Breed Batcheller was an early settler of

Roxbury, New Hampshire Roxbury is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 220 at the 2020 census. History The smallest town in Cheshire County, Roxbury was incorporated in 1812 from portions of Nelson, Marlborough, and Keene. By ...

. He was said to have been unsympathetic to the rebels 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 therefore run out of town, ending up in hiding in Batcheller's Cave for the Summer of 1777.

Early life

Breed Batcheller was born December 11, 1740. He learned surveying in

Brookfield, Massachusetts Brookfield is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Brookfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. The population was 3,439 at the 2020 census. History Brookfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660 and was officiall ...

. The first town meeting of Packersfield, New Hampshire, later renamed

Nelson, New Hampshire Nelson is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 629 at the 2020 census, down from 729 at the 2010 census. Nelson includes the village of Munsonville. History Originally named "Monadnock No. 6", the town ...

), was held in his home. He was a major in the

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Keene is ho ...

militia as of the 1773 roll.

American Revolutionary War

In 1775, he joined in the march to

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 ...

, but returned to New Hampshire before the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...

and became an advocate against the rebellion. He hid in Batcheller's Cave, before fleeing to Canada, in 1777. Breed Batcheller has been noted as a symbol of "a man who just wouldn't keep his mouth shut" and his story one about the tensions between revolutionary fervor and freedom of speech in the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batcheller, Breed 1740 births American Revolutionary War articles needing attention New Hampshire militiamen in the American Revolution Loyalists in the American Revolution from New Hampshire American Revolutionary War People from Roxbury, New Hampshire People from Nelson, New Hampshire