Thomas Abbey

United States army 1758-1778

american revolutionary war

captain

Captain Thomas Abbey was born on April 11, 1731, and died on June 3, 1811. His long life was marked by devoted military service to Connecticut and the American colonies during two pivotal conflicts of the eighteenth century: the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War.

Abbey first saw military action during the French and Indian War. In 1758, he served as a corporal in the First Regiment of Connecticut Troops and took part in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, a strategic stronghold on Lake Champlain. Three years later, in 1761, he continued his service in the successful British colonial campaign that led to the conquest of Canada.

By the time tensions with Great Britain erupted into open conflict, Abbey had returned to civilian life in Enfield, where he served as the town drummer. In April 1775, following news of the fighting at Lexington and Concord, Abbey sounded the alarm by drumming the citizens out of the meetinghouse during a regular Thursday lecture led by the Reverend Elam Potter. The meetinghouse still stands today as the Old Town Hall museum. His urgent call prompted local men to rush from the church to learn of the events to the east. This moment is commemorated today by a statue in front of the Congregational Church on Enfield Street, honoring Abbey’s decisive action and its role in rallying the town to the Patriot cause.

The alarm quickly inspired action. A large contingent of Enfield men, led by Nathaniel Terry, departed the following morning for Boston, armed with flintlock muskets and ready to defend the colonies. Although the distance prevented them from arriving in time for the initial fighting, they were among the first from Enfield to answer the call to arms. Many soon returned home, and all were back in Enfield after only a few weeks, but their response marked the beginning of the town’s active participation in the Revolutionary War.

On May 9, 1776, he was appointed first lieutenant in Captain Abel Pease’s Company by the General Assembly of Connecticut. From June through November of that year, he served under General Horatio Gates at Ticonderoga and in its surrounding defenses. During the same period, he held the position of adjutant in Chester’s Connecticut State Regiment, serving from June through December 1776.

On January 1, 1777, Abbey was commissioned as a captain. A month later, on February 1, 1777, he was appointed by the Council of Safety to command a company in Colonel Samuel Wyllys’s Regiment, then serving in New York. He continued in this command for nearly two years, remaining in service until November 15, 1778.

Through his steadfast service in both war and peace, Captain Thomas Abbey exemplified the commitment of citizen soldiers whose leadership and readiness helped secure American independence. His legacy endures in Enfield’s historical memory, most visibly in the monument that bears witness to the moment when the beat of his drum called a town to arms.