Samuel Blachley Webb

Early life and family

Samuel Blachley Webb was born on December 15, 1753. He was the second son of a wealthy Connecticut merchant, Joseph Webb, and his wife, Mehitabel Nott Webb. The Webb family lived in a large home on Main Street in Wethersfield, Connecticut. The home is currently open to the public as part of the Webb Deane Stevens Museum

Webb's father died in 1761 when Samuel was eight years old. His mother married the family attorney, Silas Deane, two years later. Webb's mother died in 1767, and Webb's stepfather soon remarried. Deane's second wife, Elizabeth Saltonstall, was a granddaughter of Gurdon Saltonstall, a governor of the Connecticut Colony.

Youth and political career

In 1772, when Webb was nineteen, he was sent to the Caribbean to serve as the factor (business agent) for his family's international trading business. He was highly successful with this endeavor, and by 1774 he was the chief factor for a pair of trading ships.

Also in 1774, Webb started a short political career as an assistant to his stepfather, Silas Deane, an elected representative of the Connecticut legislature. Deane had emerged as a leading advocate for colonial rights and served on the Committees of Correspondence and of Safety, the two bodies to coordinate the thirteen colonies' responses to British outrages in America. Deane was also elected to represent Connecticut at the First Continental Congress, and he took Webb with him to Philadelphia as his assistant. Webb's job in Philadelphia consisted of taking notes, writing letters, and sending reports home to their supporters.

As Deane's assistant, Samuel Webb learned much about the issues that were separating the colonies from Britain, as well as the plans and problems with arming a militia for the revolution. Webb was able to meet with many of the leaders of the coming revolution including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.

Military career

News of the Battles of Lexington and Concord reached Wethersfield in the spring of 1775. John Chester, the captain of the local militia company, was Webb's friend and brother-in-law. Webb took the post of ensign for the militia company when its previous ensign, Barnabas Deane (brother of Silas) resigned his commission. Barnabas Deane and Webb's brother Joseph remained at home to manage the growing family businesses, while Silas Deane returned to Philadelphia to serve in the Second Continental Congress, and Webb marched to Boston as ensign of the Wethersfield Militia Company.

The Wethersfield Militia Company stood out in comparison to the other militia companies that arrived in Boston within a week of each other. They were the only militia company wearing uniforms, which were bright blue coats with red facings. Due to their impressive military attire and enthusiasm of their younger leadership, members of the Wethersfield Militia Company were given some very visible assignments during the year-long Siege of Boston. They were chosen to serve as the official guards for General Artemas Ward, the area commander who was in place until Washington arrived.

The Wethersfield Militia Company was also heavily involved with the Battle of Bunker Hill. The company served as rear guards in the battle and was one of few that remained until the very end of the fighting. Both Captain Chester and Samuel Webb rose in rank quickly after reports of their courageousness spread to senior officers.

Within a month after Bunker Hill, Webb was promoted to captain, brevet major, and aide-de-camp to Major General Israel Putnam. He spent the next year helping Putnam with writing letters and reports. This contribution was noticed by General Washington due to the contrast with Putnam's previous record of poor composition and frequent failure to do paperwork properly.

The Siege of Boston lasted for another year, until Americans positioned heavy cannons on Roxbury Heights in March 1776. The British commander ordered an evacuation of the garrison, allowing Washington a brief occupation of Boston. However, Washington marched his army south to New York soon after. He put his men to work in New York, building fortifications along the shorelines and bays of Manhattan, Long Island, Staten Island, and up the Hudson River.

Later life

Webb became a merchant in New York City, and in early September 1790, he married his second wife, Catherine Hogeboom, and moved to her family's farm in Claverack, New York.

In recognition of his wartime services, Webb was promoted by Washington to brigadier general upon his retirement. He remained a friend to Washington and served as grand marshal at Washington's inauguration in 1789. He was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati.

His children included journalist and diplomat James Watson Webb, and Henry Livingston Webb, a soldier and politician.