General Washington rallying the troops at the Battle of Monmouth

Emanuel Leutze, 1857

Memorial Day is when our nation honors and mourns those who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.  We honor those who died with a parade, ceremony, and flags by their gravestones.  It is also fitting that we recall their stories.  This year, we remember the story of Captain Paul Ellis of Falmouth.

The Battle of Lexington and Concord in April 1775 marked the beginning of the Revolutionary War.  It was followed by the Siege of Boston as patriot militias surrounded and blockaded the British Army garrisoned in Boston.  The Provincial Congress of Massachusetts called for towns to send reinforcements.  Maine was part of Massachusetts.  Paul Ellis answered that call and served until he was struck down, three years later, on a battlefield far from Maine. 

Paul Ellis was born 4 June 1737 at Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts; the sixth of eight children of Aaron Ellis and Zipporah Lewis, both of Dedham.  His father, a yeoman (owner of a self-sufficient farm), died when Paul was ten years old.  His mother married Timothy Colbourn of Dedham the following year.  Upon reaching adulthood, Paul’s inheritance of £200 (in “Old Tenor” currency) was probably worthless.

Paul moved to Falmouth and married Mary Noyes in 1766; Rev. Samuel Deane of First Parish Church officiated.  Mary was born 18 Mar 1743 at Falmouth to Josiah Noyes and Mary Lunt.  Josiah and Mary were children of prominent and prosperous families of Newbury, Massachusetts, who had moved to Falmouth in the 1730s.  Mary spent her early years on her father’s Back Cove Farm (which the Noyes family had purchased from the Bracketts and subsequently became the Deering estate encompassing the present-day Deering Oaks and University of Southern Maine campus).  Her family became a principal owner of what had been the Mackworth estate on the “flats” spanning present-day Falmouth’s Route One in what was then known as “New Casco.”

We do not know anything about Paul and Mary’s lives or livelihood.  They may have lived as members of the extended Noyes family, living and working on a Noyes farm, likely in New Casco.

Resentment by Massachusetts colonists against Britain’s heavy-handed governance had been mounting.  In February 1775, Parliament declared the colony to be “in rebellion” and the Provincial Congress ordered Massachusetts counties to form militia regiments.  

Click on an image to open a full-sized view.

The drama was playing out in Colonial Falmouth where wealthy businessmen were dependent upon trade with Britain while surrounding communities sympathized with the rebels.

On March 2nd, the John & Mary, a sloop from Bristol, arrived at Falmouth with sails, rigging, and stores for the King George, a 1,000-ton mast ship being built by Thomas Coulson, a loyalist, sea captain, and merchant in the mast trade.  Patriots prevented unloading of the sloop.  Coulson appealed to Vice Admiral Graves in Boston and the Royal Navy survey vessel Canceaux, commanded by Lt. Henry Mowatt, was dispatched to Falmouth.  A stand-off ensued.  

In Boston, tension reached the breaking point on 19 April 1775 when a British Army expedition to seize arms held by rebellious colonists exploded into battles at Lexington, Concord, and Menotomy (today’s Arlington).  The “shot heard round the world” lit the flame of revolutionary fervor and plunged Massachusetts into war.  The call went out across the colony for militia regiments to contain the British Army at Boston.  Col. Edmund Phinney of Gorham and Lt. Col. Samuel Marsh of Scarborough were leaders of the infantry regiment from Cumberland County: the 31st Regiment of Foot.

Battle of Lexington
William Wollen, 1910

Paul entered service on 24 April 1775 as an ensign (second lieutenant) in Capt. David Bradish’s company of Col. Edmund Phinney’s regiment.

The regiment’s departure for Boston was delayed.  There was concern about leaving Falmouth vulnerable to attack with a Royal Navy warship in the harbor.  Then came the incident known as “Thompson’s War.”

Lt. Col.  Samuel Thompson and his “Spruce Militia” from Brunswick showed up at Falmouth on May 7th.  While Mowatt and the ship’s surgeon were ashore, they were seized by Thompson’s forces.  Threats were exchanged.  Mowatt was paroled to his ship but did not return ashore. Thompson’s men were augmented by some from Col. Phinney’s regiment plus other militia from Gorham, Cape Elizabeth, Scarborough, and Stroudwater for a force of 600.

On May 15th, Canceaux and John & Mary, towing King George, departed for Portsmouth.  Three weeks later, Senegal, a 16-gun British ship, and two tenders arrived at Falmouth Harbor.  King George arrived a few days later to collect mast trees.  Patriots had already removed the timber, and the ships departed empty-handed in late June.  

