John Gage Revolution and Family Tree

His Story

On September 25, 1832, seventy-five-year-old John Gage appeared before the Probate Court of Essex County, Massachusetts, to recount three separate periods of military service during the American Revolution. His testimony described a soldier who had served in the defenses surrounding Boston, marched north to join General Horatio Gates during the Saratoga campaign, and later worked with an engineering regiment responsible for supporting the Continental Army’s military operations in New York.

Gage had been born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, on May 26, 1757. When the Revolution began in 1775, he was eighteen years old and living in Salem, New Hampshire. His first enlistment carried him to Portsmouth and then to the American positions outside British-occupied Boston.

During the winter of 1775–1776, he served under Captain Jacob Webster and was stationed at Fort No. 2 near Cambridge. The American army was maintaining a siege around Boston, attempting to contain British forces while organizing the military structure necessary to sustain the rebellion.

Gage’s second enlistment brought him into one of the most consequential campaigns of the war. In late August or early September 1777, he joined Captain Page’s company and marched to General Gates’s army near Stillwater, New York. In his pension declaration, he specifically remembered participating in the battle at Stillwater and remaining with the army through the surrender of British General John Burgoyne.

The victory at Saratoga helped transform the American Revolution from a colonial rebellion into an international war. France entered into a formal alliance with the United States in 1778, providing military and financial assistance that substantially strengthened the American cause.

Gage’s final documented period of service began in March 1778. This time, he entered an engineering regiment commanded by a foreign officer whose name he remembered phonetically as “Koisico.” His description corresponds to the military engineering establishment associated with Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko, although the precise identification and chain of command require further verification.

Gage recalled marching to West Point, White Plains, and Fishkill. These locations were central to the defense of the Hudson River corridor, an area whose control was strategically important to both British and American commanders.

By the time he applied for a pension, Gage had no surviving written discharges from his three enlistments. His claim depended upon his own testimony, supporting witnesses, and the court’s assessment of his credibility. Among those who testified was Enoch Merrill, a fellow Revolutionary War soldier who remembered seeing Gage in military service at Cambridge in January 1776.

The federal government approved Gage’s claim, granting him an annual pension of $68. His pension certificate was issued on May 28, 1833, more than fifty-seven years after his first enlistment.

His surviving records preserve the experience of a soldier whose Revolutionary War service extended beyond a single regiment or campaign. Gage participated in the defense of Massachusetts, the northern campaign against Burgoyne, and the military operations that protected the Hudson Highlands.

Early Life

Born in Haverhill, Massachusetts

John Gage was born on May 26, 1757, in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. He supplied this date and place in his sworn pension declaration of September 25, 1832, stating that his birth had been recorded in Haverhill.

Haverhill was an established Massachusetts community situated along the Merrimack River. During the eighteenth century, its economy depended upon agriculture, local manufacturing, trade, and transportation connecting inland settlements with the Atlantic coast.

Gage grew up during the years when tensions between Great Britain and its American colonies intensified. Disputes concerning taxation, parliamentary authority, colonial representation, and imperial administration increasingly shaped political life in Massachusetts and neighboring New Hampshire.

His parents, siblings, childhood education, and early occupation are not identified in the pension documents examined for this biography.

Residence in Salem, New Hampshire

By the beginning of his Revolutionary War service, Gage was living in Salem, New Hampshire.

Salem lay near the Massachusetts border, placing its residents within a region closely connected to the political and military developments around Boston. The outbreak of fighting at Lexington and Concord in April 1775 prompted New England communities to organize militia forces and contribute soldiers to the emerging American army.

Gage’s first documented enlistment occurred approximately seven months after those opening engagements. He was eighteen years old when he entered service in December 1775.

His later declaration indicates that he remained associated with Salem during his first two periods of military service, before residing in Methuen, Massachusetts, by March 1778.

Revolutionary War Service

First Enlistment — December 1775

John Gage entered military service as a volunteer around December 1, 1775, under Captain Jacob Webster of Kingston, New Hampshire. He also identified Lieutenant or Ensign James Webster of Salem, New Hampshire, as an officer in the company.

Gage stated that he enlisted for three months.

His company first marched to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he recalled being inspected by Colonel Cilley. After remaining at Portsmouth for approximately one month, the soldiers proceeded to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

At Cambridge, Gage was stationed at Fort No. 2, one of the defensive positions associated with the American siege lines surrounding Boston.

