Benjamin Lemaster, Revolutionary War Hero, Part IV

Please begin reading this four-part chronicle HERE.     


     I’ve taken most of my information in this four-part saga from Benjamin Lemasters and the American War for Independence, by Agnes McNeill, via Katherine LeMaster Dendy. Some information came from Wikipedia and other web sites. I’ve given credit to photos when it was available.

     As I said before, I will be forever grateful that I took the time to pursue my family history while my children were young—and not save it for retirement. Most of the people from whom I gathered so much information—on both sides of my family tree—are no longer with us: my dear grandmothers, my great aunt Kitty, my cousin Kent Kessler and all my West Virginia cousins who are now in heaven having reunions without me.

     I also have living cousins who have given me enormous bounties of information on this line: Karen “Kandy” Kessler Cottrill, and Judi Spencer, James Lewis Ball. At one time, when email was new and the internet wasn’t invented, we exchanged thousands of emails on our research. Yes, thousands. Good times.

     And thank goodness for the internet. When I started doing my research back in the late 1970s, there were no computers—just libraries and hard copies from a Xerox machine.

     After spending some time in New Orleans and gleaning information from my father’s first cousins, and my second cousins, we purchased a computer in about 1994. What had taken me three weeks to “fill in the blanks” by hand on pedigree charts after that trip, took me 30 minutes on the computer. That’s progress!

     When I returned to New Orleans in 2001, when the World Wide Web was still young, I spent a week sitting in the New Orleans Library, twirling the handles of microfilm readers until my shoulders ached. Now, most of that information is on the internet.

     I am thankful for my kissin’ cousins who have spent entire lifetimes gathering this information about Benjamin Lemaster(s) for me. There are many, many of my cousins, far and wide, who have used this patriot to join the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution).

     I visited the DAR headquarters in Washington, D.C. in about 2006. It’s a beautiful building full of books, documents, photos, and letters. I would like to join that community. Maybe I’ll save that for when I retire.

     This is the last segment I will pursue on Benjamin Lemaster. Be proud if he is your ancestor. I know I am.

CHRONOLOGY OF THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR SERVICE 

__________OF BENJAMIN LEMASTER__________

PART IV

1778-1779

Washington Rallying the Troops at Monmouth
by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze

June 28, 1778: Battle of Monmouth Court House, New Jersey

       

     Prelude to Battle: To be brief and not tell the whole story, suffice it to say, once they learned of the French helping the Americans, the British decided to leave Philadelphia for New York, and possibly flee to Quebec. They were going to take ships down the Delaware Bay and up to New York, but the Loyalists in the city heard they were leaving and demanded they take them with them.

     The Loyalists/Tories took up all the room in the ships, so the British soldiers were left to hoof it through New Jersey to New York, under the command of Sir Henry Clinton, who replaced William Howe in May 1778.

     The evacuation began June 18, 1778. Little did Clinton know that Washington’s new and improved troops, fresh from Valley Forge with new recruits, pursued a parallel path through New Jersey, waiting for a time to strike.

     Washington sent Charles Lee, only recently exchanged after a winter of captivity in New York, to head up the 5,000 men to provoke the British. The First Virginia Regiment was with them. On June 28, the British launched the attack, focusing on the left wing under the command of Major General William “Lord Stirling” Alexander.

     If you remember the photos of the organization chart from the Valley Forge Visitor Center, Lord Stirling was the head honcho reporting to Washington, and our Benjamin served under Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg, who served directly under Lord Stirling. BUT Benjamin’s regiment, under Colonel Richard Parker, were in the Advance Guard—the Right Wing. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monmouth_order_of_battle)

     To make a long story short, after doing some battle, and with his men dropping from "fatigue," Lee ordered a retreat and the men landed in the lap of Washington, who sent them all back to the battlefield. Washington was so enraged, it’s reported he actually cursed at the general in public, something he rarely did. He also dismissed Lee from the battlefield.

You can see where Lee charged into the battle, then his retreat, right into the path of George Washington.

     Lee was eventually court martialed and never led another unit. Read more about this HERE. 

     The temperatures on June 28, 1779 were in the 100s, so you can bet the humidity was probably in the 80s or 90s. Many men on both sides suffered from heat stroke—37 Americans died of "fatigue." This severely impacted both armies—the British lost 59 to heat stroke. The Americans, plagued by the hottest time of the day—could not pursue the fleeing British.

