Jeremiah Olney (1749 – 10 November 1812) was born into an old family from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but i ...

. He formed a company of infantry from that state at the start 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 ...

. After serving as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1776, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel at the beginning of 1777. As second-in-command of the

2nd Rhode Island Regiment The 2nd Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Hitchcock's Regiment and the 11th Continental Infantry) was authorized on 6 May 1775 under Colonel Daniel Hitchcock in the Rhode Island Army of Observation and was organized on 8 May 1775 as eight c ...

, he fought at Red Bank. After its commander was wounded early in the action, he led Varnum's brigade in bitter fighting at

Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. ...

in June 1778. In 1780 he married the governor's daughter, Sarah Cooke. Later that year he led his regiment in action at Springfield. He moved south in 1781 to lead the Rhode Island Regiment at Yorktown. After the war he helped found the Rhode Island chapter of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a 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 military officers wh ...

. He supported the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. Defeated by the Jeffersonian Repub ...

and held various civil offices. After helping to establish the Providence Theater, he defended it against accusations of immorality. He also invested in farms, turnpikes, shipping, and other business ventures.

Early career

Olney was born in 1749 at

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

to parents Joseph Olney (1706–1777) and Elizabeth T. Mawney (b. 1714). He was one of Joseph's 12 children and was sibling to a twin named Marcy.Olney, L. ''The Olney Connection'' Olney descended from Thomas Olney, a minister of the

First Baptist Church in America The First Baptist Church in America is the First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island, also known as the First Baptist Meetinghouse. It is the oldest Baptist church congregation in the United States, founded in 1638 by Roger Williams in Pr ...

and one of the founders of the Rhode Island colony.Appleton's, ''Jeremiah Olney'' Olney at first declined a captain's commission in the Rhode Island Army of Observation. Later he assumed command of a company of infantry in Colonel

Daniel Hitchcock Daniel Hitchcock (February 15, 1739January 13, 1777) was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Yale University. He moved to Providence, Rhode Island, where he became an attorney and was suspected by the authorities of involvement in the Gaspee ...

's Rhode Island Regiment. He held a captain's commission in the regiment beginning on 3 May 1775. He remained a captain during the entire year of 1776 when the unit was called the

11th Continental Regiment The 2nd Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Hitchcock's Regiment and the 11th Continental Infantry) was authorized on 6 May 1775 under Colonel Daniel Hitchcock in the Rhode Island Army of Observation and was organized on 8 May 1775 as eight co ...

The sources stated only that Olney fought in four battles (Red Bank, Monmouth, Springfield, and Yorktown).findagrave.com, ''Col. Jeremiah Olney (1749-1812)'' However, one source noted that, "he participated in many engagements", so it is likely that he fought in other battles as well. During the period May 1775 to January 1777, the regiment served in the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular tow ...

and the

New York and New Jersey Campaign The New York and New Jersey campaign in 1776 and the winter months of 1777 was a series of American Revolutionary War battles for control of the Port of New York and the state of New Jersey, fought between British forces under General Sir Willia ...

.Wright, 229 At the time of the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, John Nixon's brigade of Nathanael Greene's division included Hitchcock's Regiment with a strength of 368 men. The regiment, renamed the

on 1 January 1777, fought at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek on 2 January 1777 where they held the lower ford on the left flank. In this position, they repelled the attacks of the British light infantry and Hessian jägers. The regiment, which numbered only 120 men, belonged to a 352-man brigade commanded by Hitchcock. The 2nd Regiment participated in the

Battle of Princeton The Battle of Princeton was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, fought near Princeton, New Jersey on January 3, 1777, and ending in a small victory for the Colonials. General Lord Cornwallis had left 1,400 British troops under the comm ...

the following day. After Charles Mawhood's initial attack routed Hugh Mercer's advance guard, George Washington rallied the Americans on the hill where Thomas Clark's house still stands. Hitchcock's small brigade joined with forces under Edward Hand,

Thomas Mifflin Thomas Mifflin (January 10, 1744January 20, 1800) was an American merchant, soldier, and politician from Pennsylvania, who is regarded as a Founding Father of the United States for his roles during and after the American Revolution. Mifflin was ...

