| Samuel T. Pell (1754-1786) was an officer in the American army, serving in the 4th New York Regiment, during the Revolutionary War. His postwar life was deeply affected by the political divisions of the Revolution. Pell enlisted in the Continental Army in the spring of 1775 and served in the unsuccessful campaign to capture Canada and make it the 14th colony. Pell distinguished himself at the Battle of Saratoga (1777) in upstate New York. Here an entire British army was captured, leading France to recognize the United States and to openly support her through supplies and troops, a major diplomatic triumph for the young republic and one of the turning points of the war. In the same year Pell was part of the army that marched to the relief of Fort Stanwix in Rome, New York, and served under the command of General Sullivan, who marched an army into the Indian country of New York, burning villages and crops of the Iroquois, who were allied with the British. Pell experienced the harsh winter encampments of Valley Forge (PA) and Morristown (NJ). After the war, he returned to Eastchester where he tried to resume a normal life, but without success. His fiancée and cousin, Mary Pell, a Loyalist, refused to marry him, declaring she would not allow someone "who had the scent of a rebel" near her. Pell's finely carved sandstone grave marker includes a drum, sword, spear, and other military emblems. |
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