Joseph Carroll UE (abt. 1749)

Born about 1749 in Ballynahinch, County Down, Ireland

Died [date unknown] in Canada

Joseph Carroll UE was born in Ireland.

Biography

Joseph Carroll UE served with United Empire Loyalists during the American Revolution.

Joseph Carroll was a United Empire Loyalist.
UEL Status:Proven
Date: Undated

A native of Ballynahinch, County Down, Ireland, Carroll immigrated to Pennsylvania with his parents when he was just a boy. His father established a farm in Reading, but Joseph went to Philadelphia where he learned the saddler trade.

At the outset of the American Revolution, Joseph Carroll made harnesses and saddles. It was a craft that demanded strength. Carroll was close to six feet tall and at least 180 pounds, larger than most men of his generation. His son, the Rev. John Carroll, remembered him as being "big-boned and muscular" with "great weight of arm and hand" -- a "very hale and powerful man."

The American Revolution divided the Carroll family. James, Carroll's oldest brother, sided with the patriot cause, while Joseph remained loyal to Great Britain. The latter took up arms for his king in 1776 after moving to Annapolis, Maryland, serving with the Maryland Loyalists till 1783. The Maryland Loyalists did garrison duty in Pensacola to defend West Florida against the Spanish. After smallpox ravaged the troops, Carroll watched more of his comrades die during the siege of 1781. Forty-five soldiers with the Maryland Loyalists were instantly killed when a Spanish shell hit their ammunition magazine. This was the greatest death toll ever suffered by loyalist troops in any of the Revolution's battles. Carroll served as one of his regiment's bombardiers, a position within the artillery. He carried a sword which had a standard blade on one edge and a saw on the other. After storming an enemy stockade, Carroll was stabbed with the point of a pike. It wounded his hand, leaving a scar that ran the length of one of his fingers. Following their surrender to the Spanish, the Maryland Loyalists sailed for New York City in May of 1781. For the next two years, they manned garrisons on Long Island for the next two years. With the announcement that negotiations to end the Revolution were underway, both loyalist soldiers and civilians faced an uncertain future.

Fearing a hostile reception from rebel neighbours, Joseph Carroll decided not to return to Philadelphia. James, his patriot brother, was willing to "intercede with Congress on his behalf", but Joseph declined. He told James that he would rather "see him and Congress damned before he would make any intercessions for him." For the rest of his life, Carroll always used the word "rebels" whenever he spoke of Americans. He referred to himself as a "Britisher", rather than a "loyalist."

By the fall of 1783, most loyalist evacuation ships had already left New York City for England, the West Indies, Canada, and Nova Scotia. In September, a fleet of 12 ships carrying soldiers of the Maryland Loyalists and the third battalion of Delancey's Brigade set sail for the mouth of the St. John River. Joseph Carroll was among the 181 passengers who boarded the Martha.

Only sixty-eight loyalists survived the shipwreck of the Martha. One of them was Joseph Carroll.

Along with other castaways from the Martha, Carroll settled near present day Fredericton, New Brunswick. Before his life was over, the loyalist saddler would marry, father 12 children, and fight in the War of 1812 at the Battle of Niagara.

Joseph Carroll born in Ballynahinch, County Down, Ireland: went to Annapolis MD, then to NB in 1783 as a Loyalist. He married Miss Ridout and lived in Fredericton, York County. They moved to Ontario in 1809.

Sources

• http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Trails/2012/Loyalist-Trails-2012.php?issue=201227

http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Info/detail.php?letter=c&line=222

http://www.newirelandnb.ca/Genealogies-C/Carroll.html