Spouse(s) Mary Stinson Stark Service/branch Rogers' Rangers Name William Stark Allegiance British Empire | Role John Stark's brother Siblings John Stark Died August 27, 1776 Nephews Caleb Stark | |
Born April 1, 1724
Londonderry, New Hampshire, U.S. ( 1724-04-01 ) Years of service 1757-1758 and 1759 (Rogers Rangers)
1776 (Loyalists) Rank Captain (Rogers Rangers)
Lieutenant Colonel (Loyalists) Battles/wars Seven Years War (Rogers Rangers)
Revolutionary War (Loyalists) Battles and wars Seven Years' War, American Revolutionary War | ||
William Stark (April 1, 1724 – August 27, 1776) was a Revolutionary War era officer. He was the brother of celebrated Revolutionary war hero John Stark.
Contents
Early life
Stark was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire. He was with his brother John Stark, David Stinson and Amos Eastman, hunting along the Baker River, a tributary of the Pemigewasset River, on 28 April 1752, when John Stark and Amos Eastman were captured and David Stinson was killed by Abenaki Indians. William escaped in his canoe after being warned by his brother.
Career
During the French and Indian War Stark commanded a company of Rogers' Rangers in northern New York and Nova Scotia where he served under James Rogers. He took part in the assaults on Fortress Louisbourg in 1758, the St. John River Campaign and Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. Early in the American Revolution, Stark did not join the New Hampshire Militia forces in the Siege of Boston, but the sounds of the Battle of Bunker Hill could be heard at his home in Dunbarton, New Hampshire, and he left on his swiftest horse to fight, but he arrived too late and the battle had already ended.
Both General John Sullivan and Colonel Jonathan Moulton recommended Stark to command the new regiment being raised in New Hampshire for service with the Continental Army in the invasion of Canada, but the New Hampshire General Assembly gave the command to Timothy Bedel, a former subordinate of Stark's. Stark, feeling ill-used by his home state, left for New York City, which was occupied by the British Army, and offered his services to them. The British made him a lieutenant colonel of Loyalist troops.
Stark's property in New Hampshire was confiscated by the revolutionary government.
Death
Stark died from injuries he received in falling from his horse in Long Island, New York during the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776.
Notes from Debbie Carr record that: "According to an "Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots about William Stark" he is buried in: Lyme Plain Cemeter in Lyme, Grafton County, New Hampshire 29I".
Personal life
Stark was the son of Archibald and Eleanor Nichols Stark and the older brother of General John Stark, the hero of the Battle of Bennington. He married Mary Stinson on February 22, 1754 and they had seven children: William JR., John, Archibald, Mary, Stephen, Thomas, and James.