Who was Alexander Scammel?

Alexander Scammel sometimes Scammell (1747-1781) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was killed in action.

Scammel was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, and, as a young man, graduated from Harvard College in 1769. After graduation, he worked as a teacher, surveyor and, in 1773, as a lawyer with John Sullivan in New Hampshire and was with him during the raid on Fort William and Mary December 14, 1774.

With the start of the American Revolution, Scammel became a major in the 2nd New Hampshire Regiment and was sent with them to reinforce the Continental Army units in the Invasion of Canada.

In November 1776, Alexander Scammel was promoted to Colonel of the 3rd New Hampshire Regiment. He would command the regiment at Trenton, Princeton, Saratoga, the Sullivan Expedition and Monmouth.

At Valley Forge, Col. Alexander Scammel would be appointed Adjutant general of the Continental Army by Gen. George Washington. Alexander Scammel was killed on October 1, 1781 during the Siege of Yorktown.

Both Alexander Scammel Wadsworth and Henry Alexander Scammell Dearborn were named by his friends Peleg Wadsworth and Henry Dearborn in memory of him. Fort Scammel in Casco Bay, Maine is named after him. Also in 1933, the Alexander Scammell Bridge over the Bellamy River in Durham, New Hampshire, was named after him.