Saving Private Rich: A Connecticut Family's Story of Enormous Sacrifice

The level of sacrifice endured by some families during wartime can be staggering. No recent event made that point better than the 1998 Steven Spielberg film, Saving Private Ryan. Based mostly on the real life story of the Niland brothers of Tonawanda, NY, the movie also weaves together several other elements of the most poignant American stories of family loss during war. The plot of the movie centers around Pvt. James Francis Ryan of Paton, Iowa. His 3 brothers have all been killed within a few days of each other. In one of the most moving scenes in the movie, his mother collapses with the anticipation of grief on her floor as the Army staff bearing the dreadful news approaches her home. This sad situation comes to the attention of General George Marshall, who then orders that Mrs. Ryan’s sole surviving son be rescued and sent home to her. A similar but largely unknown and under-publicized story of enormous family wartime loss took place in Connecticut during the American Revolution.

Like the Ryan family of Iowa, Cornelius and Rhoda Rich of East Hampton (then known as Chatham), who were married 264 years ago this coming week on May 9, 1747, had all of their sons serve in war. Six sons served in the Continental Army: Cornelius Jr., Nathaniel, John, Joseph, Lemuel, and James. Like the Ryan family, their personal loss in war was almost unimaginable. John was the first to die. He was killed on Aug. 6, 1777, near or in Pennsylvania. Joseph was killed in action on Sept. 11, 1777, in the Battle of Brandywine. The next to die was Nathaniel in the Battle of Norwalk (CT) on July 7, 1779.

We have details about Nathaniel’s death. Wounded in the knee, he was being carried by comrades during the retreat. Fearing for his comrades’ safety, Nathaniel begged them to leave him and to save themselves; reluctantly, they did. Two hours later, his comrades returned to find Nathaniel Rich dead, the top of his head blown off by a British musket. Here is the account written in the Beers 1885 History of Middlesex County:

In the course of two hours, the enemy retreated, and our men, returning, found Rich dead, with the top of his skull torn off … blown off by a musket used to dispatch him. He was, in fact, brutally murdered.*

Lemuel Rich served under Captain David Dorrance in Colonel Isaac Sherman’s regiment. He was so severely wounded in battle that he was among the first veterans to receive a disability pension from the federal government in 1789—the government’s first year of existence. We don’t know the circumstances of his wounding, but we do know that he later moved to Bennington, VT, and then to Williamstown, MA, where he died on Aug. 26, 1838. He left behind a son named Nelson.

 James, their 6th and youngest son, had recently been called to service and was serving with the militia on the seacoast but had not yet been in battle. The possibility of further loss motivated Cornelius to appear before the draft magistrates on the morning of Aug. 10, 1779, almost one month to the day after Nathaniel had been killed at Norwalk. The following is a copy of the state’s official record of his moving plea and its result:

On representation of Cornelius Rich of Chatham that he has had five sons in the Continental Army, three of which are dead, killed in the service, one lately at Norwalk, that he has two more in … service, one son only remaining with him who is lately detached in the Militia service for one month or five weeks … that his circumstances are such that he cannot part with and has been detained till this time praying this board that he may be excused from said service. This board in consideration of the particular and almost singular circumstances of Mr. Rich's case do order (the facts being as represented) that his said son be excused from that detachment and be favorably considered for the future.**

As a direct consequence of his father’s plea, James was released from service and saved before he got into combat. Married to Margery Butler on March 26, 1775, he was the father of five children and was appointed stepfather of Elizabeth Rich on November 3, 1777, orphan daughter of his brother, John, who was killed in the war. Unfortunately, though spared from war, James was lost at sea soon afterward; the circumstances and exact year of his loss are unknown. Of the six sons, only Cornelius Jr., the oldest, survived unscathed into old age. Pension records show that he began receiving a veterans’ pension in 1818. He died on Dec. 30, 1823, at age 80. According to the records of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS)***, Cornelius Jr., and his wife, Keziah, had 8 children. Keziah died on Feb. 16, 1826.

The writer of Saving Private Ryan was Robert Roldat. While visiting Port Carbon, PA, in 1994, Roldat saw a Civil War monument dedicated to the 4 sons of Agnes Allison—all killed during the Civil War (see photo). This experience motivated him to write an analogous script set in World War II. The real life story of the loss of the Niland brothers****—3 of whom participated in the Normandy invasion—brought forth the idea to set the story during the D-Day invasion; however, other stories of grievous family loss are also interwoven into the fabric of the script. Director Steven Spielberg, aware of Abraham Lincoln’s moving letter to Mrs. Bixby of Boston (who supposedly lost 5 sons in the Civil War), asked Roldat to rewrite the script and to have General George Marshall read aloud the letter in the film. The famous and moving letter reads as follows:

Dear Madam:

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant-General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom. Yours very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln

 In addition, perhaps the most publicized grievous family loss came about during the battle for Guadalcanal during World War II when all 5 Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, died after their ship—the USS Juneau—was torpedoed on Nov. 13, 1942, in the Pacific. The movie contains echoes of this loss: Private Ryan is from Iowa; in addition, the Sullivan incident gets mentioned in the movie.

The scope and depth of loss experienced by Cornelius and Rhoda Rich of Chatham, CT, during the American Revolution rivals—and arguably exceeds—that of some of the more famous instances of grievous family loss in war mentioned above. Their story of tremendous sacrifice and loss during the American Revolution is both heart rending and inspirational. It is a story that should be more widely known than it is.

 Notes, Sources, and Links:

1. New York Genealogical and Biographical Record: Vol. 51; pgs. 226-233 have the most complete information on the Rich family.
2. Records of Chatham Vols 1-4 in the Middlesex County Historical Society also had good information on the Rich family of Chatham.
3. Beers 1885 History of Middlesex County
4. Public Records State of Connecticut vol 2, pgs. 380-384 details the decision to “save” James Rich from service.
5. The 4 Niland brothers from Tonawanda, NY, were as follows: Frederick, Robert, Preston, and Edward. Robert and Preston were killed in Normandy within hours of each other; Frederick was also at Normandy but survived and was sent home; Edward was presumed dead in Burma but became a Japanese POW and, miraculously, survived. Believing 3 of the 4 were dead, the Army sent Frederick home. In 2006, I visited the Niland brothers’ graves at Colleville-sur-Mer above Omaha Beach (see photo).
6. *** New England Historical and Genealogical Society
7. Following the Sullivan brothers’ incident, the armed forces adopted the “Sole Survivor Rule,” which exempts the sole surviving member of a family from military service.
8. The story of the Christian brothers of Pottsville, PA, is also remarkable but for a different reason.  Seven brothers-- Daniel, Jr., John, Benjamin, Charles, William, George, and Henry F.-- all fought in the Civil War; all emerged unscathed!
9. 48th Pennsylvania blogspot
10. Regarding the letter to Mrs. Bixby: Some scholars believe that only 2 sons died, 2 deserted, and 1 fought to the end and survived. Some also wonder whether or not John Hay, Lincoln's secretary, actually wrote the letter,  though most believe that Lincoln actually did. Regardless, the letter captures beautifully the pathos of the situation.