A provocative genealogical connection to the early days of the United States of America.

Happy Independence Day. Today’s post comes courtesy of Dr Jeffrey Mitchell. A lengthy but very interesting historical look at the United States’ fight for Independence. If you have been around the Roadmap page for any length of time, read any of the Crucial Moments book series, or are familiar with the international Critical Incident Stress Management Foundation that is responsible for providing training and care for individuals and groups effected by trauma worldwide- you have undoubtedly heard of Dr Mitchell. He is not only the ICISF program Co-creator and developer, but also a skilled educator clinician and to Josey a long time mentor and dearest friend. Josey and Dr Mitchell have written multiple books together, and it was Dr Mitchell who truly incited Josey to begin sharing all the the words he had previously only put in a drawer.

When Dr Mitchell shared this amazing genealogical treasure about his family’s contribution to the beginning of the American Revolution, we knew it would make a fitting tribute to a dear friend and to the people who continue to have hope, drive, and determination that these United States can be better than they are today. We hope you enjoy Dr Mitchell’s words, and this interesting look at a personal connection to the reason we are able to celebrate our independence.

Thank you Doc!

” A Continental Army Soldier

While wandering about recently in some historical documents, I found out some interesting facts about a great grandfather. He was 5 generations back from my Dad, Loren P. Mitchell. His name was Joel Winchip III. It is confusing to say ‘great’ five times so we will just leave it at five grandfathers back from my father.

Bio sketch of Joel Winchip III

Born May 1, 1761

In Lexington, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America

Father: Joel Winchip II (age 26)

Mother: Elizabeth Grout (age 31)

Married: Joel married Thankful Lane

Together, they had 4 sons and 5 daughters

He served as a soldier in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War

Lived in Lexington, Massachusetts; Pelham Massachusetts, 1780; New Hampshire in 1781; Belchertown, Massachusetts in 1792, and Hudson Falls, Washington county, New York

Go back another three grandfathers (total of eight) and we have Edward Winship. He brought his family to the colonies from England in 1635 aboard the ship, Defiance. They settled in Cambridge, MA and the family grew to prominence there. The town of Cambridge was close to Boston, only 3 miles. Eventually, the Winchip family moved to Lexington, MA, which was about a dozen miles further inland from Boston. Lexington was about 6 miles from Concord which was a bit closer to Boston than Lexington. If the towns, “Lexington, and Concord”, ring a familiar note for you, think the battles of Lexington and Concord, the very first battles of the Revolutionary War.

The Winship / Winchip family was one of the largest families Lexington. They were landowners and farmers, and shop owners. The men were active in the local militia. The idea behind the militias was to be able to quickly bring together a band of armed men to protect the towns in the event of an Indian attack, pirates, or foreign invaders. (See note 1 below)

As people in the colonies grew more and more frustrated with British rule, talk among the colonists as well as in articles the newspapers, and printed documents of the time, complained frequently about unfair practices by the King and his representatives. Many people hoped the king would listen to the complaints from the colonists and change how things were done. Some even began to openly discuss the potential of breaking away from England and the King’s rule.

Joel Winchip III was born into this brewing turmoil on May 1, 1761. As he grew up, Joel heard many discussions about the unfair treatment by the Crown and the intensifying bitterness regarding the tariffs and taxes imposed by the king. They were especially angered by the British Navy’s widespread practice of forcing colonial men and boys, some as young as 10, to serve aboard British Men-of-War ships (for a detailed description of the practice see David Grann, 2023. Wager: A tale of Shipwreck, mutiny, and murder. New York: Doubleday Publishers). Over time, there was a growing desire to end British rule because it was becoming more apparent, month after month, that the King was not going to change anything to benefit the colonists. The evidence was growing more and more clear that the colonists would have to take matters into their own hands and war would probably be necessary. (See Note 2 below)

The Lexington and Concord militias were eventually given the name “The Minutemen.” But that was after things got hot between England and the colonies. Colonists did not take the prospect of a war with Britain lightly. There were very real concerns that war might be coming to the colonies, and they would have to take on the largest military force in the world at that time.

War meant deaths and gruesome wounds and great destruction. Parents were extremely worried that their young sons would be exposed to horrible circumstances. Young boys were indirectly associated with the militias. They played a significant role in the militias. They were equipment carriers, fifers, drummers, standard bearers, loaders, water bearers, and ammunition carriers. Unlike modern times, boys were expected to work the farms, run the shops, perform hard work, and learn skills and trades. Handling firearms and protecting their families was also expected of boys in the colonies. They often did these tasks by the sides of their fathers. (Cox, Catherine, 2021. Boy Soldiers of the American Revolution. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.)