He remained there until approximately March 1, 1776, when his term expired and he received a regular discharge.

Gage stated that he possessed no written discharge and knew of no surviving documentary evidence proving this enlistment.

Second Enlistment — The Saratoga Campaign, 1777

Gage volunteered again in late August or early September 1777. He entered a company commanded by Captain Page, with Lieutenant Abijah Wheeler serving as another officer.

The company was mustered at Atkinson, New Hampshire, and marched toward the northern army commanded by General Horatio Gates.

Gage recalled joining Gates’s army near Stillwater, New York, where American forces were preparing to confront the British army advancing south from Canada under General John Burgoyne.

In his sworn declaration, Gage stated that he participated in the battle at Stillwater.

After Burgoyne’s surrender in October 1777, Gage marched to Troy, New York, where he remained until completing his three-month term.

He was discharged around December 1, 1777.

As with his first enlistment, he reported that he had no written discharge or surviving documentary proof of the service.

Third Enlistment — Engineering Service, 1778–1779

In March 1778, Gage volunteered for a third period of service, this time at Methuen, Massachusetts.

He entered a regiment of engineers under Captain Jacob Law and Lieutenant Richard Hale.

Gage remembered the regiment’s commanding officer as a foreigner whose name was pronounced “Koisico.” He identified Lieutenant Colonel Baldwin as the second officer in command.

The remembered name suggests a connection with the Polish-born military engineer Thaddeus Kosciuszko, who served the Continental Army and became particularly associated with the defense of West Point. However, Gage’s phonetic recollection alone does not conclusively establish the formal organization of his regiment.

Gage reported marching to West Point, then to White Plains, and later to Fishkill, New York.

These movements placed him within the Hudson River military corridor, where the Continental Army sought to protect transportation routes and maintain control over strategically important positions.

He stated that he was discharged at Fishkill in January 1779, following a term he described as eight months.

The dates present a chronological difficulty: an enlistment beginning in March 1778 and ending in January 1779 would ordinarily span approximately ten months, rather than eight. The pension declaration nevertheless explicitly credits eight months for this period.

Gage summarized his three periods of military service as fourteen months: three months in 1775–1776, three months in 1777, and eight months in 1778–1779.

His pension papers identify him as a private and artificer. The term artificer referred to a skilled military worker employed in construction, repair, engineering support, or other technical duties.

Battles and Campaigns

The Siege of Boston — 1775–1776

The Siege of Boston began following the battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. British forces withdrew into Boston while colonial militia from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island assembled around the town.

The Americans established defensive positions designed to restrict British movement and prevent the garrison from conducting operations into the surrounding countryside.

General George Washington assumed command of the Continental Army in July 1775. Throughout the following months, the American forces struggled with shortages of gunpowder, weapons, equipment, and standardized military organization.

Fortified positions around Cambridge, Roxbury, and other nearby communities formed part of the defensive network. These works were essential because the American army could not simply storm Boston without risking severe losses against entrenched British regulars.

Gage entered service in December 1775 and reported spending approximately one month at Portsmouth before marching to Cambridge.

He stated that he was stationed at Fort No. 2 until approximately March 1, 1776.

His period of service ended shortly before Washington’s forces occupied Dorchester Heights, an operation that helped compel the British evacuation of Boston on March 17, 1776.

The Saratoga Campaign — 1777

The Saratoga campaign was one of the decisive military operations of the American Revolution. British General John Burgoyne advanced southward from Canada in 1777, intending to secure the Hudson River corridor and help isolate New England from the remaining American states.

Burgoyne’s army captured Fort Ticonderoga in July, but its advance became increasingly difficult. American resistance, inadequate transportation, shortages of supplies, and the challenging terrain slowed the British movement.

American forces under General Horatio Gates assembled along the Hudson River near Stillwater, New York. General Benedict Arnold and other officers played significant roles in the fighting, while American riflemen and militia strengthened the army’s ability to resist the British advance.

Two major engagements followed near Saratoga: the Battle of Freeman’s Farm on September 19 and the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7.

Gage’s pension testimony places him in Gates’s army near Stillwater and specifically identifies participation in a battle there.

The declaration does not clearly distinguish which of the two engagements he meant. Accordingly, his service can be connected to the Saratoga fighting without assigning him conclusively to a particular battlefield action on September 19 or October 7.

