Benjamin Lincoln (1733 - 1810)

Born 24 Jan 1733 in Hingham, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Cushing) Lincoln — married 15 Jan 1756 in Provincetown, Barnstable, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 9 May 1810 at age 77 in Hingham, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Major General Benjamin Lincoln served with Suffolk County Militia, Massachusetts Militia during the American Revolution.

Benjamin Lincoln is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A070402.

Benjamin Lincoln is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: P-236600
Rank: Major General

Benjamin Lincoln was born on January 24, 1733, in Hingham, Province of Massachusetts son of Colonel Benjamin Lincoln and his second wife Elizabeth Thaxter. His spouse was Mary Cushing. He died May 9, 1810. Benjamin Lincoln is interred at the Old Ship Burying Ground, Hingham.

Benjamin constable in 1754 ; selectman 1765 to 1771 inc., and succeeded his father as town-clerk, having been elected to the office March 7, 1757. On the 15th of Feb. 1769, he was chosen a deacon of the First Church in Hingham, and 1773, 1774, 1775, 1788, and 1789 was representative. He also in 1774 and 1775 represented the town in the Provincial Congress held at Concord, at Cambridge, and at Watertown. His first military office was adjutant of the 3d Regiment in Suffolk County, July, 1755. In June, 1763, he was appointed major ; and Jan. 1772, lieut.-colonel, which last office he held when the war broke out. He was a major-general in the army of the Revolution, and after the campaign of 1777 commanded the right wing of General Gates's army ; was in the battles of Charleston, S. C, Yorktown, Va., etc ; and Oct. 8, 1777, was badly wounded in his leg, in an attack of the enemy, and had to be carried off the field. He was chosen Secretary of War in 1781, and in 1787 was elected Lieut.-Gov. of Massachusetts. On behalf of the U. S. Government he was sent, in 1789, to treat with the Southern Indians ; and later was in command of the forces sent to suppress the Western Insurrection (Shays's Rebellion). From 1789 to March 1, 1809, he was collector of the Port of Boston. He also was president of the Society of the Cincinnati, and in all these various positions, military and civic, he held the respect and confidence of the people.

At his funeral " a long train of bereaved relatives and mourning friends, including the Governor of Massachusetts and other State and Government officials, followed his remains to the family tomb in the Hingham cemetery. His pall was borne by the Hon. John Adams, Hon. R. T. Paine, Hon. Richard Cranch, Hon. Cotton Tufts, his Honor Lieutenant-Governor Cobb and Thomas Melville, Esq. An appropriate sermon was delivered upon the occasion in the new north meeting-house by the pastor, Rev. Henry Colman. The bells in Boston and other places were tolled an hour; and the flags of the vessels, and of Forts Independence and Warren, and of the Navy Yard at Charlestown were hoisted half-mast as tokens of respect for the memory of the deceased." He resided on the paternal homestead, North, corner of Lincoln St.

Benjamin was a Major General in the Massachusetts provincial militia from 1755-1777. He served in Continental Army from 1777-1781. Battles were Bound Brook, Boston Campaign, Battle of White Plains, Second Battle of at Saratoga (wounded), Siege of Savannah, Siege of Charleston, Shay's Rebellion and the Yorktown Campaign. Affiliated with the Federalist Party. He was second Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. In the Office 1788-1789.Succeeded by Samuel Adams. Benjamin was first United States Secretary of War from 1781-1783. Succeeded by Henry Knox.

Benjamin Lincoln.—General Benjamin Lincoln of the army of the revolution, was a son of Hon. Benjamin Lincoln, of Hingham, and was born January 24, 1732-3. The only advantages of early education which he enjoyed were those afforded by our public schools, and his occupation till he was more than forty years of age, was that of a farmer. Previously to the revolution he had become an active and influential citizen. He was elected town clerk of Hingham, in 1757 ; he was generally placed on all important committees chosen by the town to consider the subjects of the controversy between the Colonies and Great Britain ; he represented Hingham in the General Court, in 1772, 1773, and 1774, and, as mentioned in the sketches of the civil history of the town, he was chosen to attend the Provincial Congress at Concord, Cambridge, and Watertown. He had been, previously to this date, commissioned as a magistrate. In the year 1775, he sustained the office of lieutenant colonel of militia, and was one of the secretaries of the Provincial Congress. In 1776, he was appointed by the council of Massachusetts a brigadier, and soon after a major general, and he applied himself assiduously to training and preparing the militia for actual service.

In October, 1776, he marched with a body of militia, and joined the main army at New York. The commander in chief, from a knowledge of his character and merit, recommended him to Congress as an excellent officer, and in February following, he was created a major general on the continental establishment. For several months lie commanded a detachment of the main army under General Washington, and was placed in situations requiring the exercise of the utmost vigilance and caution, as well as firmness and courage. Having the command of about five hundred men in an exposed situation near Bound Brook, through the neglect of the patroles, a large body of the enemy approached undiscovered within two hundred yards of his quarters ; the General had scarcely time to mount and leave the house before it was surrounded. He led off his troops however, and made good his retreat, with the loss of about sixty men killed and wounded. One of his aids with the General's baggage and papers fell into the hands of the enemy, as did also three pieces of artillery. In July, 1777, he was selected by Washington to join the northern army under the command of General Gates, to oppose the advance of Burgoyne. He took his station at Manchester, in Vermont, to receive and form the New England militia as they arrived, and to order their march to the rear of the British army. He detached Colonel Brown with five hundred men, on the 13th of September, to the landing at lake George, where he succeeded in surprising the enemy, and took two hundred batteaux, several gunboats and an armed sloop ; liberated one hundred American prisoners, and captured two hundred and ninety-three of the enemyr with the loss of only three killed and five wounded. This enterprize contributed essentially to the glorious event which followed. Having detached two other parties to the enemy's posts at Mount Independence and Skenesborough, General Lincoln united his remaining force with the army under General Gates, and was the second in command. During the sanguinary conflict on the 7th of October, General Lincoln commanded within the lines, and at one o'clock the next morning, he marched with his division to the relief of the troops that had been engaged, and to occupy the battle ground, the enemy having retreated. While on this duty, he rode forward some distance to reconnoitre, and to order some disposition of his own troops, when a party of the enemy made an unexpected movement, and he approached within musket shot before he discovered his mistake. A volley of musketry was discharged at him and his aids, and he received a wound by which the bones of his leg were badly fractured, and he was obliged to be carried off' the field. The wound was a formidable one, and the loss of his limb was for some time apprehended. It became necessary to remove a considerable portion of the main bone before he was removed to Hingham, and under the most painful operation, he is said to have exhibited uncommon firmness and patience ; he did not entirely recover from this wound for several years, and it occasioned lameness during the remainder of his life. General Lincoln afforded very important assistance in the capture of Burgoyne, though it was his unfortunate lot, while in active duty, to be disabled before he could participate in the capitulation.

