Captain Samuel Leighton's Militia Company 1775

 

Captain Samuel Leighton House c. 1765

After the events of April 19, 1775 in Boston, and Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, the call went out from Doctor Joseph Warren for all New England militias to send troops to Boston.  This included York County militia.  For the areas of Kittery that would become Eliot, the main company was formed by Captain Samuel Leighton.  Captain Leighton's enlistment date was May 3, 1775.

Captain Samuel Leighton was born in 1740 to John Leighton and Mary (Hill) Leighton.  He grew up in the 1690 Leighton House on River Road near the Second Meeting House not far from the original William Everett Tavern.

Five of his older siblings all died within a two month period, three years before his birth from "epidemic malignant sore throat", called Diphtheria today.  A disease largely eradicated through childhood immunization.

Captain Samuel Leighton's Commission

Captain Samuel Leighton came from a long line of militia service.  Five days after Lexington and Concord Doctor Joseph Warren of the Committee of Safety authorizes Samuel Leighton as Captain of the militia and to enlist 56 men.  Captain Samuel Leighton was attached to the 30th Regiment of Foot commanded by Colonel James Scammon Esq. of York.  Captain Leighton's militia company was one of two militia companies encompassing the town of Kittery that became part of the 30th Regiment of Foot.  The other company was led by Captain Tobias Fernald.

Plan of the Battle of Bunker Hill 1775

Colonel Scammon's 30th Regiment marched towards Boston in May 1775.  They were meant to be heavily involved in the subsequent Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775, but miscommunication, and misunderstanding resulted in the Regiment arriving on the battlefield too late to be of use.  

Print of the battle by Bernard Romans, 1775

The reader can find more about this interesting history here: https://boston1775.blogspot.com/2015/06/backwardness-in-colonel-scammans.html  Colonel Scammon was tried in a court-martial for his actions that day but was subsequently acquitted of all charges.

Captain Leighton's company served with the 30th Regiment of Foot until the end of December 1775 helping with the siege of Boston.

The list of the men in Captain Samuel Leighton's Company follows:

Joshua Fernald Jr., Cpl.    William Fernald, Lt.           Charles Frost, Pvt.
William Frost, 1st Lt.         John Chick, Pvt.                William Cole Sr., Sgt.
James Emery, Pvt.            Joshua Emery, Cpl.          John Ferguson, Pvt.
Stephen Ferguson, Pvt.     John Frost 3rd, Fifer        Simon Frost 3rd, Pvt.
Alexander Goold, Pvt.       John Goold, Pvt.               William Goold, Pvt.
Daniel Green, Pvt.            Ebenezer Hammond, Pvt. Tobias Hanscom, Pvt.
John Johnson, Sgt.           John Jordan, Pvt.              Tobias Leighton, Pvt.
Daniel Lord Jr., Pvt.          Thomas Mahany, Pvt.        Enoch Meloon, Cpl.
Jonathan Nason, Pvt.       Stephen Nason, Cpl.         Samuel Neal, Pvt.
Robert Patch, Pvt.            Josiah Paul, Sgt.                James Remick, Pvt.                
Charles Sargent, Pvt.       Thomas Savage, Sgt.         James Smart, Pvt.                
Lemuel Smith, Cpl.           John Stanley, Pvt.              Moses Witham, Cpl.            
Peletiah Witham, Pvt.       Henry Foss, Drum.             Daniel Adams, Pvt.
John Manley, Pvt.             Charles Caverly, Pvt.         John Witelock, Pvt.
William Nutter, Pvt.           Frederick Paverly, Pvt.       Zebedee Sears, Pvt.
James Davis, Pvt.             Jeremiah Wittum, Pvt.

Provincial Flag flown at Bunker Hill

These were the "Minutemen" of Eliot/Kittery responding to the call for help in the days following the bloodshed of Lexington and Concord.  In 1775 there was what can only be described as a disorganized militia in Kittery headed by Colonel Edward Cutts.  But this Kittery militia under Colonel Cutts was not used in the immediate defense of Boston.  In 1776 the official militia of Kittery would reorganize into six companies of the Second Regiment of York County commanded by Colonel John Frost.

Grave of Samuel Leighton

Captain Samuel Leighton, the first to respond to the crisis would return to Boston in August 1776 serving in Colonel Ebenezer Francis' regiment of Massachusetts Troops.  He served again in 1778 in Fishkill, NY.  Captain Samuel Leighton, eventually promoted to Major in the Second Regiment of York County militia, returned to his home after the Revolution was over.  He died suddenly just short of his 62nd birthday while clearing snow from a heavy snowstorm, February 27, 1802.

See More:

"History of  Col. James Scamman's 30th Regiment of Foot", 1899 by Nathan Goold https://www.loc.gov/item/02010426/

Old Eliot Vol III No. XI, John Willis, 1899: https://books.google.com/books?id=tqNFAQAAMAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&pg=PA169#v=onepage&q&f=false

"Kittery and Eliot, Maine, Men of the Revolution", Oliver Remick, 1901: https://archive.org/details/recordofservices00remiiala/page/n3/mode/2up