Dr. Samuel Adams (1730 – January, 1810) was a physician, surgeon, farmer, land owner, and

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

soldier, from

Arlington, Vermont Arlington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,457 at the 2020 census. History The town of Arlington was chartered July 28, 1761, by New Hampshire Governor Benning Wentworth, as part of the New Hampshire ...

Early life

Samuel Adams was born in Stratford, Fairfield County,

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

, British North America,

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, now Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, in 1730.

New Hampshire Grants

In 1764, he moved with his family to Arlington in the New Hampshire Grants. On several occasions, Adams served as representative and negotiator, for Arlington and the other surrounding towns.

Conflict with Green Mountain Boys

In 1774, Adams came into conflict with Ethan Allen's

Green Mountain Boys The Green Mountain Boys were a militia organization first established in 1770 in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire Grants and later in 1777 as the Vermont Republic (which late ...

for dissenting with their land title policy. After a brief trial, Adams' captors had him tied to a chair and hung from the sign post, of the

Catamount Tavern The Catamount Tavern was a tavern in Old Bennington, Vermont, United States. Originally known as Fay's House, it is marked now by a granite and copper statue placed in 1896. It was built 1769 and burned in 1871. During the tavern's 102 years o ...

, as a public humiliation.

American Revolutionary War service

In 1776, Dr. Adams was captured by Whigs, for his British Loyalist sympathies and he and his sons were imprisoned. Adams escaped and fled north, to Canada, reaching the British lines, in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Joining the King's Army, Adams served, during the

Battle of Valcour Island The Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, was a naval engagement that took place on October 11, 1776, on Lake Champlain. The main action took place in Valcour Bay, a narrow strait between the New York mainland and ...

, during Lake Champlain Campaign, in 1776 and raised an independent, Loyalist company, known as

Adams' Rangers {{Infobox military unit , unit_name= Adams' Rangers , image= Dr. Samuel Adams.png , image_size = 275px , caption = A woodcut of Dr. Samuel Adams, the future British Loyalist and American Revolutionary War military leader of Adams' Rangers, who ...

, which served, under British General John Burgoyne, in the

Saratoga campaign The Saratoga campaign in 1777 was an attempt by the British high command for North America to gain military control of the strategically important Hudson River valley during the American Revolutionary War. It ended in the surrender of the British ...

of 1777. Four of Adams' sons served in his ranger company, with his eldest son

Gideon Adams Gideon Adams (February 11, 1755 – June 20, 1834) was a farmer, soldier, and politician in Upper Canada, British North America, British Empire, now Ontario, Canada. Gideon Adams was born in Connecticut, in 1755 and moved with his family, ...

, acting as ensign.

Exile in British Canada

Following the war, Adams and his sons settled in the province of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

now present-day Southeastern

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

alongside other disbanded British Loyalist troops and their families. Adams ran a tavern in Montreal, serving British troops and expatriates.

Death

In January, 1810, Samuel Adams died in Edwardsburgh,

, British North America,

, now Edwardsburgh,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, at the age of 80.

References

* Adams, Robert Train and Douglass Graem Adams. ''A Family Record of Dr. Samuel Adams, United Empire Loyalist of Vermont and Upper Canada: The First Five Generations Descending from William Adams of Ipswich (1594-1661) and the Descendants of Dr. Samuel Adams of Arlington, (1730-1810)''. R.T. Adams, 1995. * Fryer, Mary Beacock. ''Kings Men, the Soldier Founders of Ontario''. Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1980. * Mathews, Hazel C. ''Frontier Spies; the British Secret Service, Northern Department, during the Revolutionary War''. Fort Myers, FL: Ace Press, 1971. * Palmer, Gregory. ''Biographical sketches of Loyalists in the American Revolution''. Westport, CT: Meckler Publishing, 1984.

External links

vermonthistory.org page on Samuel Adams with illustration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Dr. Samuel Of Arlington United Empire Loyalists Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Loyalists in the American Revolution from Connecticut People from Stratford, Connecticut 1730 births 1810 deaths British America army officers