     By twilight, the British had all withdrawn from the battlefield. In fact, they withdrew from the whole area during the night. Washington chose not to follow them, probably because of the fatigue of his men.

     Having just spent the winter at Valley Forge, though, the Americans were renewed by this engagement, even though the battle was a draw (neither side gained the field of battle). Even so, both sides claimed victory.

     Although the war would last five more years, this was the last engagement between two full armies ever fought during this war. It was considered the last battle of the northern theater.

M'r Capitaine du Chesnoy, A.d.C. du Général LaFayette. - Library of Congress
Map of the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse, N.J.

     As an aside, this is the battle of “Molly Pitcher” fame. Learn about that HERE.  

Molly Pitcher

June-July 1778: Hospitals in Brunswick, NJ and White Plains, NY

     It appears Benjamin Lemaster was one of the unfortunate victims of heat stroke. In those days, without “air conditioning,” it was very difficult to cool down a body during heat stroke, especially in 100-degree weather, other than cool baths, and ice, if you could get it. Symptoms include confusion, agitation, slurred speech, delirium, seizures, coma, nausea and vomiting, flushed skin, rapid breathing, racing heart rate, throbbing headache. Ugh.

     According to his muster roll for the month of July 1778, Benjamin Lemaster spent time in the hospital at Brunswick, NJ, then a flying hospital at White Plains where his regiment removed, and where he first began his service in the war, if you remember.

     By August, he stood guard duty at White Plains. In September, he was stationed at Camp Robinson in NY “on command.” From October through December he suffered through another winter camp at Middle Brook, NJ, then ended up sick again at Brunswick in January 1779.

     He began the spring of 1779 on lookout duty at Sandy Hook, NJ. Sandy Hook is an elongated sand bar attached to the New Jersey coast and which jutted directly north into Lower New York Bay. The southern tip of Long Island and the Verrazano Narrows were visible from Sandy Hook. Washington posted lookouts here to keep him apprised of the movement of British ships into and out of New York harbor.

Sandy Hook, NJ, across the Jamaica Bay from New York.

     This last assignment must have been boring. During his stint at Sandy Hook, Benjamin Lemaster had nothing to report. Little did Washington know, the British abandoned the plan to go north and were gearing up for battle in the south.

May 7, 1779: Last Muster Roll

     Benjamin Lemaster drew pay on 7 May 1779 for service in the month of April at Sandy Hook, the last muster roll on which he appears as a member of the First Virginia Regiment.   

     According to his Pension Statement, he took a furlough to go home and get married. While home, he said the battle of Yorktown took place, so he never returned to duty. His memory was a little foggy because the Battle of Yorktown took place in October 1781. His two years were up in April 1779, so that’s probably why he didn’t return. He had served two years, four months, and two weeks.

     By the time he gave his first pension statement in 1832, he was 76 years old. He couldn’t remember the order of the battles—and who can blame him? He participated in so many, he must have been addled just a little bit. 

     The pensions were supposed to be given to men who fought in the war and were now destitute. Benjamin sought a pension in 1832 because, before that, he owned too much property or land to qualify. He was granted the pension in 1833, retroactive to 4 March 1831. Fifty-seven years had passed since his original three-month enlistment in September 1776.

     He had to testify again in 1835 because his 1832 testimony didn't add up. Though Agnes McNeill wrote that his $80 per annum pension was reinstated, I have found no evidence of this. The poor man died in 1837.

     Read part of his Pension Statement HERE. 

     I have more information about Benjamin, but I decided only to write about his Revolutionary War experiences. I urge you to go online and find what you can about the war and the engagements in which he fought.

     This is only one of many of our ancestors in Grandmother Mary Lou’s lineage who fought in the Revolutionary War. Be very proud of your heritage. It is noble.

     Please visit this YouTube channel to see the homestead gravesite of Benjamin Lemaster and his wife, Rebecca Ann Martin Lemaster.

Benjamin Lemaster gravesite, and homestead in Bucks Garden, Summersville, Nicholas County, WV 

     I visited many family plots like this throughout West Virginia in the summer of 2006, when our cousin, James Lewis Ball, graciously escorted me all around creation in the heat of the summer. I was in my glory. J

     We descend from their second of 10 daughters, Mary “Polly” Lemasters, who married James Clendenin Boggs, son of Francis Charles Boggs (born in Chester County, PA, near Doe Run), who also fought in the Revolutionary War. But that’s another story.

