A Connecticut Soldier in the American Revolution
When researching Revolutionary War service, it is often tempting to expect clear enlistment papers, detailed muster rolls, or pension files that neatly summarize a man’s military career. For many Connecticut soldiers, however, service survives only in fragmentary state records, brief militia references, or scattered town-level documentation.¹
Born on 16 March 1738 in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Lemuel Gibbs lived squarely within the generation called upon to defend the colonies during the American Revolution. His service does not appear in dramatic narratives or extended pension testimony, but it is nonetheless documented in Connecticut military records and consistent with the state’s wartime militia system.²
Early Life and Family Context
Lemuel Gibbs was born into a long-established Connecticut family rooted in Litchfield County prior to the outbreak of hostilities with Great Britain. By the 1770s, he was an adult with family responsibilities, placing him among the many men who balanced military obligations with agricultural and household duties.³
Connecticut relied heavily on short-term militia service, frequently calling men out for brief periods rather than extended enlistments. As a result, many soldiers—particularly those who served locally—left behind only minimal documentation of their wartime participation.⁴
Revolutionary War Service
Lemuel Gibbs appears in Connecticut Revolutionary War military records, specifically within state-level compilations documenting militia service from Litchfield County.⁵ These records establish his participation without providing detailed information regarding unit assignment, length of service, or specific engagements.
This lack of detail is not unusual. Connecticut militia service often consisted of short tours responding to immediate needs such as coastal defense, troop movement, or regional security.⁶ While no surviving record places Gibbs in a named battle or extended campaign, his appearance in official military documentation confirms that he answered the colony’s call.
Equally important, there is no evidence of multiple contemporaneous men of the same name in the same jurisdiction that would cast doubt on the attribution of this service.⁷ The available evidence supports identifying this Lemuel Gibbs as the man referenced in the military records.
After the War
Following the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, Lemuel Gibbs returned to civilian life in Connecticut. He does not appear in federal pension files, a circumstance shared by many militia veterans whose service predated the pension acts or whose short-term duty did not meet later eligibility requirements.⁸
Lemuel Gibbs lived until 3 January 1827, witnessing the early decades of the United States. His descendants later joined the westward movement into New York and Michigan, reflecting broader post-Revolutionary settlement patterns across New England families.⁹
Assessing the Evidence
Lemuel Gibbs’s service illustrates a key principle of Revolutionary War research:
limited records do not equate to nonexistent service.
His documented appearance in Connecticut military records, combined with his age, residence, and lack of conflicting identities, provides a reasonable and supportable conclusion that he served during the American Revolution. His experience mirrors that of countless citizen-soldiers whose contributions were essential but modestly recorded.
Conclusion
Lemuel Gibbs was not a career soldier or public figure. He was a Connecticut man who answered the call of his colony during a time of upheaval. Though the surviving records are sparse, they are sufficient to place him among those who contributed to the Revolutionary effort.
By presenting his story carefully—without embellishment—we preserve both the integrity of the historical record and the memory of an ordinary man whose service helped shape the nation that followed.
Notes
- Public Records of the State of Connecticut, Revolutionary War era volumes.
- Connecticut military record compilations, Revolutionary period.
- Litchfield County vital and town records.
- Robert J. Taylor, Connecticut’s Militia System During the American Revolution.
- Public Records of the State of Connecticut, vols. 15–16.
- Ibid.
- Litchfield County tax and town lists, 1770s–1780s.
- U.S. Revolutionary War pension legislation and eligibility requirements.
- Probate and family records for the Gibbs family.
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