Thomas Knowlton

Thomas Knowlton was born in November 1750 in West Boxford, Massachusetts, the son of William and Martha (Pinder) Knowlton. He was descended from Captain William Knowlton of Kent, England, who died about 1633 during a voyage from London to Nova Scotia. Thomas Knowlton's youth was spent in Ashford, Connecticut, where his father had settled on a 400 acre farm. In 1755, he enlisted for service in the Seven Years' War. He was successively promoted to sergeant, ensign, and lieutenant. On April 5, 1759, he married Anna Keyes of Ashford. During the brief hostilities between England and Spain he accompanied General Lyman to Cuba and took part in the siege of Havana (1762). After peace had been declared he resumed farming at Ashford.

Following the Battle of Lexington, he was elected captain of an Ashford company and marched to the defense of Massachusetts. He fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. He was commissioned major of the 20th Continental Infantry on January 1, 1776. On January 8, 1776, he burned the houses in Charlestown quartering the British and captured five prisoners. He was promoted lieutenant-colonel by Congress on August 12, 1776, and after the battle of Long Island he organized a small corps of picked men called "Rangers." Knowlton was killed in the battle of Harlem Heights, where he was commanding the Rangers.

-- Excerpted and paraphrased from the Knowlton, Thomas entry in the Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. X.