Solomon Allen ( – ) was an officer 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 ...

and itinerant preacher. Solomon Allen was born on in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

. He was a brother of Moses Allen and

Thomas Allen Thomas Allen may refer to: Clergy *Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England *Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732) *Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England * ...

, who were chaplains in the revolutionary army, while he fought as a soldier and rose to the rank of major. As lieutenant he commanded the guard that took Major Andre to

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 ...

. After the war he was engaged in suppressing

Shays' rebellion Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both in ...

. At the age of forty he became a religious convert, and at fifty began the life of a missionary preacher. For twenty years he circulated among the new settlements of western New York, where he was greatly respected for his zealous devotion and self-sacrifice. A "Sketch of the Last Hours of Solomon Allen" was written by J. N. Danforth. Solomon Allen died on 28 January 1821 in New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Solomon 1751 births 1821 deaths People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution People from Northampton, Massachusetts Converts to Christianity Clergy in the American Revolution