I got home from work one afternoon, and the second I walked through the door, my daughter ran up to me and exclaimed, “Meghan had her baby!”
I racked my brain, mentally running down the list of people my daughter and I knew. I came up empty. After 20 seconds or so, and at the risk of embarrassing myself, I said, “Who’s Meghan?”
“Meghan Markle!” she replied.
And that’s when I reminded her that we fought a war to rid ourselves of those people – the royals.
I had to remind of wife of that fact, also, when she sat in front of the television intently watching the latest episode of The Crown on Netflix. What would my great-great-great-great grandfather, Colonel Israel Angell of the Rhode Island regiment of the Continental Army of the Revolutionary War say?
Israel Angell was born on the 24th of August 1740 in Providence, Rhode Island. He was one of the numerous children of Oliver Angell and his wife, Naomi Smith. He was the great-great grandson of Thomas Angell who was Roger Williams when Providence was founded in 1636 and was probably Williams’ indentured servant. I wrote about that here.
Israel lived in Johnston, Rhode Island, about 10 miles west of Providence, and made his living as a farmer and cooper. He was married three times during his 91 years of life and fathered 17 children- 13 of whom lived into adulthood. His education could be considered rudimentary – he was reportedly taught at home by his mother, a former schoolteacher – but he could read and write. He was described as a man of medium height with red hair, blue eyes, and a “strong Roman nose.”
If the Society of Direct Descendants of Israel Angell was formed, the grand ballroom at the Sheraton wouldn’t suffice for annual meetings. A convention center would have to be booked. Chapters could be organized according to which one of his 17 children the hypothetical member is descended from. For example, I’d be a member of the Henry Angell Chapter. We could probably get away with booking a basketball arena for our meetings. In other words, I am just one of many. Ancestry.com boasts 976 family trees containing Israel Angell.
Angell participated in the revolution from the beginning. Following the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the general assembly of Rhode Island authorized the formation of a 1,500 man “Army of Observation.” Angell joined this army, and was commissioned a Major under the command of Colonel Daniel Hitchcock. This force then traveled to Boston and joined the siege of the British at Boston.
In a letter dated December 1, 1775, from Israel Angell - who at the time was still in Massachusetts-to his brother in Providence, he complains of the scarcity of nails in Massachusetts. He wrote that his brother Elish had informed him there was none to be had in Providence. He urged his brother to go to Newport to purchase nails so that “one room is furnished this winter otherwise I shall be very discontented about my family.”
He asked his brother to let him know how much money would be needed to carry on his business, and he would see that his brother got the money.
He also wrote that he was much alarmed at the conduct of the people of Providence, that they were likely to form mobs to protest the rise in prices of salt and other goods. He urged his brother and other men who are “honest and well ment” to do what they could to dissuade people from rioting. He wrote, “Let us unite all as one in America if we dont. But fall at varance among our Selves, of all Gods creation we Shall be the most miserablest”
When Hitchcock’s regiment was reorganized into the Second Rhode Island Regiment, Hitchcock was elected Colonel, and Angell Lt. Colonel. When Hitchcock died, Angell was promoted to Colonel, and given command of the regiment.
In August 1777 while the regiment was at Peekskill, New York, Colonel Angell wrote a letter to the governor of Rhode Island asking, once again, for clothing. He wrote that on a recent expedition many were barefoot. He wrote that one half of his men were unfit for duty due to improper clothing. His regiment was “scandallous” in its appearance and remarked that people in the towns through which they had recently passed called them the “Ragged Lousey Naked Regiment.” He requested that clothing be sent as soon as possible.
His regiment participated in the battles of Brandywine Creek in September 1777, and Red Bank in October 1777. He was with Washington at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777-1778.
In late January 1778, Washington had ordered Angell and 300 men to near Radnor Meeting House, Pennsylvania. From there, patrols were conducted to capture deserters, and disrupt trade with British occupied Philadelphia. In the National Archives is a letter Washington wrote to Angell on February 1, 1778, in which he instructed Angell not to issue to anyone passes into Philadelphia.
Angell wrote in his diary that he had written Washington for instructions, but since he had not received a response, he issued passes to women who wanted to go into Philadelphia for shopping. That afternoon, after he had issued the passes, the letter arrived from Washington.
He participated in the Battle of Rhode Island on August 29, 1778. He wrote in his diary that “I was ordered with my regt to a redoubt on a small hill which the enemy was trying for and it was with difficulty that we got there before the enemy.”
He wrote that he had three or four men killed or wounded on that day, and he had not slept for more than three hours in two days. He also didn’t eat that day. He was relieved on August 30th, and went to a house where he ate, and took a good nap.
Angell and his regiment were camped in West Point, New York during the Benedict Arnold treason episode. His diary entry for September 26, 1780, read: “The most extraordinary affair happened yesterday that ever has taken place since the war, General Benedict Arnold who commanded at West Point went to the enemy. His Excellency the Commander in Chief having ben to Hartford to meet the French Gen. and Admiral, was on his way to join the army and yesterday the Adj. General of the British Army was taken at Tarry Town as a spye by three Militia men. The news soon reached West Point, and on the appearance of his Excellency coming to the post, Gen. Arnold went down to the river side with six men with him got into a boat went down the river to an English friggat that lay there and went on board her, and she imeadetly set sail for New York, and by the best information, he had been carrying on a treacherous correspondence with the enemy, and had agreed to sell them that post with all the men, but Heavens directed it otherways.”
Israel Angell retired from the army after the two Rhode Island regiments were consolidated into one. The last published entry in his diary was from April 1, 1781, and was a commentary on the weather that day.
He returned to his farm and cooper business in Johnston, Rhode Island. In addition, he opened a tavern in Johnston. For his service during the war, he was awarded two gold medals, one from Washington, and the other from the Marquis de Lafayette.
His first wife Martha died in 1793. He then married Susannah Luther (my grandmother), and upon her death married Sarah Wood who predeceased him as well. He moved to Smithfield, Rhode Island in his elder years, but when he died on May 14, 1832, he was buried in the family burying ground in Johnston next to his first wife.
In 1918 his remains were moved to the North Burial Ground in Providence, and a memorial plaque was placed there by the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution.
In 1836 his youngest son Henry packed up and moved to the prairies of Illinois. I wrote about that here.
In 1899 the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution collected two portions of his wartime diary from two of Israel Angell’s descendants, and the diaries were transcribed by Edward Field. The complete diaries were then published by the Preston and Rounds Company of Providence, with a brief biographical sketch written by Field. That work is available at archive.org (https://archive.org/details/diaryofcolonelis00ange/mode/2up), and it was my primary source for this article along with various other sources on the internet.
Most of the entries in the diary are observations of the weather conditions, and life in camp. I barely skimmed the surface of the entries and used only a few entries.
And I’ll leave it at that. As usual, thank you for reading. In two weeks I’ll be back with something else.