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: MA
Qualifying Service: 1st Lieutenant
Birth: 1742 Chilmark / Dukes / MA Death: 26 Dec 1778 Plymouth Harbor / Plymouth / MA
Qualifying Service Description:
Sergeant, Capt Nathan Smith, Enlisted 09 Oct 1775
2nd Lt - Capt Nathan Smith, commissioned 06 Jan 1776. He served at Martha's Vineyard in defense of seacoast
1st Lt - Capt John Russell, Col Bradford's regt. 31 Dec 1776 to 21 Mar 1777; Marched from Boston to Bennington
Additional References:
MA Soldiers and Sailors in the war of the Revolution Vol 1, pg 753, 758
Muster/Payrolls of the Rev War, Vol 10, pg 330A (image 381)
David C Schafe, PG&B Report, SAR National Number 159259
Spouse: Sarah Bassett; Children: William; Fortunatus; Cornelius;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
None*
*This means that the NSSAR has no applications for this Patriot on file.
Instead the information provided is best effort, and from volunteers who have either researched grave sites, service records, or something similar. There is no documentation available at NSSAR HQ to order.
Image taken and submitted with the approval of compatriot David C. Schafer SAR national number 159259
The grave site of Captain James Magee and sixty crew members of the "General Arnold". is marked by a white marble obelisk donated in 1862 by Stephen Gale of Portland, Maine. It is a memorial to the seventy-two seamen who perished in Plymouth harbor on 26/27 December 1778, on board the private armed brig "General Arnold"
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
The grave site is located in the eastern corner of Burial Hill Cemetery. The closest cemetery entrance is located at the corner of the S. Russell Street parking lot. Enter the cemetery from the gate at the southern portion of the parking lot
Photo: 1 of 1
Author: David Crandall Schafer
Fortunatus Bassett was born at Chilmark in 1742, the son of William and Anna (Mayhew) Bassett. He was one of nine children who lived past childhood. His siblings were Nathaniel, Mary, Barachiah, Nathan, Anna, Susanna, Abigail, and Jedidiah.1
Fortunatus was married to Sarah Bassett, daughter of Cornelius and Lydia (Norton) Bassett, on 9 February 1769, in Chilmark. Together they had three known children: 2
William was born on 11 July 1772 and married Ann Blair.
Fortunatus was born on 30 June 1775 and married Sybil Bacon
Cornelius was born on 6 October 1778 and married Elizabeth Holland Sawyer.
During the French and Indian War, he served as a Sergeant in Captain Barachiah Bassett's company. The company Pay Roll endorsed 1761 states he entered service on 14 May and served until 10 December.3
He enlisted at Martha's Vineyard on 9 October 1775 and served until 1 December 1775, when he served as Sergeant in Captain Nathan Smith's militia company of 50 men.4 Fortunatus served as 2nd Lieutenant in Captain Nathan Smith's militia company, stationed on the Island of Martha's Vineyard for the defense of the Seacoast of the Island. He enlisted on 15 January 1776 and served on 21 November 1776 when the company was discharged.5
The abstract of rations received and due lists those of Captain John Russell's company between 3 December 1776 to 21 March 1777. Their subsistence from Boston to Bennington, Vermont, with 220 miles over eleven days, list Fortunatus as a 1st Lieutenant who received two rations per day over 120 days and valued at £6, 10 shillings.6 A Return of Captain John Russell's company in the Battalion of the Massachusetts Bay forces, endorsed 31 January 1778, in the service of the United States commanded by Colonel Gamaliel Bradford, reports Lieutenant Bassett on furlough.7
In December 1778, Fortunatus signed onto the crew aboard the Massachusetts privateer brigantine General Arnold, commanded by Captain James Magee. Heading to the Carolinas, they departed Boston on 24 December 1778 but soon encountered northeast gale-force winds. Seeking a safe harbor in which to ride out the storm, Captain Magee sought refuge at Plymouth Harbor. With ever-increasing winds, the General Arnold grounded and was stranded without hope of help from ashore. Freezing winds and waves washed over the ship, which ultimately bilged. Through the freezing days and nights of the 26th and 27th, nearly seventy crewmen froze to death, with a dozen or more perishing in the following days. Fortunatus was one of the victims of the historic storm and was buried with his fellow crewman in a mass grave at Burial Hill in the town of Plymouth.8
Sources:
Banks, Charles Edward, The History of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, Vol. III, Massachusetts. Edgartown: Dukes County Historical Society, 1966, pages 32-33
Ibid, page 35.
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers, and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, Vol. I, Massachusetts. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 1901, page 130
Massachusetts Secretary of State, Muster/Payrolls, and Various Papers (1763-1808) of the Revolutionary War [Massachusetts and Rhode Island], Micropublication, Washington: National Archives, Vol. 36, pages 262 (image 327)
Cavallaro, Lenny, Solved: The Mystery of the General Arnold, 2007
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Additional Information:
DAR NOTE: (there are potential issues) regarding this man's service NO PROOF THIS ANCESTOR DIED IN SERVICE. 9/2019
