Joseph Neely was born aboard ship en route from Scotland. He was the son of Charles Neely, about whom little is known. As a boy Joseph learned the blacksmith's trade. At the age of 17 he enlisted in Capt. John Marshall's Company, Col. Samuel Miles' Battalion, which was raised in Hanover Township, Dauphin Co. (now Lancaster Co.), in April 1776. They were called the Pennsylvania Rifle Regulars. He was a sharpshooter.
On August 27, 1776, Neely was captured at the battle of Flatbush, along with Colonel Miles, several officers, and over 300 men. He escaped from a prison ship in New York harbor and swam ashore, going first to Pennsylvania, then to Virginia and later rejoining his regiment.
Marshall's Company crossed the Delaware with Gen. George Washington at Coryell's Ferry on December 25, 1776. It is possible that Joseph Neely had rejoined his company in time to make this "celebrated crossing," but this is uncertain.
Neely was wounded in the ankle in the Battle of Brandywine September 11, 1777. According to one source, he was lame for the rest of his life. He was later at the battle of Germantown. One source states that he was at Valley Forge that winter with Gen. Washington, but this has not been proven.
On May 6, 1778, Neely's first enlistment ended. There was a second enlistment, lasting two years, during which time Neely served as part of General Washington's bodyguard. He was at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
In 1781 Joseph married Martha Robertson Johnston, possibly in Lancaster County, Penn. She was the daughter of Thomas Johnston, his employer as a boy, and was born in 1761 in Alexandria, Va.
The family lived in Washington County, Penn., from 1781 to 1790 and then migrated to Kentucky, near Lexington, where they lived about two years. They then moved to Mercer County. According to recollections of Joseph's daughter, Patsey, the family embarked from Pittsburgh on a large flat boat loaded with flour and horses for the New Orleans markets. They came down the Ohio as far as Maysville, Ky. In 1803 (or perhaps 1805) they continued down the Ohio from Maysville to the landing where Evansville, Ind., is now located. Neely received a grant of land in Indiana in 1805 for his Revolutionary War services.
Some sources say Joseph Neely died on October 26, 1811, in Gibson County, Ind. However he may have died as early as 1806. His wife died between 1811 and 1813. He is buried on Neely Hill northeast of Patoka, Ind. No original gravestone survives, but in October 1929 the DAR placed a marker near where Joseph Neely lies buried. The marker stands beside the old Petersburg-Evansville trail. More than 300 persons, many of whom were descendants of Joseph Neely, attended the ceremony on the farm of Henry Jones.
See https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ahgilbertson/DescJosephNeely.pdf
On August 27, 1776, Neely was captured at the battle of Flatbush, along with Colonel Miles, several officers, and over 300 men. He escaped from a prison ship in New York harbor and swam ashore, going first to Pennsylvania, then to Virginia and later rejoining his regiment.
Marshall's Company crossed the Delaware with Gen. George Washington at Coryell's Ferry on December 25, 1776. It is possible that Joseph Neely had rejoined his company in time to make this "celebrated crossing," but this is uncertain.
Neely was wounded in the ankle in the Battle of Brandywine September 11, 1777. According to one source, he was lame for the rest of his life. He was later at the battle of Germantown. One source states that he was at Valley Forge that winter with Gen. Washington, but this has not been proven.
On May 6, 1778, Neely's first enlistment ended. There was a second enlistment, lasting two years, during which time Neely served as part of General Washington's bodyguard. He was at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
In 1781 Joseph married Martha Robertson Johnston, possibly in Lancaster County, Penn. She was the daughter of Thomas Johnston, his employer as a boy, and was born in 1761 in Alexandria, Va.
The family lived in Washington County, Penn., from 1781 to 1790 and then migrated to Kentucky, near Lexington, where they lived about two years. They then moved to Mercer County. According to recollections of Joseph's daughter, Patsey, the family embarked from Pittsburgh on a large flat boat loaded with flour and horses for the New Orleans markets. They came down the Ohio as far as Maysville, Ky. In 1803 (or perhaps 1805) they continued down the Ohio from Maysville to the landing where Evansville, Ind., is now located. Neely received a grant of land in Indiana in 1805 for his Revolutionary War services.
Some sources say Joseph Neely died on October 26, 1811, in Gibson County, Ind. However he may have died as early as 1806. His wife died between 1811 and 1813. He is buried on Neely Hill northeast of Patoka, Ind. No original gravestone survives, but in October 1929 the DAR placed a marker near where Joseph Neely lies buried. The marker stands beside the old Petersburg-Evansville trail. More than 300 persons, many of whom were descendants of Joseph Neely, attended the ceremony on the farm of Henry Jones.
