George Reid (1733-1815)
Born Londonderry (NH).
Portrait by E. Wyatt Kimball, n.d. but possibly from a silhouette.
Possibly commissioned by State, c. 1873.

Reid's parents were among the early settlers of Londonderry. He married (Mary Woodbury) and the couple lived in Londonderry. Reid organized a company of militia; when war broke out in April 1775 he marched with his company to Medford, (MA), outside Boston, to join John Stark and his companies. Reid was made captain of his company by acclamation, and the company fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. On January 1, 1776 John Hancock, President of the delegates of the United Colonies, appointed Reid to be "a captain in the 5th Regiment of Foot, commanded by Colonel John Stark." [Rev. Edw. L. Parker, The History of Londonderry, comprising the towns of Derry and Londonderry, N.H. (Boston, 1851), p. 231.]

Reid was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the Second New Hampshire Regiment, commanded by Colonel Nathan Hale. When Hale was captured in Summer 1778, Reid was promoted to Colonel of the Second New Hampshire. He held a commission throughout the Revolution, and fought at Bunker Hill, Long Island, White Plains, Trenton, Brandywine, Germantown, Saratoga and Stillwater. He spent the winter of 1777/78 at Valley Forge, and served with General John Sullivan in the attack against the Six Nations. Several of George Washington's letters to Reid are printed in Parker, op cit.

Mrs. Reid's courage throughout the war was noted by John, whom Parker quotes as saying (op cit., p. 234), "If there is a woman in New Hampshire fit for governor, 'tis Molly Reid.")

In 1783 Reid was appointed "Colonel by brevet in the Army of the United States" by an Act of Congress. In 1785 John Langdon, President of New Hampshire, appointed Reid as Brigadier General of the State Militia. A year later, in 1786, Reid put down a rebellion against the state legislature, at the request of his old wartime commander, John Sullivan, who was then president of the state. Reid was so hated for this action that he received anonymous letters threatening his death and the destruction of his property by fire. On one occasion Reid faced down a mob gathered outside his home at night, according to Parker.

In 1791 Reid was appointed sheriff of Rockingham County. He died in 1815.

Location: First Floor Visitor Center Wall (Rooms 118,119)