Samuel Ward Jr.

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Samuel Ward
Samuel Ward Lieut. Col. First Rhode Island Regiment (NYPL NYPG97-F82-422264) (cropped).jpg
Born(1756-11-17)November 17, 1756
Westerly, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
DiedAugust 6, 1832(1832-08-06) (aged 75)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materBrown University
Spouse(s)
Phebe Greene
​
​
(m. 1778; died 1828)​
ChildrenSamuel Ward III
Richard Ray Ward
Parent(s)Samuel Ward Sr.
Anne Ray

Col. Samuel Ward Jr. (November 17, 1756 – August 6, 1832) was an American Revolutionary War soldier, politician, and delegate to the secessionist Hartford Convention.

Early life[]

Ward was born in Westerly, Rhode Island on November 17, 1756 as the fifth child of Anne Ray and Samuel Ward Sr., a founding trustee of Brown University, Continental Congress delegate and colonial governor of Rhode Island. Samuel graduated from Brown University with high honors, in 1771.

Career[]

American Revolution[]

Ward was commissioned a captain in the Kings and Kent County militia in 1775 and served in that rank in the regiment under the command of Colonel Varnum when it was mobilized in April 1775. On May 3, 1775 Varnum's Regiment became part of the Army of Observation during the Siege of Boston.

Ward volunteered with 250 Rhode Islanders under Christopher Greene to support Benedict Arnold on his expedition to Quebec. Ward was captured, along with most members of the expedition, on the night of December 31, 1775 and was exchanged sometime in 1776.

Ward was promoted to a major of the 1st Rhode Island Regiment on January 12, 1777 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 5 May 1779 (with date of rank retroactive to May 26, 1778). With the 1st Rhode Island Regiment he fought at the Battle of Red Bank (October 1777) and the Battle of Rhode Island (August 1778). [1]

Post war life[]

Ward retired from the Continental Army on January 1, 1781 when the 1st and 2nd Rhode Island Regiments were consolidated. In 1783 he became an original member of the Society of Cincinnati.

After the war, Ward became a merchant and traveled extensively to trade to Asia and Europe. Ward was elected to the Annapolis Convention (1786). In 1814, Ward was served as a delegate to the Hartford Convention.[2] He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1815.[3]

Personal life[]

In 1778 Ward married Phebe Greene (1760–1828), daughter of Governor William Greene Jr.. Together, they were the parents of:

Ward died on August 6, 1832 in New York City.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Historical Register of the Continental Army. Francis B. Heitman. pg. 568.
  2. ^ Lineage book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Volume 16, (Daughters of the American Revolution, 1903) pg. 7 https://books.google.com/books?id=vWoZAQAAIAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
  3. ^ American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
  4. ^ Ward, John. A Memoir of Lieut.-Col. Samuel Ward, First Rhode Island Regiment, Army of the American Revolution; with a Genealogy of the Ward Family. New York: Privately printed, 1875. Reprinted from New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, 6 (July 1875), pp. 113-128.[1]
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