Henry Butler (1741 - 1781)

Ancestors

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Biography

Private Henry Butler served with Dukes County Militia, Massachusetts Militia during the American Revolution.

Henry Butler, (Nicholas,4 John,3-2 Nicholas1), bapt. 25 Oct. 1741; res. E., master mariner. He m. Elizabeth Ripley 2 Feb. 1766, who was b. 23 Oct. 1747. He served in the Revolution and was captured and d. on a prison ship betw. Jan. and May 1781. His estate was administered 26 May 1781 and his widow m2. Benjamin Pease. ^[1]

"He served in the war of the Revolution as a private in Capt. Benjamin Smith's company, stationed on Martha's Vineyard in defense of the seacoast."

Died on prison ship.

Cemetery: Old Westside Cemetery Burial or Cremation Place: Edgartown, Dukes County, Massachusetts,

"MARTYRS IN PRISON SHIPS AND PRISONS.

There are no available lists of our soldiers who suffered captivity during the war, either in the prisons maintained on shore, or on shipboard in this country,or who were trans- ported to the established military prisons in England.

Fragmentary reference in scattered and unofficial records, family tradition, and a few direct documentary evidences, make up our sources of information about the many who died or suffered living deaths in the pestilential prison ships and the

insanitary confinement in the Mill Prison, Plymouth, England, but the infamous prison ship"Jersey" claimed the greatest number of victims of all the devices maintained by the King to punish and discourage his rebellious subjects.Its history is a disgraceful chapter in the conduct of the war, but the ethics of warfare at that time rested on almost savage standards.

Those known to have died as prisoners of war, or as a result of captivity after release are:

Henry Butler, "in a prison ship," 1781;4 (•Thaxter's Obituary Record.) John Butler, "returning from captivity," 1781; (Tisbury Church Records.)"

^[2]

^[3]

Note: Captain Benjamin Smith is DAR A104736 he served in 1st Company Martha's Vineyard Militia, under Colonel Beriah Norton. Ref DAR Patriot Index.

Sources

1. ↑ http://history.vineyard.net/butler.htm#henry66
2. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65353088/henry-butler
3. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/111671-redirection

• "United States Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSFF-L9FG-B?cc=2546162&wc=WD6Q-R9P%3A1597372304 : 29 August 2019), Massachusetts, Soldiers and Sailors, Bese, David-Byxbe > image 949 of 986; citing various published state rosters, United States.