John Corneil

Quick Facts

Date of Death:

October 8, 1777

John Corneil (or Cornel) of Concord, Massachusetts, was a soldier dedicated to the cause of United States independence. John was married, but it’s unclear if he had children, and he and his wife were living in Boston when he signed up to join the Continental Army in November 1776. His enlistment was for the duration of the war.

A soldier in Captain Sumner’s company of Colonel John Greaton’s (3^rd) Massachusetts Regiment, John was soon promoted to the rank of serjeant, a position which came with more pay and, of course, responsibility.

In the Spring of 1777, Greaton’s Regiment formed part of the Lower Hudson River Valley defenses under the command of General Israel Putman. But with the massive British Army assault from Canada that summer, Putnam ordered the four regiments of General Nixon’s Brigade (one of which was Greaton’s) to proceed north. The Brigade arrived at Fort Edward in mid-July and was instrumental in destroying bridges, burning sawmills, falling trees to obstruct transportation routes, and evacuate civilians between Fort Anne and Fort Edward.

By mid-September, John and his regiment waited as Bemus Heights for the final showdown with the invading British Army. Greaton’s regiment wasn’t deployed to fight in either battle of Saratoga (September 19 and October 7), so John remained safe and sound. On October 8, the British forces abandoned most of their old camp and prepared to retreat north. American units were sent forth to investigate and many small skirmishes ensued. In one of these, John “was killd in a Reconitering [sic] party by the Troops under general Burgoyne.”

John may have been buried near where he fell, or his remains may have been brought back to camp and buried near the Flying Hospital at Bemus Heights.