Daniel Knowlton
Comment: Most genealogical publications are not reliable sources. In addition the Knowlton Association of America is not an independent source as they are affiliated with subject. S0091 (talk) 18:42, 11 September 2026 (UTC)
Daniel Knowlton | |
|---|---|
 A traditional 19th-century portrait sketch of Lieutenant Daniel Knowlton. | |
| Born | December 23, 1738 Boxford, Massachusetts |
| Died | May 31, 1825 (aged 86) Ashford, Connecticut |
| Buried | Ashford, Connecticut |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Great Britain (1757–1763) United States (1775–1783) |
| Years of service | 1757–1783 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Unit | Knowlton's Rangers |
| Battles/wars | French and Indian War |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Farnham
(m. 1763–1786) Rebekah ("Rebecca") Fenton (m. 1788–1833) |
| Relations | Thomas Knowlton (brother) |
Daniel Knowlton (December 23, 1738–May 31, 1825) was an American soldier who fought in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.[1][2] He was an officer in Knowltons Rangers, which was led by his younger brother, Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton.[2][3][4][5]
Early Life
Daniel Knowlton was born on December 23, 1738 in Boxford, Massachusetts. He was the second surviving son of William Knowlton and Martha Pinder, older brother to Thomas Knowlton, and brother-in-law to John Keyes.[3][2][1][5]
In 1748, the family moved to Ashford, Connecticut.[2][3][5]
At the age of 19, he and Thomas, who was then 14 or 15, joined the French and Indian War.[1][5] In 1757, while he was serving under Captain John Slapp's Company, a Native American was going to tomahawk Israel Putnam when Knowlton brought him down with a "timely shot." This started a "life-long friendship" between Knowlton and Putnam.[1][2][3][5] Knowlton did most of his fighting during the campaign in Northern New York around Fort Edward, Ticonderoga, and the surrounding areas. Knowlton served in Colonel Phineas Lyman's Regiment at Crown Point, New York.[1][2][5] In June, 1758, he served under Col. Eleazer Fitch in the 3d Connecticut regiment, and Capt. Jedediah Fay's company, at Crown Point. At this time, he had 3 men captured that belonged to a "gang of bloodthirsty desperadoes."[5][2]
From May 7, 1761 to December 30, 1761, Knowlton served as a Sergeant in Captain Robert Durkee's company and later in Captain Hugh Lediles company from March 17, 1762 to December 4, 1762.[2][5]
There is no proof Knowlton participated in the Siege of Havana in 1762 but his brother, Thomas, did.[2][3][5]
During the whole war, each scalp Knowlton got, he was awarded $10.[1]
At some point during the French and Indian War, Knowlton—chasing a party of violent warriors through the dense woods—got injured by a thorny branch or bamble and lacerated one of his eyes. The eye was partially torn from its socket. The injury left him with a partial loss of vision and lifelong pain in his eye.[1][5][2]
Knowlton returned home in 1763 and married his first wife, Elizabeth Farnham, on November 3, 1763. During this "peaceful" time in their marriage, they had four sons and a daughter—Daniel Farnham Knowlton (1765–1834), Elizabeth Knowlton (1768–1806), twins Manassah Knowlton (1770–1841) and Nathaniel Knowlton (1770–1850), and Ephraim Knowlton (1773–1838).[2][5]
After the War
Historians believe some of the achievements attributed to Thomas Knowlton were actually achieved by Daniel Knowlton. One account of this is when Daniel was riding by a local Presbyterian church and saw a large crowd gathering at the whipping post. He soon learned that a citizen had been sentenced to public flogging for failing to pay church dues and skipping services. Upon noticing that the formal court sentencing didn't have the standard phrasing requiring the lashes to be applied to the "bare back," Knowlton got off from his horse and threw his heavy military coat over the man's shoulders.[2][3]
During this time, Knowlton was seen as a man of "gentleness and humanity."[2]
The American Revolution
The night before the Lexington Alarm, Putnam reportedly looked towards Ashford and someone, a neighbor who he was followed by, asked who he was looking for. Putnam responded, "Gad, Zounds, had I only Daniel Knowlton to take with me, I'd lick hell itself."[2]
