Alexander Ramsey Thompson

Memorial to the battle and A.R. Thompson, Okeechobee, Florida, 2015, dff.

Alexander Ramsay Thompson, b. 19 February, 1793, New York to Alexander Thompson and Abigail DeHart.

He died at the battle of Okeechobee, Okeechobee county, Florida, 25 December, 1837.

He married at New York City, 29 Apr 1816, Maria Waldron Nexsen (1790–1858) daughter of ___

Biography

Colonel Alexander Ramsay Thompson (1793-1837) was born in New York and was the youngest son of Captain Alexander Thompson and Abigail DeHart. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1812, and was commissioned 1st lieutenant in the 6th Infantry. During the War of 1812, Thompson fought in Canada under General James Wilkinson, and participated in the Battle of Plattsburg. After the war, Thompson served as captain at Fort Niagara, and in 1816 he married Mary Waldron Nexsen (1790-1858). They had one son who died in infancy.

Over the next 20 years, Thompson rose to the rank of colonel and served at forts in New York, Michigan, Kansas, Louisiana, and Florida. He was killed in the Battle of Okeechobee during the Seminole War in 1837.

Cullum's Register, Vol. I, p.10375

Alexander R. Thompson

Alexander Ramsay Thompson: Born New York, Feb. 10, 1793. Class of 1812, applied 1812.

Military History

Cadet of the Military Academy, Nov. 21, 1810, to Jan. 3, 1812, when he was graduated and promoted in the Army to

First Lieut., 6th Infantry, Jan. 3, 1812.

Served: in the War of 1812‑15 with Great Britain, on the Northern Frontier, 1812, — in General Wilkinson's Descent of the St. Lawrence River, 1813, — and in the Campaign of 1813‑14, on the Lake Champlain line of operations, being engaged in the Battle of Plattsburg, N.Y.,

(Captain, 6th Infantry, May 1, 1814)

Sep. 11, 1814; in garrison at Ft. Niagara, N. Y., 1815‑16; on Recruiting

(Captain, 2d Infantry, on Reduction of Army, May 17, 1815)

service, 1818‑19; in garrison at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., 1819‑1821, — Greenbush, N.Y., 1821, — and Ft. Brady, Mich., 1821‑23; on Recruiting

(Bvt. Major, May 1, 1824, for Faithful Service Ten Years in one Grade)

service, 1824‑25; on frontier duty at Ft. Niagara, N. Y., 1825‑26, — Ft. Howard, Wis., 1826, — Ft. Mackinac, Mich., 1826‑28, and Ft. Gratiot, Mich., 1828‑31, 1831‑32; on "Black Hawk Expedition," but

(Major, 6th Infantry, Apr. 4, 1832)

not at the seat of war, 1832;a on frontier duty at Ft. Mackinac, Mich., 1832‑33, — Ft. Leavenworth, Kan., 1833, 1834, — and Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1834; on Recruiting service, 1835‑36; on frontier duty at Ft. Jesup, La., 1836, — Camp Sabine, La., 1836, — and Ft. Jesup, La., 1836; and in the Florida War, 1837, being engaged against the Seminole Indians

(Lieut.‑Colonel, 6th Infantry, Sep. 6, 1837)

at the Battle of Okee-cho‑bee, where, at the head of his regiment, in a desperate charge, he was

Killed, 2 Dec. 25, 1837: Aged 44.

Buried, West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY.

The Author's Notes [Cullum]:

1. Was the son of Captain Alexander Thompson, of the regiment of Artillerists and Engineers, in 1794.
2. Thayer's Note: On p16 of The Ancestry and Descendants of John Alexander Thompson Nexsen "Compiled and Arranged by Samuel Emory Rogers", 1925, we read:

Colonel Thompson was the son of Captain Alexander Thompson, (1759‑1809), who enlisted for the American Revolutionary struggle at the age of eighteen in the Artillery Regiment of Colonel John Lamb. He was soon promoted to Captain of Artillery and later served as Captain of Engineers. He drew the plans for the siege of York town, which plans hang under his portrait in the United States Military Academy at West Point. He entered New York with the victorious American troops and was selected by General Washington to bear the dispatches to the frontier forts at Oswego, Niagara, and Detroit, ordering cessation of hostilities. At the close of the Revolution his company was the only company of the American army not disbanded. On October 1, 1787, Captain Alexander Thompson was promoted to First Major in Lieutenant-Colonel Sebastian Baum's Artillery. He resigned his commission as Major on October 9, 1793 in order to accept appointment as Commissary of Ordnance at West Point at the foundation of the Military Academy, which post he held until his death. He is buried at the Military Academy at West Point.

