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.
State of Service: CT
Qualifying Service: Patriotic Service / Private
Author: Kenneth Norman Myers Jr.
Samuel Vail was born in 1741 in Southold, Suffolk County, New York. He was a fourth generation American, the son of Daniel and Hannah (Griffing) Vail. Samuel Vail married Sarah Beebe (1745-1830) in 1768 in Bethlehem, Connecticut. They lived in Litchfield, Connecticut, where Samuel was a tailor. Samuel and Sarah had four children: Daniel, Hannah, David, and Samuel. During the Revolutionary War, Samuel served as a private in Captain Bezaleel Beebe’s Company, Colonel Philip Burr Bradley’s Battalion, Brigadier General James Wadsworth’s Brigade. Colonel Bradley’s Battalion was raised in May 1776 for the general defense of the State of Connecticut. It was stationed during the summer and early fall at Bergen Heights and Paulus Hook, now Jersey City. In October, the Battalion moved up the river to the vicinity of Fort Lee, then under General Nathanael Greene’s command. In early November, Samuel was one of thirty-six handpicked men sent under Captain Beebe to aid in the defense of the American Garrison across the Hudson River at Fort Washington, NY. Samuel became a prisoner of war following the surrender of the entire American force at Fort Washington on November 16th, 1776. He died on the British Prison-ship Grosvenor on December 27th, 1776. His son, Samuel Vail, was born three months later on March 26th, 1777, in Litchfield, Connecticut.
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