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Biographical Sketches of the Generals of the Continental Army of the Revolution

Chapter 31: SAMUEL HOLDEN PARSONS.
By Mary Theresa Leiter
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About This Book

The work compiles concise biographical sketches of the senior officers who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, arranged with lists of major and brigadier generals and summaries of each officer's commissions, service, and notable engagements. It pairs these entries with an index of dates and a collection of portraits assembled for display, and includes a preface explaining the provenance of the engravings and the editorial methods and sources consulted. Intended as a compact reference for visitors and readers, the volume emphasizes factual data—appointments, service conclusions, and commemoration—while providing bibliographic notes and acknowledgments of contributors.

SAMUEL HOLDEN PARSONS.

Samuel Holden Parsons, born in Lyme, Connecticut, on the 14th of May, 1737, graduated at Harvard College in 1756, studied law and began its practice in 1759, was a member of the General Assembly of his native State from 1762 to 1774, was chosen colonel of militia in 1775, and appointed brigadier-general by Congress on the 9th of August, 1776. In 1779, he succeeded Putnam as commander of the Connecticut line of the army, was promoted to the rank of major-general on the 23d of October, 1780, and served with distinction to the end of the war. In 1785, Congress appointed him one of the commissioners to treat with the Indians at Miami; in 1788, President Washington made him judge of the Northwest Territory; and in 1789, in behalf of Connecticut, he treated as commissioner with the Wyandots and other Indians on the borders of Lake Erie. Returning from this mission to his home in Marietta, Ohio, he was drowned by the capsizing of his boat while descending the rapids of Big Beaver River on the 17th of November, 1789.