Reuben Howe: The Revolutionary War Soldier Who Guarded Burgoyne’s Captured Army

In This Article

His Story

In the winter of 1777–1778, Reuben Howe of Rowley, Massachusetts, found himself guarding men who had recently belonged to one of Britain’s most ambitious military expeditions of the American Revolution. These were soldiers from the army of General John Burgoyne, surrendered after the American victory at Saratoga and now held near Boston.

Howe was not a famous officer, nor did he leave behind an account of commanding troops in battle. He was a private in the Massachusetts forces, performing the less celebrated but necessary work of the Revolutionary War. His assignment at Winter Hill required him to guard an army whose defeat had transformed the course of the conflict.

More than fifty years later, Howe stood before a Massachusetts probate judge and recalled three separate periods of military service. He remembered marching into New York in 1776, volunteering for another enlistment that carried him into New Jersey, and returning to military duty to guard Burgoyne’s surrendered troops.

His pension was approved, but even that recognition came with difficulty. A certificate issued by the federal government failed to reach him, prompting sworn affidavits and correspondence involving Massachusetts Congressman Rufus Choate.

After Howe’s death in 1836, his widow, Elizabeth, faced her own struggle with the pension system. By the 1850s, she was elderly, impoverished, and dependent upon public assistance. Her applications preserved additional evidence of their marriage, his death, and the financial difficulties experienced by some families of Revolutionary War veterans.

From Ipswich to Rowley

Reuben Howe was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1755, according to his own sworn pension declaration. He stated that his birth had been recorded in the town’s records, although the original birth entry has not been independently examined for this biography.

By the time of the Revolution, Howe was living in nearby Rowley, another Essex County community. He continued residing there after the war and was still a resident when he applied for his pension in 1832.

In an affidavit made in 1834, Howe identified himself as a yeoman, a term commonly used for a farmer or agricultural landholder. The designation places him within the rural working society of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Massachusetts, although the reviewed documents do not establish the size of his farm or the extent of his property.

Howe was approximately twenty-one years old when he first entered military service in 1776. His participation began during a difficult year for the American cause, as British forces mounted a major campaign to control New York and its surrounding region.

Drafted for the New York Campaign

Howe’s first period of Revolutionary War service began in early September 1776, when he was drafted from the Massachusetts militia for a three-month term.

He served in a company commanded by Captain Ilsley of Newbury, within a regiment commanded by Colonel Cogswell of Ipswich.

His declaration preserves the route of his march. The Massachusetts troops traveled by way of Andover and Worcester before passing through Hartford, Connecticut, on their way toward Rye, New York.

Rye lay in the region north of New York City, where American and British forces operated during the latter part of 1776. Howe recalled serving at Rye and other places in New York until early December.

Although the campaign unfolded during a period of significant military activity, Howe did not claim to have personally participated in a particular battle during this enlistment.

When asked about his military experiences decades later, he provided the names of his officers, the approximate dates of service, and the places where he had been stationed. These details form the foundation of his documented military history.

A Second Enlistment: White Plains and Bound Brook

Howe did not remain home long after completing his first term. In December 1776, he voluntarily enlisted again, this time for approximately three months.

His new company was commanded by Captain John Dodge of Wenham, Massachusetts, and his regiment by Colonel Pickering.

Howe recalled serving at White Plains, New York, and at Bound Brook, New Jersey, as well as other locations during this enlistment. He traveled toward the army by way of Cambridge and Worcester.

These locations place Howe within the wider military geography of the Continental Army’s difficult winter of 1776–1777. White Plains had been the scene of major fighting earlier in 1776, while New Jersey became a central theater of operations during the winter campaign.

However, Howe’s presence at White Plains should not be mistaken for proof that he fought in the Battle of White Plains in October 1776. His second enlistment began in December, after that engagement.

Similarly, his recollection of serving at Bound Brook does not establish participation in the later Battle of Bound Brook in April 1777.

The pension documents establish that Howe served in New York and New Jersey during this period, but they do not identify a specific battle in which he personally fought.

In 1855, Elizabeth Howe recalled that her husband had served under Captain John Dodge and had been discharged near West Point, New York, around April 1, 1777. Her statement provides an additional account of his second enlistment, although its details do not perfectly match every aspect of Reuben’s earlier declaration.

Guarding Burgoyne’s Captured Army

Howe’s third enlistment was the most distinctive of his documented military assignments.

In December 1777, or possibly January 1778, he volunteered for approximately six weeks of service in a company commanded by Captain Titcomb of Amesbury, within a regiment commanded by Colonel Jacob Gerrish of Newbury.

He was sent to Winter Hill near Boston. His assignment was to guard the troops of British General John Burgoyne, who had surrendered at Saratoga in October 1777.

Burgoyne’s surrender had been a major American victory. Thousands of British and German soldiers became prisoners under the terms of the surrender, collectively known as the Convention Army. They were subsequently moved to the Boston area while arrangements for their disposition remained unsettled.