Though the recovery from his wound was not complete, he repaired to head quarters in the following August, and was joyfully received by the Commander in Chief. His military reputation was high ; and at the solicitation of the delegates of South Carolina and Georgia, he was designated by Congress to take the command in the southern department. On his arrival at Charleston, in December, 1778, he found that he had to form an army, to provide supplies, and to arrange the various departments, in order to enable him to contend against experienced officers and veteran troops, with any probability of success. For this, his indefatigable perseverance, and unconquerable energy were necessary and excellent qualifications. It is impossible to recount here, all the military operations in this department, in which the skill, prudence and courage of General Lincoln were so conspicuously displayed.

His answer to the British commander, on one occasion, when summoned to surrender, exhibits the modesty and firmness of this estimable officer. " Sixty days (says he) have passed since it has been known that your intentions against this town were hostile, in which time has been afforded to abandon it ; but duty and inclination point to the propriety of supporting it to the last extremity."

But circumstances beyond his controul, rendered it necessary for him to comply with the solicitation of the inhabitants and of others, to accede to capitulation. With all the judicious and vigorous efforts in his power, he was requited with the frowns of fortune ; but he did not in consequence of his ill success, incur the censure of any ; nor was his judgment or merit called in question. He stood high in the confidence of the army, and was esteemed as a zealous patriot and a brave officer. He still enjoyed the undiminished respect of Congress and of the Commander in Chief. Ramsay and Lee apeak of his conduct in terms of approbation. General Lincoln was admitted to his parole, and in November following, he was exchanged for Major General Phillips, a prisoner of the convention at Saratoga. In the campaign of 1781, General Lincoln commanded a division under Washington, and at the siege of Yorktown, he had his full share of the honour of that brilliant event. The articles of capitulation stipulated for the same honour in favour of the surrendering army as had been granted to the garrison at Charleston. General Lincoln was appointed to conduct them to the field where their arms were deposited, and received the customary submission. His services were particularly mentioned in the general order of the Commander in Chief.

In October, 1781,'he was chosen by Congress, Secretary of War, retaining his rank in the army. He continued in this office two years, and then resigned. On accepting his resignation, a resolution was adopted in Congress, expressive of their high sense of his perseverance, fortitude, activity and meritorious services in the field, as well as of his diligence, fidelity and capacity in the execution of the office of Secretary of War. After his resignation, General Lincoln retired to his farm in this town ; but in 1784, he was chosen one of the commissioners on the part of the State to make a treaty with the Penobscot Indians. In 1786-7, when the insurrection of Shays and Day occurred, General Lincoln was appointed by the governour and council, to command the detachment of militia consisting of four or five thousand men, to oppose the progress of the insurgents, and to compel their submission to the laws. By his address and energy, the insurrection was happily suppressed without much bloodshed.

At the May election, in 1787, General Lincoln was elected lieutenant governour by the Legislature, having had a plurality of votes by the people. He was a member of the convention for ratifying the Constitution of the United States ; and in 1789, he was appointed by President Washington, Collector of the Port of Boston, which office he retained till about two years before his death. In 1789, he was appointed one the commissioners to treat with the Creek Indians, and in 1793, he was one of the commissioners to effect a peace with the Western Indians.

General Lincoln, was one of the first members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, to each of which he contributed papers for their respective publications. He received from Harvard University, the degree of Master of Arts. He was President of the Society of Cincinnati, from its organization, until his decease.

After his resignation of the office of Collector of Boston, he lived about two years in retirement, and died May 8, 1810.

Sources

• History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts (The Town of Hingham, Massachusetts, 1893) Vol III, p.9

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/4852/benjamin-lincoln : accessed 11 November 2021), memorial page for Benjamin Lincoln (24 Jan 1733–9 May 1810), Find A Grave: Memorial #4852, citing Hingham Cemetery, Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Find a Grave .

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed July 30, 2015), "Record of Benjamin Lincoln", Ancestor # A070402.

• Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England, 1620-1775. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013).; [1]

• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War (Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, 1896); Vol. 9, p. 800

• "Massachusetts, Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FH6R-T8R : accessed 04 Aug 2013), Benjamin Lincoln, 24 Jan 1733.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Lincoln Wikidata: Item Q817605, en:Wikipedia

• Drake, Francis Samuel. Memorials of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati (The Society, Massachusetts, 1873); p. 333

Legacy

• Five U.S. states have named counties in Benjamin Lincoln's honor. The are: Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Notes

Text needs more editing very verbose.

See also:

• Thacher, James. A Military Journal During the American Revolutionary War, from 1775 to 1783 (Boston, 1823) p.504-515