The opening episode of the Revolutionary War in Falmouth ended as a draw. 

Six months later, Lt. Mowatt returned to Falmouth in command of a Royal Navy flotilla.  Cannon fire set the town ablaze.  Royal Marines were sent ashore to finish the destruction.

Having spent their first 75 days of military service defending Falmouth against attack from the sea, Capt. Bradish’s company finally began their 130-mile march from Falmouth on July 8th, arriving at Cambridge Common six days later.  When all ten companies of Phinney’s regiment had assembled at Cambridge, there were 549 men.  Contemporary accounts show the regiment stationed in the vicinity of Winter Hill (the area outlined in yellow on the map).

The British held parts of Boston and Charlestown (outlined in red).  The situation had become a stalemate.  Washington had insufficient forces to drive out the British, and the British were unable to break out.

Duty in a combat zone for the three companies from Falmouth would be familiar to modern veterans.  There were the usual garrison chores, guard duty, and providing escorts.  There was picket duty on the front line at constant risk from bombardment or snipers.  More dangerous was serving as a skirmisher—raiding British outposts or repelling British raids.  

The Siege of Boston
LOC

At the end of December, the term of enlistment for the regiment’s soldiers ended.  Many returned to Falmouth.  Those who reenlisted with other regiments were given leave to return home to put their affairs in order.

In February 1776, Paul was listed as an officer to command a company being raised at Falmouth, Scarborough, Gorham, Pearsontown (Standish), and Cape Elizabeth for a two-month enlistment.  He marched with his company from Falmouth on February 13th.  Upon arriving at Cambridge, he was commissioned as a captain and his company was assigned to Col. Jacob French’s regiment.  This regiment was not placed in the Massachusetts Line as part of the Continental Army, but did participate in the siege of Boston.

Raising the Grand Union Flag in Cambridge
Harper's Weekly, 1898

Artillery captured by the patriot army at Fort Ticonderoga was of a size and range not previously available.  The cannons were dragged across New England and, early in March 1776, emplaced on Dorchester Heights from whence fire could be rained down upon Boston.  The British quickly realized their position was untenable.  On March 17th, a fleet of 120 ships evacuated 11,000 British soldiers and loyalists.  The patriots had won the Siege of Boston. 

American Artillery on Dorchester Heights
NPS

Enlistments for Col. French’s regiment ended on March 30th.  Paul’s company of men from Cumberland County reenlisted on April 1st.  Here the record gets fuzzy because the company did not appear to be part of a regiment.  General Washington—fearing the British were headed for New York—left Boston for Manhattan on April 4th.  Some New England regiments were sent north along the Hudson River to reinforce Fort Ticonderoga.  Paul was seen at Fort Ticonderoga in late summer.

 

Fort Ticonderoga, New York
NPS

The new year began with Paul being appointed as captain commanding a company in Col. Timothy Bigelow’s 15th Massachusetts Regiment.  Paul’s company consisted largely of soldiers from from Cumberland County who had served with his former company in French’s regiment.  Muster rolls place Paul on Van Schaick’s Island at the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers during the first half of the year.  This was a springboard for what became known as the Saratoga campaign.

The British strategy in 1777 called for a multi-pronged attack on New York, with three separate armies converging near Albany. For British general John Burgoyne, the Hudson River Valley was the critical route for the invasion as he moved south from Canada with 7,500 men.  By August, Burgoyne had captured Fort Ticonderoga, defeated fleeing American troops at Hubbardton (Vermont), and occupied Fort Edward on the Hudson River. After a contingent of Burgoyne’s troops was defeated in the Battle of Bennington, his reduced forces marched south toward Saratoga.

In July 1777, Washington assigned General Glover’s 2nd Massachusetts brigade, including Bigelow’s 15th Massachusetts Regiment, to the army under the command of Gen. Horatio Gates.   

Burgoyne's Advance Down the Hudson

General Gates and his American army had built formidable defenses on Bemis Heights, just south of Saratoga overlooking the Hudson. The Americans and British engaged in combat at Freeman’s Farm on September 19th.  While the British fended off the Americans, British losses were great.  Burgoyne’s battered forces dug trenches and waited for reinforcements, but none came. 

Burgoyne launched an unsuccessful attack on the Americans at Bemis Heights on October 7th.  Cut off from his avenue of escape, Burgoyne surrendered to Gates on October 17.  The victory persuaded France to sign a treaty with the United States against Britain.

