Marblehead 250: Captain Samuel Russell Trevett, Artillery Commander at Bunker Hill 1776

The Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775 is famous for several reasons. The Revolutionary War’s first major combat involving cannons was a loss for the Americans, though the British suffered a high number of casualties as well. One of the American Revolution’s charismatic young leaders, Dr. Joseph Warren - a Son of Liberty of Boston - was mortally wounded there, another significant loss. But a little-known episode took place during the battle involving a Marblehead artillery commander, Captain Samuel Russel Trevett, who fought valiantly and was the only American to lead his cannon company into the thick of the fray, defying the orders of his superior officers. He dragged a field-piece down off the hill as the American forces retreated - the only American cannon that was not captured by the enemy. Yet, Trevett was falsely accused of his superior officer’s failures. Though he was exonerated soon after, he never rejoined the army, but served instead as a captain aboard privateer vessels through the war’s end in 1782. The Trevett family’s multi-generational 18th-century family home still survives. Hear more about this dramatic story in Donald Doliber’s illustrated talk. This program will be hybrid. Sign up for Zoom at tinyurl.com/Cpt-Trevett or join us in person, no registration required! If registering for Zoom, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting online. Donald Doliber was appointed as Marblehead’s Town Historian after 24 years as an award-winning history teacher, who was selected as the "Outstanding American History Teacher in the United States" by the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.), followed by 17 years as an assistant high school principal. His ancestors arrived in Marblehead in the 1630s and were fishermen, Selectmen and merchants in the early community and later, and a few served in the Revolutionary War. This event is presented in collaboration with the Marblehead 250 Committee and Abbot Public Library and is funded in part by a grant from the Marblehead Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. For more Marblehead 250 programs, please visit our blog at tinyurl.com/Mhead-250-Series. Photo Credit: North Wind Picture Archives

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