The colonists’ concerns came to a head on April 19, 1775, when the British attempted to capture and destroy a supply of firearms and gunpowder from a storage area in Lexington.

It can be presumed that Joel served in the Lexington militia even though his name was not listed on the muster roles. Three of Joel’s relatives served in the militia and were engaged in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. They were officially listed on the militia muster rolls. Jason Winship (age 45) of the town of Menotomy was killed in action at Lexington. Thomas Winship from Lexington was wounded in the same engagement. Another relative, John Winchip, also of Lexington, came out of the battle not wounded. Ultimately approximately 3,500 militiamen (and boys) were involved in the Battles of Lexington and Concord.

Why would young participants in the battle not be listed on the muster rolls of the militias or, later, the “Minutemen”? One reason was that, in most militias, young men had to be at least 16 years of age to serve officially in the militias. Another reason may have been that their fathers and mothers did not want to have their sons’ names officially listed on the rolls of the militias out of fear that the muster rolls might be obtained by the British troops and used to round up those young men and force them into the British Navy or to imprison them for the duration of the war. The British did not have a good reputation regarding the keeping of prisoners of their enemy combatants alive while imprisoned.

The British opened fire on the Lexington militia as it was moving off the common (town green or town square) as ordered by British soldiers. Militia members were complying with the British soldiers to clear the area to avoid capture and to allow more militia fighters to get to Lexington. They did not, however, surrender their firearms. Once the British opened fire, however, the colonists turned and held the line and returned fire as ordered by Captain John Parker, head of the militia. And they severely punished the British as they retreated through Concord and all the way back to Boston. They surrounded the city and kept the British troops trapped inside. There was at least 30 British Soldiers killed by the militias as they retreated from Lexington and Concord. Additionally, approximately 273 British soldiers were wounded.

Three weeks after the battles of Lexington and Concord, according to Aunt Buhla’s (my Dad’s aunt) family bible, Joel Winchip III participated in the taking of Fort Ticonderoga from the British on May 10, 1775. He had just turned 15 on May 1. Massachusetts, as well as New Hampshire provided contingents of militia to join Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys when the fort was taken from the British. One militiaman was wounded early in the fort’s capture. The shooting may have been an accidental discharge of a firearm by one of the militiamen toward another. Few details are known about that shooting.

Joel served in the Battle of Bennington (August 16, 1777) and in the Battles of Saratoga (September 19, 1777, and a second battle at Saratoga on October 7, 1777). By that time in the war (1777), the Continental Army was established, and the militias were local allies in support of the regulars. The first battle of Saratoga proved that the Continental Army and their militia allies could win a major victory against the British army. The second battle at Saratoga (also a win for American forces) set the stage for an outpouring of international aid particularly from France.

While in the militia, Joel served under Captain John Parker, leader of the Lexington colonial militia. After the shooting began, Parker said to his men, “Stand your ground. Do not fire unless fired upon. If they mean to have a war, let it begin here.” After serving in the Lexington militia initially under Captain Parker (who, unfortunately, died of tuberculosis September 17, 1775), Joel registered for service in the Continental Army in 1780. (He may, however, have enlisted at least one and a half years earlier, in 1778, at age 17, under the name “Isreal”. The records show the words “or Joel” as they appear opposite the name of Isreal Winship. The entry in the military records ends with “[See Joel Winship].” He was 18 years old when the Continental army records show the following entry:

“Winship, Joel. List of men raised to serve in the Continental Army for the term of 9 months, agreeable to resolve of June 9, 1779, returned as received of Noah Goodman, Superintendent for Hampshire Co., by James Ely, Commissioner, Dated Springfield; said Winship reported as having engaged for the town of Pelham until Jan.1, 1780; also descriptive list of men raised in Hamshire Co. to serve in the Continental Army, agreeable to resolve of June 9, 1779, returned as received of Justin Ely, Commissioner by Lieut. Ruben Lilley, at Springfield, Aug. 15 1779; Capt. Thomson’s co., Col. Porter’s regiment; age 21 yrs, stature 5 ft.6 in., complexion dark; hair, brown, engaged for town Pelham; term 8 months; also, Private, Capt. Samuel Flower’s co. Col John Greaton’s 3rd regt; muster roll for Aug., 1779 dated Camp Highlands; also (late) Capt Flowers co. Greaton Regt.; muster roll for Jan.- June, 1780, sworn to at Orangetown; enlisted July 10, 1779; discharged April 10, 1780; Enlisted 9 months { See Isreal Winship}

We do not know exactly when he enlisted and was deployed for the first time, but the entry states that he was resolved on June 9, 1779. He would have to have been enlisted to be resolved On June 9, 1779 and “…returned as received”, which means he was alive and in good physical shape, not sick, and not wounded. There is another entry in the Continental Army records regarding Joel Winchip. It reads:

“Joel Winchip. Descriptive list of men raised to reinforce the Continental Army for the term of 6 months, agreeable to resolve of June 5, 1780, returned as received of Justin Ely, Commissioner, by Brig Gen. John Glover, at Springfield, July 26, 1780; Age 21yrs.; Stature 5 ft 8 in.; complexion, ruddy; engaged for town of Pelham; marched to camp July 26, 1780, under command of Capt. Fox.”

