DAR America250 talk features Greer's ancestor

TEMECULA – "The America250 program has been established to honor the memory of the men and women with whom we have a sacred compact to ensure that these United States of America continue as a government of the people, by the people, for the people. It is also designed to raise appreciation amongst current and future generations of Americans of our Patriots' sacrifice for their benefit," said Denise Doring Van Buren, Past President General National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

The NSDAR and local chapters have entered Phase II which involves external observances. Luiseño DAR Chapter met with the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary at The Colony in Murrieta, Saturday, July 30. The speaker was Cindy Greer – Luiseño member and America250 contact – and she spoke about the America250 and DAR partnership.

Greer also spoke about her direct ancestor and Revolutionary War Patriot, Phineas Kellogg. On the local level, Luiseño Chapter's Phase II includes speaking to interested groups in an effort to connect the past to inspire the future. Although many Americans know the names and lives of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, most Americans probably know very little about those who left their farms and their families to support and fight with General Washington and his officers.

This month, the Luiseño Chapter America250 Committee is pleased to present the story of Phineas Kellogg, Greer's 4-times great-grandfather who was born June 7, 1756, in Hartford, Connecticut. He was the son of Abraham Kellogg and Sarah Marsh, both natives of Hartford, who had 11 children.

Unbeknown to Kellogg, he fought in one of the most famous battles in American history – that being the Lexington Alarm on April 19, 1775. His military history and contribution include enlistment for more military service as he served 12 months in Capt. Ebenezer Bissell's Company of Colonel Huntington's 1st Regiment of Connecticut.

During the Lexington Alarm, British General Thomas Gage learned of military stores at Concord and was determined to send a force of Redcoats to destroy them. His preparations were made with the utmost secrecy. Yet so alert were the patriot eyes in Boston that when the British force of 700 men set out on the night of April 18, 1775, two messengers, Paul Revere and William Dawes, preceded them to spread the alarm throughout the countryside.

At dawn, when the British arrived at Lexington, the halfway point to Concord, they found a force of 77 minutemen drawn up on the village green. During that first battle of the Revolutionary War, Kellogg and other minutemen harassed the retreating British troops along the Concord-Lexington Road.

Kellogg fought at the Siege of Boston which was the opening phase of the American Revolution. New England militiamen prevented the movement by land of the British Army garrisoned in what was then the peninsular city of Boston. He also fought in the Battle of Long Island (also known as the Battle of Brooklyn Heights), Aug. 27, 1776. The leader was General Washington. It was the first major battle of the Revolutionary War to take place after the United States declared its independence on July 4, 1776.

Kellogg was injured in that battle, and was confined to a hospital in Newark, New Jersey. He recovered and was discharged from that hospital. He was also a Minuteman in Capt. Chester's Wethersfield Company. Minutemen were a small hand-picked elite force which was required to be highly mobile and able to assemble quickly.

Minutemen were selected from militia muster rolls by their commanding officers. Usually 25 years of age or younger, they were chosen for their enthusiasm, reliability, and physical strength. Usually about one quarter of the militia served as Minutemen and they were self-trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies.

The Minutemen were the first armed militia to arrive or await a battle. There is a decided difference between the militia and minutemen. Militia were men in arms formed to protect their towns from foreign invasion and ravages of war.

The Kellogg family of Connecticut had a strong presence in the Revolutionary War. Forty-four Kellogg men, living in Connecticut, fought for independence. Brothers Martin, Moses, Phineas, and Solomon Kellogg are listed among the 44 in an index to Revolutionary Service Records; the other Kellogg's likely were cousins and uncles.