Occupation General, merchant | Name Ebenezer Stevens | |
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Born August 11, 1751 Roxbury, Massachusetts, United States Died September 2, 1823, Rockaway, Queens, New York City, New York, United States | ||
Ebenezer Stevens (August 11, 1751 in Roxbury, Massachusetts – September 2, 1823 in Rockaway, New York was a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolution, a major general in the New York state militia, and a New York City merchant.
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Relations
Stevens' first wife was Rebecca Hodgden. They married in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 11, 1774. He married secondly on May 4, 1784 in New York City to Lucretia Ledyard (22 February 1756 - 2 July 1846). He is the father of banker John Austin Stevens and surgeon Alexander Hodgdon Stevens, and was, thus, the grandfather of historian John Austin Stevens who founded the Sons of the Revolution. He is also the great-great-grandfather of Eugenie Mary Ladenburg Davie. Edith Wharton's mother Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander, was his grand-daughter.
Involvement in Boston Tea Party
Ebenezer Stevens was a participant in what became known as the Boston Tea Party. A member of the Sons of Liberty, he began his career in Paddock's Artillery Company along with the likes of Paul Revere and Thomas Crafts. Together with other members of the company, and under the leadership of Jabez Hatch, he participated in the Boston Tea Party. His later recollections to his family debunked the myth that the participants had dressed up as Native Americans.
Revolutionary War service
Not long after the Boston Tea Party he moved to Rhode Island and there, upon receiving news of the Battle of Lexington, volunteered for the Continental Army. He was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the Company of Rhode Island Artillery in May 1775, and fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill under Major General Nathanael Greene. He was promoted to major of the Independent Battalion of Artillery on November 9, 1776.
Ebenezer was selected by George Washington to raise battalions against Quebec, Canada. Ebenezer was present at the surrender of the British General Burgoyne at Saratoga, New York, on October 17, 1777. He served under the French general the Marquis de Lafayette in Virginia with distinction.
On November 24, 1778 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in Lamb's Continental Artillery Regiment (later the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment) to rank from April 30, 1778. In 1781 he was one of the artillery commanders at the Siege of Yorktown. He was discharged from the Army in June 1783.
After the war
Although it is stated in several sources that Stevens was a major general in the United States Army, there is no official documentation to support this notion. He was, however, a major general in the New York state militia after the Revolution and mobilized militiamen to defend New York City in case of British attack in September 1814. He lived as a merchant in New York City.