Acadians who became DAR/SAR Patriots
In spite of everything the Acadians had been subjected to throughout the Deportation years of 1755-1763, numerous Acadian soldiers served in the U.S. Army during the American Revolution of 1775-1783. For the most part, these men were members of militia units raised in Louisiana, then Spanish territory.
However, in Massachusetts was Pierre Robichaud, the Acadian Minute Man who took part in the Lexington/Concord skirmishes. Recalling the Acadian Deportation and how young Acadian children were often taken from their parents and indentured by the British, then the presence of these Acadian names among Massachusetts soldiers may be surprising. Some of the names were originally mistaken as being Huguenots but with the knowledge we have acquired about how the names changed, etc., in prior research on the military of this war, it was eventually realized that some of these names were very Acadian such as Barrieau, Gautreau and Poirier.
Whatever the case may be, the following also served in Massachusetts:
Joseph Benoit - he served in Col. Ebenezer Thayer's 5th Suffolk County regiment, dated Braintree, January 20, 1778 on the list of return of mean enlisted into the Continental Army. He was enlisted for the town of Braintree; joined Captain Langond's company, Colonel Crane's regiment, enlisted for 3 years; reported a transient; mustered by Nathaniel Barber, Muster Master.
Jean-Baptiste Beriooit (Barrieu?) Return of mean, enlisted into Cont. Army from Essex County, subsequent to Feb. 11, 1778, dated Aril 18, 1778, residence, Amesbury: enlisted for the town of Amesbury; joined Capt E. Lunt's Co., Col. Henley's Regiment; enlisted for 3 years.
Jean Bernard - list of men mustered in Suffolk County by Nathaniel Barber, Muster Master, dated October 26, 1777, Col. Crane's Regiment.
Jean-Philip Bernard (this could be the same as the above) Return of men into the Cont Army from Capt Obediah Beal's Co. (no year given); residence; Cohasset; enlisted for town of Cohasset; joined Capt Langdon's Co.; Col. Henry Jackson's Regiment, enlisted for 3 years; mustered by Nathaniel Barber, Muster Master.
Stephen Gautraw (Gautreau?) Boston, private in Lieut. Hodijah Bayles's Co. of grenadiers; Col. Henry Jackson's Regiment; pay roll for February 1778, dated Gulph, Pennsylvania, service, 1 month; also, same co. and regiment pay roll for June 1778, sworn-to at Providence, service 1 month; also return certified at camp near Morristown, New Jersey, April 30, 1780, of officers and men belonging to Colonel Lee's, Colonel Henley's and Colonel Jackson's regiments, and men belonging to Massachusetts in Colonel Henry Sherburne's Regiment who were incorporated into a regiment under the command of Colonel Henry Jackson, agreeable to the arrangment of April 9, 1779, residence, Boston; rank - private; enlisted Nov. 20, 1777, enlisted for 3 years; reported killed in Rhode Island August 29, 1778; said Gautraw appears among men belonging to Col. Henry Jackson's Regiment who had been discharged from the rolls prior to above engagement.
Jockes Pouryea (Jacques Poirier) receipt dated South Hadley, Mass., March 26, 1782, signed by Noah Goodman, Superintendant for Hampshire County, stating that he had received said Pouryea, a solder engaged to serve in the Continental Army for the term of 3 years, to the credit of the town of Granby.
Simon LeBlanc (as well as Francois LeBlanc, whose record he shares) list of French prisoners sent from Halifax to Boston October 8, 1778 to be exchanged; reported a Seaman; letter from Bat. Fox, Commissary of Prisoners to the Commissary of Prisoners at Boston, dated en board the Rainbow at Halifax, October 8, 1778; accompanying list requests that said be exchanged for British prisoners.
Source: the now defunct Fleur de Lys of New Bedford, MA - The last issue of this publication was in 1980. The reference given was: Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution.
Acadian descendants should be very proud of the many contributions their ancestors have made in honor of their adoptive country, America. After all that our Acadian ancestors went through with the Great Diaspora of 1755, some of the ancestors who had known the pain of exile or hiding, actually volunteered to fight in the American Revolution of 1776. At the time of the Revolution, a group of Acadians from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia enlisted in the Continental Army and fought as patriots under the leadership of Colonel Jonathan Eddy who was originally from Massachusetts.
Colonel Eddy and Captain Isaie Boudreau met with General George Washington on March 17, 1776 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to request aid and to discuss their strategy. This meeting is well documented in General Washington's correspondence to the Continental Congress.
