Samuel Whittemore Jr. (July 27, 1696 – February 2, 1793) was an American farmer and soldier, renowned for being the oldest known colonial combatant in the American Revolutionary War. Born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, to Samuel Whittemore Sr. and Hannah Rix, he lived a remarkable life marked by military service and extraordinary resilience.
Whittemore’s military career began in his late 40s when he served as a private in Colonel Jeremiah Moulton’s Third Massachusetts Regiment during King George’s War (1744–1748). He participated in the capture of the French Fortress of Louisbourg in 1745, where he reportedly acquired an ornate sword from a fallen French officer. Some accounts suggest he later fought in the French and Indian War (1754–1763) at age 64, again aiding in the capture of Louisbourg, and possibly took part in a campaign against Chief Pontiac in 1763, though evidence for these later engagements is less certain.
His most famous moment came on April 19, 1775, during the British retreat from the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the opening clashes of the Revolutionary War. At 78 years old, Whittemore was working in his fields in Menotomy (now Arlington), Massachusetts, when he spotted a British relief brigade under Earl Percy. Arming himself with a musket, two dueling pistols, and his sword, he took position behind a stone wall and ambushed the British grenadiers of the 47th Regiment of Foot. He killed one soldier with his musket, then used his pistols to kill another and mortally wound a third. As British troops closed in, he drew his sword and fought hand-to-hand. The soldiers shot him in the face, bayoneted him multiple times (accounts vary from six to thirteen wounds), and beat him, leaving him for dead.
Remarkably, colonial forces found Whittemore alive, attempting to reload his musket despite his grievous injuries. He was taken to Dr. Cotton Tufts in Medford, who doubted he would survive. Defying all odds, Whittemore recovered and lived another 18 years, dying of natural causes at age 96 in 1793. He is buried in the Old Burying Ground in Arlington.