Moses Dunbar (June 3, 1746 – March 19, 1777) was a Connecticut land-owner and officer in a Loyalist regiment during the American Revolutionary War, who became one of the few men in the state of Connecticut to be convicted of high treason and executed.[note 1]
Early life
Moses Dunbar was born in Wallingford, Connecticut, on June 3, 1746 to John and Temperance Dunbar.[2] In 1764, Moses married Pheobe Jerome of Farmington, Connecticut.[3] Soon after marriage, Moses and Phoebe joined the Church of England.[4]
Involvement in the American Revolution
On May 26, 1776, Dunbar's wife Phoebe died after months of illness.[5] Dunbar subsequently married Esther Adams.[6] In September, Dunbar traveled to Long Island and, in October, he accepted a commission as a Captain in the King's American Regiment, a British provincial regiment which was raised for Loyalist service.[7] He then went back to Farmington, Connecticut, and was trying to persuade some other young men to enlist in the British army when he was arrested, and his royal commission and a list of Loyalist recruits was found in his pocket.[8]
He was indicted for high treason, tried in the superior court in Hartford, Connecticut, and on January 23, 1777, found guilty.[9] on March 19, he was executed on the gallows which stood near the present site of Trinity College.[10] Dunbar is interred at the Ancient Burying ground, in Hartford.[11]
Great Britain (Loyalist)