More Information On The Connecticut Line Revolutionary War Hero Captain Amos Stanton

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 3^rd 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 2^nd 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 2^nd 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:

1. “The Battle of Groton Heights.” by William Wallace Harris (1870), revisions by Charles Allyn (1882). New London, CT. For Internet archive version of the battle see -- https://archive.org/details/grotonhieghtscoll00harrrich


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).