Jedidiah Preble

Jedidiah Preble
Born(1707-03-01)March 1, 1707
York, Province of Massachusetts Bay
DiedMarch 11, 1784(1784-03-11) (aged 77)
Falmouth, Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Buried
Allegiance Great Britain
Province of Massachusetts Bay
Service / branchMassachusetts Bay Militia
RankChief Commander, Captain, Brigadier General
Battles / warsCape Sable Campaign, Battle of Fort Beauséjour, Siege of Louisbourg (1745), Battle of Grand Pré
Spouse(s)Mehitable Bangs Roberts
ChildrenMartha, Ebenezer, Joshua, Edward, Enoch, Statira, Henry
Signature

Jedidiah Preble (1707–1784) was Captain of Infantry in Samuel Waldo's Regiment, whom he brought land from and settled in Falmouth, Maine (present-day Portland, Maine).[1][2] He served in the Siege of Louisbourg (1745). He also fought in the Battle of Grand Pre (1747). He accompanied John Winslow on his expedition up the Kennebec River and participated with him the following year in the Battle of Fort Beauséjour (1755) where he was wounded.[3][4] He then participated in the Cape Sable Campaign, part of the expulsion of the Acadians.[5] After the British took control of the Saint John River, they took control of the final river the Penobscot. Preble became commander at the newly built Fort Point (formally Fort Pownal) on the Penobscot River (1759).[2]

He was also active in the American Revolution. Gen. Jedidiah Preble, with Gen. Artemas Ward and Col. Seth Pomeroy, were chosen General Officers of the Provincial forces by the House of Representatives of Massachusetts that resolved itself into a Provincial Congress. Gen. Preble was chosen to the chief command. He was forced to decline his appointment on account of ill health and advanced age, and it was then bestowed upon Gen. Artemas Ward, who at a later period was superseded by George Washington.[6]

He was the father of Edward Preble, after whom Preble Street in Portland and Fort Preble in South Portland are named.

References

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  1. ^ "Collections of the Maine Historical Society". Portland, The Society [etc.] January 29, 1831 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b Preble, George Henry (January 29, 1868). "Genealogical sketch of the first three generations of Prebles in America : with an account of Abraham Preble the emigrant, their common ancestor, and of his grandson Brigadier General Jedediah Preble, and his descendants". Boston, Printed for family circulation, D. Clapp and Son – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Murdoch, p. 275
  4. ^ "Selections from the public documents of the province of Nova Scotia". Halifax, N.S., C. Annand. January 29, 1869 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Letter, p. 20
  6. ^ "The journals of each Provincial congress of Massachusetts in 1774 and 1775, and of the Committee of safety, with an appendix, containing the proceedings of the county conventions-narratives of the events of the nineteenth of April, 1775-papers relating to Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and other documents, illustrative of the early history of the American revolution P 35". Internet Archive. Massachusetts Provincial Congress. 1838. Retrieved July 18, 2024.

Sources

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