You’re welcome!

Pioneer Day

[There are photos if you scroll down. Click on the pictures to enlarge.]

Today is Pioneer Day in Utah.
We celebrate all those who walked, mostly with handcarts, across the plains, rivers and Rocky Mountains, to reach the "[This is the right] Place," the Great Salt Lake Valley, as seen in vision by Brigham Young.

Though I am a Mormon, and you are, too, my children, we don't come from this pioneer stock. I want you to know, though, we come from a long line of pioneers. I'll try to let you know who they are, according to my understanding.

Many years ago, about 1635, on a ship bound for Rhode Island, our ancestor, Richard Borden (your 9th gr-grandfather) emigrated from Headcorn, County Kent, England (about 40 miles SE of London),
with his wife, Joane Fowle, and their five children (at the time). They were part of the original settlers of Rhode Island, settling in Portsmouth thereafter. They had joined the Society of Friends (Quakers) in England, which led to their emigration. Their son, Matthew, was the first child born in Rhode Island. We descend from his eleventh child, Benjamin Borden.

Richard Borden was a surveyor and owned large tracts of land in both R.I. and Monmouth County, NJ. Others to descend from this couple were Gail Borden, inventor of condensed milk and founder of Borden Milk Company (remember Elsie the cow?). Gail, Texas was named after him. Lizzie Borden, who was charged, but acquitted, in killing her parents in 1892 was also a descendant. Two Borden sisters, Mary and Ann Borden, both married signers of the Declaration of Independence. Mary married Thomas McKean of Pennsylvania, though she died before he signed the document. They had six children together. Ann married Francis Hopkinson, delegate from New Jersey, and Benjamin Franklin's protege. She was left a widow with five children.

Benjamin Franklin mentored Francis H. and he was mentioned in Ben's will:
"The philosophical instruments I have in Philadelphia I give to my ingenious friend, Francis Hopkinson.  . . . I request my friends, Henry Hill, Esquire, John Jay, Esquire, Francis Hopkinson, Esquire, and Mr. Edward Duffield, of Benfield, in Philadelphia County, to be the executors of this my last will and testament; and I hereby nominate and appoint them for that purpose." (BTW, I discovered this information about Mary and Ann Borden on July 2, 2004, the real day of independence, according to John Adams. I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a typo, but I Googled it. It's true. Two sisters married two signers.)

Richard Borden's grandson, also named Benjamin, and our progenitor, owned tracts of land in Freehold, N.J. and 1,200 acres of land in Philadelphia, Pa. He was granted 3,143 acres in Orange County, Va., called "Borden's Manor." He was then issued a patent of land for 92,100 acres in Rockbridge County, called "Borden's Great Tract." He also owned tracts in Shenandoah and Botetourt counties in Virginia.

Lydia Borden (your 6th gr-grandmother), daughter of this Benjamin, born about 1728 in Monmouth County, New Jersey, married Hans Jakob Peck (or Beck), a Revoltuionary War hero--along with sons John and Adam). He emigrated from Ebingen, Wuerttemberg, Germany and reached the colony of Virginia about May, 1740. He renounced his German allegiance and became a Virginian in 1747. They settled in Fincastle, Va. 

There is a funny story about Lydia Borden and Jakob Peck told by their descendants.
The following story was handed down by Joseph A. Peck (1812-1886), great-grandson of Jacob I, and was recorded by his daughter, Mrs. Elizabeth Peck Hanby, of Rockwall, Texas: "While we lived in Washington County, Va., near Bristol, my father visited some of Adam Peck's descendents, who lived at Mossy Creek, Tennessee. ...They told some good stories of the Bordens and Pecks. One was that Jacob was very much in love with Lydia and very much afraid of Benjamin. It seems that the old gentleman hadn't noticed very closely and never suspected the attachment. So Jacob told Benjamin that he was in love with a girl and uncertain as to the consent of the girl's father, and it was against the law for a man to run away with a girl. The old gentleman said, 'There is no law against a girl running away with a man. Get your girl to run off with you.' A few nights later, Lydia, mounted on a powerful horse, called for her Jacob, took him up behind her, and away they went."
Their graves are in the Fincastle Presbyterian Church cemetery, along with other of our ancestors.
Click on the photos below to enlarge.

There is a Peck cabin still maintained as a residence in that town.

