Marinus Willett, soldier-patriot, 1740-1830

Colonel Marinus Willett's long life embraced the entire American struggle for independence. As a boy in New York he witnessd impressment of seamen. At eighteen he marched with Abercrombie against Fort Ticonderoga and with Bradstreet against Fort Frontenac. He became a radical Son of Liberty and single-handedly held up a British ammunition train at the corner of Broad and Beaver Streets. During the Revolution he took part in the following battles and expeditions: the attack on Quebec, the Battle of Long Island, the Battle of Monmouth and Sullivan's expedition against the Iroquois. His chief fame, however, was gained in the Mohawk Valley, where he led the famous sortie from Fort Stanwix and, while in command at Fort Plain, sallied forth to defeat Ross and Butler at Johnstown, thus bringing security to the Valley. After the war he returned to New York, where he served as High Sheriff and later as Mayor of the city. Though he had been dubbed "The Devil" by the Iroquois, he travelled 2000 miles in 1790 to negotiate a treaty with the Creeks. Marinus Willett: Soldier-Patriot emphasizes those phases of the American Revolution in New York in which Willett participated. Walter D. Edmonds writes in his foreword: "He (Willett) was a man of simple courage and singleness of purpose; he had faith in the American cause and unlike many of his brother officers was willing to put it above his own ambitions. he knew the New York frontier better probably than any other officer in the militia or the Continental Line... A man of almost no formal education, he could at times express himself with natural eloquence. And he knew how to lead men... At the end the simple virtues of his patriotism, his courage as a soldier, and his undeviating loyalty to his country were remembered. He has long deserved more attention from historians, and Mr. Thomas has done us a service by giving us this straightforward account of his career."