David Strong (abt. 1744 - abt. 1801)

Born about 6 Jul 1744 in Sharon, Connecticut

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 19 Aug 1801 at about age 57 in Fort Wilkinson, Wilkinson,Illinois

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Biography

David was born on July 6th, 1744 in Sharon, Litchfield County, Connecticut. Family lore says he was one of the original minutemen at the Battle of Lexington. He was taken prisoner at the Battle of the Cedars on May 19th, 1776. Strong returned to the American Army and was promoted to Sergeant and Lieutenant in the Connecticut troops in 1777. He served in a number of engagements including Valley Forge in 1777 and 1778, being promoted to captain by the end of the Revolutionary War. He was a member of the Society of the Cincinnati. Family records state that he was a relative of patriot Nathan Hale, who was hung by the British as a spy, as well as a personal friend of the Marquis de Lafayette. (Lineage Book of the Charter Members of the DAR Vol 017)

Strong remained in the army after the Revolutionary War, serving as a lieutenant-colonel under General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers against the Indians in Ohio in 1795. In 1796 he was promoted to colonel and made commanding officer of the 2nd Infantry Regiment. In 1799 he was put in charge of establishing a very large U.S. Army Camp in the lower Ohio River Valley called Cantonment Wilkinson. He arrived with approximately 700 soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Regiment at present-day Grand Chain, Illinois, on January 1, 1801 and began establishing a camp of log huts similar to Valley Forge that eventually contained several hundred cabins. Strong died at at the camp on August 20, 1801, after falling from his horse, possibly as the result of a stroke. He was buried in the post cemetery but his grave is now lost. The camp itself continued on until October, 1802, after which the Army abandoned it. SIU archaeologists relocated the site of Cantonment Wilkinson in 2003-2004 and conducted excavations at the site but were unable to find Colonel Strong's grave. The DAR erected a gravestone for Colonel Strong in the 1930s that is still located on the highway leading to the Ohio River Marina at Grand Chain in Pulaski County, Illinois.

He served under Col. Herman Swift and fought in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth.

Sources

• Title: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 158 vols., 1847-2004, Url: NewEnglandAncestors.org Abbreviation: NEHGS Register Publication: The New England Historical and Genealogical Society, Boston, MA. Citing: Page: "Elder John Strong and His Descendants," vol. 23, p. 296 (accessed before 31 May 2011)

See also:

• See the Changes page for the details of edits by Mary Elizabeth and others
• Strong, David. Daughters of the American Revolution. [1]