Nicholas Stoner

An etching Stoner at age 83, showing him equipped for hunting and trapping expeditions.

Quick Facts

Significance:

Nicholas Stoner was a veteran of both the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

Place of Birth:

Colony of Maryland

Date of Birth:

December 15, 1762 or 1763

Date of Death:

November 26, 1853

Place of Burial:

Gloversville, N.Y

Cemetery Name:

Prospect Hill Cemetery

Nicholas Stoner born on December 15 in 1762 or 1763. While Stoner gained local fame as an Adirondack hunter and trapper, he started his career as a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

He was born in Maryland, but his family eventually moved to New York City, and finally to Fonda’s Bush, near Johnstown. In 1777, Nicholas, his father and brother all enlisted in Colonel James Livingston’s Regiment, then stationed in Johnstown. Being 14 or 15, Nicholas enlisted as a fifer. Livingston’s Regiment had originally been raised as a Canadian regiment in November of 1775, but by 1777 also included a large number of New Yorkers.

Stoner’s first active service occurred as part of General Benedict Arnold’s force that relieved Fort Schuyler (Stanwix). He witnessed Han Yost Schuyler preparing to leave on his disinformation mission to St. Leger’s camps. Marching through the aftermath of the Oriskany ambush and witnessing the state of those left behind made for many gruesome impressions on his young mind that he remembered even in old age.

As part of Gen. Horatio Gate’s army, Stoner was wounded in a singular manner as the American’s tightened the noose around the British army near the village of Saratoga. A cannon ball striking the head of the soldier near him lead to Stoner being wounded by the bone fragments striking the right side of his head and face. When his friends found him later, they also noted that a large part of the brim of his hat had also been neatly sheared off as well. This wound would affect Stoner’s hearing in his right ear for the rest of his life.

After recovering from his wound, Stoner served with Livingston’s Regiment during the Rhode Island campaign in 1778. As part of a guard detachment, he was captured during a nighttime skirmish with British troops and spent several months in captivity before being exchanged.

In 1780, Stoner was the fifer for the guard detachment that escorted British Major John Andre from his prison to the gallows and witnessed him being hanged for his part in Arnold’s treasonous West Point plot. Interestingly, Stoner spends more time recounting how he spent $100 Continental dollars to purchase a pie near the execution site, then he does on Andre’s demise.

At the end of 1780, Livingston’s regiment was consolidated into the 2nd New York Regiment. As part of the 2nd New York, Stoner participated in the siege of Yorktown. By 1783, Stoner had become part of the New York Brigade band and had switched to the clarinet. As part of the brigade band, he marched into New York City with the American forces reclaiming it from the British in November of 1783. The band also performed for Washington while he was in the city.

In 1813, During the War of 1812, Stoner enlisted in the 29th New York Infantry Regiment and participated in some of the fighting associated with the Battle of Plattsburgh in September of 1814. The fact that he served as the Fife Major for the regiment earned him the title of “Major” for the rest of his life.

Between the wars, Stoner began to gain a noted reputation as an Adirondack hunter and trapper, and he resumed this career after the War of 1812. During his 40-50 years at this pursuit, he became something of a local legend in the tradition of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett for his various adventures with and exploits against Indians, French Canadian trappers, wild animals, and Mother Nature herself. Stoner died on November 26, 1853 and is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Gloversville, N.Y.