Born January 20, 1739, in Methuen, Massachusetts, Jesse Wilson had settled in Pelham, New Hampshire, by the time war came in 1775. There, in Hillsborough County, he rose to command a militia company—a position of trust and leadership in a community that knew every man's character intimately. On August 16, 1777, Captain Wilson led his men into one of the Revolution's most decisive battles: Bennington, where John Stark's New Hampshire militia crushed a Hessian raiding force and helped doom Burgoyne's invasion from Canada.
New Hampshire Militia Officer
Militia captains were not appointed by distant authorities—they were elected or selected by their communities, men who had proven themselves as leaders, who commanded respect, and who could be trusted with their neighbors' lives. Jesse Wilson's captaincy in Hillsborough County reflected this local confidence.
His company would have comprised 50-100 men from Pelham and surrounding towns— farmers, craftsmen, shopkeepers who drilled together on training days and mustered when danger threatened. By 1777, they had developed into experienced soldiers, having served in earlier alarms and possibly the 1776 campaigns.
The Battle of Bennington
"Live free or die." — General John Stark's motto, embodying the spirit of New Hampshire's fierce independence and the determination his militia brought to Bennington.
In summer 1777, British General John Burgoyne led an invasion south from Canada, aiming to split New England from the other colonies by seizing the Hudson River valley. To supply his advance, Burgoyne dispatched a mixed force of Hessians, Loyalists, and Native Americans to raid Bennington, Vermont, where colonial supplies were stockpiled.
General John Stark commanded New Hampshire's response—approximately 1,500 militia, including Captain Jesse Wilson's Hillsborough County company. On August 16, 1777, Stark launched a coordinated assault on the Hessian position.
The Battle (August 16, 1777)
The Plan: Stark divided his forces, sending flanking columns through the woods while fixing the enemy's attention with frontal demonstrations. Captain Wilson's company was part of this coordinated assault.
The Fight: Around 3 PM, multiple columns struck simultaneously. The Hessians, caught in a multi-directional assault, fought fiercely but were overwhelmed. Hand-to-hand fighting erupted as militia stormed the enemy breastworks.
The Victory: In two hours of fighting, Stark's militia killed or captured nearly 1,000 enemy soldiers—including 700 Hessians, the elite German mercenaries Britain had hired. American casualties: fewer than 100.
Bennington's impact was profound. It deprived Burgoyne of supplies and reinforcements, emboldened American resistance, and contributed directly to the Saratoga Campaign's success two months later—the victory that brought France into the war as America's ally. Captain Wilson and his New Hampshire militia had helped change the course of the Revolution.
Continued Service and Post-War Life
After Bennington, Captain Wilson likely participated in follow-up operations supporting the Saratoga Campaign. His service may have extended to the 1778 Rhode Island expedition, where New England militia reinforced Continental forces in an attempt to dislodge British forces from Newport.
He remained in Pelham after the war, living another 33 years in the New Hampshire community he had helped defend. Local Revolutionary rolls record him as "Capt. Jesse Wilson," and his gravestone in Pelham Cemetery honors his rank and service.
Jesse Wilson died July 27, 1810, at age 71, having witnessed the Constitution's ratification, the peaceful transfer of power between political parties, and the Louisiana Purchase that doubled the nation's size—a nation he had fought to create on a Vermont hillside 33 years earlier.
Sons of the American Revolution Recognition
Captain Jesse Wilson's service has been verified and recognized by the Sons of the American Revolution under membership number SAR #35608. His command role at Bennington—one of the war's most decisive battles—places him among the officer corps whose leadership secured American independence.
Bennington's Legacy
The Battle of Bennington demonstrated that American militia, properly led and positioned, could not only match but decisively defeat European professional soldiers. General Stark's tactical coordination—flanking movements, concentrated firepower, aggressive assault—showed sophistication that contradicted British assumptions about colonial military competence.
For Captain Wilson and his men, Bennington proved what they already knew: fighting for your home, led by officers you trusted, defending a cause you believed in, made you more than equal to any mercenary army Europe could field.