It appears from the records that Joel Winchip remained in the militia after Lexington and Concord, Ticonderoga, Bennington, and the two Saratoga battles. That would have brought him up to October, 1777. He would then have been 16 years of age. The records indicate that he officially enlisted in the Continental Army no later than July 26, 1779, age 18. As noted above, he may have enlisted much earlier (see next paragraph). He would re-enlist very shortly after completing (resolving) each military contract. It was common, during the war for Continental Army soldiers to have frequent, short enlistments. Joel appeared to follow that practice. The average monthly pay for a Continental Army soldier would equate to $6.25 in today’s money.

Here are some things we know from the records. He moved around a lot. The term “agreeable to resolve” meant that his contract with the Continental Army ended. His obligations were fulfilled. Once he was resolved of one obligation, however, he reenlisted as soon as he could.

He then reenlisted several times until the end of the war in 1783. It is quite possible that he enlisted in the Continental Army earlier than 1780, perhaps when he was 17 or 18 years of age (as described in the paragraphs above). The available records do not address this with clarity. There is no evidence of Joel having been wounded.

Some records may have been lost, damaged, or destroyed entirely during the eight years of the war, or there may have been errors in the writing of the records. The handwritten records for hundreds of thousands of Continental soldiers were only typeset in printer blocks by clerks almost a century after the war. Because the Written records are not clear, were damaged, or were incomplete, there is much we will never know about him or the details of his military service.

The register of military pensions for the Continental Army lists him as a legitimate recipient of a pension from the United States for his services in the Continental Army during the War of the American Revolution. (See Note 3 below.)

He died in Hudson Falls, Washington County, New York in 1838 at the age of 77.

My dad, Loren P. Mitchell was born in Hudson Falls, New York. His mother, Betsy Winchip, was a direct descendant of Joel Winchip III. Joel is buried in the Kingsbury Cemetery in the Town of Hudson Falls, Washington County, New York.

The take-away from this historical exploration is that our family, as was true of thousands of other American families, was represented by a direct blood relative who was engaged in a fight for our liberty from the first battles of the Revolutionary War – Lexington and Concord.

We have no evidence of Joel Winship being wounded, captured, tortured, or imprisoned. We have no evidence of Joel achieving great military feats or heroic actions while under fire. That is not to say that those feats and actions did not occur. We simply have not yet uncovered records that would support those conclusions.

But here is what we do know with certainty. Joel Winchip III took a position on the line in the Northern Department of the Continental Army of the United States of America. He stood his ground against the overwhelming odds of a superior military force and the personal privations of warfare. He participated in at least five major engagements against the forces of Britain and its allies. He resolved all obligations of his duties to defend the United States, as well as his family, both during the Revolutionary War and for the good of future generations of Americans.

He was a Revolutionary War Continental Army soldier.

May he rest in peace for the peace he gave all of us.

Note # 1:

If you look this stuff up yourself you may be baffled to see Windship, Winship, Wincep, Winchop, Winchupp, Winshop, Winshape, Winchap, Winchip, Winsip, and maybe 4 or 5 other variants. In colonial written form, an ‘s’ and a ‘c’ often looked alike. Variations also occurred because the verbal sounds of the name were frequently misinterpreted by clerks in shops, church representatives, or by government officials.

Note # 2:

The practice of forcing men and boys into the British Navy to serve on its warships continued even after the colonies won their independence from England at the end of the Revolutionary War. It became one of the key causes of the War of 1812 which occurred 29 years after America became independent from England.

Note # 3:

Joel Winchip III is listed among the militia and Continental Army soldiers in the Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors / Revolutionary War / Militia and Continental, Vol. 17, page 612

Joel Winchip III is listed as part of Records Group number 15, entry roll number 2614, page 79, of the M 804 Record of Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty – Land – Warrant Applications Files of the National Archives of the United States, 1934, (Updated 1974).

I hope you enjoyed this peek into my family’s history.

Jeffrey T. Mitchell, Ph.D., CCISM, June 27, 2024″