One book that speaks of the participation of the Acadians in the American Revolution is The Siege of Fort Cumberland, 1776: An Episode in the American Revolution by Ernest Clarke. The publisher: McGill-Queens University Press, Montréal - 1995 - 302 pages.
The Acadians who participated in the American Revolution left numerous descendants. Many are not aware of their connection to the Acadians Patriots. Descendants of the Acadian Patriots are eligible for membership in the very prestigious women's organization The Daughters of the American Revolution - D.A.R.. The male organization is known as The Sons of the American Revolution - S.A.R. The application must be filed with the genealogical proof to your ancestor who would have fought in that war. As a member, an engraved Certificate indicating membership with the member's name and the name of the Ancestor Patriot is listed. Quarterly newsletters are also published and sent to members.
It is ironic that our deported ancestors, some born on other shores than Acadian, would have came back then engaged in a battle for freedom for those colonies that were at times so cruel to them. We can indeed be proud of these Patriots whether or not we descend from them.
The Acadian Patriots:
Name
Isaiah Boudreau
Peter Casey
L. F. Delesdernier
Baptiste Maylet (Maillet)
Peter LeBlanc
Michel Bourg
Benjamin Allen (Alain)
Maturin Gaudet
Joseph Legere
Chas Maylet (Maillet)
Jean D'Roches
Jean Gaudet
Joseph Bastarach
Maturin D'Roches
Michel Govin
Louis Gould (Doiron)
Jos. Boudreau
Paul LeBlanc
David Farrell
J. B. Troop
Isaac Tebodeau
Joseph GaudetStation
Capt.
1 Lieut.
2 Lieut.
Sgt.
Sgt.
Cpl.
Cpl.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Pvt.
Time of
EnlistingNov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Nov. 14
Time of
DischargeFeb. 14
Nov. 30
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Nov. 30
Nov. 30
Nov. 30
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Nov. 29
Nov. 29
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Nov. 29
Feb. 14
Feb. 14
Time of
Service3 mos.
15 days
3 mos.
3 mos.
15 days
15 days
15 days
3 mos.
3 mos.
3 mos.
3 mos.
3 mos.
3 mos.
3 mos.
15 days
15 days
3 mos.
3 mos.
3 mos.
15 days
3 mos.
3 mos.
Lincoln SS. Michias, Feb 12, 1778, this day Personally appeared before me Capt. Isaiah Boudreau and swore to the above Roll to be true & just in all the facts.
Benj. Foster, Justice Peace Reverse/ April 29, 1778
Ordered a warrant be drawn on the treasury for this Roll.
Acadians from Louisiana who fought in 1766 under Galvez
This list from Dudley LeBlanc's Acadian Miracle were copied from the records
in Seville, Spain. Some were written in French and some in Spanish.Militia at what is now St. James
April 8, 1766
Don Nicholas Verret - Captain
Jean Azostegue | Jean Bourgeois | Claude Godet |
ACADIANS DEFEND THEIR HOME AGAINST THE BRITISH
IN THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
On June 1779, Spain declared war on Great Britain and ordered Spanish Colonial Governor of Louisiana, Bernado de Galvez to organize an expedition and capture the forts at Mobile and Pensacola and to attack and clear the English from the banks of the Mississippi.
Galvez leaves New Orleans with an army of Spanish regulars and the Louisiana militia made up of 600 Cajun volunteers and captures the British strongholds of Fort Bute at Bayou Manchac, across from the Acadian settlement at St. Gabriel. And on n September 21, they attack and capture Baton Rouge.
Between 1779 and 1781, the census of the Opelousas district listed 535 whites and 218 blacks and the Opelousas Militia was composed of 4 officers, s sergeants, three corporals and 89 enlisted men. The Opelousas Militia was in the detachment that captured Natchez.
Source: "La Compagnie de Malice des Attakapas" was the name of the military unit that fought in the American Revolution. (Spanish Records, dated 1 May 1777. pp. 289-290 "S.A.R. Spanish English War 1779-1783" compiled by C. Robert Churchill).
Thanks to Don Landry for this information.
Tomorrow I will share the article written by Stephen A. White regardng the Acadians who fought in Nova Scotia under Colonel Jonathan Eddy in an attempt to retake Fort Cumberland/Beausejour. They are listed above but Stephen tells us what families those Acadian men belonged to.
Your cousin,
Lucie
1 comment:
I always loved these bits of information from far flung places - it just re-emphasizes just how large the diaspora really was!
Evelyn in Montreal
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