Ichabod Alden (August 11, 1739 – November 11, 1778) was an

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 ...

officer and commanding officer during the

Cherry Valley Massacre The Cherry Valley massacre was an attack by British and Iroquois forces on a fort and the town of Cherry Valley in central New York on November 11, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It has been described as one of the most horrific ...

Early life and family

The great-grandson of the Mayflower pilgrim

John Alden John Alden (c. 1598 - September 12, 1687) was a crew member on the historic 1620 voyage of the ''Mayflower'' which brought the English settlers commonly known as Pilgrims to Plymouth Colony in present-day Massachusetts, US. He was hired in Sou ...

, Ichabod Alden was born in

Duxbury, Massachusetts Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore approximately to t ...

Career

Appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the Plymouth militia regiment in 1775, Alden first saw action serving with the 25th Continental Regiment during the

Siege of Boston The siege of Boston (April 19, 1775 – March 17, 1776) was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army, which was garrisoned in what was then the peninsular town ...

. Following his promotion to

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in November 1776, Alden was assigned to the

7th Massachusetts Regiment The 7th Massachusetts Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Continental Army. It was constituted on 16 September 1776, and was originally known as Alden's Regiment after its first colonel, Ichabod Alden. It was organized as seven companies ...

stationed at the garrison of

Cherry Valley, New York Cherry Valley is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Otsego County, New York, Otsego County, New York (state), New York, United States. According to the 2020 US census, the village of Cherry Valley had a population of 487. Howeve ...

. Although commanding between 200 and 300 men, Alden's limited military experience and lack of knowledge regarding local Indian tactics or customs would prove to be a great disadvantage as in early November 1778, receiving a warning of an attack by local tribes, Alden made minimal preparations. On November 11, 1778, a combined force of 600 ns led by

Joseph Brant Thayendanegea or Joseph Brant (March 1743 – November 24, 1807) was a Mohawk people, Mohawk military and political leader, based in present-day New York (state), New York, who was closely associated with Kingdom of Great Britain, Great B ...

and 200

Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

known as

Butler's Rangers Butler's Rangers (1777–1784) was a Loyalist provincial military unit of the American Revolutionary War, raised by American loyalist John Butler. Most members of the regiment were Loyalists from upstate New York and northeastern Pennsylvania. Th ...

under Major Walter Butler launched a

surprise attack Military deception (MILDEC) is an attempt by a military unit to gain an advantage during warfare by misleading adversary decision makers into taking action or inaction that creates favorable conditions for the deceiving force. This is usually ac ...

after the capture of several of Alden's scouts provided intelligence of the situation in the valley. In the attack 32 civilians and 16 soldiers were killed, and 71 residents were captured. The officers of the regiment were quartered in private homes, and Alden was killed in an attempt to reach the fort from a house on the outskirts of the fort. His executive officer, Lt. Col.

William Stacy William Stacy (February 15, 1734 – August 1802) was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country. Published histories describe Colonel William Stacy's involvement in a variet ...

, was taken prisoner. The attack, retaliation for the defeat 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 ...

, would later provoke an expedition against the villages and agricultural crops of the

Iroquois League The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

led by Gen. John Sullivan in 1779.

References

*McHenry, Robert. ''Webster's American Military Biographies'', Springfield, Mass.: G & C. Merriam Co., 1978. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alden, Ichabod 1739 births 1778 deaths United States military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War Continental Army officers from Massachusetts People from Duxbury, Massachusetts