Moses Dunbar (June 3, 1746 – March 19, 1777) was a

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

land-owner and officer in a

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 ...

regiment 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 ...

, who became one of the few men in the state of Connecticut to be convicted of high treason and executed.William Stone of Stamford and Robert Thomson of Newton were two others; they each also were hanged in 1777

Early life

Moses Dunbar was born in

Wallingford, Connecticut Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in En ...

, on June 3, 1746 to John and Temperance Dunbar. In 1764, Moses married Pheobe Jerome of Farmington, Connecticut. Soon after marriage, Moses and Phoebe joined the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Involvement in the American Revolution

On May 26, 1776, Dunbar's wife Phoebe died after months of illness. Dunbar subsequently married Esther Adams. In September, Dunbar traveled to

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

and, in October, he accepted a commission as a Captain in the King's American Regiment, a British provincial regiment which was raised for Loyalist service. He then went back to Farmington, Connecticut, and was trying to persuade some other young men to enlist in the British army when he was arrested, and his royal commission and a list of Loyalist recruits was found in his pocket. He was indicted for high treason, tried in the superior court in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, and on January 23, 1777, found guilty. on March 19, he was executed on the gallows which stood near the present site of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

. Dunbar is interred at the Ancient Burying ground, in Hartford.Ryan, J. Francis. "Chapter XVII." Plymouth Conn., 1776–1976. Plymouth, Conn.?: n.p., 1976. N. pag. Print.

Notes

References

External links

Capt Moses Dunbar at Find A Grave

Moses Dunbar, The Other Connecticut Man Hanged in the RevolutionNathan Hale & Moses Dunbar – Two Very Different Victims From Revolutionary America
People executed for treason against the United States American Revolutionary War executions 1746 births 1777 deaths People from Wallingford, Connecticut Loyalists in the American Revolution from Connecticut Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War People executed by the United States by hanging {{Connecticut-stub