James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, general
[Heitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 559.] in the
Continental Army, and a pioneer to the
Ohio Country.
[Wilkins, ''Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar'', 145-239.][Hildreth, ''Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio'', 165-85.][Conley, ''Rhode Island's Founders'', 134-37.][Dodge, '' Directory of the United States Congress 1774-2005'', 2089.][Leiter, ''Generals of the Continental Army'', 102-03.]
Varnum resigned his commission in 1779, and was a delegate to the
Continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' ( ...
and
Confederation Congress
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...
, as well as one of two “supreme” judges appointed to the
Northwest Territory. He died in
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, Ma ...
in January 1789.
Early life
James Mitchell Varnum was born in
Dracut, Massachusetts
Dracut is a town in Middlesex County. At the 2020 census, the town's population was 32,617, making it the second most populous town in Massachusetts with an open town meeting system of governance. The town covers a total area of 21.36 square m ...
. As a young man he matriculated at
Harvard College
Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...
only to transfer to the college in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly known as "Rhode Island College" (the college later named
Brown University), He graduated with honors in the college's first graduating class in September 1769. In Rhode Island he met his future wife, Martha "Patty" Child, whom he married on February 2, 1770.
He then studied law under Rhode Island Attorney General Oliver Arnold and was admitted to the bar in 1771. He settled in
East Greenwich, Rhode Island and pursued the practice of law. He began construction of his home, a colonial mansion now known as the
Varnum House, in 1773.
Leadership in the American Revolution
In October 1774, while tensions were rising between the American colonies and
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 i ...
, Varnum was elected as captain in command of the newly organized
Kentish Guards
The Armory of the Kentish Guards is a historic armory at Armory and Peirce Streets in East Greenwich, Rhode Island and is currently home to the Kentish Guards, a historic Rhode Island Independent Military Organization.
History
The Kentish Guar ...
, a chartered militia company in Varnum's home town of East Greenwich. Another member of the company was Private
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...
who would rise to become one of the most distinguished officers in the Continental Army and would soon be Varnum's immediate superior. No fewer than 30 other members of the Kentish Guards would also serve as officers in the
Continental Army.
In May 1775, following the
Battles of Lexington and Concord, Varnum was commissioned as colonel in command of one of the three regiments from Rhode Island, under the command of Brigadier General Nathanael Greene, which served in the
Army of Observation An army of observation is a military body whose purpose is to monitor a given area or enemy body in preparation for possible hostilities.
Some of the more notable armies of observation include:
* Third Reserve Army of Observation, a Russian army ta ...
during the
Siege of Boston. In early July 1775 General
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 ...
arrived in Cambridge to take command of the Army of Observation which then became the
Continental Army.
In the early part of war regiments were identified by the name of their commanding officer. Varnum's Regiment was renamed as the
9th Continental Regiment on January 1, 1776.
Varnum's regiment served throughout the Siege of Boston which ended with the evacuation of the British army on March 17, 1776. In early April the regiment marched to New York where it participated in several battles, including the
Long Island and
White Plains, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the British from occupying the city.
In December 1776 Varnum returned to Rhode Island to recruit more soldiers for the Rhode Island units in the Continental Army whose enlistments were about to expire. On December 12 Varnum accepted a commission as a brigadier general in Rhode Island Militia and given command of the state's brigade which guarded the state's mainland from possible attack from the British forces which had recently occupied the important port city of
Newport.
Varnum's stay in Rhode Island was brief because he was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Continental Army in February 1777. He then served as a brigade commander until he resigned in March 1779. During this period he served at the battles of
Red Bank, New Jersey in 1777 and the
Battle of Rhode Island in 1778. He was also 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 ...
during the winter of 1777 to 1778.
Varnum advocated allowing freed
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
slaves to enlist in the Continental Army, which resulted in the reorganization of the
1st Rhode Island Regiment
The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Varnum's Regiment, the 9th Continental Regiment, the Black Regiment, the Rhode Island Regiment, and Olney's Battalion) was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island during the Americ ...
as a racially integrated unit in 1778. Varnum was a disciple of Major General
Charles Lee and a serious critic of the position of Inspector General held in 1778 by
Baron Von Steuben.
Legal career and later life
In March 1779 Varnum resigned his Continental Army commission because of personal business matters. He was commissioned as the
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
in command of the
Rhode Island Militia
The Rhode Island Army National Guard (RIARNG) is the land force militia for the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It operates under Title 10 and Title 32 of the United States Code and operates under the command of the state governor while not in feder ...
on May 10, 1779, and held the position until he was relieved by Major General (and future U.S. Senator)
Joseph Stanton, Jr. on May 7, 1788. He led Rhode Island troops in the service of the United States in July and August 1780, under the
Comte de Rochambeau
Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...
who commanded the French army sent by
King Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...
of
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
In common with 33 of the 81 generals in the Continental Army, Varnum was a
Freemason. He attended St. John's Lodge, No. 1 in Providence.
In 1783, at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, along with General
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 ...
,
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependab ...
,
Henry Knox
Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
,
Alexander Hamilton,
Thomas Pinckney,
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney and numerous others, General Varnum became an original member of the
Society of the Cincinnati and served as president of the Rhode Island Society, following the death of Nathanael Greene, from 1786 until his death in 1789.
He represented Rhode Island at the
Continental Congress in Philadelphia from May 3, 1780, to May 1, 1782, and in the 8th
Confederation Congress
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...
which convened in New York from November 6, 1786, to October 30, 1787. The 8th Confederation Congress passed the
Northwest Ordinance on July 13, 1787, which opened settlement in the Northwest Territories (now the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota).
Varnum was also well known as a jurist. He successfully represented the defendant in ''
Trevett v. Weeden'', one of the earliest cases of
judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incomp ...
