Samuel Holden Parsons
Samuel Holden Parsons was an American lawyer, jurist, general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country. He was described as "Soldier, scholar, judge, one of the strongest arms on which Washington leaned, who first suggested the Continental Congress, from the story of whose life could almost be written the history of the Northern War" by Senator George F. Hoar of Massachusetts. Actively involved in Patriot circles on the eve of the American Revolutionary War, he was a member of New London's Committee of Correspondence. In April 1775, immediately after the battles of Lexington and Concord, Parsons, began promoting a project to take Fort Ticonderoga from the British, securing commitments of both public and private funds to underwrite the expedition. He was appointed Major of the 14th Connecticut, Militia Regiment in 1770. In 1775, he was commissioned Colonel of the 6th Connecticut Regiment, a new regiment raised "for the special defense and safety of the Colony".
In June he was ordered to lead his regiment to Boston, where he fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. He remained in Boston until the British evacuated the city in March 1776. In August 1776 Congress appointed Parsons Brigadier General in the Continental Army. He was ordered to New York with his brigade of about 2,500 men. Stationed in Brooklyn, Parsons, under Lord Stirling, was in the thick of the fighting against the British at Battle Hill on August 27, 1776. In the winter of 1777–78, Parsons took command of West Point, and began building its fortifications. At the end of 1778, he joined Connecticut troops at winter quarters in Redding. In July 1782, following the Franco-American victory at the siege of Yorktown at Yorktown, Virginia, Parsons – broken physically and financially – tendered his resignation to Congress. Forty-five years old, he had served continuously since the Lexington Alarm of 1775. In March 1788, Parsons and his son Enoch, who had been appointed Registrar and Clerk of Probate, set out for the Northwest Territory.
In June he was ordered to lead his regiment to Boston, where he fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. He remained in Boston until the British evacuated the city in March 1776. In August 1776 Congress appointed Parsons Brigadier General in the Continental Army. He was ordered to New York with his brigade of about 2,500 men. Stationed in Brooklyn, Parsons, under Lord Stirling, was in the thick of the fighting against the British at Battle Hill on August 27, 1776. In the winter of 1777–78, Parsons took command of West Point, and began building its fortifications. At the end of 1778, he joined Connecticut troops at winter quarters in Redding. In July 1782, following the Franco-American victory at the siege of Yorktown at Yorktown, Virginia, Parsons – broken physically and financially – tendered his resignation to Congress. Forty-five years old, he had served continuously since the Lexington Alarm of 1775. In March 1788, Parsons and his son Enoch, who had been appointed Registrar and Clerk of Probate, set out for the Northwest Territory.
