Last updated: November 10, 2024
Person
Benjamin Dike
Quick Facts
Date of Birth:
1748
Place of Death:
Stillwater, NY
Date of Death:
September 19, 1777
Benjamin Dike (born 1748) was originally from Massachusetts but settled in Amherst, New Hampshire, where he met and married his wife, Dorothy, in 1771. Together, they had four children, three of whom survived to adulthood: Betty (born 1772), Samuel (born 1774), and Benjamin, Jr. (born 1776).
Benjamin proved to be a staunch supporter of the American Cause from the Revolutionary War’s outset. In April 1775, he was appointed a corporal in Colonel Reed’s New Hampshire Regiment and fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. In 1776, Ben was serving as a serjeant in Colonel Bedel’s Corps of Rangers and participated in the invasion of Canada. The fight there went very badly, particularly for Ben, who was taken at the Cedars in May 1776. He and his captive compatriots were “barbarously and inhumanly…treated” while in British captivity, particularly as they were robbed and stripped of their clothing. Eventually exchanged, Ben returned home by early 1777.
Wartime hardships didn’t dissuade Ben, however, and he again signed up to fight against British tyranny by enlisting as a serjeant in Captain Wait’s company of Colonel Joseph Cilley’s 1st New Hampshire Regiment in March 1777. Ben signed up to serve for 3 years – and for the third time in as many years, Ben’s young family had to endure a sorrowful departure.
As a sergeant in the 1st New Hampshire Regiment, Ben participated in the Northern Campaign of 1777 which started out very harshly after Forts Ticonderoga and Independence were evacuated in early July, particularly as most of the officers and soldiers were left with no changes of clothes, money, tents, blankets, and had little food. But by September, most of these privations were filled and Ben and his regiment were ready to face off against the British invasion from Canada.
The Battle of Freeman’s Farm was fought on September 19, and the 1st New Hampshire Regiment was deployed to the fight early in the action. Ben was killed that day and was probably buried by the victorious British in the field near where he fell. He was 29-years-old.
Dorothy remained in Amherst and remarried in 1785.