Moses Dunbar
Born(1746-06-03)June 3, 1746[1]
Wallingford, Connecticut Colony
Died19 March 1777(1777-03-19) (aged 30)
Hartford, Connecticut
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Resting placeEast Church Cemetery, Plymouth, Connecticut
Known forExecuted for treason during American Revolutionary War
Military career
Allegiance Great Britain (Loyalist)
RankCaptain
UnitKing's American Regiment

Moses Dunbar (June 3, 1746 – March 19, 1777) was a Connecticut land-owner and officer in a Loyalist regiment during the American Revolutionary War, who became one of the few men in the state of Connecticut to be convicted of high treason and executed.[note 1]

Early life

Moses Dunbar was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, on June 3, 1746 to John and Temperance Dunbar.[2] In 1764, Moses married Pheobe Jerome of Farmington, Connecticut.[3] Soon after marriage, Moses and Phoebe joined the Church of England.[4]

Involvement in the American Revolution

On May 26, 1776, Dunbar's wife Phoebe died after months of illness.[5] Dunbar subsequently married Esther Adams.[6] In September, Dunbar traveled to Long Island and, in October, he accepted a commission as a Captain in the King's American Regiment, a British provincial regiment which was raised for Loyalist service.[7] He then went back to Farmington, Connecticut, and was trying to persuade some other young men to enlist in the British army when he was arrested, and his royal commission and a list of Loyalist recruits was found in his pocket.[8]

He was indicted for high treason, tried in the superior court in Hartford, Connecticut, and on January 23, 1777, found guilty.[9] on March 19, he was executed on the gallows which stood near the present site of Trinity College.[10] Dunbar is interred at the Ancient Burying ground, in Hartford.[11]

Notes

  1. ↑ William Stone of Stamford and Robert Thomson of Newton were two others; they each also were hanged in 1777

References

  1. ↑ Anderson, Virginia DeJohn (2017). The martyr and the traitor : Nathan Hale, Moses Dunbar, and the American Revolution. Oxford University Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780199916863.
  2. ↑ Anderson p.12
  3. ↑ Anderson p.30
  4. ↑ Anderson p.35
  5. ↑ Anderson p.150
  6. ↑ Anderson p.156
  7. ↑ Anderson p.159
  8. ↑ Anderson p.161,165
  9. ↑ Anderson p.165
  10. ↑ Anderson pgs.177-179
  11. ↑ Ryan, J. Francis. "Chapter XVII." Plymouth Conn., 1776–1976. Plymouth, Conn.?: n.p., 1976. N. pag. Print.


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