Sons of the American Revolution

Joseph Eggleston was a soldier in the American Revolution who appears to have served for a total of nine days from September 6, 1781 only to be discharged on September 15, 1781.

His mustering onto the roll is recorded as starting in 1774 in Rev. Samule Orcutt’s (1878) History of Torrington, Connecticut from Its First Settlement in 1737, with Biographies and Genealogies:

But the details of any engagement by the 17th Regiment, Company 5 are difficult to find. Lt. Colonel Canfield appears to have been assigned to West Point in 1781.

Despite the thin service record, the lineage was established and used by my paternal uncle Fred for his application. Mine followed the same genealogical connections and I used it to establish membership for my sons as well.

The official Certificate of Membership:

Membership Numbers

Using Joseph Eggleston as the ancestor was the path of least resistance – but additional ancestors also served. On my maternal side, both Caleb Taft (SAR Patriot #P-301378) and his nephew Bazaleel Taft (Bazaliel/Bezaleel SAR Patriot #P-301376) served.

Seth Wadham(s) is another viable ancestor, and he provided material aid to support the war effort.

My sons are marginally interested in their connection to history: youthful presentism. Their mediocre public school education didn’t help. Current curriculum fails to underscore the importance of the Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence provided the moral and intellectual justification for all the subsequent independence movements and the military victory was proof of concept.

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King George III famously wrote “America is lost!” at the conclusion of the war. An analysis of the passage he scribed, largely based on a published essay by Arthur Young is found >here< (by Angel Luke O’Donnell).