, John Cadwalader, and others to defeat Mawhood. Hitchcock and Hand probably deployed on the American right flank. Hitchcock died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on 13 January 1777 at

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.lieutenant colonel of the 2nd Rhode Island. Israel Angell became colonel while Simeon Thayer became major. The Rhode Island Assembly voted to recruit two full regiments when the terms of enlistment of the 1776 units ran out. By February only 50 men had enrolled but recruiting picked up and 400 men had enlisted by March. Another 1,800 state troops contained the British foothold at

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

. Together with the

1st Rhode Island Regiment The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Varnum's Regiment, the 9th Continental Regiment, the Black Regiment, the Rhode Island Regiment, and Olney's Battalion) was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Colony of Rhode Island and Pro ...

, 4th Connecticut Regiment, and

8th Connecticut Regiment In October 1774, Jedediah Huntington of Norwich was made Colonel of the 20th Regiment of Connecticut Militia. When news of the Battles of Lexington and Concord arrived in Norwich on April 20, 1775 Colonel Huntington immediately got his men read ...

, the 2nd Regiment served in Brigadier General James Mitchell Varnum's brigade.americanrevolution.org, ''1st Rhode Island'' The 2nd Regiment transferred to the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia * So ...

Department on 12 March 1777 and back to the main army on 14 September. Under the command of Varnum, the 2nd Regiment arrived at

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York Metropolitan ...

on 18 October.

Red Bank

On 22 October 1777 Olney fought at the

Battle of Red Bank The Battle of Red Bank was a battle fought on October 22, 1777 during the American Revolutionary War in which a British and Hessian force was sent to take Fort Mercer on the left bank (or New Jersey side) of the Delaware River just south of Ph ...

where 500 Americans successfully defended Fort Mercer against the attack of Carl von Donop's 2,000 Hessian soldiers. Donop sent British Major Charles Stuart under a flag of truce to demand the fort's surrender. The American commander, Colonel Christopher Greene of the 1st Rhode Island sent Lieutenant Colonel Olney of the 2nd Regiment to receive the message. Stuart addressed Olney in a tone loud enough for the fort's garrison to hear. He said, "The King of England orders his rebellious subjects to lay down their arms, and they are warned that if they stand battle, no quarter will be given". When Stuart insisted on seeing the fort's commander, Olney replied that they would, "defend the fort unto the last". The British officer pressed further and Olney remarked that, "seeing Colonel Greene was altogether needless," because he would defend the fort "as long as he had a man and as to mercy it was neither sought nor expected". Hessian officer

Johann von Ewald Johann von Ewald (20 March 1744 – 25 June 1813) was a German military officer from Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Kassel. After first serving in the Seven Years' War, he was the commander of the jäger (military), Jäger corps of the Hessi ...

recalled Olney shouting, "By God no!" in reply to the demand for surrender. Later that afternoon, the Hessians tried to rush the fort but were slaughtered by American gunfire. An eyewitness reported that during the fight, Olney used the flat of his sword on soldiers who fired over the parapet without aiming their muskets. American losses in the engagement were 14 killed, 21 wounded, and one captured while the Hessians suffered 90 killed, 227 wounded, and 69 missing. Donop was mortally wounded. In January 1778, the enlisted men of the 1st Rhode Island were transferred to the 2nd Rhode Island. The officers and non commissioned officers of the 1st went back to the state to recruit. The regiment was filled up by enrolling enslaved blacks whose owners were compensated by the state. The RI General Assembly proclaimed, "Every slave, so enlisting, shall, upon his passing muster before Col. Christopher Greene, be immediately discharged from the service of his master or mistress, and be absolutely FREE as though he had never been encumbered with any Kind of Servitude or Slavery". No other state followed this course of action. Though every "negro, mulatto, or Indian man-slave" was eligible to enroll and the bounty was the same as for white men, fewer than 200 signed up. Alarmed at the cost, the Rhode Island Assembly stopped recruiting slaves on 10 June 1778.

Monmouth

At the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, c ...

on 28 June 1778, Olney led the two consolidated Rhode Island regiments in Varnum's brigade which was temporarily commanded by Colonel John Durkee. Part of Charles Lee's advanced guard, this 300-man unit also included the converged 4th and 8th Connecticut Regiment plus two attached guns from Captain David Cook's company of the

3rd Continental Artillery Regiment The 3rd Continental Artillery Regiment also known as Crane's Continental Artillery Regiment became part of the Continental Army on January 1, 1777, as Colonel John Crane's Continental Artillery Regiment. The regiment was made up of 12 artillery c ...

