Benjamin Tupper (March 11, 1738 – June 7, 1792) was a soldier in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

, and an officer of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during 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 ...

, achieving the rank of

brevet Brevet may refer to: Military * Brevet (military), higher rank that rewards merit or gallantry, but without higher pay * Brevet d'état-major, a military distinction in France and Belgium awarded to officers passing military staff college * Aircre ...

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. Subsequently, he served as a

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

legislator, and he assisted Gen. William Shepard in stopping Shays' Rebellion. Benjamin Tupper was a co-founder of the

Ohio Company of Associates The Ohio Company of Associates, also known as the Ohio Company, was a land company whose members are today credited with becoming the first non- Native American group to permanently settle west of the Allegheny mountains. In 1788 they establis ...

, and was a pioneer to the Ohio Country, involved in establishing

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Mar ...

as the first permanent settlement in the

Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...

Early life

Benjamin Tupper, the youngest of eight children, was born in a precinct of Stoughton in

, now a part of the town of

Sharon, Massachusetts Sharon is a New England town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,575 at the 2020 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of downtown Boston, and is connected to both Boston and Providence by ...

. His father died when he was young; Benjamin then worked as an apprentice to a tanner in Dorchester near

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. At the age of sixteen, he began working on a farm in

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

in western Massachusetts. As a young man, Benjamin Tupper served as a soldier during the

for two or three years. During that time, he also ran a district school in

Easton, Massachusetts Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area. Easton is governed by an elected Select Board. Open Town Meeting acts as the legislative br ...

during the winters. At the age of 24, he married Huldah White in Easton, and they subsequently relocated to Chesterfield. He served as a lieutenant of the militia in Chesterfield.Drake, ''Memorials of the Society of Cincinnati'', 489.

Revolutionary War

Benjamin Tupper was in the field with the

throughout the

.Howe, ''Historical Collections of Ohio, Vol. III'', 509. He engaged as major with Col. John Fellows' Massachusetts regiment at the beginning of the war in April 1775, several days after the

Battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...

. Maj. Tupper participated in the Siege of Boston during 1775. During the siege he led an expedition against British forces on Castle Island and the Boston Light in Boston harbor. During the expedition, his troops skirmished with British and Tories, and burned the lighthouse to hinder the movement of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

naval ships. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in late 1775. After the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yo ...

in 1776, Lt. Col. Tupper commanded gunboats on the North River (the southernmost portion of the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

) near

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Describing an engagement of Tupper's gunboats with the British, Gen.

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

wrote "...our officers and men, during the whole of the affair, behaved with great spirit and bravery."Drake, ''Memorials of the Society of Cincinnati'', 489–90. Benjamin Tupper was promoted to colonel during July 1777.Heitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 551. Later that year, Col. Tupper served under Gen.

Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battl ...

at Saratoga. Col. Tupper and his 11th Massachusetts Regiment wintered at

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the ...

with Gen. Washington during the winter and spring of 1777 and 1778. During 1778, Col. Tupper served with Gen. Washington at the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...

; during the action, Tupper's horse was killed under him. During 1780 he served in the Highlands Department and was in charge of the

Great Chain The Hudson River Chains were a series of chain booms constructed across the Hudson River at West Point by Continental Army forces from 1776 to 1778 during the American Revolutionary War. These served as defenses preventing British naval vessels ...

across the Hudson River at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. He served in the northern frontier of New York during the rest of the war as commanding officer of the 10th Massachusetts Regiment, and then the 6th Massachusetts Regiment. During September 1783, he achieved the rank of

Post-war and the Ohio Country

At the close of the war Gen. Tupper returned to his family at Chesterfield, and became a member of the Massachusetts

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. During 1786, Benjamin Tupper and

Rufus Putnam Brigadier-General Rufus Putnam (April 9, 1738 – May 4, 1824) was an American military officer who fought during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. As an organizer of the Ohio Company of Associates, he was instrumenta ...

founded the

. During that year, Benjamin Tupper was appointed as surveyor for the state of

for the surveying of the

Seven Ranges The Seven Ranges (also known as the Old Seven Ranges) was a land tract in eastern Ohio that was the first tract to be surveyed in what became the Public Land Survey System. The tract is across the northern edge, on the western edge, with the sou ...

in the Ohio Country.Hildreth, ''Pioneer History'', 166–67.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 223–24.Smith and Vining, ''American Geographers, 1784–1812'', 215. During 1787, he volunteered his services to Massachusetts militia Gen.

