Amos Stoddard (October 26, 1762 – May 11, 1813) was a career
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
officer who served in both the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
and the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, in which he was mortally wounded.
In 1804, Stoddard was the
Commandant of the military district of
Upper Louisiana, after the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
.
Biography
Stoddard was born in
Woodbury, Connecticut, to Anthony and Phebe (Reed) Stoddard. He saw combat as a young man in the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, and afterwards represented
Hallowell, Maine, in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
. In June 1798, he was commissioned as a captain of
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
in the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
.
Circa 1800 Stoddard commanded
Fort Sumner in his home town of
Portland, Maine as a company commander in the
Regiment of Artillerists.
In 1800 Spain ceded Louisiana back to France in the
Third Treaty of San Ildefonso
The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso was a secret agreement signed on 1 October 1800 between the Spanish Empire and the French Republic by which Spain agreed in principle to exchange its North American colony of Louisiana for territories in Tuscany. ...
. Three years later,
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
promptly sold it to the United States to obtain money to continue his campaigns in Europe. Nevertheless, Spain had continued to govern the territory and refused to give
Lewis and Clark
Lewis may refer to:
Names
* Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name
* Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname
Music
* Lewis (musician), Canadian singer
* "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...
permission to explore it. This forced Lewis and Clark to spend the winter of 1803-04 at
Camp Dubois
Camp Dubois (English: Camp Wood), near present-day Wood River, Illinois, served as the winter camp and launch-point for the exploration of the Louisiana Purchase by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Founded at the confluence with the ''Rivière ...
, in what is now
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
.
On November 30, 1803, in
, Spain formally turned the territory over to France, which governed it for only 20 days before surrendering it to the United States on December 20, 1803.
During the
Three Flags Day Three Flags Day commemorates March 9, and 10, 1804, when Spain officially completed turning over the Louisiana colonial territory to France, who then officially turned over the same lands to the United States, in order to finalize the 1803 Louisian ...
ceremony on March 9–10, 1804, in Saint Louis, Stoddard represented both the United States and France. Stoddard noted about the residents:
:Nothing ever restrains them from amusement which usually commences early in the evening, and is seldom suspended till late the next morning.
Stoddard held the position as a military commander until October 1, 1804, when the territory came under
William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
, in a
transitional civil jurisdiction as part of the
Indiana Territory. He was promoted to the rank of major in June 1807.
He was a member of Kennebec Lodge #5
A. F. and A. M in
Hallowell, Maine, and delivered the oration at the first anniversary of the chartering of the lodge on St. John's Day 1797.
Service at Fort Meigs
In the winter of 1812-13, after war had begun with
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, Major Stoddard accompanied Governor Harrison to the Maumee rapids in
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, where they built
Fort Meigs. Stoddard commanded the fort's
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
.
From May 1 to May 9 of 1813, Fort Meigs was attacked by a large British and Indian force from
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
under Major General
Henry Procter Henry Procter or Proctor may refer to:
* Henry Procter (politician) (1883–1955), British politician
* Henry H. Proctor (1868–1933), minister of the First Congregational Church (Atlanta)
* Henry Proctor (rower) (1929–2005), American rower
* He ...
(see
Siege of Fort Meigs
The siege of Fort Meigs took place in late April to early May 1813 during the War of 1812 in northwestern Ohio, present-day Perrysburg. A small British Army unit with support from Indians attempted to capture the recently constructed fort to fores ...
). Early on, Stoddard was wounded in the leg by
shrapnel. He survived long enough to see the British retreat, but on May 11 he died from
tetanus
Tetanus, also known as lockjaw, is a bacterial infection caused by ''Clostridium tetani'', and is characterized by muscle spasms. In the most common type, the spasms begin in the jaw and then progress to the rest of the body. Each spasm usually ...
.
Tributes
![Memorial to Major Amos Stoddard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Memorial_to_Major_Amos_Stoddard.jpg)
According to a diary kept by Captain Daniel Cushing, Major Stoddard was buried in front of the Grand Battery at Fort Meigs. A stone monument inside the fort honors his memory today.
Stoddard County, Missouri
Stoddard County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,672. The county seat is Bloomfield. The county was officially organized on January 2, 1835, and is name ...
, was named for him.
References
External links
Rootsweb biographyMoshistory.org papers*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoddard, Amos
1762 births
1813 deaths
Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
People from Woodbury, Connecticut
People from Hallowell, Maine
Infectious disease deaths in Ohio
Deaths from tetanus