Posted on 08/13/2013 3:43:07 PM PDT by NYer
For the Journal of the American Revolution, Todd Andrlik compiled a list of the ages of the key participants in the Revolutionary War as of July 4, 1776. Many of them were surprisingly young:
Marquis de Lafayette, 18
James Monroe, 18
Gilbert Stuart, 20
Aaron Burr, 20
Alexander Hamilton, 21
Betsy Ross, 24
James Madison, 25
This is kind of blowing my mind...because of the compression of history, I'd always assumed all these people were around the same age. But in thinking about it, all startups need young people...Hamilton, Lafayette, and Burr were perhaps the Gates, Jobs, and Zuckerberg of the War. Some more ages, just for reference:
Thomas Jefferson, 33
John Adams, 40
Paul Revere, 41
George Washington, 44
Samuel Adams, 53
The oldest prominent participant in the Revolution, by a wide margin, was Benjamin Franklin, who was 70 years old on July 4, 1776. Franklin was a full two generations removed from the likes of Madison and Hamilton. But the oldest participant in the war was Samuel Whittemore, who fought in an early skirmish at the age of 80. I'll let Wikipedia take it from here:
Whittemore was in his fields when he spotted an approaching British relief brigade under Earl Percy, sent to assist the retreat. Whittemore loaded his musket and ambushed the British from behind a nearby stone wall, killing one soldier. He then drew his dueling pistols and killed a grenadier and mortally wounded a second. By the time Whittemore had fired his third shot, a British detachment reached his position; Whittemore drew his sword and attacked. He was shot in the face, bayoneted thirteen times, and left for dead in a pool of blood. He was found alive, trying to load his musket to fight again. He was taken to Dr. Cotton Tufts of Medford, who perceived no hope for his survival. However, Whittemore lived another 18 years until dying of natural causes at the age of 98.
!!!
Of possible interest to your list, ping!
of interest
Ping...and thanks.
Wow!
I don’t trust 30 year olds in my industry to do more than transcribe what I tell them (and, of course, to wash my car).
Col. Peter Muhlenberg was only 29.
A role model I can look up to.
/johnny
Interesting how young they all were. Even Adams, who was one of the older ones (and the most fervent proponent of independence.)
While not a founder, Andrew Jackson fought in the war at 13 and was a POW with his brother.
I don’t know why this “surprises” people.
The average life span in the late 18th C. was about 30 or so.
Folks didn’t live in their momma’s basement until 35.
A lot of people were accomplished by their early 20s.
Napoleon burst on the scene in Europe at the ripe old age of 26. And on and on.
I don’t know why this is so surprising.
People matured earlier back then.
A first cousin 7 times removed died at age 31 on August 27,1776 in the battle of Long Island.
Ditto.
I’ve always been impressed by his courage.
bttt
In WWII there were a plethora of Colonels in their mid 20’s. Today, not so much.
My male relatives from back then often lived into their 70s 80s. They did however go through 2 or 3 wives who had a dozen children.
You may be interested in this.
Reading the history of my grandfather’s WWII antiaircraft battalion and I noticed they called one of their officers “the Old Man” and he was in his 30s. My grandfather was 19 in 44.
Shot in the face, bayonetted thirteen times ... still trying to load his musket and lives 18 more years ... uh huh, that’s what happens when you piss off a working man/farmer.
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