William Shepard William Shepard (Contemporary records, which used the Julian calendar and the Annunciation Style of enumerating years, recorded his birth as November 20, 1737. The provisions of the British Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, implemented in 1752, ...

to assist in suppressing Shays' Rebellion; Gen. Tupper helped organize volunteers for the militia, and was with Gen Shepard defending the

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

armory Armory or armoury may mean: * An arsenal, a military or civilian location for the storage of arms and ammunition Places *National Guard Armory, in the United States and Canada, a training place for National Guard or other part-time or regular mili ...

when Shays attacked and was defeated.Drake, ''Memorials of the Society of Cincinnati'', 490. During 1788, Benjamin Tupper and other pioneers of the

arrived at the confluence of the

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 ...

and Muskingum rivers to establish

as the first permanent American settlement in the

.Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 228. In August 1788, he invented a screw propeller, positioned in the stern of a boat, and turned with a crank.

Manasseh Cutler Manasseh Cutler (May 13, 1742 – July 28, 1823) was an American clergyman involved in the American Revolutionary War. He was influential in the passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and wrote the section prohibiting slavery in the Nort ...

wrote about the propeller that "It succeeded to admiration, and I think it a very useful discovery." During September 1788, Benjamin Tupper and Rufus Putnam were the justices of the first civil court in the Northwest Territory. Benjamin Tupper was a prominent member of the pioneer settlement of Marietta. He was an original member of the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

, and an original member of the American Union Lodge No. 1 of

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

at Marietta, along with several others including his son

Anselm Tupper Anselm Tupper (1763–1808) was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a pioneer to the Ohio Country, and one of the founders of Marietta, Ohio, the first permanent American settlement in the Northwest Terr ...

William Stacy William Stacy (February 15, 1734 – August 1802) was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country. Published histories describe Colonel William Stacy's involvement in a variet ...

, and

.Summers, ''History of Marietta'', 294–95. TupperStreetSign

Benjamin Tupper's sons were Maj.

, Gen. Edward W. Tupper, and Col. Benjamin Tupper, Jr. His daughters were Sophia, Minerva, and Roewena, who married Gov.

Winthrop Sargent Winthrop Sargent (May 1, 1753 – June 3, 1820) was a United States patriot, politician, and writer; and a member of the Federalist party. Early life Sargent was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts on May 1, 1753. He was one of eight childre ...

in the first marriage ceremony in the Northwest Territory. Another daughter, Huldah, died young. Benjamin Tupper died in June 1792. A visitor to the Marietta settlement witnessed the funeral, and wrote that:

Gen. Tupper, who had died the day before, was buried on the 17th. In consideration of the four different offices which he held, firstly as General in the service of the United States in the late war; secondly as member of the
Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...
; thirdly as director of the Ohio Company; and fourthly as master among the Freemasons, therefore, because of these positions, great honors were shown his remains at the funeral.Cotton, ''Sketch of Mound Cemetery'', 11–12.

Benjamin Tupper is buried with many other Revolutionary War soldiers and pioneers at Mound Cemetery in Marietta.Hawley, ''Mound Cemetery'', 443.

References

Bibliography

* Cotton, Willia Dawson: ''Sketch of Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio'', Marietta Register Print, Marietta, Ohio (1900). * Drake, Francis S.: ''Memorials of the Society of Cincinnati of Massachusetts'', Boston (1873). * Hawley, Owen: ''Mound Cemetery, Marietta, Ohio'', Washington County Historical Society, Marietta, Ohio (1996). * Heitman, Francis B.: ''Officers of the Continental Army during the War of the Revolution'', Rare Book Shop Publishing Co., Washington, D.C. (1914). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1852). * Hildreth, S. P.: ''Pioneer History: Being an Account of the First Examinations of the Ohio Valley, and the Early Settlement of the Northwest Territory'', H. W. Derby and Co., Cincinnati, Ohio (1848). * * Hulbert, Archer Butler: ''The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume I'', Marietta Historical Commission, Marietta, Ohio (1917). * Hulbert, Archer Butler: ''The Records of the Original Proceedings of the Ohio Company, Volume II'', Marietta Historical Commission, Marietta, Ohio (1917). * Smith, B. A. and Vining, J. W.: ''American Geographers, 1784–1812'', Praeger Publishers, Westport, Connecticut (2003). * Summers, Thomas J.: ''History of Marietta'', The Leader Publishing Co., Marietta, Ohio (1903).

External links

The Society of the CincinnatiThe American Revolution InstituteBenjamin Tupper at Ohio History Central

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tupper, Benjamin 1738 births 1792 deaths Massachusetts militiamen in the American Revolution Continental Army officers from Massachusetts Continental Army generals American pioneers Northwest Territory judges People from Marietta, Ohio American surveyors Burials at Mound Cemetery (Marietta, Ohio) People from Sharon, Massachusetts People of the French and Indian War People of colonial Massachusetts