Timothy Upham (September 9, 1783 – November 2, 1855) was an American soldier in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. At the

Siege of Fort Erie The siege of Fort Erie, also known as the Battle of Erie, from 4 August to 21 September 1814, was one of the last engagements of the War of 1812, between British and American forces. It took place during the Niagara campaign, and the Americans ...

he led the regiment under his command on a mission to rescue General

Miller A miller is a person who operates a mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surnames, as are their equivalents ...

Biography

Upham's father was Reverend Timothy Upham of

Deerfield, New Hampshire Deerfield is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,855 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 4,280 in 2010 United States census, 2010. Deerfield is the location of the a ...

. His mother was Hannah, the daughter of Reverend Nathaniel Gookin of North Hampton. Timothy Upham moved to

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

in 1807, and opened a store on Market Street. In June 1811, Governor John Langdon appointed Upham as one of his aides, with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Upham continued in business as a merchant until 1812, when, in anticipation of a war with Great Britain, he was commissioned as

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 the 11th U.S. Infantry on March 12. In June he was appointed by the new Governor

William Plumer William Plumer (June 25, 1759December 22, 1850) was an American lawyer, Baptist lay preacher, and politician from Epping, New Hampshire. He is most notable for his service as a Federalist in the United States Senate (1802–1807), and the sevent ...

to command the detachment of troops from

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

ordered to garrison

Fort McClary Fort McClary is a former defensive fortification of the United States military located along the southern coast at Kittery Point, Maine at the mouth of the Piscataqua River. It was used throughout the 19th century to protect approaches to the ha ...

. In September, Upham joined his regiment at

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...

. Then on January 15, 1813, he was ordered to

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

as superintendent of the recruiting district of Maine. In the spring he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 21st Regiment, which was assigned to join Major General James Wilkinson's army in an attack on

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. The campaign ended with the American defeat in the

Battle of Crysler's Farm The Battle of Crysler's Farm, also known as the Battle of Crysler's Field, was fought on 11 November 1813, during the War of 1812, in the British province of Upper Canada. A British and Upper Canadian force defeated a much larger American invas ...

on 11 November 1813. However, elements of the 21st Regiment and Upham in particular were credited with meritorious action in that affair.Lossing, Benson J., ''Pictorial field-book of the War of 1812,'' New York: Harper & Brothers, 1869. During the

in 1814, Upham and his regiment were sent by special order of General Jacob Brown on a mission to rescue General

. At the close of this campaign, his health impaired, Colonel Upham was reassigned to recruiting service. At the close of the war Upham resigned his commission and was honorably discharged on June 15, 1815. In 1816 he was appointed Collector of Customs at Portsmouth, and he continued in that office for thirteen years. In 1819, he was appointed brigadier general of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division New Hampshire Militia, and in 1820 was promoted to major general of the Division upon the resignation of General

Clement Storer Clement Storer (September 20, 1760November 21, 1830) was a United States representative and Senator from New Hampshire. Born in Kennebunk in Massachusetts Bay's Province of Maine, he completed preparatory studies, studied medicine in Portsmou ...

. This office he resigned in 1823. After leaving the Custom House in 1829, Upham again entered upon commercial pursuits. In 1830 he made an unsuccessful bid for the office of Governor of the State of New Hampshire, running on the Republican Party ticket and losing to

Matthew Harvey Matthew Harvey (June 21, 1781 – April 7, 1866) was a United States representative from New Hampshire, the 13th governor of New Hampshire and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. ...

. In the course of the campaign, an opposition newspaper accused Upham of misappropriating customs funds. Upham sued the publishers for libel; but after a lengthy trial, the jury was unable to find a verdict. In 1841 he was appointed Navy Agent at Portsmouth by President Harrison. He soon resigned this office, and in 1845 removed to

Charlestown, Massachusetts Charlestown is the oldest Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Also called Mishawum by the Massachusett, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Bost ...

. His business pursuits were unsuccessful and, suffering poor health, Upham retired from active business. Timothy Upham died in Charlestown on 2 November 1855.''Farmer's Cabinet'' (Amherst, N.H.), 8 November 1855, p. 2. His remains were returned to Portsmouth where they were interred in the Proprietors Burying Ground.

References

* Powell, William Henry, ''List of officers of the army of the United States from 1779 to 1900'', L. R. Hamersly & co., 1900. * Heitman, Francis Bernard, ''Historical register of the United States Army: from its organization, September 29, 1789, to September 29, 1889'', The National Tribune, 1890. * Wilson, James Grant and Fiske, John, ''Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography'', Volume 6, D. Appleton and company, 1889. * Herringshaw, Thomas William, ''Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States; Illustrated with Three Thousand Vignette Portraits'', Volume 4, American Publishers' Association, 1914. * Foster, Joseph, ''The soldiers' memorial. Portsmouth, N.H., 1893-1921: Storer Post, No. 1, Department of New Hampshire, Grand Army of the Republic, Portsmouth, N.H., with record of presentation of flags and portraits by the post to the city. 1890 and 1891 '', Grand Army of the Republic. Dept. of New Hampshire Storer Post, No. 1 (Portsmouth), 1893. {{DEFAULTSORT:Upham, Timothy American militia generals United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 1783 births 1855 deaths United States Army officers