.
On August 29, 1787, he was chosen as one of the directors 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 ...
. On October 14 of the same year, Varnum was appointed as one of two "supreme" judges for the
Northwest Territory. He then moved to
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, Ma ...
, to take up his duties. He was one of the early
pioneers to the Northwest Territory, arriving in Marietta on June 5, 1788.
Shortly after his arrival Varnum was chosen to be the orator of the day for the celebration of American independence on July 4.
Varnum then assisted Territorial Governor
Arthur St. Clair, who took office on July 15, in creating a code of laws for the territory. This proved to be Varnum's only significant accomplishment in Ohio as he was overcome with
consumption
Consumption may refer to:
*Resource consumption
*Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically
* Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms
* Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
which was exacerbated by his long journey westward.
Death
General Varnum died in January 1789, only seven months after his arrival in Marietta, of
consumption
Consumption may refer to:
*Resource consumption
*Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically
* Consumption (ecology), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms
* Consumption (economics), the purchasing of newly produced goods for curren ...
. He was originally interred in the
Mound Cemetery near the original settlement and later reburied the Oak Grove Cemetery in Marietta.
His college classmate the distinguished physician
Solomon Drowne eulogized him during an oration at the one-year anniversary celebration of the founding of Marietta:
But of these worthies who have most exerted themselves in promoting this settlement, one, alas! is no more; one whose eloquence, like the music of Orpheus, attractive of the listening crowd, seemed designed to reconcile mankind to the closest bonds of society. Ah! what avail his manly virtues now! Slow through yon winding path his corse was borne, and on the steepy hill interred with funeral honors meet. What bosom refuses the tribute of a sigh, on the recollection of that melancholy scene, when, unusual spectacle, the fathers of the land, the chiefs of the aboriginal nations, in solemn train attended; while the mournful dirge was rendered doubly mournful mid the gloomy nodding grove. On that day even nature seemed to mourn. O Varnum ! Varnum! thy name shall not be forgotten, while gratitude and generosity continue to be the characteristics of those inhabiting the country, once thy care. Thy fair fame is deeply rooted in our fostering memories ...[Hildreth, ''Pioneer History'', 520.]
Family
General Varnum was the son of Samuel Varnum (1715–1797) and his second wife Hannah Mitchell. He had three brothers and two sisters of which only two brothers, Joseph Bradley Varnum (1751–1821) and Samuel Varnum (1762–1822), lived to maturity.
Joseph Bradley Varnum served as a
United States Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
from 1795 to 1811 and then as a
United States Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
from 1811 to 1817.
Legacy
General Varnum's home, the
Gen. James Mitchell Varnum House in
East Greenwich, Rhode Island is a
historic house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...
today. Varnum's brother was
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Joseph Bradley Varnum.
The
Varnum Continentals, an historic military command in East Greenwich, were founded in 1907 and are named after General Varnum.
Dates of rank
*Captain,
Kentish Guards
The Armory of the Kentish Guards is a historic armory at Armory and Peirce Streets in East Greenwich, Rhode Island and is currently home to the Kentish Guards, a historic Rhode Island Independent Military Organization.
History
The Kentish Guar ...
, Rhode Island Militia – November 1774
*Colonel,
Varnum's Regiment,
Army of Observation An army of observation is a military body whose purpose is to monitor a given area or enemy body in preparation for possible hostilities.
Some of the more notable armies of observation include:
* Third Reserve Army of Observation, a Russian army ta ...
– May 3, 1775
*Colonel, Varnum's Regiment,
Continental Army – July 3, 1775
*Colonel, 9th Continental Regiment – January 1, 1776
*Brigadier General, Rhode Island Militia – December 12, 1776
*Brigadier General, Continental Army – February 27, 1777
*Resigned from Continental Army – March 5, 1779
*Major General, Rhode Island Militia – May 10, 1779, to May 7, 1788
See also
*
1st Rhode Island Regiment
The 1st Rhode Island Regiment (also known as Varnum's Regiment, the 9th Continental Regiment, the Black Regiment, the Rhode Island Regiment, and Olney's Battalion) was a regiment in the Continental Army raised in Rhode Island during the Americ ...
*
9th Continental Regiment
References
Bibliography
* Conley, P. T.: ''Rhode Island's Founders: From Settlement to Statehood'', The History Press, Charleston, South Carolina (2010).
* Dodge, A. R.: ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005, Sixteenth Edition'', U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. (2005).
* 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).
* Leiter, M. T.: ''Biographical Sketches of the Generals of the Continental Army of the Revolution'', University Press: John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1889).
* Updike, W.: ''Memoirs of the Rhode Island Bar'', Thomas H. Webb and Co., Boston, Massachusetts (1842).
* Varnum, J. M.: ''A Sketch of the Life and Public Services of James Mitchell Varnum of Rhode Island'', David Clapp and Son Printers, Boston, Massachusetts (1906).
External links
Society of the CincinnatiWebsite of Varnum ContinentalsEncyclopedia Brunoniana*
ttp://www.consource.org/index.asp?bid=582&documentid=49360 Letter from General George Washington to Brigadier General James Mitchell Varnum, November 1, 1777Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varnum, James
1748 births
1789 deaths
Brown University alumni
Harvard College alumni
Continental Army generals
Continental Army officers from Rhode Island
Continental Congressmen from Rhode Island
18th-century American politicians
Militia generals in the American Revolution
Northwest Territory judges
Rhode Island militiamen in the American Revolution
Politicians from Marietta, Ohio
People from Dracut, Massachusetts
People of colonial Rhode Island
People from East Greenwich, Rhode Island
People of Rhode Island in the American Revolution
People of colonial Massachusetts
Military personnel from Massachusetts