Elijah Wadsworth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elijah Wadsworth | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 14, 1747 |
| Died | December 30, 1817 (aged 70) Canfield, Ohio, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | Continental Army |
| Service years | 1775–1781, 1812–1814 |
| Rank | Captain (American Revolution), Major general (1804) |
| Unit | 2nd Continental Light Dragoons |
| Commands | 4th Division of the State militia |
| Conflicts |
|
| Spouse |
Rhoda Hopkins (m. 1780) |
| Children | 5, including Frederick |
| Relations | William Wadsworth |
| Other work | Postmaster, Worshipful Master |
Elijah Wadsworth (November 14, 1747 – December 30, 1817) was a captain in the American Revolutionary War and a major general in the War of 1812. He was a prominent military officer, Ohio pioneer, local organizer and leader, and wealthy land speculator.
Elijah Wadsworth was born in Hartford, Connecticut on November 14, 1747, a member of the wealthy and prominent Wadsworth family of Connecticut and a descendant of one of the founders of Hartford, William Wadsworth. Elijah was the son of Joseph Wadsworth III and Elizabeth Cook. His father was the grandson of Captain Joseph Wadsworth of Charter Oak fame. His son Frederick Wadsworth later became the Mayor of Akron. Elijah married Rhoda Hopkins in 1780, and the two had five children together.
Revolutionary War
Wadsworth was a resident of Litchfield, Connecticut at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. He immediately volunteered after news of the Battle of Bunker Hill. During this time he became friends with Colonel Elisha Sheldon and became a co-founder of Sheldon's Horse, also known as the 2nd Continental Light Dragoons. The two remained friends for the rest of their lives, staying in contact with one another long after the close of the war. Wadsworth served in this regiment from its founding until the surrender of the British as the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
During his time in the regiment, Wadsworth earned the rank of captain and served directly underneath Major Benjamin Tallmadge. He would have seen action on several battlefields, including the battles of Long Island, Monmouth, and Yorktown.[1] He would have been ordered to provide escorts of French and other officers to General George Washington as well as serving as a troop commander for other dragoons.
It is highly likely that he witnessed the Benedict Arnold plot and the death of Major John Andre in 1780. Wadsworth would have been serving as a bodyguard for Washington during this time and it is possible that he had been a part of the additional dragoons sent to secure the area while Andre remained in custody awaiting his trial and subsequent execution.
At the end of the war, Wadsworth returned to his home in Litchfield, Connecticut where he had moved to in 1770. There he built a house of his own that was later sold to Lyman Beecher and was the birthplace of both Henry Ward Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe.[1]