The Battle of Freeman’s Farm — September 19, 1777

On September 19, Burgoyne advanced against the American positions near Stillwater. British troops under officers including General Simon Fraser and General James Hamilton encountered determined American resistance.

The fighting centered around Freeman’s Farm, where repeated attacks and counterattacks produced heavy casualties on both sides.

American troops contested the British advance for several hours. Although Burgoyne retained possession of the immediate battlefield, his army suffered losses that further weakened its position.

The engagement demonstrated the strength of the American defensive army and contributed to Burgoyne’s growing strategic difficulties.

The Battle of Bemis Heights — October 7, 1777

By early October, Burgoyne’s army was increasingly isolated. British supplies were running low, and the American forces surrounding his position had grown stronger.

On October 7, Burgoyne launched a reconnaissance in force against the American positions. American troops attacked the British formations and drove them back.

General Benedict Arnold played a prominent role in the American counterattack, while the British suffered serious losses, including the mortal wounding of General Simon Fraser.

The defeat forced Burgoyne to abandon his forward position and retreat toward Saratoga.

American forces surrounded the British army, leaving Burgoyne with diminishing prospects of escape or reinforcement.

The Surrender of Burgoyne — October 17, 1777

Following the American victory at Bemis Heights, Burgoyne retreated northward but found his army increasingly surrounded.

Negotiations between Burgoyne and Gates resulted in the surrender of the British army on October 17, 1777.

The surrender was a major American strategic victory. It demonstrated that a substantial British field army could be defeated and helped persuade France that an alliance with the United States offered a realistic opportunity to weaken British power.

Gage recalled remaining with Gates’s army until after Burgoyne’s surrender. He then marched to Troy, New York, where he completed his enlistment.

West Point and the Hudson Highlands — 1778–1779

The Hudson River was one of the most strategically important transportation corridors in Revolutionary America. Control of the river could influence communication between New England and the middle states and affect the movement of troops and supplies.

After the British occupied New York City, American commanders devoted substantial resources to defending the Hudson Highlands.

West Point became a central military position because of its location along a difficult bend in the river. American engineers designed and improved fortifications, batteries, and other defensive works to obstruct British movement.

Thaddeus Kosciuszko, a Polish military engineer serving the Continental Army, became closely associated with the development of West Point’s defenses.

Military engineers and artificers performed essential technical work. They helped construct and maintain fortifications, prepare military materials, and support the army’s defensive infrastructure.

Gage’s third enlistment placed him in an engineering regiment whose commander he remembered as “Koisico.”

He reported movements from West Point to White Plains and Fishkill. His account establishes service in this strategic region but does not identify a specific construction project, fortification, or combat engagement in which he personally participated.

Military Honors and Recognition

John Gage received federal recognition for his Revolutionary War service when his pension claim was approved under the Act of June 7, 1832.

His pension certificate was issued on May 28, 1833, and his name was entered on the Massachusetts pension roll at an annual rate of $68.

The surviving records do not identify any individual military decoration, battlefield commendation, or special award granted during his service.

His approved pension represents documented federal acknowledgment of the qualifying service presented in his application.

Original Military Records

Revolutionary War Pension

The Pension Application of 1832

On September 25, 1832, John Gage appeared before Judge Daniel Appleton White in Essex County, Massachusetts, to apply for a pension under the Act of June 7, 1832.

He was seventy-five years old and residing in Methuen, Massachusetts.

The 1832 pension legislation expanded eligibility for surviving Revolutionary War veterans based upon qualifying military service. Applicants were required to describe their military careers and provide sufficient evidence to establish the duration and character of their service.

Gage reported fourteen months of service across three separate enlistments.

He acknowledged that he had no written discharges and knew of no surviving documentary evidence proving his individual enlistments.

Witness Testimony

Gage’s application included supporting testimony from individuals acquainted with him and his military reputation.

Charles O. Kimball, a clergyman, and Benjamin Osgood, a magistrate, certified that they knew Gage and believed him to have been a Revolutionary War soldier.

Enoch Merrill provided more direct testimony concerning Gage’s first enlistment.

Merrill stated that he had seen Gage serving at Cambridge in January 1776, when Merrill himself was stationed at Winter Hill.

He also remembered Ensign James Webster, an officer in Gage’s company.

This testimony supplied important corroboration of Gage’s presence in the American army during the Siege of Boston.

