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Continental Line, Revolutionary War
[Per The Churchill Family In America by Gardner Asaph Churchill and Nathaniel Wiley Churchill: Charles Churchill was born in Newington Parish, Connecticut December 31, 1723 and died there on October 29, 1802. Captain Charles married Nov. 19, 1747, Lydia Belden, born May 1, 1730, daughter of Josiah and Mabel (Wright) Belden, and a lineal descendant of Richard Belden, of Wethersfield, the emigrant, while her paternal grandmother was Dorothy Willard, a descendant of Major Simon Willard, one of the founders of Concord, Mass., and notable as a magistrate, and a military officer, in the early annals of...
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Continental Line, Revolutionary War
[Per The Churchill Family In America by Gardner Asaph Churchill and Nathaniel Wiley Churchill: Charles Churchill was born in Newington Parish, Connecticut December 31, 1723 and died there on October 29, 1802. Captain Charles married Nov. 19, 1747, Lydia Belden, born May 1, 1730, daughter of Josiah and Mabel (Wright) Belden, and a lineal descendant of Richard Belden, of Wethersfield, the emigrant, while her paternal grandmother was Dorothy Willard, a descendant of Major Simon Willard, one of the founders of Concord, Mass., and notable as a magistrate, and a military officer, in the early annals of the Colony of Massachusetts. They were married as above, by the Rev. Joshua Belden, a kinsman of hers, of Newington. She died March 19, 1805.
A detailed sketch of the life of Captain Charles would be almost the same as a history of the Newington Parish for the last half of the eighteenth century. He was a leading citizen in the parish, of high patriotic spirit and excellent abilities. At the session of the General Assembly, May, 1762, he was appointed Captain of the Tenth Company or "trainband," in the Sixth Connecticut Regiment, which office he filled for twenty years. At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, he was on the first committee appointed at the town meeting convened June 16, 1774, to consider the resolution passed by the Colonial House of Representatives, on the second Thursday of May preceding, concerning the impending war. In the "Record of Connecticut Men in the War of the Revolution" he is listed as captain of one of the militia companies which turned out to repel Tryon's invasion of New Haven, July 5, 1779, and he also appears in his office as captain in active service in the Sixth Regiment.
For thirteen years in succession he was a member of the Newington Society Committee and after 1781 he was the presiding officer until 1801, the year before his death. To many public offices of trust and responsibility was added that of deacon of the church, to which he was chosen August 31, 1786.
During the last twenty years of his life, his name appears on the records of the Society with the title "Esquire" showing that he had taken up the dignity and duties of a justice of the peace, in place of his military duties. He collected a library of law books as a necessary adjunct to his practice, some of which are still in existence. His will, a document of considerable length, is entirely in his own hand. His estate was appraised at $3,834.80, by Abel Andrus and Lemuel Whittlesey. Besides managing a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, Captain Churchill conducted a tannery, which in the tax lists was liberally assessed as a "faculty," or trade.
MILITARY INFORMATION
The Wethersfield men who fought in the battles of 1775 constituted a part of a large provisional force. Like most colonial troops, the local company was scheduled to disband in December 1775. At the beginning, it was assumed that military operations would not continue into the severe winter months. However, by autumn, Congress fully recognized that it was imperative to quickly organize a new force both to insure their gains in Massachusetts and to prepare for a full scale war. On October 18, 1775, a conference was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts to discuss the re-organization of the Army. After four days of debate, this New England delegation decided that twenty-six regiments, each consisting of 728 men and officers and divided into eight companies should be raised under Continental directions to serve until January 1, 1777. Connecticut's quota was five regiments.
On November 4, Congress adopted the report of the conference and assigned General George Washington to oversee the entire military reorganization. Washington petitioned soldiers active in 1775 to re-enlist for another year and issued a new list of field and line officers. One officer who was given a promotion, from the rank of Captain to Major, was Wethersfield's John Chester. Under Colonel Erastus Wolcott of the 2nd Regiment, Chester marched to Boston in January of 1776. The 4th company of the regiment was largely composed of Wethersfield men. Local officers of the group were a Captain Wells, Lt. John Beckley, Lt. Charles Churchill, later promoted to Captain and Ensign Othonel Williams. Three Connecticut regiments were sent to Massachusetts to guard the lines until the regular army could be well established. These Connecticut soldiers battled for 6 weeks at Bunker Hill and ultimately the British were forced to evacuate Boston on March 17. In June, Chester was appointed a Colonel and his regiments was assigned to New York and took part in the Battle of Long Island. Many of our ancestors had important roles in the Revolution serving in the Army and the Navy.
SOLDIERS SERVING IN THE REVOLUTION
A listing of the Churchill's serving as soldiers in the Revolution taken from the book: Ancient Wethersfield, Vol. 1 by Adams and Stiles:
*Churchill, Charles LT., in Capt. Hez Welles' 4th Co., Wolcott's Regiment, State troops, January to March 1776, before Boston; January 1779, Capt. 2nd Reg., 1st Militia Brigade with his men were allowed by the General Assembly compensation for service as a guard to a train of artillery.
*Churchill, Joesph, LT., 6th Co., 6th Militia. Regiment on duty at New London; Lieut. in same Co., May 1781.
*Churchill, Nathaniel (N), in Capt. Hez. Welles' 4th Co., Wolcott's Regiment before Boston, January-March, 1776 comm'd in a Co. "for State defence" May 1777; May, 1778 app; LT in 4th Co. Alarm list, 15th Reg; was in Capt. E. Wright's 3rd Batt., at West Point, June 1778.
*Churchill, Samuel, in Capt. Hez Welles' 4th CO., Wolcotts' Reg. before Boston, January-March 1776; in Capt. Chester Welles' Co., Col. Belden's Reg. Wolcott's Brig at Peekskil, NY March-June 1777.
*Churchill, Samuel JR, same service record as above in Capt. Hez Welles' Company.]
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