Compiled, written and annotated by Philip R. Devlin
(August 27, 2026) — During the eight years of the American Revolutionary War, it is estimated that about 25,000 to 26,000 American soldiers died. The current estimate for those who were killed on the battlefield is 6,800. The others—nearly 20,000—died because of the extreme abuse suffered as POWs at the hands of their British captors, a very under-publicized but sad reality of the war. The vast majority of POWs died on prison ships, such as the notorious Jersey in Wallabout Bay off the coast of Brooklyn, New York, a bay later better known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In 1776, the total population of all 13 colonies was about 2.5 million people. Connecticut’s population was about 205,000. Haddam’s population was approximately 1,500, of which current figures show that at least 335 Haddam men fought in the American Revolution. That number constitutes more than 23% of Haddam’s population—a truly astounding percentage! (For comparison, the USA sent 16 million men and women to World War II with the average town and city sending about 8.5% of its population to war.)
It should be remembered that in 1776, Haddam’s economy—like the rest of the towns in the 13 colonies—was mainly agricultural in nature and that men primarily plowed the fields and sowed and harvested the crops. Therefore, the heavy loss of manpower to the war meant that others—especially women and children– had to step up and compensate for the loss of manpower.
My current research confirms that at least 35 men from Haddam lost their lives during the war—about 10.8% of those who served. (That percentage is an astonishingly high number!) Most of these men (19) died as a result of the Battle of Long Island, which occurred on August 27, 1776–250 years ago. It should be noted here that of the approximately 19,000 men George Washington commanded during the “Battle of Long Island” (more appropriately also called the “Battle of Brooklyn”), as many as 10,000 to 12,000 were men from Connecticut. Particularly noteworthy is the 17th Connecticut Regiment, which played a central role in saving Washington’s entire army. The 17th was known as “Huntington’s Regiment,” named after their commander, General Jedidiah Huntington of Norwich. However, Huntington was not present during the battle on August 27th, as he was in Manhattan recuperating from malaria. In Huntington’s absence, the 17th was commanded by General Samuel Holden Parsons of Lyme, a truly remarkable man who deserves much more attention than he has received over the years. One of Holden’s captains in the 17th was Abraham Tyler of Haddam.
The 17th consisted of about 300 men when the battle started. Besides thousands of British soldiers, these men fought against an estimated 1,500 Hessian soldiers, German mercenaries who were hired to fight for the British. The 17th, although heavily outnumbered, fought valiantly against overwhelming odds until the afternoon in the area of the modern-day location of Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn. Like the famous “Lost Battalion” of World War I, these men were cut off from the rest of their army. Nevertheless, their valiant performance protected the flank of the legendary Maryland 400—who were outnumbered by Cornwallis’s army 65-1– during the battle. Without the protection of the Connecticut 17th, the rearguard action of the Maryland 400 that bought enough time for Washington’s army to retreat from the Long Island battlefield would not have occurred. The American Revolution would have ended that very day, just 54 days after the Declaration of Independence had been signed.
The 17th Connecticut paid a very heavy price for their valiant performance: A huge percentage of the unit was killed, wounded or captured (mostly captured.) In the chaos of the battlefield, a few survived by working their way to the east. Among those survivors who lived to fight again were General Parsons and Captain Abraham Tyler of Haddam. Two other Haddam POWs, Ensign Cornelius Higgins, Jr. and Private John Smith, survived as a result of prisoner exchanges.
The following 19 men of the 17th Connecticut Regiment from Haddam died as a result of the Battle of Long Island. They were either killed on the battlefield or later died of extreme abuse and deprivation as POWs. There are no pension records for any of them; in addition, there are no local church records indicating their survival. In fact, local church records often detail their deaths. The vast majority served under Captain Abraham Tyler of Haddam:
• Private Joseph Arnold
• Private John Arnold
• Private Joel Ballard
• Private Jonathan Barnard
• Sgt. Lewis Bartlett
• Corporal Reuben Bates
• Sgt. Elisha Benton
• Private Josiah Benton
• Private Seth Doane, Jr.
• Corporal Oliver Jennings
• Private Luke Kimball
• Private Lemuel Lewis
• Private James Lindsay
• Private Seth Rider
• Private Jeremiah Sparks
• Corporal Jesse Swaddle
- Private Jonathan Wetherell
- Corporal Joseph White
- Private Duren Whittlesey
It should be noted that a very important letter written by Ensign Cornelius Higgins, Jr. of Haddam is in the possession of the Haddam Historical Society. This letter describes in great detail many of the incidents involving the Connecticut 17th at the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776.
In 1908, President William Howard Taft dedicated the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument (also called the Soldiers and Sailors Monument), an obelisk (photo above) standing some 150 feet high at Fort Greene in Brooklyn. Beneath the monument was a crypt with 20 coffins containing bone fragments from the thousands who died on the Jersey and other prison ships. Most of these bone fragments came from Connecticut soldiers, undoubtedly many from Haddam, a town that paid a huge sacrifice at the Battle of Brooklyn.
Photo in Public Domain, provided by Philip Devlin