The Pension Office’s Examination

The Pension Office reviewed Gage’s declaration and supporting materials.

An examining brief summarized his service as three months under Captain Webster, three months under Captain Page, and eight months in an engineering regiment.

The same brief identified the Battle of Stillwater as the engagement in which Gage had participated.

The court certified its opinion that Gage was a Revolutionary soldier and had served as stated.

The Approved Pension

Gage was entered on the Massachusetts pension roll at an annual rate of $68, effective March 4, 1831.

His certificate was issued on May 28, 1833, and sent to John Tenney in Methuen.

The pension record listed $136 in arrears through March 4, 1833, together with a $34 semiannual allowance ending September 4, for a recorded total of $170.

These figures establish the approved pension rate and the administrative calculation shown in his file. They do not independently establish the dates on which Gage personally received each payment.

From His Account

John Gage’s pension declaration provides the most detailed surviving account of his military career. The following excerpts are drawn from the archival transcriptions in The Yost Post research collection.

Gage’s declaration traces his first enlistment from New Hampshire to the military positions surrounding Boston.

This statement provides firsthand testimony of his participation in the Saratoga fighting. It does not identify which specific engagement he meant.

Gage’s recollection offers an important clue concerning the regiment’s command, but the phonetic spelling should be preserved until corroborating military records are examined.

The declaration provides a specific birth date and identifies Haverhill as the place where the birth was recorded.

Merrill’s testimony is particularly significant because he claimed firsthand observation of Gage in military service during January 1776.

Military Service Record

The service chronology is based principally on Gage’s sworn pension declaration and the accompanying Pension Office examination. The dates of his engineering enlistment and discharge do not precisely reconcile with the eight-month duration credited in the record.

Later Life and Burial

Residence in New Hampshire and Massachusetts

After the Revolutionary War, John Gage lived in Salem, New Hampshire, before establishing his residence in Methuen, Massachusetts.

In his 1832 declaration, he stated that he had lived in Methuen for the preceding thirty-three years, suggesting that he had settled there around 1799.

Methuen was situated along the Merrimack River in Essex County, near the New Hampshire border. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the community experienced the gradual growth of local industry and commerce alongside its agricultural economy.

Gage’s pension records do not establish his civilian occupation, property ownership, or other details of his life during these decades.

A Veteran in His Seventies

By September 1832, Gage was seventy-five years old.

His pension application required him to reconstruct military events from more than half a century earlier. He remembered specific officers, military movements, and places of service, but he could no longer produce written discharges from any of his three enlistments.

The supporting affidavits of men who knew him, particularly Enoch Merrill, helped establish his military history.

His approved pension provided an annual allowance of $68, an important federal benefit for a veteran of his generation.

Death and Burial

The transcriptions examined do not establish John Gage’s date or place of death.

No cemetery or burial location has been positively identified from the pension records used for this biography.

Further investigation of Methuen vital records, probate files, church registers, and cemetery records may establish the circumstances of his death and burial.

Original Sources

The following documents form the principal archival foundation for this biography. The pension application is preserved in the National Archives’ Revolutionary War pension collection.

National Archives Pension File

1. National Archives and Records Administration. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, John Gage, pension S.29,820. National Archives Identifier 54631678. View archival record.
2. John Gage. Pension declaration, September 25, 1832, Essex County Probate Court, Massachusetts. Images 4158514_00560–00561.
3. Pension Office. Pension certificate and payment calculation, issued May 28, 1833. Image 4158514_00559.
4. Pension Office examining clerk George Payton. Brief summarizing John Gage’s military service and identifying the Battle of Stillwater. Image 4158514_00563.
5. Essex County Probate Court. Certification of John Gage’s pension proceedings, September 25, 1832. Image 4158514_00566.
6. Enoch Merrill. Affidavit concerning John Gage’s military service at Cambridge, August 30, 1832. Image 4158514_00568.
7. Charles O. Kimball and Benjamin Osgood. Supporting certification concerning Gage’s reputation as a Revolutionary War soldier, included with the September 25, 1832 declaration. Image 4158514_00561.

Transcription Collection

The Yost Post research collection, RevWar-Transcriptions-Final.xlsx, National Archives Identifier 54631678.

The archival transcriptions provide the basis for the military chronology, pension details, and quotations presented in this biography. Original manuscript images should be consulted for final verification of uncertain names, dates, and administrative notations.

Historical Research Note