. As the American units came into contact with the British rear guard, confused fighting broke out. Some British light dragoons attacked a party of militia horsemen but were driven off by volleys from infantry detachments under Richard Butler and Henry Jackson. Butler and Jackson moved forward but came under fire from two British cannons and pulled back into some woods. Thinking Butler and Jackson were enemy forces, Lee sent Durkee's soldiers to attack them. The matter was quickly straightened out and Durkee was shifted to support two guns commanded by Eleazer Oswald on the left flank. At this time Durkee was wounded and Olney succeeded him in command of Varnum's brigade. Soon after this, Lee became aware that British commander Henry Clinton assembled 6,000 troops nearby, many more than he had suspected. Oswald withdrew his two guns because they were out of round shot and the crews were unable to bring up their ammunition wagon. As Clinton's troops moved forward menacingly, Lee lost control of his division. Some units began retreating and other units, seeing their neighbors withdraw, fell back as well. Observing his troops withdrawing without orders, Lee gave orders for a general retreat. Oswald, Lee's artillery chief, massed 10 cannon to cover the movement. Pressed by British columns, the retreat continued and Oswald dissolved his large battery, returning Olney's two guns as well as two guns belonging to William Maxwell's New Jersey Brigade. Two more guns were sent to the rear. Washington appeared on the scene and relieved Lee of his command. However, he soon relented and permitted Lee to organize a holding action while he deployed the American main body into a defensive line. Lee placed Olney's brigade behind a north-south hedgerow with two of Oswald's guns in support on their right. Oswald's other two guns took a position where they could cover the detachments of Nathaniel Ramsey and Walter Stewart on the left flank. Lee directed Henry Livingston Jr. to protect Oswald's two guns on the right, but instead he took position behind the hedgerow on Olney's left. After a sharp struggle with the Brigade of Guards, Stewart and Ramsey were driven out of the woods on the left. Both Stewart and Ramsey fell wounded and Ramsey was captured by some troopers of the

16th Light Dragoons The 16th The Queen's Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1759. It saw service for two centuries, before being amalgamated with the 5th Royal Irish Lancers to form the 16th/5th Lancers in 1922. History Early wars ...

. Next, the dragoons attacked the hedgerow but were repelled by Olney and Livingston. Clinton yelled for the 2nd Grenadier Battalion and half of the 1st Grenadier Battalion to attack the hedgerow. Charging into intense musketry and case shot, the elite grenadiers broke into the hedgerow position. Oswald pulled his guns out just in time, covered by Olney's men. In the melee, 16 grenadiers found themselves surrounded by Olney's troops, but the Americans were so bent on retreating that they paid no heed to their enemies. During the violent struggle, the commander of the 2nd Grenadiers

Henry Monckton Henry Monckton (13 July 1740 – 28 June 1778) was the fourth son of John Monckton, 1st Viscount Galway, and the younger half-brother of the more famous Robert Monckton. During the American Revolutionary War he led a battalion of converged ...

was killed. After this action, which occurred about noon, Olney joined the rest of Lee's division which was reorganizing in the rear of Washington's main body.

Later career

On 26 April 1780 Olney wed Sarah Cooke (1755–1843), daughter of Governor

Nicholas Cooke Nicholas Cooke (February 3, 1717September 14, 1782) was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations during the American Revolutionary War, and after Rhode Island became a state, he continued in this position to become the ...

. He fought at the Battle of Springfield on 23 June 1780. In the combat, the 2nd Rhode Island under Angell held up Wilhelm von Knyphausen's greatly superior British-Hessian force at the Springfield Bridge for 40 minutes before withdrawing in good order. The new bride received a mistaken report that her husband had been killed, causing her to have a nervous breakdown. Her condition lasted a few years after which she recovered and outlived her husband by over 30 years. The couple had only one child, Mary Timmins Olney (1799–1878) who married Samuel Carr (1795–1832) and had three sons. The 1st and 2nd Regiments were merged on 1 January 1781 and the new unit was named the Rhode Island Regiment. Olney transferred to the new regiment in January and assumed command of the regiment on 14 May 1781 after Colonel Greene and Major

Ebenezer Flagg Ebenezer may refer to: Bible * Eben-Ezer, a place mentioned in the Books of Samuel People * Ebenezer (given name), a male given name Places Australia * Ebenezer, New South Wales * Ebenezer, Queensland, a locality in the City of Ipswich * Ebenez ...

