Meet my only Revolutionary War ancestor! Only one of my direct ancestors served in the Revolutionary War, and he is my 6th great-grandfather. Abijah Drake was born in Massachusetts in 1733 or 1734, and his parentage is not definitively proven. He lived in Taunton, Massachusetts, and on August 4, 1760, he married Tabatha Plumley. They would have four sons and one daughter together.

Abijah was living in Sutton, Massachusetts, at the start of the American Revolution. Less than a month after the battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts was rapidly raising troops to besiege British forces in Boston. On May 17, 1775, Abijah answered that call and enlisted as a private in Capt. Edward Seagrave’s company in Col. Joseph Read’s (20th) regiment. Colonel Read’s regiment was part of the Massachusetts army surrounding Boston during the Siege of Boston in 1775. Abijah immediately joined other militia soldiers near Boston that summer. Capt. Seagrave’s company appears to have been stationed at Roxbury during June 1775, including on the day of the Battle of Bunker Hill nearby. Although Abijah was in the area and was serving in the army during the Battle of Bunker Hill, I have not found evidence that his company participated directly in the fighting. At Roxbury, he may have been involved in the construction of fortifications, digging trenches, guard duty, drills, and overall guarding the southern approach to Boston.

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