John Lamb (1735–1800) was an American soldier, politician, and Anti-Federalist organizer (particularly in New York state). 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 led the

2nd Continental Artillery Regiment The 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment also known as Lamb's Continental Artillery Regiment was authorized on 1 January 1777 as Colonel John Lamb's Continental Artillery Regiment. As originally constituted, the regiment included 12 artillery comp ...

Career

He was born January 1, 1735, in New York City, the son of Anthony Lamb. His father was a convicted burglar who was transported to the colonies in the 1720s. John was initially trained as an optician and instrument maker in New York City and became a prosperous wine merchant. Prior to the Revolutionary War, Lamb was a leading member of the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It p ...

. He wrote articles in and published anonymous handbills. When the news of the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 were the first major military actions of the American Revolutionary War between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot militias from America's Thirteen Co ...

was received he and his men seized the military stores at Turtle Bay. He was commissioned a captain of an artillery company and served under

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

and

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold (#Brandt, Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American-born British military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of ...

in the Battle of Quebec. He was wounded and captured at the assault on Quebec city and was released on parole a few months later. He was appointed

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of artillery on January 9, 1776. In January 1777 he was appointed

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of the

. He commanded the artillery at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

in 1779 and 1780. During the campaign and

Siege of Yorktown The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown and the surrender at Yorktown, was the final battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was won decisively by the Continental Army, led by George Washington, with support from the Ma ...

, Lamb continued to command the 2nd Regiment. A monthly strength report from September 26, 1781, showed 200 officers and men under Lamb's command. On October 9, Lamb was the Officer of the Day when General Washington fired the first American cannon to open the siege. During the siege, the artillery served with distinction. The artillery detachment, and Lamb's artillery in particular, were accorded high praise by both Washington and General

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806) was an American military officer, politician, bookseller, and a Founding Father of the United States. Knox, born in Boston, became a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionar ...

, chief of artillery for 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 ...

. A General Order from the Commander-in-Chief relayed his thanks and appreciation to Lamb's artillery unit. After the British surrender, Lamb was placed in temporary command of all the artillery, and oversaw its return to New York. He was breveted a brigadier general on September 30, 1783. In 1784 he was appointed Collector of Customs by the State of New York, and was retained as Federal

Collector of the Port of New York The Collector of Customs at the Port of New York, most often referred to as Collector of the Port of New York, was a federal officer who was in charge of the collection of import duties on foreign goods that entered the United States by ship at ...

during the

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

administration. His next role involved dealing with the ongoing threat of Barbary pirates to American commerce. He was dismissed by President

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

in 1797 after his deputy was accused of defrauding the Federal government of tax revenues.

Anti-Federalism

During the 1787-1788 debates over the ratification of the proposed

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

, Lamb was a prominent

Anti-Federalist The Anti-Federalists were a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles ...

. He served as chairman of the Federal Republican Committee of New York, which operated to distribute Anti-Federalist writing and coordinate opposition to the Constitution with Anti-Federalists in other states. Between the fall of 1787 and June 1788 Lamb spread Anti-Federalist pamphlets through New York and New England and as far away as South Carolina; his correspondents included

Joshua Atherton Joshua Atherton (June 20, 1737 – April 3, 1809), was a lawyer and early anti-slavery campaigner in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. He served as Attorney General of New Hampshire. In later years he was also commissioner for the United States dir ...

Aedanus Burke Aedanus Burke (June 16, 1743March 30, 1802) was a soldier, slaveholder, judge, and United States Representative from South Carolina. Database at Life Born in Tiaquin, County Galway in the Kingdom of Ireland, Burke attended the theological Co ...

Patrick Henry Patrick Henry (May 29, 1736 ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. May 18, 1736une 6, 1799) was an American politician, planter and orator who declared to the Virginia Conventions, Second Virginia Convention (1775): "Give me liberty or give m ...

Richard Henry Lee Richard Henry Lee (January 20, 1732June 19, 1794) was an American statesman and Founding Father from Virginia, best known for the June 1776 Lee Resolution, the motion in the Second Continental Congress calling for the colonies' independence fr ...

, and other prominent Anti-Federalists. He died in poverty May 31, 1800.

References

Link

John Lamb at Find a grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, John Continental Army officers from New York (state) American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain 1735 births 1800 deaths Collectors of the Port of New York New York (state) Anti-Federalists

Career

Anti-Federalism

See also

References

Further reading

Link