Daniel Knowlton responded to the Lexington Alarm by leaving his plough in the furrow and helping locally. Daniel likely wasn't at the Battle of Bunker Hill.[2][5]
When Putnam didn't see Daniel with his brother Ashford Company, he asked where he was and Thomas said he went the other way. "I am sorry that you did not bring him with you; he alone is worth half a company. Such is his courage and lack of fear, I could order him into the mouth of a loaded cannon, and he would go," Putnam responded.[2][3]
In June 1776, Knowlton was one of the very first in the field and was an Ensign of Col. John Chester's Connecticut regiment, Sixth Battalion, Wadsworth brigade, Capt. Reuben Marcy's company.[2][4]
On August 26, 1776, with his regiment at Flatbush Pass, he participated in the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, where his regiment escaped capture from the loyalists.[2][5]
After the Battle of Long Island, he was assigned to Knowlton's Rangers, led by his younger brother, Thomas.[2][3]
On September 16, 1776, he, with the Rangers, fought at the Battle of Harlem Heights, which is the battle where Thomas died. The news was reportedly brought to him by John Trumbull, a close friend of Thomas. Daniel, when hearing the news, exclaimed, "We will retrieve my brother's loss." The Battle of Harlem Heights became one of America's first victories against the British as a new country.[2][3]
Following the battle, Knowlton returned to Colonel John Chester's Regiment.[2][4]
On October 28, 1776, he participated in the Battle of White Plains with the Regiment. For this battle, the Connecticut General Assembly appointed him a Second Lieutenant in one of eight ordered battalions.[4]
Following the Battle of White Plains, Knowlton rejoined Knowlton's Rangers.[2]
On November 16, 1776, he fought at the Battle of Fort Washington, where he was captured by British and Hessian forces along with most of the other Knowlton's Rangers.[5]
Knowlton spent 2 years as a prisoner of war on the infamous HMS Jersey, anchored at Wallabout Bay.[5]
A British soldier asked him why he did not hold his head up like a soldier. He responded, "In passing through fields of grain, Sir, I have noticed that the valuable ears or heads bow toward the earth, only the empty and worthless stand erect."
He was formally recognized by the state when Lieutenant Colonel Selah Hart of Farmington presented a petition to the Connecticut Assembly requesting aid for Ethan Allen, Daniel Knowlton, and 37 other captured officers. The Assembly granted the request. The Committee of the Pay-Table settled the officers' wages and, where possible, paid them in hard currency to their families and cover their debts while in they were in captivity.[5]
When he was exchanged around 1778, he served as a Lieutenant under Captain Joshua Bottom's company in Lieutenant Colonel Levi Wells's regiment.[2]
On December 9, 1780, he fought in the Battle of Horseneck, where he was captured by British forces for a second time.[5]
When he was released again, he was given a brief leave to his in Ashford. Shortly after, he returned to duty and became a first Lieutenant.
From July 16, 1782, until the end of the war and the disbandment of the Continental Army, he served with Captain Benjamin Durkee's company of matrosses in the Provisional Regiment at Fort Trumbull in New London, Connecticut.[2]
Later years
He returned home in 1783 and had 3 more daughters with his wife—Martha Knowlton (1777–1835), Kezia Knowlton (1781–1852), and Hannah Knowlton (1783–1854).[2]
His wife, Elizabeth, died on June 1, 1786 in Ashford. Daniel remarried on April 24, 1788 to Rebekah ("Rebecca") Fenton, who he had two sons with—Erastus Fenton Knowlton (1790–1840) and Marvin Knowlton (1794–1867).[2]
Knowlton's treatment while he was a prisoner of war gave him resentment for Britain for the rest of his life. Long after the war, he regularly attended "divine services" at a Congregational church in Westford. During a Sunday service, the minister introduced a hymn that had the refrain "Give Britain praise." Daniel stood up and requested the hymn to be replaced. When the minister ignored him and the choir sang, Knowlton left and declared that he could not worship with a congregation that "gave Britain praise for anything."[2]
Death, Legacy, and Descendants
Daniel Knowlton died on May 31, 1825 at the age of 86 from injuries caused by a fall on his farm. He is buried in Westford Hill Cemetery in Ashford, Connecticut.