1. "Although," in the language of the official despatch, "he received two balls from the fire of the enemy early in the action, which wounded him severely, yet he appeared to disregard them, and continued to give his orders with the same coolness that he would have done had his regiment been under review, or any other parade duty. Advancing, he received a third ball, which at once deprived him of life: his last words were, 'Keep steady, men; charge the hammock — remember the regiment to which you belong.'"

Their nephew, Rev. Alexander Ramsey Thompson

Reverend Alexander Ramsey Thompson (1822-1895) was born to Janette Nexsen and William Robert Thompson, brother of Colonel Alexander R. Thompson. He graduated from New York University in 1842 and soon after entered the seminary at Princeton. In 1846, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister, and later that year married Mary Carpenter. They had eight children. For the next 15 years, Thompson preached at various churches in New York and New Jersey before settling in Bridgeport, Connecticut. During the Civil War, Thompson served as chaplain of the 17th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers. In 1862 he moved his family to New York City and took up a ministry at the 21st Street Dutch Reformed Church. There, he devoted much of his energies to supporting the New England Soldiers' Relief Association. At the end of the war, Thompson was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity from New York University, and in 1871 became the chaplain of the Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. Thompson died in 1895.

Sources

• Alexander Thompson papers (1793-1932) Collection processed and finding aid created by Philip Heslip, May 2011. Manuscripts Division, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan. William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, 909 S. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1190. Phone: 734-764-2347. Web Site: www.clements.umich.edu
• Creator: Ricca, Richard F.
• Abstract: The Alexander Thompson papers consist of the papers of three generations of Thompsons: Captain Alexander Thompson (1759-1809), Colonel Alexander Ramsey Thompson (1793-1837), and Reverend Alexander Ramsey Thompson (1822-1895). These papers document the military service of Captain Thompson in United States army (1793-1809); Colonel Thompson's military service (1819-1837); attempts by Colonel Thompson's widow Mary Thompson to secure a military pension (1838-1849); and the career of Reverend Thompson, a Union Army chaplain and Presbyterian minister, along with his family letters (1850-1932).
• Preferred Citation "Alexander Thompson Papers, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan"
• Biographical/Historical Note

Captain Alexander Thompson (1759-1809) was born in New York City to James Thompson and Margaret Ramsay. Alexander married Abigail Amelia DeHart in 1784, and they had six children. Thompson fought in the American Revolution, first in a militia company commanded by Silvanus Seely (1777), and later as a lieutenant in John Lamb's artillery (1779-1783). In 1786, Thompson became a captain in the New York Militia Regiment of Artillery, and in 1794, President George Washington commissioned him to the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers stationed at Governor's Island (1795). His next posts were at Fort Niagara (1798) in New York, and Fort Lernoult in Michigan Territory (1800). He returned to New York City in 1802, and in 1806 became the military storekeeper at West Point, where he aided in the construction of the military academy there. He died at West Point on September 28, 1809.
Colonel Alexander Ramsay Thompson (1793-1837) was born in New York and was the youngest son of Captain Alexander Thompson and Abigail DeHart. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1812, and was commissioned 1st lieutenant in the 6th Infantry. During the War of 1812, Thompson fought in Canada under General James Wilkinson, and participated in the Battle of Plattsburg. After the war, Thompson served as captain at Fort Niagara, and in 1816 he married Mary Waldron Nexsen (1790-1858). They had one son who died in infancy. Over the next 20 years, Thompson rose to the rank of colonel and served at forts in New York, Michigan, Kansas, Louisiana, and Florida. He was killed in the Battle of Okeechobee during the Seminole War in 1837.
Reverend Alexander Ramsey Thompson (1822-1895) was born to Janette Nexsen and William Robert Thompson, brother of Colonel Alexander R. Thompson. He graduated from New York University in 1842 and soon after entered the seminary at Princeton. In 1846, he was ordained a Presbyterian minister, and later that year married Mary Carpenter. They had eight children. For the next 15 years, Thompson preached at various churches in New York and New Jersey before settling in Bridgeport, Connecticut. During the Civil War, Thompson served as chaplain of the 17th Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers. In 1862 he moved his family to New York City and took up a ministry at the 21st Street Dutch Reformed Church. There, he devoted much of his energies to supporting the New England Soldiers' Relief Association. At the end of the war, Thompson was awarded a Doctorate of Divinity from New York University, and in 1871 became the chaplain of the Roosevelt Hospital in New York City. Thompson died in 1895.

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