Christopher Marsh

Quick Facts

Date of Birth:

1759

Date of Death:

September 28 or October 23, 1777

Christopher Marsh (born 1759) of Campton, New Hampshire, was born into a large family of Connecticut origin. By 1777, the American Revolutionary War was in full swing, and Christopher wanted to do his part to fight against British tyranny. He enlisted on February 15, 1777, as a private soldier in Captain Stone’s Company of Colonel Alexander Scammell’s 3^rd New Hampshire Regiment. The teenaged soldier opted to sign up for the war’s indefinite duration, a commitment that most others weren’t willing to make, but one which came with the promise of bounty land after the war’s successful conclusion.

Christopher joined his new regiment which formed part of the Fort Ticonderoga / Mount Independence garrisons that summer. The British attacked, and the American Northern Army went into full-scale retreat in July. It was a dark time for the rebellion, especially for the New Hampshire troops: no pay, no tents, little clothing to replace anything lost or wearing out, and little food.

Later in the year, the 3^rd New Hampshire Regiment formed part of Brigadier General Enoch Poor’s Brigade of Major General Benedict Arnold’s Division and was hotly engaged in the two Battles of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7). The regiment received a high number of casualties in both fights; in Stone’s company alone, both the 1^st lieutenant and 2^nd lieutenant perished. Finally, the British invasion army was forced to surrender at Saratoga on October 17, 1777.

Contradictory military records state that Christopher passed away on either September 28 or October 23. Although it’s most likely that he died of a mortal wound in combat, he could have died of a fatal disease or a surgery gone wrong.

He was 18 years old.

After the war, New Hampshire had an abundance of “Wages & arrearages” to pay out to its soldiers for their wartime service, including those who died in the conflict. For reasons unknown, Christopher’s father and the fathers of two other Continental Army soldiers from Campton who died in 1777 “ordered what was due” to their deceased sons “to be paid to Moses Baker.“ Baker was a militia officer who also lived in Campton, but the reasoning behind the order is unknown.