Colonel Sampson Sammons (December 24, 1722October 17, 1796) was an American officer 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 ...

. He is notable for being the target of the first shot fired by the British in the American Revolution west 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 ...

Life

Sammons, of Dutch extraction, was born in the

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

neighborhood of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to Jacob Sampson and Catalyntje Bensen. He moved to Ulster County in 1769, and then to Tryon County. In 1772 he was a Deacon of the First Reformed Church of Caughnawaga in Fonda, New York. He married Rachel Schoonmaker (1726-1822), who was a descendant of Hendrick Jochemson Schoonmaker, a native of Hamburg, Germany. They had three sons and seven daughters.

Role in the American Revolution

In 1775, before the departure of Guy Johnson, nephew of

Sir William Johnson Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet of New York ( – 11 July 1774), was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Ireland. As a young man, Johnson moved to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Royal Na ...

, along with Loyalists and Native Americans to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Sammons and other patriots formed a Committee of Safety for Tryon County to track movements of the British. It is said that the first shot of the Revolution west of the

was fired at Sammons by Tory Sheriff of Johnstown Alexander White, after Sammons led a group of patriots to free neighbor John Fonda from the nearby jail. In 1780 Sammons, along with sons Jacob, Frederick and Thomas, were all taken prisoner as a result of the raid from Canada led by

Sir John Johnson Brigadier General Sir John Johnson, 2nd Baronet (5 November 1741 – 4 January 1830) was an American-born military officer, magistrate, landowner and colonial official in the British Indian Department who fought as a Loyalist during the American ...

and over 500 British troops. Sammons and Thomas were subsequently released, but his other two sons and horses were taken back to Canada. Frederick was kept as a prisoner of war in chains in

Fort Chambly Fort Chambly is a historic fort in La Vallée-du-Richelieu Regional County Municipality, Quebec. It is designated as a National Historic Site of Canada. Fort Chambly was formerly known as Fort St. Louis. It was part of a series of five fortificat ...

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 ...

for nearly 18 months. Sammons served during the war at the

Battle of Oriskany The Battle of Oriskany ( or ) was a significant engagement of the Saratoga campaign of the American Revolutionary War, and one of the bloodiest battles in the conflict between the Americans and Great Britain. On August 6, 1777, a party of Loy ...

and the Battle of Klock's Field. He held the rank of Lieutenant of Exempts under Captain Jellis Fonda.Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Book, Volume 20, page 279 After the departure of Johnson, Sammons took the opportunity to lease

Johnson Hall Johnson Hall State Historic Site was the home of Sir William Johnson (1715–1774) an Irish pioneer who became the influential British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York, known for his strong relationship especially w ...

Death and legacy

Sammons died in 1796 and was buried in the family's cemetery in Mohawk, New York. Sammons's son

Thomas Sammons Thomas Sammons may refer to: * Thomas Sammons (politician) (1762–1838), United States politician *Thomas Sammons (consul) Thomas N. Sammons (February 7, 1863 – October 15, 1935) was an American diplomat who served for many years in Korea, Japa ...

participated in the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1801 and served four terms in

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

References

Other Sources

The Mohawk Valley During the Revolution ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, by

Harold Frederic Harold Frederic (August 19, 1856 – October 19, 1898) was an American journalist and novelist. His works include '' In the Valley'' (1890), ''The Damnation of Theron Ware'' (1896), and '' The Market Place'' (1899). Life and career Harold Henry ...

, 1877
Sampson Sammons burial site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sammons, Sampson 1722 births 1796 deaths Military personnel from New York City People from colonial New York People from Montgomery County, New York Continental Army officers from New York (state)