Peck House, Fincastle, Virginia

We have many ancestors from Fincastle who fought in the Revolutionary war. Click on this picture to see the names vividly.

A monument stands in the Fincastle Presbyterian Church Cemetery to honor those who fought in the Revolutionary War. 

Of those on the monument, Lewis Hickle, Jacob Peck and his son, John Peck, are our direct ancestors. The rest married in.



Archibald Washington Kessler

One ancestor you may have heard me talk about was Mary Catherine Peck, great-grandaughter of Jacob and Lydia Borden Peck. She married Archibald Washington Kessler and, with their families, became pioneers of "The Wilderness" of western Virginia. They were abolitionists and were driven from their homes in Fincastle.

The story goes, they ". . . feared for their safety. A barn had been burned and shots fired at the house. . . . In Rupert [now West Virginia], one wagon broke down. Leaving the women and children with a kindly family, the men traveled on to [Independence] Missouri. They found the towns rough with terrible living conditions. They were quickly convinced that this was not what they wanted. On the return trip, they went to visit Archie's sister in Summersville. The men were well pleased with conditions and the people in Nicholas Couty. While there, John [Peck] purchased a farm. He spent the rest of his life there."

Mary Catherine Peck Kessler is your 3rd great-grandmother. Your great-grandmother, Mary Lou Kessler, talked about her grandmother all the time and was very proud of her.


Mary Catherine Peck Kessler, seated, and her sister, Anna Eliza Peck Hamilton 

Martin Christopher Kessler, Archibald and Mary Catherine's son, married Lucy Richmond Boggs, and that is how we are related to the Boggs clans. 

Lucy Richmond Boggs Kessler

Martin Christopher Kessler, MD

Boggs, Smith, Cochran, James, Clendenin--they are all ancestral names from Virginia and West Virginia. These peoples' were very caught up in the Indian Wars. Francis Charles Boggs (sometimes Charles Francis Boggs) was an Indian Scout and Indian fighter. He was actually born in Chester County, PA--just like me! He married Mary Clendenin, granddaughter of Charles Clendenin, after whom Charleston, West Virginia is named (the capital).

F.C. Boggs and his brothers fought in the Battle of Point Pleasant in October 1774.

Artist's rendition of the Battle of Point Pleasant

In 1776, Francis Charles Boggs volunteered as a scout and Indian spy for a 12-month tour of duty under Captain Matthew Arbuckle. Scouts were experienced woodsmen, whose aim with a rifle meant certain death for its target. They could throw a knife with deadly skill. Francis Charles was stationed in Point Pleasant. In 1777, he volunteer for another 12-month tour.

Please read about the Battle of Point Pleasant, the Muddy River Massacre and the Clendenin Massacre in my genealogy program--or in the biography I wrote in 2003 about your great-grandmother Mary Lou Kessler. Or Google it to find out more interesting facts.

When I visited Point Pleasant in 2005, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers, I was able to see the state park (memorial) and learn that Teddy Roosevelt actually proclaimed the Battle of Point Pleasant to be the very first battle of the Revolutionary War. The savant there told me, if descended from anyone in that battle, you could file to be in the DAR.

The docent at the Point Pleasant Memorial Park told me I was lucky to see a paddle boat on the Kanawha River, right at the confluence of the Ohio River. She said they usually only come by once a month or less.

Click on the photo to read

During that same visit to West Virginia, I hooked up with one of our elderly cousins, James Lewis Ball, and he took me around to family homesteads and graveyards. One graveyard was completely in the woods on top of a hill. The stones were almost all covered by earth. Some newer ones were erected next to the old stones, which looked only like stones sticking out of the earth. I was speechless. I'd never seen anything like it. I don't think I'd ever be able to find it again.

New gravestone in honor of Francis Charles or Charles Francis Boggs. Lewis Ball told me whoever paid for it got to decide which name came first. Just in front of it is the old gravestone which just looks like a rock in the woods. The whole woods was filled with these "rocks."

This is a long post and I hope I haven't put you to sleep. Family history research was, at one time, my passion. I am still passionate about our family history, but I haven't done any research in quite awhile.

To end . . . I would like to consider myself a pioneer. I was the first in our family to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I even crossed the plains (in my minivan) and settled in the Salt Lake Valley, just as the Saints of old did.

Children, please visit all my notes in my Legacy program and you will find all of the ancestors I have gathered--many thousands--tens of thousands.