Collect Day #10, SAMPSON MOORE BATTIS
O God who never forgets the saints who lived in times past: we remember today Sampson Moore Battis who fought for the freedoms we now inherit and who labored for freedom of the woman he loved; may we, like him, raise up generations of youth who speak and act boldly for the honor of all people and who will not tolerate racism in any form; through him who is the way, the truth and the life, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
Day #10, February 24, 2018
Canterbury
SAMPSON MOORE BATTIS
(1750 – 1853)
Rev. Deborah Knowlton
Sampson Moore was born in 1750. He was held as a slave by Archelaus Moore of Canterbury. Some believe that Sampson was a free West Indian before he was bought by Archelaus. Others have speculated that he is the son of John Battis, an enslaved servant owned by Robert Thompson of Durham. John Battis appears with Nan and Page in the 1753 probate record for Robert Thompson. Neither of these speculations has been confirmed.
Sampson was said to have been over six feet tall and a good fiddler. So, in 1775 when Canterbury needed its quota of soldiers, he enlisted, served several short terms and was discharged in 1781. There may have been some confusion, since he was listed as a deserter but said he was “verbally” discharged two days before the rest of the unit. Prior to enlistment, his owner, Archelaus, had promised him his freedom for “good fighting”. That promise was kept, and Sampson was also given a 100 acre lot in the southwest corner of Canterbury. He was given the honorific title of “Major” by Governor Gilman and was known to have greatly enjoyed the election muster days he attended regularly. His son-in-law, Toney Clark, also a fiddler, was said to have acted as inspector general on traditional muster day celebrations, as well as “dancing master.” One wonders if Toney who lived west of Concord and Sampson, who lived north of Concord, would meet to enjoy the Concord musters together.
Sampson married Lucy Carey, a West Indian woman owned by William Coffin of Concord. Sampson worked for William for one year in order to purchase Lucy’s freedom. It was said by Concord people that Sampson was “well recollected”. They had at least three children, possibly as many as seven: Lucinda who married Toney Clark; Sophia who married William Robinson; Peter who married Lydia Harvey; Eliza who married Ephraim Haskell; Sampson, Jr. who married a white woman from Lebanon; and Naomi, and Silas. The Battis family homeplace became known as New Guinea because of the several generations of their children who were born there.
As happened with many other Black veterans, Sampson did not ask for his pension until years after his service. When he did ask in 1832, he was 82 years of age; he was placed on the pension rolls in February of 1833. It is said that Sampson lived until 1853 making him 103 years old at his death. If this is true, he far outlived the length of time that he received a pension. Sampson may not have had a birth certificate, or even a death certificate, but his legacy is in the resiliency of the many branches of his family who survived him. Sampson is buried in the southwest corner of the Moore burial ground at Canterbury Center, his grave marked by a white marble headstone, thanks to the vision and dedication of Canterbury’s citizens toward marking every gravesite in town of a known patriot.
From Chandler Potter’s “Military History of Hew Hampshire” we learn that Battis achieved the rank of Major when he was given command of a battalion by Governor Gilman in 1800. This probably makes him the first African American to be put in charge of a white troop and to be officially awarded this particular military title; a fact historians have not yet flagged.
