Twenty-two lines are given to General John Whitcomb, nearly every date and statement in which is erroneous

In the Whitcomb line of my genealogy work I find the story of General John Whitcomb. He was the senior officer to respond to the Lexington Alarm and led the harassing attacks on the British during the return to Boston. A couple of months later, he and his regiments were emplaced on Lechmere's Point above Charlestown where the British were expected to land. They instead landed near Breed's Hill adjacent to Bunker Hill where the famous battle was fought under Colonel William Prescott.

General Whitcomb remained emplaced on Lechmere' Point in the event that the Breed Hill attack were a mere feint. As the attack progressed and it became apparent that Bunker Hill was indeed the primary target, he provided support and released a number of his companies to bolster Preston.

For such a central figure in so pivotal a part of our history, I was surprised that I had never heard of him. And he does indeed appear to have been one of the so many figures who disappear from history for no known reason. In researching him, I find him and his exploits in accounts from contemporary memoirs. Just not in later histories.

Historian Henry S. Nourse was so incensed by this omission that he wrote a small monograph to rectify it. He indicts his fellow historians in his second paragraph.

In "Appleton's Cyclopœdia of American Biography," published in 1889, twenty-two lines are given to General John Whitcomb, nearly every date and statement in which is erroneous. It is alleged therein that he was born "about 1720, and died in 1812"; and the brief narrative is embellished with a romantic tale wholly borrowed from the military experience of a younger brother, Colonel Asa Whitcomb. Biographical notes in volumes XII and XVIII of the Essex Institute Historical Collections perpetuate like errors of date. Even in the most voluminous histories of the building of the Republic, this general's name is barely, or not at all mentioned.

Nearly every date and statement in which is erroneous - hard words.

Apparently Whitcomb was highly respected but self-effacing. He fought in three wars (two during the colonial era) and then as a pivotal leader at the beginning of the American Revolution. His grave stone is a masterpiece of understatement.

John Whetcomb, Esq., died November 17,
1785, in the 73 year of his age.

Blessed are the peace-makers, for they
shall be called the children of God.

No mention of his military achievements, civic roles, accolades, or other accomplishments.