New Image Of The Revolutionary War Connecticut Line Hero Captain Amos Stanton's Gravesite. Photo by DJ Paul dated 20 Sep 2019 (not copyrighted) depicts his badly damaged monument.
As a volunteer Revolutionary War Connecticut Line Soldier, Captain Amos
Stanton answered a September 6, 1781 alarm issued by local militia
commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel William Ledyard, the military
commander at Fort Griswold, Groton, Connecticut. Captain Stanton was released from line officer active duty during General Washington's 1780 military reorganization and was then home spending time at his Groton
“Highlands” family (lands now renamed the Town of Ledyard). A vastly
superior force of 800 British Regular Soldiers, loyalists, et al.
attacked the fort this fateful September day in an armed action now
named The Battle of Groton Heights. Variously reported
among the 165 Fort Griswold Patriot defenders, eighty-eight Patriots
are Killed-In-Action (KIA) in less than an hour, thirty-five Patriots
are wounded-in-action (some with ghastly wounds died later),
twenty-eight Patriots were carried-off as Prisoners-Of-War (some POWs
may also be listed among the wounded), thirteen men escaped the fort
carnage and presumed unhurt, and William Latham - an aged 12-years
boy was captured and outright released by British officers. Our
heroic distant cousin Captain Amos Stanton and many other Patriots
were Killed-In-Action some minutes after British Forces breached the
fort walls in continued severe fighting and following the formal fort
surrender by commander Lieutenant Colonel Ledyard. From his written
first-hand after-action-report, POW and Battle of Groton Heights
survivor Sergeant Rufus Avery states in footnote 1 (at the bottom
of page 32 in reference 1) “...Captain Stanton, a man of almost
gigantic stature and herculean strength, on seeing the slaughter
continued after the surrender, is said to have seized a heavy musket
by the muzzle, and exclaiming, 'My God, must we die so!' sprang upon
the platform on the west side of the fort, and nearly cleared it of
the enemy before he was brought down by a musket shot." A
rarely published fact is the British battle force engaged were not
all from England or the UK as some writers may suggest. The 3rd
Battalion of New Jersey Volunteers (mainly colonial-born British
loyalists) was engaged as an artillery unit, their several cannon
deployed to the eastern side of Fort Griswold at Avery's Hill (see
reference 3).
Captain Amos Stanton's
significant early Southeastern Connecticut ancestry is cited as
follows [hereafter reported as “Amos”]:
Amos is a 2nd
Great Grandson of original Stonington, Connecticut founder Thomas
Stanton Sr. (d.1677) and Ms. Ann Lord-Stanton. His Stanton lineage
is cited: 04 - Captain John Stanton Sr. (d.1762) and Ms. Prudence
Chesebrough; 03 - Joseph Stanton (d.1751) and Ms. Margaret
Chesebrough; 02 – Captain John Stanton Sr. (d. 1713) and Ms. Anna “Hannah” Thompson; 01 - Thomas Stanton Sr. (d.1677) and Ms.
Ann Lord.
And secondly--
Amos is also a 2nd
Great Grandson of the famous Mystic, Connecticut original settler
Captain George Denison (d.1694) and his first love Ms. Bridget
Thompson. His Denison lineage is cited: 04 - Captain John Stanton
Sr. (d.1762) and Ms. Prudence Chesebrough; 03 - Joseph Stanton
(d.1751) and Ms. Margaret Chesebrough; 02 – Ms. Hannah Denison
(d.1715) and Mr. Nathaniel Chesebrough; 01 – Captain George Denison
(d.1694) and Ms. Bridget Thompson.
References:
2. Brass plaque casualty list at the main entrance of Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park, Groton, CT.
3. Wikipedia on New Jersey Volunteers - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_Volunteers
4. Find A Grave Internet web-site - https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/1322042/stanton-cemetery
Brass Plaque "Veteran - 1776" means Revolutionary War Veteran; whereas, some have incorrectly written 1776 as Amos Stanton's year of death. Photo by DJ Paul dated 20 Sep 2019 (now free use).
