Benjamin Ames

• Benjamin Ames served as a private in Captain John Foster's Fourth Andover Company in 1757 before he was made a lieutenant in 1762. Later he became captain of 2 Andover companies in Colonel James Frye's regiment.

• When, in 1775, Andover received word that British regulars had fired on men at Lexington and killed eight colonials, Ames' company was among the 350 men from Andover who set out for Lexington to fight the British. However, his troops did not see any combat that day as the colonials had already repulsed the British by the time they arrived.

• Ames company was later sent to Charlestown and ordered to entrench themselves on Breeds Hill. The company lost 3 men at the so-called Battle of Bunker Hill, but also inflicted heavy casualties on the British.

• In August of 1775, Ames wrote to the House of Representatives to complain that his troops had not been paid and that their families were suffering.

• In 1777, Ames was elected Warden and Surveyor of Highways. Many soldiers who had fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill were elected to town positions.

• Benjamin Ames also served on a building committee for the construction of a meeting house for South Parish in 1787.

• Benjamin Ames married Hephzibah Chandler in 1746 and died in 1768. He then married Dorcas Lovejoy in 1770. Benjamin Ames died at age 85.

See

• "Many Men Answered Call to Arms on April 19, 1775", Andover Historical Society Newsletter, Spring 1994.
• "At Age 52, He Led Andover Men to Bunker Hill," Andover Townsman, March 3, 2002, p. 20, 21.

--Leslie 15:59, April 10, 2012 (EDT)

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