded in St. Louis on August 11, 1866. Founding members created the historical society "for the purpose of saving from oblivion the early history of the city and state".
Organization
The Missouri Historica ...
Archives, the
Detroit Public Library
The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held (after the University of Michigan Library) and the List of largest libraries in the United States, 12th-largest public library system i ...
, and the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
.
References
External links
The Society of the CincinnatiThe American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kingsbury, Jacob
1756 births
1837 deaths
American people of the Northwest Indian War
Military personnel from Norwich, Connecticut
People from Franklin, Connecticut
United States Army officers