Glover's 2nd Massachusetts brigade was present during the battles and surrender, but was not directly engaged in fighting the British.

The roster for Capt. Ellis' company included a private soldier named Plato McLellan.  Plato was a Black slave who had been a domestic servant for Lt. Cary McLellan of Gorham.  Plato and Prince were probably acquired by the McLellan family during their maritime trade with the West Indies.  Both ran away.  Plato enlisted in Capt Ellis' company in May 1777 and served in the Continental Army for three years.  He subsequently obtained his freedom and is buried in Gorham.

Following the Battles of Saratoga, the 2nd Massachusetts Brigade was reassigned to the main Continental Army under General Washington in New Jersey. They went into winter quarters at Valley Forge in December and remained there until June.

The average strength of a regiment in the Continental Army was about 728 officers and men with armed soldiers comprising about 578.  Company strength would be about 90 officers and men with about 70-75 corporals and privates.

When Col. Bigelow’s regiment entered winter quarters at Valley Forge, they had 410 men assigned with only 222 fit for duty.  When they left Valley Forge, they had only 322 assigned and 197 “present and fit for duty.”

In May 1778, the strength of Capt. Ellis' company was down to 24.

Gen. von Steuben at Valley Forge
Edwin Austin Abbey, bef 1911

The Battle of Monmouth was fought near Monmouth courthouse in New Jersey, on 28 Jun 1778.  It pitted the Continental Army, commanded by Gen. George Washington, against the British Army in North America, commanded by Gen.  Sir Henry Clinton.

It was the last battle of the Philadelphia campaign during which the British had inflicted two major defeats on Washington and occupied Philadelphia.  Washington spent the winter at Valley Forge rebuilding his army.

Clinton was ordered to evacuate Philadelphia and consolidate his army.  The Continental Army shadowed the British as they marched across New Jersey to Sandy Hook where the Royal Navy would ferry them to New York.  

 
Americans and British on
the March to Monmouth
Wikimedia

It was politically important for Washington to not allow the British to withdraw unscathed.  Washington detached around a third of his army and sent it ahead under the command of Major General Charles Lee, hoping to land a heavy blow on the British without becoming embroiled in a major engagement.

Sunday, June 18th, was hot with the temperature reaching into the high nineties. As Washington neared Monmouth with the main body of his army, he was surprised to encounter Lee’s vanguard in full retreat following a failed attack on the redcoats.  Washington ordered Lee to have his rear guard slow the British advance while the main body deployed along the high ground of Perrine’s Hill. 

When Clinton finally pushed through the rear-guard action, he faced Washington’s army deployed in depth on defensible ground.  

Knox’s 12-16 cannons were used to good effect impeding the British advance and flanking maneuvers.  The British brought forward 16 cannons, and a two-hour artillery duel ensued.  “The Great Cannonade” was one of the most spectacular episodes and largest single day artillery actions of the war.  The exchange of fire took place at approximately 1,200 yards, close enough for the gun crews to see one another over the generally rolling but clear terrain.  As the cannon fire continued, clouds of smoke filled the hot air, obscuring the view and making it difficult for the opposing gunners to judge the effect of their fire.

Most Continental infantrymen were lying down, making themselves difficult to hit.  Long-range artillery combat relied on solid shot, and while it was an unfortunate soldier who was hit, direct strikes were rare.  One of those unfortunates was Captain Paul Ellis whose leg was struck by a cannon ball.  He bled to death before assistance arrived.

His lieutenant, Abner Dow of Falmouth, presumably assumed command of the company.

American Artillery on Perrine Hill
Hugh Ditzler, 1898

Paul Ellis would have been just behind and up 
the slope from the artillery when he was hit.

 

Molly Pitcher is a nickname given to a woman
who fought in the American Revolutionary War.
She is most often identified as Mary Ludwig Hays,
who fought in the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778.

Many of the dead were buried in the Old Tennent Churchyard by the battlefield.  Enlisted soldiers were placed in mass graves while the eight officers were given individual graves “with honors.”  The mortal remains of Capt. Paul Ellis probably lie in the churchyard.

Nine years later, his widow, Mary, married Capt. Isaac Parsons of New Gloucester.

Captain Paul Ellis was one of an estimated 6,800 patriots to be killed in action during the Revolutionary War.  During the first three years of the American Revolution, he defended his town, his colony, and then his new nation from British tyranny.