Jedediah Huntington

Early life

Huntington was born in Norwich, Connecticut Colony, the son of Jabez and Elizabeth (Backus) Huntington. Huntington graduated from Harvard in 1763 and received a master's degree from Yale University in 1770.

He was engaged in commercial pursuits with his father, was an active member of the Sons of Liberty, and of the Committee of Correspondence established at Norwich on 6 June 1774.

Appearance

He was a slightly built man: "His greatness was rather intellectual and moral than physical, as there is in existence a memorandum of the weighing of several revolutionary officers at West Point, August 19, 1788; when Gen. Washington weighed 209 pounds, Gen. Lincoln, 224, Gen. Knox, 280, and Gen. Huntington, 132." Author Edwin Valentine Mitchell notes that "The diminutive General Huntington, weighing only 132, … appears like a minnow among the whales."

Military career

As the war approached, Huntington became an active officer in the Norwich militia. He was appointed ensign of the first Norwich militia company in October 1769, became a lieutenant in 1771, and a captain in May 1774. In October 1774, Huntington was made Colonel of the 20th Regiment of Connecticut Militia. When Israel Bissell brought the Lexington Alarm to Norwich on April 20, 1775, he personally delivered it to Colonel Huntington, who immediately got his men ready to march. On April 26 they arrived in Wrentham, and a few days later they were in Roxbury and became part of the Siege of Boston.

Around May 20, 1775, Colonel Huntington traveled the 65 miles back to Norwich to put his affairs in order before returning to his command. While there, he arranged for his wife, Faith, and some of the other officer's wives to travel back to Roxbury to join their husbands at the siege. On their way back, the axle of their carriage was broken in an accident on June 13 near Providence, and their journey was delayed. They arrived back in Roxbury just in time to see the bloody aftermath of the Battle of Bunker Hill. The shock of seeing this, and the realization of the danger her family was in, caused Faith to start having bouts of serious depression. Despite the best efforts of the family she continued to deteriorate and hanged herself on November 24, 1775.

In July 1775, the Connecticut Assembly ordered the creation of the 8th Regiment and gave command to Colonel Huntington. The men were recruited mainly in New London, Hartford, and Windham Counties and included much of Huntington's 20th regiment. The regiment was stationed on the Long Island Sound until September 14 when, on requisition from Washington, it was ordered to the Boston Camps and took its post at Roxbury in Gen. Spencer's Brigade. The 8th remained active until expiration of the terms of service in December 1775.

As part of the January 1, 1776 organization of the Continental Army, Huntington's 8th Connecticut Regiment became the 17th Continental Regiment. Originally planned to have a strength of 728 officers and men, by the end of January the 17th only had about 400 men, as did most of the other regiments. Indeed, maintaining soldiers past their terms of service was a problem for the Continental Army. In a letter to Jabez Huntington, Colonel Huntington said, "we shall not with all our Rhetoric be able to retain many," On March 4, Huntington's regiment was one of those ordered to take and hold Dorchester Heights, the action that ended the siege by forcing the British to evacuate Boston. The day following the end of the siege, Washington began moving the army to New York. As they passed through Norwich on April 8, Colonel Huntington, Governor Trumbull (Faith's father), and General Washington had dinner at the Huntington home. By April 22, Huntington and most of his unit were in position in New York.

Later life

After the Revolution, he was one of the first members of the board of foreign missions, and a zealous supporter of charitable institutions. He was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati. In 1788, he was appointed high sheriff of New London and later the same year the following announcement appeared in the papers: "Major General Huntington Esq. Vice President of the order of Cincinnati, High Sheriff for the county of New London, Judge of Probate for the district of Norwich, first Alderman of the city of Norwich, one of the representatives of the town in the State Legislature, and one of the State Electors, is now appointed by the General Assembly Treasurer for the State of Connecticut."

Later in 1789, he relinquished most of these duties when President Washington appointed him to be the customs house collector for the coastal area from the Connecticut River to Rhode Island. He held this post, living in New London, until his death in 1818, when he was succeeded by Brigadier General Thomas Humphrey Cushing.

Initially buried in New London, his remains were disinterred and laid to rest in the family tomb in Norwich as he requested in his will.

Family

In addition to his father being a major general, Huntington's brother Andrew and half-brothers Joshua, Ebenezer and Zachariah were officers during the war.

Huntington's first wife was Faith Trumbull, daughter of Connecticut Governor Jonathan Trumbull. Huntington and Faith had a son Jabez (17 Sep 1767 - 16 Aug 1848), before she hanged herself in Dedham (see his service at Boston in 1775). Jabez spent the rest of the war with his grandparents. His brother-in-law John Trumbull painted the original of the picture of Huntington shown on this page.

Huntington met Anne Moore in Peekskill, probably when his unit was based there in 1777. Her father was a Loyalist and a member of the High Church while Huntington was a Patriot and a Puritan, but they were married with her father's blessing.

Huntington and Anne Moore Huntington had seven children:

Elizabeth Moore, b. 20 Jan 1779;

Ann Channing, b. 9 Oct 1780;

Faith Trumbull, b. 7 Oct 1782, married her distant cousin Benjamin Huntington; they were the parents of Daniel Huntington and Jedediah Vincent Huntington

Harriet Smith, b. 24 Jul 1784;

Joshua, b. 31 Jan 1786;

Daniel, b. 17 Oct 1788

Thomas, b. 4 Dec 1793; Physician and Baptist evangelist.

Legacy

The Gen. Jedidiah Huntington House, in Norwichtown, survives and was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1970. He entertained many distinguished officers in his house, among whom were Lafayette, Steuben, and Pulaski. When Lauzun's Legion was stationed at Lebanon during the winter of 1780-1781, he invited that commander and his officers to a banquet.