Several captured British regulars made statements published by the Provincial Congress a week after the fight, including Private James Marr of the 4th Regiment (King’s Own) Light Infantry. Some evidence suggests this was the same James Marr who later served in the Continental Army on the patriot side. Did the Scottish-born Marr switch sides?
Facts:
- In Reverend Gordon’s 1775 account of the fight, published in the Philadelphia Gazette and elsewhere, he refers to a captured regular: “one James Marr, a native of Aberdeen, in Scotland, of the 4th Regiment”.
- Ancestry.com currently shows several 1750s baptism records in Scotland for “James Marr”. One from Cluny Aberdeen, 16 Apr 1757 would make James 18 the day of the fight. Another from Saint Nicolas Aberdeen, dated 28 July 1754, would make him almost twenty-one.
- Revolutionary War Muster Rolls: James Marr listed with men mustered by Nathaniel Barber, Suffolk Co, Boston, June 8 1777, Capt Corey’s Company, Putnam’s regiment. Also descriptive lists dated West Point, 10, Jan 1781: James Marr, Residence: Groton, Stature: 5ft 9in, Complexion: Dark, Hair: Dark, Eyes: Grey, Age: 24 years, 1 month. Listed as a sergeant in 1781.
- Ancestry.com shows no records for anyone named James Marr born in Suffolk County (Boston) or Worcester County (Groton) where the continental soldier named Marr entered service.
In the absence of any known James Marr from Massachusetts, and since the Dec 1756 birth date imputed for the “James Marr” in the 1781 West Point records aligns with an April 1757 baptism of the “James Marr” baptized in Cluny, Aberdeen, the odds seem to favor that, following his capture at Concord’s North Bridge, James Marr of the King’s Own joined the rebel cause.
It’s not clear what happened to the Massachusetts Marr after the revolution. There is no one named James Marr in the 1790 census records for Massachusetts. Several possibilities:
- The 1790 New Hampshire census has a “James Marrs” living in Alstead Town, Cheshire County, with one female and one young male. Alstead was a new town, incorporated in 1763, so a revolutionary war vet might have found affordable land there.
- The 1790 New York census records include a “James Marrs” in Ostego Town, Montgomery County with two men and two women.
- The 1790 Maine census records include a James Marr in Gorham living with three females and one young male, which aligns with a thirtysomething veteran. However several other Marr’s lived there also, which suggests extended family.
Ancestry records show a “Sergeant James Marrs” died in Indiana in 1814. Some claim that man was from Virginia. No other death records turned up.
The Lexington Fight 