Noah Moulton, Revolutionary War P.O.W.

I remember one summer in my childhood, my parents took my brother Michael and myself to New York to visit Fort Ticonderoga as my brother Mark was away I believe, at Boy Scout camp.  I remember I thought the Fort was so cool and there was a reenactment of the how British captured the Fort without firing a shot as the American forces left before the British arrived, but eventually the Americans recaptured it.  They spoke of "The Green Mountain Boys" and their role in the war and the battles they fought against the British in the mountains of Vermont.  For me, it was great to watch and learn about the role the Fort played in the American Revolution, but I never gave much thought about my ancestors possibly being involved because this was too far away from Maine for anyone in my family to be involved.  But I was wrong to have such a narrow view of what roles my ancestors would play in the Revolutionary War, as it turned out my ancestor was involved in this part of our country's history.

His name was Noah Moulton, my 5th great-grandfather and grandfather of Robert R. Moulton from my previous blog who died in the Civil War. 

Noah Moulton was born on November 14, 1726 in Hampton, New Hampshire, the son of Daniel and Phebe (Philbrick) Moulton.  His parents moved to Rye, New Hampshire when he was about 2 years old where he was raised.  When he was 23, he married Patience Locke on November 16, 1749 in Rye, New Hampshire.  They would produce a family of 13 children.  Noah moved to his family to Lyman, New Hampshire about 1770 where the following sketch about him appears the Historical Sketches of Lyman, New Hampshire by E. B. Hoskins, [1903] p. 55:

This was the first mention I had of Noah serving in the Revolutionary War and taken prisoner and dying.  Like his grandson, Robert whose wife only had a gravestone, Noah's wife has a gravestone in the Moulton Hill Cemetery in Lyman, New Hampshire, but no grave marker for him and this would make sense if he died someplace else other than at home in Lyman.

Pension record searches for New Hampshire are almost entirely for Noah's son, Noah Jr. and his widow, Priscilla.   However a search of New Hampshire Provincial and State Papers,  [1886] vol. 15, p. 425, listed a Noah Moulton of Lyman, New Hampshire as private in Col. Warner's Regiment which was not attributed to his son's service.  This was Noah Moulton Sr.   Military records supplied the rest of the story of his service.

At age 50 years old, Noah Moulton enlisted on December 4, 1776 in Capt. William McCune's Regiment in Col. Seth Warner's Battalion also known as the "Green Mountain Boys."  Keep in mind at this time, Vermont was not a state but a territory called "The New Hampshire Grants" which was claimed by both New Hampshire and New York.

Here was the date Noah was taken Prisoner.

The date of July 7, 1777 gave enough information to search for what had occurred at the time period of the War.  The British General John Burgoyne began his campaign for control of the Hudson River Valley area of New York.  His troops arrived at Fort Ticonderoga on July 1, 1777.  The American forces discovered the British were placing cannons over looking the fort to begin a bombardment, so the American forces evacuated the fort on the night of July 5th.  The bulk of the Army retreated through Hubbardton (now Vermont) while the rear guard commanded by Seth Warner stopped at Hubbardton to rest and pick up stragglers.  This was Noah Moulton's Battalion.

The British alerted to the withdrawal immediately set out in pursuit of the Americans on July 6th and camped near the town of Hubbardton that night.  On the morning of July 7th began the Battle of Hubbardton,where the British surprised the American forces.  The spirited Battle resulted in the Americans being driven back and scattered.  The Battle also took a large enough toll on the British forces that they did not pursue the main American Army, but many prisoners were captured.  One of which was Noah Moulton.  The American prisoners were taken back to the British controlled Fort Ticonderoga.  From there, it is not clear where the prisoners were taken.

Fort Ticonderoga

The casualty return for the Battle was 38 British soldiers and 1 Canadian killed.  125 British wounded and 2 Canadians.  For the Americans, 41 killed, 96 wounded and 230 captured.  It has been difficult to learn what happened to the prisoners of this Battle after being taken to Fort Ticonderoga.

A local body commissioned the erection of a monument on the battlefield in 1859 and the state began acquiring battlefield lands in the 1930s for operation as a state historic site.

Battle of Hubbardton monument

Commemorative sign 

King George III of England had declared the American forces traitors in 1775 which denied them prisoner of war status, therefore British officials declined to try and or hang them. Great Britain's neglect resulted in starvation and disease which achieved the same results as hanging them. Many prisoners were taken to cities that the British controlled in 1777 which was New York and Philadelphia. The British also used old damaged, captured or obsolete ships to hold the American captives. During the war, at least 16 ships were placed by British authorities in the waters of Wallabout Bay off the shores of Brooklyn, New York as a place of incarceration for many thousands of American soldiers and sailors during about 1776-1783. These prisoners of war were harassed and abused by guards who, with little success, offered release to those who agreed to serve in the British Navy. Over 10,000 American prisoners of war died from neglect. Their corpses were often tossed overboard, though sometimes they were buried in shallow graves along the eroding shoreline.

It is said that Noah died while a prisoner which would have been after 1777, some on line family trees list his death as 1782, but with no source documentation.  But from all accounts he died while in British custody.