His headstone inscription reads:
"Lieutenant Daniel Knowlton A Patriot of the Revolution Died May 31st 1825 aged 86 years."
Legacy and Descendants
When a descendant later asked why a greater monument had not been made for Knowlton, an older family member remarked, "The best acknowledgement of a man's services to his race is rendered when his countrymen demand with surprise and wonderment why his deeds are not more publicly appreciated."[2]
In 1897, the genealogical record for the family, The History and Genealogy of the Knowltons of England and America, was published by Rev. Dr. Charles H. W. Stocking. Rather than dedicating the volume to Daniel's younger brother, Thomas, the author chose to dedicate the book in Daniel's memory:
"IN REVERENT AND LOVING MEMORY OF LIEUTENANT DANIEL KNOWLTON OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY, THE RESOLUTE PATRIOT, THE FEARLESS SCOUT, THE INTREPID SOLDIER, THE UPRIGHT MAN, WHOSE EMINENT SERVICES TO HIS IMPERILLED STATE AND COUNTRY AMPLY MERIT THIS HIS FIRST PUBLIC MEMORIAL, THIS VOLUME IS HUMBLY DEDICATED, BY THE AUTHOR"[2]
His own heirlooms have been documented and there is an image of his bureau ("desk"), a battle-axe, the musket he used to save Israel Putnam, and a drinking glass.[1][2] In a newspaper clipping published on September 7, 1905, Knowlton's weapon was highlighted as a relic of early American warfare, described as a "murderous looking battle-ax [that] was wielded by Lieut. Daniel Knowlton, the friend of Israel Putnam, in the French and Indian war." According to the newspaper, the weapon had multiple functions on a five-foot wooden pole, that had "a spear for stabbing, a battle-ax and a scalping knife." To use it in all situations, the pole "was detached from the weapon proper when in close quarters with the enemy." Because of its engineering, the axe is notable, with the newspaper saying that "several historical institutes have asserted that this battle-ax is probably the only one of the kind in the country."[1]
Knowlton has notable descendents as well such as Nathaniel Lyon (1818–1861) – Grandson (son of Kezia Knowlton) and Hosea M. Knowlton (1847–1902) – Great-grandson.[1][2]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 "Battle-Ax Did Good Work: Weapon Wielded by Brave Revolutionary Soldier". The Valley Falls New Era. Valley Falls, Kansas. September 7, 1905. p. 2. Retrieved August 25, 2026. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "ValleyFalls1905" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 Stocking, Charles Henry Wright (1897). The History and Genealogy of the Knowltons of England and America. New York: The Knickerbocker Press. Search this book on
Cite error: Invalid <ref>tag; name "Stocking1897" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Woodward, Ashbel (1861). Memoir of Col. Thomas Knowlton, of Ashford, Connecticut. Boston: H. W. Dutton & Son. Search this book on Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Woodward1861" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Sons of the American Revolution (1898). Year Book of the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. New York, NY: Empire State Society. p. 361 – via Google Books. Search this book on
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 Griffith, William Herrick (1897). Prospectus and Year Book Containing the History, Constitution, By-laws, List of Officers and Members of the Knowlton Association of America. Albany, NY: S. H. Wentworth. pp. 49–59 – via Google Books. Search this book on
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