were killed by Tories at the

Battle of Pine's Bridge The Battle of Pine's Bridge was a minor engagement during the American Revolutionary War in the town of Yorktown, New York, on May 14, 1781. Loyalist forces under the command of James De Lancey surprised an American defensive position guarding the ...

on the

Croton River The Croton River ( ) is a river in southern New York with three principal tributaries: the West Branch, Middle Branch, and East Branch. Their waters, all part of the New York City water supply system, join downstream from the Croton Falls R ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

that same day. When the regiment began its march south to Virginia, Olney was listed as the commander of 360 officers and men. At the

Siege of Yorktown The Siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), beginning on September 28, 1781, and ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virg ...

in October 1781, his regiment belonged to Colonel Elias Dayton's Brigade of Benjamin Lincoln's Division. Olney was brevetted as a colonel on 30 September 1783 in recognition of his long and faithful service in the Continental Army. At the end of the war Olney resigned his commission. He was one of the few individuals who served in the Continental Army for the entirety of its existence. He was a founding member of the Rhode Island

and served as its treasurer and later as its president from 1800 until his death in 1812.

Post war

After the war, Colonel Olney served as Distributor of Pensions for Rhode Island's invalid soldiers. During the war he paid his own money for supplies and equipment for his regiment. After the war he had difficulty getting reimbursed for these expenses. A staunch member of the

, he argued in favor of adoption of the United States Constitution. For his political support, he was rewarded by being appointed in 1790 to the lucrative position of Customs Collector for the Port of Providence by President George Washington. He retained this position despite attempts to oust him in 1793 and 1802 for too-rigorous enforcement of duties and fees. The

Embargo Act of 1807 The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general trade embargo on all foreign nations that was enacted by the United States Congress. As a successor or replacement law for the 1806 Non-importation Act and passed as the Napoleonic Wars continued, it re ...

caused a large increase in smuggling and he resigned his post in 1809. Olney pursued numerous money-making ventures after the war. From 1784 until his death, he managed a farm in Rehoboth, Massachusetts that was owned by his in-laws. He sold water from "Jeremiah Olney's Fountain" to nearby homes in North Providence. He bought shares in turnpikes, sold framed prints, invested in property, and sold lottery tickets. He acted as the agent for some ex-officers who owned shares in a farm in Tiverton, Rhode Island. From 1806 to 1811 he owned shares in the Union Cotton Manufacturing Company. He invested in the trading voyages of his seafaring brother-in-law Joseph S. Cooke. He helped start the Providence Theatre and defended it in print against people who called it a bad influence. He died on 10 November 1812 and was buried in the

North Burial Ground The North Burial Ground is a cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island dating to 1700, the first public cemetery in Providence. It is located north of downtown Providence, bounded by North Main Street, Branch Avenue, the Moshassuck River, and Ce ...

in Providence.

Dates of rank

*Captain, Hitchcock's Regiment; 3 May 1775 - 31 December 1775 *Captain, 11th Continental Infantry; 1 January 1776 - 31 December 1776 *Lieutenant Colonel,

; 13 January 1777 - 31 December 1780 *Lieutenant Colonel,

Rhode Island Regiment The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Varnum's Regiment, the 9th Continental Regiment, the Black Regiment, the Rhode Island Regiment, and Olney's Battalion) was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island during the Americ ...

; 1 January 1781 - 14 May 1781 *Lieutenant Colonel Commandant, Rhode Island Regiment; 14 May 1781 - 28 February 1783 *Lieutenant Colonel Commandant, Rhode Island Battalion; 1 March 1783 - 25 December 1783 *Brevet Colonel; September 23, 1783

Notes

References

* Appleton's Cyclopaedia of America Biography ''Jeremiah Olney'' (Retrieved 27 November 2011) * *
Gaspee Virtual Archives. gaspee.org ''Colonel Daniel Hitchcock, Esq.''
(Retrieved 28 December 2011) * *
Olney, Laverne. ancestry.com ''The Olney Connection''
(Retrieved 28 December 2011) * *

(Retrieved 28 December 2011) *

External Links

American Revolution Institute

Society of the Cincinnati
{{DEFAULTSORT:Olney, Jeremiah 1749 births 1812 deaths Continental Army officers from Rhode Island People of colonial Rhode Island People of Rhode Island in the American Revolution Burials at North Burying Ground (Providence)