Thomas Fitch, V (1725 – January 16, 1795) was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

from Norwalk in the sessions of October 1761, May and October 1763, May and October 1764, May and October 1765, May and October 1766, May 1767, October 1768, May and October 1769, October 1770, October 1771, October 1772, October 1773, October 1775, and May 1776. He was the son of Governor Thomas Fitch, IV and Hannah Hall Fitch. He served as an officer in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

, primarily in upstate New York, near

Fort Crailo The Crailo State Historic Site (also known as Fort Crailo and Yankee Doodle House) is a historic, fortified brick manor house in Rensselaer, New York which was built in 1707. The word ''Crailo'' is derived from ''kraaien bos'' (Dutch for "crow's w ...

. Although he and his troops are widely believed to be the inspiration for the song

Yankee Doodle "Yankee Doodle" is a traditional song and nursery rhyme, the early versions of which predate the Seven Years' War and American Revolution. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today. It is the state anthem of Connecticut. Its ...

, contemporary scholars now believe that its origins are at least twelve years earlier.Connecticut State Library -Yankee Doodle, the State Song of the State of Connecticut

Yankee Doodle Legend

There is a legend that during the French and Indian War, Fitch was the commander of four New England Regiments. A sermon, delivered at the funeral of the Hon. Thomas Fitch, Esq.
/ref> Tradition states that Captain Fitch received the song in 1755 as a joke from British surgeon Dr.

Richard Shuckburgh Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, making Fitch the original "Yankee Doodle".Connecticut State Library - Yankee Doodle

/ref> Fitch's grave marker states that he is the inspiration for the song "

." The marker claims that Captain Fitch had assembled his company of recruits at the Fitch homestead in Norwalk at the beginning of the French and Indian War. His sister Elizabeth was concerned about the recruits' appearance and lack of uniforms, so she presented each man with a chicken feather for their hats that would present the image of uniformity. Their appearance when entering West Albany, with feathers in their hats and unpolished clothing, caused British surgeon Dr. Shuckburgh to write verses mocking Fitch and his men as "Yankee Doodles and Macaronies". However, the sentiment changed to become more favorable after the successful campaigns at Ticonderoga and Crown Point in 1759. Fitch had the rank of Senior Colonel and was in command of sixteen regiments by the time that he had left the service three years later.

Life after military service

After that conflict, Thomas, V returned to Norwalk. He was a prominent resident during and after 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 ...

. He served as a town councilman. He was, along with

Thaddeus Betts Thaddeus Laddins Betts (February 4, 1789 – April 7, 1840) was the 32nd and 34th Lieutenant Governor of the state of Connecticut from 1832 to 1833 and from 1834 to 1835, and a United States Senator from Connecticut from 1839 to 1840. He had ...

, in the first delegation from Norwalk to the

in 1776. He helped with the reconstruction efforts after the burning of Norwalk in 1779. He died on January 16, 1795 and was buried in the

East Norwalk Historical Cemetery __NOTOC__ Established in , the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery is Norwalk's oldest cemetery, and many of the area's first settlers are buried there. The cemetery is owned and maintained by the Third Taxing District, formally known as the East Nor ...

Historical dispute

Norwalk historian, Gloria Stewart claims that eighteenth century documents available from the Connecticut state archives dispute the Yankee Doodle identity.The Norwalk Hour –- Both Sides Offering New Evidence in Yankee Doodle Flap
/ref> One document is a bill for work copying and sending letters for the Connecticut General Assembly. The other is a 1775 document written by Fitch stating that he resigned his commission because of rheumatism that he had for twenty years. In addition, no Thomas Fitch from Norwalk appears as a colonel in the ''Rolls of Connecticut Men in the French and Indian War, 1755-1762''. There were only two regiments in June of 1755. Only Major General Phineas Lyman led more than a single regiment. Indeed, no Colonel appears to been sent from Norwalk in the war. The original ''Yankee Doodle'' song did not mention a pony, a feather or "Marconi", items which first appear in 1841 in a children's nursery version of the song.Halliwell, James Orchard ''The Nursey Rhymes of England'','Early English Poetry, Ballads, and Popular Literature of the Middle Ages' (London: Percy Soc, 1841), 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, the 5th, Thomas 1725 births 1795 deaths Burials in East Norwalk Historical Cemetery Connecticut city council members British military personnel of the French and Indian War Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Politicians from Norwalk, Connecticut People of Connecticut in the French and Indian War British America army officers Military personnel from Connecticut 18th-century American politicians