WRITE OF CENTER
I saw a T-shirt with a portrait of George Washington, wearing sunglasses; the caption said, “It Ain’t Treason If You Win.”
Yes, those brave patriots were traitors against the strongest army in the world at that time. They laid it all on the line and won a victory that changed the course of history.
In December 1776, Thomas Paine honored those brave soldiers with powerful words: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
For this column, I’ll recognize some patriots from my own family; relatives and ancestors who answered the call in those dangerous times. God bless them all. I honor them for giving us a legacy which lives on after 250 years.
Capt. James Mallon Jr. was from Methuen, Massachusetts. He served in a local militia and was elected by his fellow soldiers to be their commander. He found his place in history on April 19, 1775, when he marched with his militiamen to answer the alarm from Lexington and Concord.
There, he witnessed the first shots fired in the American Revolutionary War. He was later promoted to lieutenant colonel, where he commanded the 3rd Massachusetts Regiment until the end of the war.
Elizabeth Mallon Pattee was Capt. Mallon’s daughter. She was a 3-year-old when her father went off to war. She married Jonathan Pattee in 1795; he was the son of Seth Pattee Jr., from New Hampshire. Her father and father-in-law were both veterans of the Revolutionary War; like many women of that era, she also bore the sacrifices to win freedom.
Seth Pattee Jr. served as a corporal under Capt. Jeremiah Dow, and fought in the battle of Bemis Heights. He signed the Association Test of 1776. It was mandated by the New Hampshire Provincial Congress to determine if residents supported the patriot cause or were aligned with the British. It was used to solidify public commitment to the patriot cause before the Declaration of Independence was signed in July of 1776. In September 1777, Seth was paid five British pounds, equivalent to about six American dollars today.
Pvt. Ebenezer Terrell joined the Army at age 47. He was a defender of Fort Washington, where the patriots suffered a catastrophic defeat on Nov. 16, 1776. The Fort was in what is now New York City. Gen. George Washington witnessed the carnage from the opposite side of the Hudson River; observers said he wept at the sight. Pvt. Terrell was one of 3,000 Americans taken prisoner that day; he was one of only 800 to survive captivity.
One relative of mine went on to become famous. Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, referred to in English as Baron von Steuben, was a Prussian-born Army officer who played a leading role in reforming the Continental Army into a disciplined and professional fighting force.
He enlisted in the Prussian army at age 16, when it was considered the most professional and disciplined in Europe. He served in combat during the Seven Years War, rose to the rank of captain, and attended King Frederick’s elite school for young military officers.
In peacetime Europe, he sought some form of military work. He was enthralled by the American revolution and offered to serve without compensation.
Gen. Washington commissioned him a major general, and he served as Washington’s chief of staff and one of his most trusted advisors. He wrote the Army’s drill manual, which was used for decades afterward, and continues to influence modern U.S. Army manuals today.
After the war, the Baron was made an American citizen and granted a large estate in New York in reward for his service. He attended George Washington’s first presidential inauguration in 1789. In 1794, he died at his estate in Oneida County and was buried in a grove at what became the Steuben Memorial Historic Site. It is now part of the town of Steuben, New York.
The Baron is my namesake. Indeed, my middle name is Steuben.
Scott S. Kramer is former Chairman of the Kendall County Republi- Republican Party.
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