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.
Might be at Vally Forge or brought home for burial
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Author: Clayton Lowell Crandall
Samuel Shaw Junior was born in Middleborough, Massachusetts in 1731 to Samuel and Desire (Southworth) Shaw. Samuel was the descendent of a Mayflower Passenger and his 2nd great grandfather John Shaw was an inhabitant of Plymouth Plantation in 1607. Samuel married Fear Thomas daughter of Noah and Mary (Alden) Thomas 21 June 1756 in Middleborough, they had seven boys and one girl. Samuel moved his family to South Hadley, Hampshire Massachusetts sometime between 1768 when his last daughter was born and 1776, when he became active in the revolution.
Samuel’s early participation in the revolution was with a company of militia under Captain James Hendricks that went to Cambridge at the time of the Lexington alarm. He is also listed on a return of Captain Hendricks command from Charles-town Camp No. 3, dated Jan. 13, 1776, where he was part of the force that lay siege to the English at Boston.
In December of 1776 Samuel enlisted in the Continental Army for three years under Captain Josiah Smith’s Company, Colonel Thomas Marshall’s 10th Massachusetts Regiment. It was with this regiment that Samuel was most engaged. Samuel’s 18-year-old son Noah joined the Continental Army in March 1777 in the same company and regiment. Having left for Fort Ticonderoga the previous March, the two were at the fort when it fell to the British, (Heath). It’s not clear if the 10th in its entirety was part of the rear guard that fought almost continuously as it retreated through Vermont and New York, however, it is known that they were at very least one of the most rear regiments. It is most probable that Samuel’s son Noah was killed during this retreat, probably close to Fort Anne, at Moses’s Creek as this was the area the British and Indians were shooting the army at will in late July 1777 killing 13 and wounding 12, 5 mortally. It’s for this reason and the July 30th date of death for Noah that I believe Captain Smith’s Company with Samuel Shaw Jr. was a part of that rear guard. The regiment did certainly end up in Saratoga, New York on July 30th, (Smith) as part of Patterson’s Brigade.
Samuel’s Regiment arrived on the field late in the day after 5:00 PM and was one of the last to engage Burgoyne’s forces, (Luzader). Although they were not engaged heavily his regiment did receive a commendation for having saved another regiment from being cut off. Samuel went on to fight the second battle of Saratoga 10 days later and then traveled to Valley Forge where he died on January 9, 1778. Samuel’s wife was paid $8.00 due to Samuel. Samuel’s burial location is unknown.
Buried in an unknown/unmarked grave at Valley Forge. GPS Coordinates:
Latitude:40.101918°
Longitude: -75.451952°
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