George Troop

Quick Facts

Date of Death:

October 7, 1777

George Troop enlisted in Colonel James Livingston’s Battalion (a Continental regiment comprised of New Yorkers, New Englanders, and Canadians) on January 30, 1777. He elected to join the fight for United States independence for the duration of the war, an uncommon commitment in an army where the vast majority of soldiers enlisted for 3-year terms.

George was appointed a serjeant in Captain Robicheaux’s company, which suggests that he had previous military experience. He may be the same George Troop who served in Colonel Clinton’s 3^rd New York Regiment during the 1775 invasion of Canada.

Livingston’s Battalion spent most of the spring and summer of 1777 defending the lower Mohawk Valley, and it was picked up by General Arnold during his march to relieve Fort Schuyler (Stanwix) from a British siege that August. After the expedition’s success, Livingston’s Battalion joined the Northern Army at Bemus Heights, located just north of Stillwater, New York. The regiment was fought against the British in the First Battle of Saratoga (Freeman’s Farm) on September 19.

But it appears that George was not handling the stress of military service very well. As one soldier soberly recalled, “our duty was so hard at this time…a serjeant said to me one day that if we wer to be harrased long in this manner he would rather die then live and hoped he would be killed” in battle.

On October 7, the British made an aggressive move toward the American camp and American troops went forth to meet it head on. Livingston’s Regiment was again called to action and marched to the contended field of battle. The soldier continued:

“we made a short halt in a meadow where we wer wholly exposed to the fier of the enemy we imeadiatly marched on jumped over a brush fence and comenced fier the smoke was very thick and the enemy was just before us we had not fiered above two shot the man before mentioned who wished to be killed…received a ball in his arm which went through his body he turned round on his feet and fell down dead close to where I stood.”

George was probably buried the following day near where he fell by his victorious American comrades.

But who was George? Was he from New York? What did he do for a living? How old was he? Was he married? Did he have children? Did he in fact have prior military experience? Sometimes, available research takes us only so far ― hopefully, someday we'll know more.