The Rehoboth Militia Unit included Bucklins

Originally chartered in 1774 by the town of Rehoboth as a town Militia unit, the unit was comprised of mixed Militia and Minutemen, totaling a force of 210 troops by 1775, under the command of Capt. John Daggett of Attleboro and Col. Timothy Walker of Rehoboth.

Ten days before the confrontation between the British and American forces at Concord and Lexington, the unit was sent to Freetown.  On April 9, 1775, without a shot being fired, the Rehoboth Militia seized 40 stands of British arms, munitions, and accoutrements.  The  British then became more aggressive out of their Boston garrison in trying to seize the munitions of the American militia units, such as those at Concord and Lexington.

On April 19th of the same year, the Rehoboth Company was dispatched to the Roxbury and Dorchester area of Boston, where as part of the Massachusetts  troops were absorbed into Washington's Continental forces during the American army's reorganization in 1776 at the Boston camp. Many members of the original unit went on to serve with Gen. George Washington's Continental forces in the 13th Continental Regiment.

Colonel Thomas Carpenter took over the remaining town Militia in 1776. Under Carpenter, the unit took part in battles such as the battle of White Plains, the Battle of Rhode Island, the battle at Yonkers, N.Y., and the battle of Long Island.

The above is excerpted from the home page of the Rehoboth Minute Company.  Go directly to the Rehoboth Minute Men web site to learn more about that unit!

In 1774 John Bucklin II was a captain of the Rehoboth Minute Company unit. John was a cousin of Joseph Bucklin 5th, who fired the shot in 1772 that resulted in the capture of the English ship Gaspee.

This Rehoboth town unit is the reason why some of the Bucklins at Valley Forge were there.  They started their service in Rehoboth.  See more about the personnel of the Rehoboth Militia Unit at our page on the subject.

Do you want to wear a colonial costume and march with the Rehoboth militia when they are in the annual Gaspee Days parade in Rhode Island.  You can!

We credit Pamela Fuller who has been tireless in finding and contributing valuable information regarding Rehoboth.  She is wonderful example of a person with a love of history and a desire to save now, record now, and pass historical facts to the next generations!  A great deal of the information we have about the town of Rehoboth either came from her, or she helped to verify facts that we had from other sources.