For Massachusetts soldiers such as Howe, guarding these prisoners was an important military responsibility. The surrendered army represented a substantial body of trained troops whose custody required manpower, organization, and supervision.

Howe remembered traveling to Winter Hill by way of Danvers and Lynn. The route again took him away from Rowley, this time toward the military positions north of Boston.

His account is supported by testimony from David Nelson of Rowley, who had served in the same company. In September 1832, Nelson swore that he knew Howe had performed duty at Winter Hill guarding Burgoyne’s troops during the winter of 1777–1778.

Nelson explained that his knowledge came from personal experience: he too had served as a private in Captain Titcomb’s company.

This independent testimony makes the Winter Hill assignment one of the strongest documented episodes in Howe’s Revolutionary War service.

It also illustrates a side of the Revolution often overshadowed by famous battles. Howe’s military duty was not to storm an enemy position but to help secure the consequences of an American victory.

The Old Soldier Seeks His Pension

On September 11, 1832, Reuben Howe appeared before Judge Daniel A. White of the Essex County Probate Court to apply for a pension under the federal act of June 7, 1832.

He was seventy-seven years old and had been out of military service for more than fifty years.

His declaration reconstructed the three periods of service from memory. He identified the officers under whom he served, the approximate dates of each enlistment, the routes he traveled, and the places where he had been stationed.

Howe acknowledged that he could not produce living witnesses for his first term of service. For the second, he referred to supporting testimony from Caleb Jackson. For the third, he relied upon David Nelson’s affidavit concerning the duty at Winter Hill.

He stated that he had received only verbal discharges from his military service and possessed no written discharge certificates.

Two respected Rowley residents, Reverend Willard Holbrook and Thomas Gage, certified that they knew Howe and believed him to have been a Revolutionary War soldier.

After reviewing the evidence, the court concluded that Howe had served as he stated.

The pension authorities credited him with seven months and fifteen days of service as a private. His annual pension was calculated at $24.98, beginning March 4, 1831.

The amount was modest, but for an elderly former soldier it represented a regular source of income based upon military service performed decades earlier.

The Mystery of the Missing Certificate

Although Howe’s pension was approved, an unexpected problem emerged: his pension certificate did not arrive.

Thomas Gage of Rowley had assisted Howe and several other local veterans with their applications. He forwarded their papers to the War Department and arranged to receive their certificates.

In August 1833, Gage received a package containing certificates for three other Rowley pensioners: Moses Clark, Jacob Pickard, and David Nelson. Howe’s certificate was missing.

Gage later swore that the package had not appeared to have been opened or tampered with. He also stated that he had never received Howe’s certificate separately.

Howe himself provided a sworn affidavit on February 5, 1834, confirming that he had authorized Gage to handle his pension application and had never received the certificate.

The matter reached Rufus Choate, a Massachusetts congressman, who inquired about the status of Howe’s pension certificate.

The Pension Office responded that a certificate had been issued on August 22, 1833, and forwarded to Gage. Gage disputed that account, explaining that neither he nor Howe had received it.

In February 1834, Gage wrote to the Commissioner of Pensions requesting that a replacement certificate be prepared and sent through Choate.

The correspondence provides an unusually detailed view of the administrative difficulties faced by pensioners. Even after military service had been accepted and a pension awarded, a veteran could still encounter problems obtaining the documents needed to receive payment.

The reviewed file establishes the dispute and the request for a replacement certificate. It does not conclusively identify what happened to the original document.

His Widow’s Years of Hardship

Reuben Howe died in Rowley on July 18, 1836, at the age of eighty-one. His death was later confirmed by a certified extract from the town records.

His wife, Elizabeth Bailey Howe, survived him. The couple had married in 1810, when Reuben was approximately fifty-five years old.

Elizabeth sought benefits as the widow of a Revolutionary War pensioner. By the 1850s, she was an elderly woman whose financial condition had become desperate.

In July 1855, Edward W. Jewett, who was assisting with her claim, wrote to the Commissioner of Pensions describing her circumstances. He reported that Elizabeth had been supported by the town of Rowley and was then living with a family in neighboring Ipswich.

Jewett described her as being in a state of poverty and destitution. He urged the government to approve her pension promptly.

Elizabeth faced an additional obstacle. Although she stated that she and Reuben had married on November 15, 1810, the Rowley town clerk could find no surviving entry recording the marriage itself.

The town records did preserve the publication of their intention to marry on October 6, 1810. Neighbors who had known the couple for many years also testified that they had lived together as husband and wife and that Elizabeth had remained unmarried after Reuben’s death.

These statements helped establish her eligibility. In July 1855, Elizabeth was placed on the widow’s pension roll at the same annual rate Reuben had received: $24.98.

Her pension commenced on February 3, 1853, under the applicable federal legislation.

The pension papers thus preserve two connected stories. Reuben’s declaration documents the movements of a Massachusetts private during the Revolution. Elizabeth’s later applications reveal the long struggle to obtain recognition and financial assistance after the soldier himself was gone.

Neither account describes a celebrated military commander. Instead, they preserve the lives of ordinary people whose contributions and hardships formed part of the larger history of the American Revolution.

