David Smith’s Revolutionary War service remembered in Wayne County

Born in Dutchess County, New York Dec. 10, 1753, David Smith stepped forward to serve the patriot cause in spring 1776. What followed would test the limits of human endurance and place him among the small number of Revolutionary War prisoners who survived one of the darkest chapters of the American struggle for independence.

Smith enlisted in May 1776 for what was expected to be nine months of service on the Connecticut Line. Instead, he found himself swept into Gen. George Washington’s desperate defense of Manhattan. In November of that year, Smith and thousands of fellow patriots were ordered to defend Fort Washington, the Americans’ last stronghold in New York.

The battle ended in disaster.

Outnumbered nearly three to one by British and Hessian forces, the Americans were overwhelmed. More than 2,800 patriot soldiers surrendered, David Smith among them. The defeat at Fort Washington became the single largest patriot loss of the Revolutionary War. Even more horrifying, only about 800 of those captured soldiers survived imprisonment.

David Smith was one of them.

Smith described the terrible ordeal. Wounded in the head during the battle, he was first confined inside St. Mary’s Church with fellow prisoners. After several days he was transported to the infamous British prison ships anchored in New York Harbor, likely aboard the notorious Jersey prison ship.

Conditions there were beyond brutal. Prisoners were packed so tightly they could scarcely lie down. Food was scarce, consisting of meager quarter-rations. Diseases spread rapidly. On the 10th day of captivity, a prisoner infected with smallpox was brought aboard, and deaths soon soared. Smith contracted the disease himself.

The sick were eventually moved ashore to the “sugar houses,” where conditions remained grim. Prisoners were beaten as they marched through the streets and stripped of what little clothing and blankets they still possessed. Naked, ill and weakened, Smith survived long enough to be paroled back to the Americans.

Too sick to travel, he remained in New York until April 1777 when he finally saved enough of his military pay to hire a doctor. A friend of his father brought him clothing, and eventually, Smith’s father traveled to “fetch” his son home. Many former prisoners died before reaching their families again. David Smith recovered.

In 1780 Smith married Mary Tryon, and together they raised seven children. By 1809 the family had migrated westward from New York to Ohio, first settling briefly in Trumbull County before purchasing land in Wayne County’s Canaan Township. There, Smith worked as a silversmith and mesh maker to support his growing family.

At age 75 Smith’s workshop burned, destroying all of his tools and equipment. Unable to work and suffering from the hardships of old age, he reluctantly applied for a government pension, writing with quiet dignity, “I have acted the part of a regular soldier as well as any other.”

Widowed in his later years, Smith was cared for by his son Daniel until his death Dec. 1, 1831. He is buried in Canaan Township, but for generations his grave remained unmarked.

That changed in 2025 when the Daughters of the American Revolution Wooster-Wayne Chapter placed a bronze plaque at his gravesite, ensuring one of Wayne County’s Revolutionary patriots would finally receive the recognition he earned nearly 250 years ago.

Editor's note: The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Wooster-Wayne Chapter is submitting a series of articles about Revolutionary War patriots buried in Wayne County. This is the sixth of the series. Email Jolene Dyer at jolene.dyer@gmail.com with questions or comments.