Silas Wheeler (March 7, 1752 or 1753 at

Concord, Massachusetts Concord () is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. At the 2020 census, the town population was 18,491. The United States Census Bureau considers Concord part of Greater Boston. The town center is near where the conflu ...

– November 28, 1828 at Wheeler, New York) called "Captain", was a soldier in the army of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, and the founder of the town of

Wheeler Wheeler may refer to: Places United States * Wheeler, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Wheeler, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Wheeler, California, an unincorporated community * Wheeler, Illinois, a village * Wheeler, Indiana, a ...

, Steuben County,

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 * '' ...

Revolutionary War

He was fought at 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 ...

, with the Rhode Island Brigade, and marched with

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

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 ...

in 1775. Many starved to death along the way, and others deserted. After several days with no food, a group of Indians brought the small army a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

- he said it was the sweetest food he had ever eaten. In the Battle of Quebec he was captured by the British, and in prison he contracted

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. Wheeler became bald from the illness and remained permanently so. After his exchange, he returned to Rhode Island, and re-enlisted on a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

. He was later captured on the high seas by the British and was sent to a prison at the naval base at

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He was treated particularly harshly, for his participation in the Gaspee Affair in 1772. After a year and a half he was offered help from the Irish orator and patriot Henry Grattan, if he could escape. This he and two others did, and Grattan gave them passports, protection from

impressment Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is the taking of men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. European navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means. The large size of ...

, and passage to

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 3 ...

, where he appears in the first U.S. Census, in 1790. He went ahead of his family in 1798 to Steuben County, where he founded the town of Wheeler, NY and resettled his family there in 1800.

Family life

Silas married Sarah Gardner (born in Rhode Island) and they had two daughters: Ruth, who married Nathan Rose, and Sarah, who married William Holmes. His son, Grattan Henry Wheeler, named for Silas' rescuer Henry Grattan, served as a

U.S. 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 c ...

from New York.

References

* ''The Genealogical and Encyclopedic History of the Wheeler family in America'', by Albert Gallatin Wheeler, published 1914 by The American College of Genealogy * ''History of the settlement of Steuben County, N.Y.'', by Guy Humphrey McMaster * ''Historical Gazetteer of Steuben County, New York'', by Millard F. Roberts, 1891 * ''Landmarks of Steuben County'', by Harlo Hakes, 1896

External links

Gaspee virtual archives

* The Wheeler Family in Americ

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheeler, Silas 1753 births 1828 deaths People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain People from Concord, Massachusetts American privateers People from Wheeler, New York American escapees Escapees from British military detention People of colonial Massachusetts