Moses Dunbar
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Moses Dunbar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 3 June 1746[1] |
| Died | 19 March 1777 (aged 30) |
| Cause of death | Hanging |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | Great Britain |
| Service years | 1776 |
| Children | 7 |
Moses Dunbar (3 June 1746 – March 19, 1777) was a Connecticut land-owner and officer in a Loyalist regiment during the American Revolutionary War. He was one of the few men in the state of Connecticut to be convicted of high treason and executed.[note 1]
Moses Dunbar was born in Wallingford, Connecticut on June 3, 1746 to John and Temperance Dunbar,[2] the second of sixteen children. In 1764, Moses married Phebe Jerome of Farmington, Connecticut,[3] with whom he had seven children. Soon after marriage, Moses and Phebe joined the Church of England,[4] causing a rift with Moses' Congregationalist father.
Involvement in the American Revolution
On May 26, 1776, Dunbar's wife Phebe 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 buried in the Ancient Burying ground, in Hartford.[11]
