Author: John Michael Wedeward
PATRIOT INFORMATION Patriot Name as it appears on the SAR Record Copy: John Fellows Date and Places of Birth: Born 07 July 1735 Plainfield, Windham County, Connecticut Death : Died 01 August 1808 Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts Marriage: Married Mary Ashley on 19 March 1762 in Sheffield, Berkshire County , Massachusetts Parents: John Fellows (1703-1757) Plainfield, CT and Jersusha Douglass (26 April 1706-1735) Plainfield CT. (Note: I can take the Fellows Genealogy Line back to Shelton, Northhampshire England, 1578 Spouse: Mary Ashley: ( 02 August 1740 – December 1797) Sheffield Massachusetts ( Married March 19 1762 Sheffield, MA) Children: Mary, John Jr., Hannah, Charlotte, Edmond Burke, Henry Dates of service, units, battles and activities during the Revolutionary War: Brigadier General John Fellows (1735-1808) Dates of Service, activities, battles during the Revolution John Fellows was born in in Pomfret, Connecticut, July 7, 1735 He moved to the town of Sheffield, Massachusetts in 1750 (1). He married Mary Ashley , the daughter of Col. John Ashley, founder of the town of Sheffield, March 19,1762 (2). John Fellows , along with his Father –In –Law, Col John Ashley served in the French and Indian War as members of the famous Rodger’s Rangers under the Command of Major Robert Rodgers. (3) Although not a native son of Sheffield, John Fellows served as a member of the First and Second Massachusetts Provincial Congress, representing the town of Sheffield. As a member, John Fellows served on two of the most important committees. The first, to inquire into the state of operations of the Massachusetts army and the second, to prepare a statement of the population, commerce, and manufacture of every town for the use of Massachusetts delegates to the Continental Congress.(4) On October 26,1774 the Massachusetts Provincial Congress authorized a comprehensive military program based on the Massachusetts militia. It directed local town and militia companies to be consolidated into regiments based on the counties throughout Massachusetts. These militia regiments were put under the control of the Massachusetts Committee of Safety. (5) Because of the leadership John Fellows demonstrated, he was selected to command the 1st Berkshire Regiment, "Fellows Regiment" (The Continental Army, p. 222). On April 21,1775, Col. John Fellows was ordered to lead his militia regiment to Boston. There it was consolidated along with other Massachusetts county militia regiments into the 13th Massachusetts Regiment (The Continental Army. p. 213). The 13th Massachusetts Regiment. participated in the Siege of Boston and the Battle of Bunker (aka, Breed's) Hill. The Provincial Massachusetts Congress “ordered “ Commissions to Colonel John Fellows on June 7, 1775 The regiment was “stationed at the fortifications at Roxbury, Massachusetts until the end of 1775.(6) John Fellows was promoted to the rank of Brigadier Gene of Militia for Berkshire County on January 30,1776 and commissioned on February 8, 1777. On January 1, 1776 the 13th Massachusetts Regiment was again consolidated into the 21st Continental Regiment and assigned to a brigade, commanded by Brigadier General John Thomas (The Continental Army, p. 218-219) (6). On June 26, 1776, Brigadier General John Fellows was chosen to command a brigade to reinforce General George Washington at New York. This brigade was composed of three raw untrained militia regiments , the Regiments were commanded by Col Simon Cary, Col. Johnathan Holman and Col Isaac Smith. The Brigade was ordered on August 5, 1776 to replace General Scott’s Brigade, which was moved into the city of New York. On September 15, 1776, British General lord Howe landed a large force of troops at Kips Bay on the East River (what is now 34th Street in NYC).The inexperienced forces of General John Fellows and General Samuel Parson’s put up a “feeble defense” and were soon routed. Fellows Brigade would fight again at The Battles of Long Island and White Plains, but with the same results. (7) By the end of 1776, the 43 year old John Fellows, was too tied to local activities and business issues to continue as a “Professional Soldier” to serve as an Officer in the Continental Army. So, Fellows went back to Sheffield , Massachusetts to attend to these business matters. (8) By 1777 a crisis on the Hudson River Valley was occurring with British General John Burgoyne moving down the Hudson River towards Albany, New York. On July 1, 1777 Brigadier General John Fellows was ordered to go to the assistance of Continental Generals Philip Schuyler and Arthur St. Clair as they were commanding the "retreat" of Colonial forces southward through the wilderness area of the colony of New York, near the Hudson River, followed closely by British General John Burgoyne. As the British army marched southward from Canada, after capturing Ft. Ticonderoga, with the objective to join forces with the British army commanded by General Sir Lord Howe at Albany, New York. Doing this, would cut the New England area off from the rest of the colonies. John Fellows' Massachusetts Militia detachment was ordered to obstruct the advance of the British army by felling trees, destroying bridges, and building "little dams" turning the area into wet marsh land. Which it did with great success. Again in the fall of 1777, Brigadier General John Fellows was ordered to take the Massachusetts Militia Forces under his command to join the same forces of The Continental Army, by this time under the commanded by Major General Horatio Gates, north of Albany, New York to again help stop the advance of the British army. Unfortunately, for General Burgoyne, British General Sir Lord Howe took his army to Philadelphia instead of up the Hudson River to join forces with Burgoyne's army.