This is Part 2 of a series about the real Frederick Knowlton by guest author Erin Graham. Read Part 1 here.
On August 10, 1776, Thomas Knowlton was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and a few weeks later, he was given command of a special regiment of his own make. This regiment became known as Knowlton’s Rangers, comprised of his own choice soldiers, many of which were Connecticut and Massachusetts men whom he trusted and had proven themselves capable, including Frederick, then aged fifteen, and Frederick’s uncle, Daniel Knowlton. The Rangers were tasked with reconnaissance and other high-risk yet low-key operations.
During the Battle of Long Island, Knowlton’s Rangers were sent to reinforce Lord Stirling’s position, but the abrupt halt of gunfire alerted Thomas to Stirling’s capture, which proved accurate, and immediately called a retreat. Once regrouped with the main army, the Rangers were among those evacuated from Long Island, guarding the rear until the majority of the army safely departed. As the Continental Army reorganized, Washington needed information on British fortifications and troop positions on Long Island, and turned to Knowlton’s Rangers for a volunteer spy from within their ranks. This is where Captain Nathan Hale and his famous, or infamous, spy mission come into play.
Just a few days after Nathan Hale departed on his mission, the rest of Knowlton’s Rangers remained stationed near Harlem Heights until September 16, 1776. That day, the Rangers were dispatched on a reconnaissance mission to observe British movements before the rest of the army would engage them. Two scouts were sent ahead of the regiment under strict orders of stealth and silence when they caught the attention of the British advance guard, who opened fire and pursued Knowlton’s Rangers. General Joseph Reed noted the Rangers’ steadfast behavior as they returned fire until they were overrun by the British and forced to retreat. Reed gathered reinforcements from General Washington, and the mocking sounds of bugles meant for a fox chase sounded from British lines.
Abner Allen, who served under Thomas since 1775, recalled how his commander led his men from the front, as he often did on the battlefield. But this brave form of leadership came at a cost. Witnessed by several soldiers who stood nearby, Thomas Knowlton was shot and mortally wounded.
Frederick Knowlton said that he was “near him at the time he received his Mortal wound of which he died in a few hours.” Joseph Reed helped Thomas off the field on horseback, and even “when gasping in the agonies of death, all his inquiry was if we had driven in the enemy.” Eventually, the British retreated, leaving the battlefield covered with the dead, most of them British. According to historian Ashbel Woodward, Frederick reached his father as the battle cleared, and in his final moments, Thomas said something akin to, “You see, my son, I am mortally wounded; you can do me no good; go, fight for your country.” Court records reiterated Frederick’s testimony that Thomas Knowlton died about four hours after taking the bullet.
After the death of their commander, Knowlton’s Rangers changed leadership several times, but Frederick was not present to see it. On September 18, two days the Battle of Harlem Heights, Frederick accepted a furlough granted to him by Captain Keyes and was permitted to return home for the remainder of the campaign. By November of 1776, the remnants of Knowlton’s Rangers were stationed at Fort Washington in New York.
During his time away from the army, Frederick had the chance to learn that he would soon have another baby sister and the time to help care for his family and their farm. But even after spending time away from battle, he never gave up on the cause he fought for, and he certainly did his father proud. Frederick reenlisted in the Continental Army from July 1779, to February 7, 1780, as a Connecticut sergeant under a Colonel Webb and alongside Captain Daniel Knowlton, and again from August 20, 1781, to December 26, 1781, as a Massachusetts private. He served the duration of these campaigns, and his enlistment only ended after General Lord Charles Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown.
After the war, Frederick became a lifetime resident of Ashford, Connecticut. On January 28, 1825, Frederick testified to help his brother Thomas claim their father’s pension, which the court granted. Seven years later, he made another court appearance for his own pension as a seventy-two year old veteran of the American Revolution on December 31, 1832. Frederick passed away on October 9, 1841, at the age of eighty-one. He never married, and had no children.
Although he never became an officer during the Revolution, Frederick’s contributions and general character were remembered positively by his relatives and neighbors as a good and reputable man. Loyal and dedicated, Frederick Knowlton came out of the war and lived the remainder of his life in the hometown he surely fought to protect.
The stone on the left is Frederick’s original grave. The S.A.R. keeps a flag there to commemorate his military service. The inscription reads:
“SACRED To the memory of FREDERICK KNOWLTON who died Oct. 9 1841 AE. 81
Eldest son of the brave COL. THOMAS KNOWLTON who fell at the battle near Harlem Heights Sept. 16, 1776 and expired in the arms of his son whose mortal remains repose beneath this MONUMENT.
How peaceful is the patriots rest By all his country loved and blest.”
Sources:
The Documentary Life of Nathan Hale by George D. Seymour
Founders Online: Council of War, 2 November 1775; 10 August 1776, from the Papers of John Adams at Congress; General Orders, 12 August 1776; From George Washington to Jonathan Trumbull, Sr., 23 September 1776
Life and Correspondence of Joseph Reed
Memoir of Thomas Knowlton by Ashbel Woodward
Pension records of Abner Allen, Frederick Knowlton, and Thomas Knowlton, via Fold3.com
Record of Service of Connecticut Men by Henry Phelps-Johnston
Tombstones of Frederick Knowlton and Anna Keyes Knowlton, via Lora Innes
After discovering her interest in history as a teenager via The Dreamer, Erin Graham went on to study history at the University of Houston and is currently a senior-level undergraduate student pursuing her B.A., and is an officer of the university’s History Honor Society, Phi Alpha Theta. She can be contacted at erinkgraham@live.com.