Author: James Edward Mitchell
In 1739, the General Assembly formed 2 parishes, Westbury (now known as Waterbury) and Northbury (Plymouth), Connecticut. Lemuel Cook’s parents Henry Cook (1723-1771) and wife, (w.) Hannah Benham (1722-1795) were recorded within an index of surname listings, “COOK”, administered full communion on 27 Nov 1765 at the Congregational Church of Northbury (Plymouth) Connecticut (CT): source, Church Records, State Library Index, Plymouth, Congregational Church, 1765-1810, (formerly Northbury Society) Vol 1, date stamped, Oct 15, 1959, pgs 17, 18. A typed listing appeared of the given name -Lem [ ], m. East[h]er Curtis, Esq., “about” Apr. 26, 1784, in Vol 1 on pg 17. Lemuel (Aka Lem) Cook’s date of birth remained questionable for a lack of evidence, such as a baptismal register. Don N. Hagist, author of The Revolution’s Last Men: The Soldiers Behind the Photographs, Copyright 2015 published by Westholme Publ., LLC Yardley, Pennsylvania (PA), pg 59, wrote, that Cook’s obituary notices in 1866 portrayed his age as 102, but some said 104 and at least a single source reported Lemuel’s age, 107. This author, made a case that Cook enlisted as soon as was permitted by his 16th birthday and his known enlistment date was recorded as Dec., 1780, Ibid. 59. After Lemuel Cook’s birthday he traveled to meet a military recruiter, George Hurlbut. For reasons of his own, Lemuel planned his active military enlistment with a full-time army; he joined the (2nd) Regt., Continental Light Dragoons; Col. Elisha Sheldon (1741-1805). Don N. Hagist suggested that Lemuel, was an undersized but stocky recruit for cavalry. In Hagist’s book, The Revolution’s Last Men, Lemuel’s recruiter Captain Hurlbut, realized that for Lemuel’s small statue and young age, a 3-year term of service was necessary for any benefit to a regimental horse troop. Lemuel enlisted in Capt. William Staunton’s 6th Troop, (2nd) Regt., Continental Light Dragoons, Ibid, 61. The regiment was 1st mustered at Connecticut (CT) during Mar., 1777 with 6 troops, 4 were mounted and 2 were foot soldiers called light infantry for service with the Continental Army. Cook served initially as a light infantry trooper without a personal horse or mount. The (2nd) Dragoons were well experienced. The regt.’s major, Benjamin Tallmadge, was active in the Commander-in-chief, Gen’l. Washington’s military intelligence and general staff that operated deep inside British held bastions such as Westchester County and Long Island, NY. After 1781’s intensive Dragoon training encamped close to Lemuel’s family farm over the winter, it was believed that he obtained a horse from Northbury by spring. The (2nd) Dragoons moved in Apr. 1781 to the American army’s mapped cantonment along the westside of the Hudson River where apple orchards dotted New Windsor, NY. July came and Lemuel’s horse troop was attached to an extensive, coordinated military operation along the east bank of the Hudson River, opposite the Palisades and Tenafly, New Jersey (NJ) from Upper Nyack. On Jul 2nd & 3rd, Lemuel tasted serious combat after the (2nd) Dragoons allied with their French equivalents, Duc de Lauzun’s Legion (cavalry), to reconnoiter British lines in preparation for an assault of the British post guarding Kings’s Bridge, where a wooden structure over the Harlem River connected Manhattan (called then New York Island) down the reaches to Wall and Broad Streets, 11 miles away; sources, Ibid. 62 & 63, and, see: David McCullough’s book, 1776, Copyright 2005, Simon & Schuster, Rockefeller Center, NY, NY, pg 122. At the same time as the Franco-American threat that engaged Henry Clinton’s British army; the French fleet arrived off the Atlantic coast at Head of Elk (the head of navigation on the Elk River), Maryland which flows into the nearby Chesapeake Bay and James River watershed close to the Town of York, Virginia (VA). The French fleet transported the select detached Continental (2nd) Dragoons, Trooper Lemuel and Capt. William Staunton’s 6 Troop to the October, 1781 siege of Yorktown; sources, The Revolution’s Last Men, pgs 64-68 and, Campaign -Yorktown 1781: The World Turned Upside Down, Copyright 1997, Osprey Publ., Ltd., Midland House, UK; see, pgs 46-49; Reconnaissance in force by Washington and Rochambeau’s allied dragoons (Lemuel’s 1st exposure to battle) Map, pg 48 -‘The Allies March South’ route to Yorktown. After the allied American and French victory over the British army, Lemuel’s detached (2nd) Dragoons returned to the New York area and rejoined their main regt. The (2nd) Dragoons spent all of 1782 and 1st half of 1783 in-service escorting infantry troops, carrying signals information when needed, guarding the delivery of provisions, attending formations and inspections before winter quarters, with minimal threats from any enemy. In Jun. 1783 Lemuel discharged and he rode home with a printed, certificate with his name written by hand and signed by the commanding officer, that stated Lemuel was legally released from military service. Prior to his discharge, (26 Apr 1783) Lemuel married an acquaintance Hannah Esther (Curtis) of Cheshire, CT; and they remained as residents there for a period before re-settling to Utica, NY; see, The Revolution’s Last Men, pg 72, 85. Their marriage produced a dozen children prior to Hannah Esther (Curtis)’s death in 1832. At age 75, Lemuel re-married Ruth Cook (1787-1860). Lemuel lived another 34 years and died on 20 May 1866 in the village of Clarendon, Orleans Co., NY. Lemuel was buried beneath a tall obelisk in Root Cemetery church yard, mapped along Munger Road at Latitude: 43.1403 and Longitude: - 78.0389, a mile from his residence in Clarendon, NY; see, Find A Grave Memorial# 18755968. A photograph taken opposite a mature Cedar may be seen on Find A Grave. It displayed a large, old style SAR Bronze Lug & pole set properly, one foot from the foundation.