(9) On October 9,1777, Brigadier General John Fellows was ordered to advance his 1,300 mounted Massachusetts Militia Forces, stationed at Bemis Heights, NY, up the east side of the Hudson River to Saratoga, NY. Doing this cut any chance for General Burgoyne's British army to move eastward. At the same time, other parts of The Continental Army moved to the west and north of the British army effectively surrounding Burgoyne's army near Saratoga, New York. Cut off, British General John Burgoyne had no alternative but to surrender his army to General Horatio Gates on October 17, 1777. With this surrender, the Revolutionary War moved southward into the southern part of the colony of New York, and into Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas. For the New England area, for all practical purposes, the fighting was over. (10) General John Fellows commanded the Massachusetts Militia Forces until 1783 but, saw no more actual combat. After the war, he was elected High Sheriff of Berkshire County. John Fellows died in Sheffield, Massachusetts on August 1,1808 at the age of 74. (11) Footnotes: 1. Preiss, Lillian Sheffield: A Frontier Town, c 1976 p41 2. Massachusetts Vital Records – Sheffield 1726-1897 Bacon, Francis, The Ashley Genealogy: History of the Decedents of Robert Ashley, Springfield, MA: Trowbride, c1896 3. Ross, John , War On the Run ,New York: Bantam Books c2009 4. Sheffield: A Frontier Town p41 The Massachusetts Magazine of History 6 United States Army, The Continental Army p 213 Ketchum, Richard: Decisive Day: The Battle For Bunker Hill, NY: Henry Holy and Co. , c1974 7 The Continental Army pp 213 . The Massachusetts Magazine of History , Vol 2 Smith, David, New York: 1776, Oxford, United Kingdom: Osprey, c 2008 McCullough, David, 1776, New York: Simon and Schuster, c 2005 8. Corbett, Theodore, No Turning Back: The Saratoga Campaign In Prospective, University of Oklahoma Press, c 2008 9 Logusz, Michael, With Musket & Tomahawk, Philadelphia: Casemate Press, c 2010 10 Ketchum, Richard, Saratoga, New York,: Henry Holt and Company, c 1997 Luzader, John F. Saratoga, New York: Savas Beatie, c 2008 11. Sheffield: A Frontier Town References: Original Military Records - John Fellows - National Archives. The Continental Army by Robert K. Wright, Jr., Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 2002. The George Washington Papers - Library of Congress. Massachusetts Soldiers & Sailors in the American Revolution. Vol. 5, P. 595 War on the Run- John Ross – 2009 A History of the County of Berkshire, MA p 213,c1829 The Massachusetts Magazine of History, Vol 2 Massachusetts Vital Records - Sheffield 1726-1897. The Ashley Genealogy: History of the Descendants of Robert Ashley, Francis Bacon . Trowbridge, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1896 1776 by David McCullough c 2005 . New York: 1776 -David Smith c 2008 Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War. Richard Ketchum, 1997. Saratoga 1777: Turning Point of a Revolution. Brendan Morrissey, 2000. With Musket & Tomahawk by Michael o. Logust, c 2010 .Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, Stuart Reid and Marko Zlatich, 2002. A History of the County of Berkshire, MA. P. 213, 1829 Sheffield, Massachusetts Historical Society. Sheffield: Frontier Town, Lillian E. Preiss Other Family Members Who Supported the Revolution Where did the Family of your Patriot live before, during and after the war John Fellows was born in Plainfield, Connecticut on July 7, 1735. He moved to Sheffield, Massachusetts about 1750. He married Mary Ashley (daughter of the founder of the Town of (Ashley Falls) Sheffield on March 19, 1762. He fought alongside his father- in - law in The French and Indian War as a member of "Rodgers Rangers under the Command of Major Robert Rodgers. After the War, he served as a member of the First and Second Provincial Congress. He was selected to serve as Colonel of the Berkshire County Militia at the Siege of Boston, then commissioned a Brigadier General, served as commander of the 13th Continental and When consolidated into the 21st Continental Regiment, served as it's Commander participating in the Battles of Long Island and White Plains. In 1777, John Fellows participated in the Saratoga Campaign, commanding The Massachusetts Militia from 1777- to General John Burgonyne's surrender in 1778. After the war, John Fellows served as High Sheriff of Berkshire County. Both John Fellows and his wife Mary Ashley Fellows died in Sheffield, Massachusetts and are buried in Bernard Cemetery in Sheffield Ancestor’s Occupation: Farmer, Businessman, Soldier, Land Speculator, Politician Where is Ancestor Buried?: Both General John Fellows and his wife Mary Ashly Fellows are buried at Bernard Cemetery in Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts Is There Any Significant Records or Published works on or about your ancestor? What are they? Original Military Records - John Fellows - National Archives Administration. Washington The Continental Army by Robert K. Wright, Jr., Center of Military History, United States Army, Washington, D.C., 2002. The George Washington Papers - Library of Congress. Massachusetts Soldiers & Sailors in the American Revolution. Vol. 5, P. 595 A History of the County of Berkshire, MA p 213,c1829 The Massachusetts Magazine of History, Vol 2 Massachusetts Vital Records - Sheffield 1726-1897 A History of the County of Berkshire, MA. Sheffield, Massachusetts Historical Society Backon, Francis, The Ashley Genealogy: History of the Descendants of Robert Ashley Springfield, Massachusetts,:, Trowbridge, 1896 Ross, John War on the Run-, New York: Bantam Books, c 2009 McCullough, David, 1776, New York: Simon and Schuster c 2005 Smith, David New York: 1776 , Oxford: United Kingdom, c 2008 Ketchum, Richard Saratoga: Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War. Henry Holy and Company, c1997. Morissey, Brendeni Saratoga 1777: Turning Point of a Revolution. Oxford, United Kingdom c2000, Logust, Michael O. With Musket & Tomahawk, Philadelphia: Casemate Press, c2010 .Reid, Stuart and Marko Zlatich Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, 2002. .Preiss, Lillian Sheffield: Frontier Town, Sheffield Bicentennial Committee, c1976 Salvas, Theodore and J. David Dameron, A Guide to Battles of the American Revolution, New York: Savas Beatie, c2006