The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
Author: Mark Blanchard
How would you like to have a Patriot, Azariel Blanchard, described as a small bodied, dark eyed and hot headed man that loved to fist fight. He was the grandson of a Huguenot who left France. And, he was referred to as "little Frenchy-Yankee Azariel". However, we all know we can't choose our 4th Great-Grandfather.
Azariel was in the French and Indian War and fought under General John Stark. Before the Revolutionary War, he was part of the Green Mountain Boys and saw action against the "Yorkers" (described later) under Ethan Allen. During the Revolutionary War, he helped capture Fort Ticonderoga and stormed Quebec with Benedict Arnold. And, finally as a sergeant under General John Stark (again), Azariel took part in the Battle of Bennington.
After Ethan Allen was captured by the British, Seth Warner assumed command of the Green Mountain Boys. Raymond J. Rodrigues' book "Memoir of a Green Mountain Boy" mentioned Azariel by name and identified him as a scout that worked directly for Seth Warner.
The Green Mountain Boys were first formed before the Revolution as a loosely organized militia-type unit. Their organization became necessary to combat the Sheriff of Albany who was under the orders from the British-appointed Governor of New York (NY). The origin of this conflict begins with the need for increased income on the part of the British- appointed Governor of New Hampshire (NH). At that time the area, now known Vermont, was an unsettled wilderness and the Governor of New Hampshire started selling "Grants" to families that wanted to move to the territory. As it turned out, control of the wilderness was supposed to be under the Governor of NY; but he had no initial interest in the territory. Once he found out about the income that these "Grants" were producing in this forgotten area, he sent the Albany Sheriff and posse (Yorkers) to collect the funds or run off the settlers. Ethan Allen and these farmers resisted and as it escalated, the Green Mountain Boys became a force to be reckoned with.
A critical battle of the Revolutionary War, Battle of Bennington, was fought by the Green Mountain Boys ‘and other units. The Battle played a major role in defeating British General Burgoyne's forces attacking toward Albany to take all the Northeast Colonies. The Bennington defeat weakened the British forces and led to their surrender to General Gates at Saratoga.
Sergeant Azariel Blanchard died in 1818 and is buried in Keeny S ettlement, NY. This is near his property provided to him as part of his War pension. In visiting his grave, I was able to copy the following from his grave stone: "Death is a debt to nature due Which I have paid and so must you Here we must lie beneath the tombs Till Jesus Christ in glory comes”
“Little Frenchy” must have been quite a guy.
Send a biographical sketch of your patriot!
Patriot biographies must be the original work of the author, and work submitted must not belong to another person or group, in observance with copyright law. Patriot biographies are to be written in complete sentences, follow the established rules of grammar, syntax and punctuation, be free of typographical errors, and follow a narrative format. The narrative should unfold in a logical manner (e.g. the narrative does not jump from time period to time period) or have repeated digressions, or tell the history of the patriot's line from the patriot ancestor to the author. The thinking here is that this is a patriot biography, not a lineage report or a kinship determination project or other report published in a genealogy journal. The biography should discuss the qualifying service (military, patriotic, civil) of the patriot ancestor, where the service was rendered, whether this was a specific state or Continental service, as well as significant events (as determined by the author) of the patriot's life. This is the entire purpose of a patriot's biography.
Additional guidelines around the Biography writeup can be found here:
Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space 1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.