Colonel Sampson Sammons (December 24, 1722October 17, 1796) was an American officer in 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 is notable for being the target of the first shot fired by the British in the American Revolution west of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

Life

Sammons, of Dutch extraction, was born in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

to Jacob Sampson and Catalyntje Bensen. He moved to

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The count ...

in 1769, and then to Tryon County. In 1772 he was a Deacon of the First Reformed Church of Caughnawaga in

Fonda, New York Fonda is a village in and the county seat of Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 668 at the 2020 census, down from 795 in 2010. The village is named after Douw Fonda, a Dutch-American settler who was killed and scalpe ...

. He married Rachel Schoonmaker (1726-1822), who was a descendant of Hendrick Jochemson Schoonmaker, a native of Hamburg, Germany. They had three sons and seven daughters.

Role in the American Revolution

In 1775, before the departure of

Guy Johnson Guy Johnson ( – 5 March 1788) was a British Indian Department officer, judge and politician. He served on the side of the British during the American Revolutionary War, having migrated to the Province of New York as a young man and worked ...

, nephew of

Sir William Johnson Major-General Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland known for his military and governance work in British colonial America. As a young man, Johnson moved to t ...

, along with

Loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

and Native Americans to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Sammons and other patriots formed a Committee of Safety for Tryon County to track movements of the British. It is said that the first shot of the Revolution west of the

was fired at Sammons by Tory Sheriff of Johnstown Alexander White, after Sammons led a group of patriots to free neighbor John Fonda from the nearby jail. In 1780 Sammons, along with sons Jacob, Frederick and Thomas, were all taken prisoner as a result of the raid from Canada led by

Sir John Johnson Brigadier-general (United Kingdom), Brigadier-General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, politician and landowner who fought as a Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalist dur ...

and over 500 British troops. Sammons and Thomas were subsequently released, but his other two sons and horses were taken back to Canada. Frederick was kept as a prisoner of war in chains in

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortifica ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

for nearly 18 months. Sammons served during the war at the

Battle of Oriskany The Battle of Oriskany ( or ) was a major engagement of the Saratoga campaign during the American Revolutionary War. On August 6, 1777, an American column of Tryon County militia and Oneida people, Oneidas marching to relieve the siege of Fort ...

and the

Battle of Klock's Field The Battle of Klock's Field was an engagement during the American Revolutionary War in the Mohawk Valley region of New York between British and Loyalist forces led by Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Johnson, and New York militia and levies led by Br ...

. He held the rank of Lieutenant of Exempts under Captain Jellis Fonda.Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Book, Volume 20, page 279 After the departure of Johnson, Sammons took the opportunity to lease

Johnson Hall Johnson Hall State Historic Site was the home of Sir William Johnson (1715–1774) an Irish pioneer who became the influential British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York, known for his strong relationship especially ...

Death and legacy

Sammons died in 1796 and was buried in the family's cemetery in Mohawk, New York. Sammons's son Thomas Sammons participated in the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1801 and served four terms in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

References

Other Sources

* The Mohawk Valley During the Revolution, by

Harold Frederic Harold Frederic (August 19, 1856 – October 19, 1898) was an American journalist and novelist. His works include '' In the Valley'' (1890), '' The Damnation of Theron Ware'' (1896), and '' The Market Place'' (1899). Life and career Harold Henry ...

, 1877
Sampson Sammons burial site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sammons, Sampson 1722 births 1796 deaths Military personnel from New York City People from the Province of New York People from Montgomery County, New York Continental Army officers from New York (state)