John Palsgrave Wyllys (1754-1790) was a

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 ...

officer from Connecticut. Wyllys was the son of George Wyllys and Mary Woodbridge, and the youngest brother of Samuel Wyllys. He graduated 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, ...

with

Nathan Hale Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an Military intelligence, intelligence ...

. Wyllys began his

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 ...

service 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 ...

. Wyllys was captured by the British during the retreat from New York. He was released the following year, and promoted to captain in the 9th Connecticut Regiment. He also participated in the

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of a British army, which historian Edmund M ...

of 1777. He was promoted to

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 ...

in 1780, while serving 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 ...

. During the

Yorktown campaign The Yorktown campaign, also known as the Virginia campaign, was a series of military maneuvers and battles during the American Revolutionary War that culminated in the siege of Yorktown in October 1781. The result of the campaign was the surren ...

, he commanded the

3rd Connecticut Regiment The 3rd Connecticut Regiment was authorized on 16 September 1776 and was organized between 1 January - April 1777 of eight companies of volunteers from the counties of Windham and Hartford in the state of Connecticut. On 3 April 1777 it was as ...

under General Lafayette. Wyllys married Jerusha Talcott. They had one child, who died an infant in 1783. Jerusha died a week later. Wyllys joined 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 ...

in 1785. He took part in the Harmar campaign of 1790, and was in command of the combined U.S. regular and militia force in the climactic Battle of Kekionga on 22 October 1790. His plan to take the Native American town was foiled when Native American decoys drew away his militia support. After Wyllys and his 60 regulars crossed the St. Joseph River, they were ambushed in an open field. Wyllys died in battle. A non-commissioned officer of the regiment reported seeing a Native American flaunting Wyllys' large hat. A street in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

is named for him.

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* * Continental Army officers from Connecticut Yale College alumni American military personnel killed in the Northwest Indian War 1754 births 1790 deaths {{US-Army-bio-stub