See https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ahgilbertson/DescJosephNeely.pdf
Joseph Neely was born aboard ship en route from Scotland. He was the son of Charles Neely, about whom little is known. As a boy Joseph learned the blacksmith's trade. At the age of 17 he enlisted in Capt. John Marshall's Company, Col. Samuel Miles' Battalion, which was raised in Hanover Township, Dauphin Co. (now Lancaster Co.), in April 1776. They were called the Pennsylvania Rifle Regulars. He was a sharpshooter.
On August 27, 1776, Neely was captured at the battle of Flatbush, along with Colonel Miles, several officers, and over 300 men. He escaped from a prison ship in New York harbor and swam ashore, going first to Pennsylvania, then to Virginia and later rejoining his regiment.
Marshall's Company crossed the Delaware with Gen. George Washington at Coryell's Ferry on December 25, 1776. It is possible that Joseph Neely had rejoined his company in time to make this "celebrated crossing," but this is uncertain.
Neely was wounded in the ankle in the Battle of Brandywine September 11, 1777. According to one source, he was lame for the rest of his life. He was later at the battle of Germantown. One source states that he was at Valley Forge that winter with Gen. Washington, but this has not been proven.
On May 6, 1778, Neely's first enlistment ended. There was a second enlistment, lasting two years, during which time Neely served as part of General Washington's bodyguard. He was at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
In 1781 Joseph married Martha Robertson Johnston, possibly in Lancaster County, Penn. She was the daughter of Thomas Johnston, his employer as a boy, and was born in 1761 in Alexandria, Va.
The family lived in Washington County, Penn., from 1781 to 1790 and then migrated to Kentucky, near Lexington, where they lived about two years. They then moved to Mercer County. According to recollections of Joseph's daughter, Patsey, the family embarked from Pittsburgh on a large flat boat loaded with flour and horses for the New Orleans markets. They came down the Ohio as far as Maysville, Ky. In 1803 (or perhaps 1805) they continued down the Ohio from Maysville to the landing where Evansville, Ind., is now located. Neely received a grant of land in Indiana in 1805 for his Revolutionary War services.
Some sources say Joseph Neely died on October 26, 1811, in Gibson County, Ind. However he may have died as early as 1806. His wife died between 1811 and 1813. He is buried on Neely Hill northeast of Patoka, Ind. No original gravestone survives, but in October 1929 the DAR placed a marker near where Joseph Neely lies buried. The marker stands beside the old Petersburg-Evansville trail. More than 300 persons, many of whom were descendants of Joseph Neely, attended the ceremony on the farm of Henry Jones.
See https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ahgilbertson/DescJosephNeely.pdf
On August 27, 1776, Neely was captured at the battle of Flatbush, along with Colonel Miles, several officers, and over 300 men. He escaped from a prison ship in New York harbor and swam ashore, going first to Pennsylvania, then to Virginia and later rejoining his regiment.
Marshall's Company crossed the Delaware with Gen. George Washington at Coryell's Ferry on December 25, 1776. It is possible that Joseph Neely had rejoined his company in time to make this "celebrated crossing," but this is uncertain.
Neely was wounded in the ankle in the Battle of Brandywine September 11, 1777. According to one source, he was lame for the rest of his life. He was later at the battle of Germantown. One source states that he was at Valley Forge that winter with Gen. Washington, but this has not been proven.
On May 6, 1778, Neely's first enlistment ended. There was a second enlistment, lasting two years, during which time Neely served as part of General Washington's bodyguard. He was at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown.
In 1781 Joseph married Martha Robertson Johnston, possibly in Lancaster County, Penn. She was the daughter of Thomas Johnston, his employer as a boy, and was born in 1761 in Alexandria, Va.
The family lived in Washington County, Penn., from 1781 to 1790 and then migrated to Kentucky, near Lexington, where they lived about two years. They then moved to Mercer County. According to recollections of Joseph's daughter, Patsey, the family embarked from Pittsburgh on a large flat boat loaded with flour and horses for the New Orleans markets. They came down the Ohio as far as Maysville, Ky. In 1803 (or perhaps 1805) they continued down the Ohio from Maysville to the landing where Evansville, Ind., is now located. Neely received a grant of land in Indiana in 1805 for his Revolutionary War services.
Some sources say Joseph Neely died on October 26, 1811, in Gibson County, Ind. However he may have died as early as 1806. His wife died between 1811 and 1813. He is buried on Neely Hill northeast of Patoka, Ind. No original gravestone survives, but in October 1929 the DAR placed a marker near where Joseph Neely lies buried. The marker stands beside the old Petersburg-Evansville trail. More than 300 persons, many of whom were descendants of Joseph Neely, attended the ceremony on the farm of Henry Jones.
See https://sites.rootsweb.com/~ahgilbertson/DescJosephNeely.pdf
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