John Cowdrey

(November 5, 1757 – January 27, 1835) 

John Cowdrey participated in the Boston Tea Party in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773, at just sixteen years of age.  

Cowdrey’s revolutionary fervor was so great that he went on to serve a long and distinguished military career. The British captured him after the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. Released ten days later, he enlisted as a drummer on May 5 and on June 17 was present at the Battle of Bunker Hill. After winter quarters, Cowdrey’s regiment was ordered to New York, landing on April 5, 1776. Attached to General Henry Knox’s regiment, Cowdrey evacuated New York for New Jersey, then traveled with the fleet up the North River to White Plains, New York. Subsequently sent to Hartford, Connecticut, for more troops, he became ill and remained there until the army again moved to New Jersey.  

Under General Benedict Arnold, he fought at Stillwater, New York, in June 1777. Later wounded, he was hospitalized at Albany, New York, in April 1778, then sent to Hartford, Connecticut, for further recovery. In 1779, Cowdrey was taken prisoner in New York for 9 months. After his release during a prisoner exchange, he enlisted as an Officer of the Marines aboard the brig Trumble. The commander was “deranged,” by one description, and the brig ran aground on southern Long Island. New York, after being pursued by the British. Despite this setback, Cowdrey continued his military career well into the later years of the Revolution. He helped lay out the Artillery Laboratory in Springfield, New York, in the winter of 1780, spending the rest of the season at West Point, New York. In early 1781, Cowdrey marched to Verplank’s Point in New York, spending the summer there. The winter of 1782 was spent at Snake Hill, New York, until the Continental Army was formally disbanded in 1783. 

John Cowdrey’s post-Revolutionary career included appointment as Captain of the State Prison Guard of New York City in February 1812. He would hold the post for a dozen years. He filed a pension claim based on his many years of military service during the Revolutionary War; he was at last granted $400 a year beginning March 4, 1831. 

John Cowdrey died in New York City, New York, on January 27, 1835. He is buried in Warwick Cemetery in Warwick, New York.