From His Account

Military Service

Conflict	American Revolutionary War
State	Massachusetts
Rank	Private
Residence at Enlistment	Rowley, Massachusetts
First Enlistment	September–December 1776
First Company	Captain Ilsley’s company
First Regiment	Colonel Cogswell’s regiment
First Assignment	Rye and other locations in New York
Second Enlistment	December 1776, approximately three months
Second Company	Captain John Dodge’s company
Second Regiment	Colonel Pickering’s regiment
Second Assignment	White Plains, New York; Bound Brook, New Jersey
Third Enlistment	December 1777 or January 1778
Third Company	Captain Titcomb’s company
Third Regiment	Colonel Jacob Gerrish’s regiment
Third Assignment	Winter Hill, Massachusetts
Notable Duty	Guarding Burgoyne’s surrendered troops
Credited Service	Seven months and fifteen days
Documented Battles	None individually established
Pension Application	September 11, 1832
Annual Pension	$24.98
National Archives ID	54939786

Later Life & Burial

After the Revolution, Reuben Howe returned to Rowley, Massachusetts, where he continued living for the remainder of his life.

His 1834 affidavit identifies him as a yeoman. The reviewed pension records do not provide a detailed inventory of his land, household, or agricultural work, but the occupation indicates his association with farming.

In 1832, at approximately seventy-seven years old, Howe successfully applied for a federal Revolutionary War pension. The government awarded him $24.98 per year for his credited military service.

Howe died in Rowley on July 18, 1836. The date and place are supported by a certified extract from the Rowley town death records, prepared in March 1855 by Town Clerk John S. Prime.

The record states that Howe was eighty-one years old at his death, consistent with the birth year of 1755 given in his pension declaration.

His burial place has not been established from the reviewed pension transcriptions. No specific cemetery or gravestone is attributed to him here without supporting evidence.

Following his death, Elizabeth Howe remained a widow. Her later pension applications and the testimony of neighbors document her continued connection to Rowley and her eventual residence with a family in Ipswich.

Family & Descendants

Parents and Early Family

Reuben Howe stated in 1832 that he was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1755 and that his birth had been recorded in that town.

His parents and siblings are not identified in the pension transcriptions reviewed for this biography. Their identities should be established through contemporary Ipswich birth records and other genealogical sources before being added to his family history.

Elizabeth Bailey — His Wife

Reuben Howe married Elizabeth Bailey, a woman also associated with Rowley, Massachusetts.

According to Elizabeth’s sworn declaration of March 24, 1855, the couple married in Rowley on November 15, 1810. She identified Reverend G. T. Williams as the clergyman who performed the ceremony.

Town records independently establish that their intention to marry was published on October 6, 1810. However, Town Clerk John S. Prime reported that he could not locate a surviving entry recording the marriage itself.

The marriage was supported by testimony from people who had known the couple for many years. David Payson and Edward Jewett stated that they knew Elizabeth before the marriage and believed that the couple had been legally married at the time and place she identified.

Abraham Jewett and Isaac Pickard also testified that they knew Reuben and Elizabeth and that Elizabeth had remained unmarried after her husband’s death.

Elizabeth’s age is reported somewhat differently in surviving documents. In March 1855, she gave her age as eighty-five, while a later pension-office summary described her as eighty-six in 1855. These statements suggest a birth around 1769 or 1770 but do not establish an exact birth date.

By July 1855, Elizabeth was living with a family in Ipswich. Edward W. Jewett reported that she had previously been supported by the town of Rowley and was living in poverty.

Her widow’s pension was approved at an annual rate of $24.98, beginning February 3, 1853.

Children and Later Descendants

The reviewed pension documents do not identify any children of Reuben and Elizabeth Howe. This does not establish that the couple had no children; it means that their names and relationships have not been verified from the available pension evidence.

In December 1905, a woman identified as Mrs. Frank C. Grimes of Hillsboro Bridge, New Hampshire, wrote to the Commissioner of Pensions while researching a possible Revolutionary War ancestor for a Daughters of the American Revolution application.

Her letter mentioned a family line involving James How Davis, Sarah How Davis, and an Elizabeth How who was remembered as a Revolutionary War pensioner in New Boston, New Hampshire.

The writer was uncertain of the soldier’s given name and asked the Pension Office to investigate. The correspondence was preserved in Reuben Howe’s file, and the Pension Office supplied information about Reuben and his widow.

Nevertheless, the details of the inquiry do not establish a documented generation-by-generation connection between the New Hampshire family and Reuben Howe of Rowley. In particular, the reference to an Elizabeth How who lived and died in New Boston does not match the established Massachusetts residence of Reuben’s widow without additional explanation.

The 1906 Pension Office summary itself concluded that there was no further family information available in the file.

For that reason, no specific children or later descendants are presented as proven in this biography. A reliable family reconstruction would require examination of Ipswich and Rowley vital records, probate documents, marriage registers, and other contemporary evidence.

Original Sources & Historical Note