Samuel, the oldest son of Colonel William Cabell, Sr., left the College of William & Mary in the fall of 1775 to raise a company of riflemen in Amherst County, in response to the resolution to form units for defense of the Colony. He and his unit arrived in Williamsburg to start training in March 1776 and were made part of the recently-formed Sixth Virginia Regiment, part of the Virginia Line of the Continental Army. Of all the Cabells, Samuel was the only one to serve multiple enlistments in the regular army, six years overall. Starting as a captain, he went on to attain the rank of lieutenant-colonel, on the month before his 23rd birthday. George Washinton recognized Samuel’s “zeal” carrying out his duty in a personal letter addressed to him. He and his company participated in famous battles that which were key turning points in the struggle to win American Independence.
In the summer of 1776, Samuel took part in the siege that expelled the Royal Governor and British forces from Virginia. He then led his rifle company on a march north through Lancaster, PA to join Washington’s main army in Newark, New Jersey. Samuel and the 6th Virginia were part of the retreat that autumn across New Jersey, a time chronicled by Thomas Paine, who traveled with the army then, when he wrote in the American Crisis, “These are the times that try men’s souls”. By mid-December, 1776, Washington’s army was safe in the Pennsylvania, but had dwindled from 20,000 in July down to only 2,500 soldiers fit for duty on the Delaware, after losses from battles, sickness, expiring enlistments and desertion. The General realized he needed not just a victory, but many more troops. He confided in a letter of December 18, 1776 to his younger brother John Augustine Washington, “If every nerve is not strained to recruit a new Army with all possible expedition, I think the game is pretty near up.” The game was American independence.
Samuel was one of multiple officers picked and commanded on December 18, 1776 to return to their states to recruit troops for 88 new regiments. They would raise 119 in three months. Samuel’s comrades in the 6th Virginia Regiment who remained in December 1776 crossed the Delaware in the storm on Christmas night with Washington. They were in the center of the line in Green’s Division at the Battle of Trenton, helping to capture over 900 Hessian prisoners and to secure a critical victory for the American cause. In March, 1777 Samuel returned with more troops to Washington’s army in New Jersey. He and his riflemen in 6th together with militia played a key role in the “Forage Wars”, a series of skirmishes and hit and run raids throughout New Jersey, that denied food and safety to the British in the state, effectively limiting their occupation to New York City.
In the summer of 1777, Geroge Washington, to counter a British attack from Canada meant to cut off New England, detached rifle companies from several regiments, including Samuel and his riflemen, to form Daniel Morgan’s Rifle Corps. It was to be an elite force, that soon after was sent to reinforce the northern army of General Horatio Gates. The riflemen played a key role. Their unconventional mode of fighting made them very suited to stopping Iroquois reconnaissance parties, sent out by the British. Morgan’s Rifles were front and center at the first Battle of Saratoga, Freeman’s Farm. At the second and decisive Battle of Saratoga, Bemis Heights on October 11, Morgan’s Rifles stopped a British column’s attempted flanking maneuver with withering, accurate fire which took out most of their officers. They then charged to help overrun and capture an enemy redoubt. Historians would later credit Morgan’s Rifles as being a key part of the victory. Samuel was promoted to Major a few months afterwards. The victory turned the tide, resulting in the capture of an entire British Army of 6,000 men, and convincing France to join the patriot cause.
Samuel’s and his rifle company returned south and rejoined Washington’s main army, now as part of the Virginia 14th Regiment. Their unit wintered at Valley Forge. During part of that time, Samuel returned again to Virginia, on another successful recruiting trip which brought needed new troops. At the Battle of Monmouth on June 28, 1778, Samuel and the 14th Virginia Regiment was in Elizabethtown 5 miles away under the command of General Friederich von Stueben, held in reserve if needed.
When the British changed to a southern strategy and invaded Georgia and then South Carolina, Samuel’s unit, now part of the 10th Virginia Regiment, marched hundreds of miles from Morristown, NJ to Charleston to join General Lincoln in the defense of the city under siege. The army was surrounded on land and sea, and eventually on May 12, 1780 had to surrender. Samuel was one of more than 5,000 prisoners of war. He spent fourteen months in captivity at Haddrell’s Point, S.C., until he was paroled and returned home on August 21, 1781. He would later name the new house that he built for himself and his bride “Soldier’s Joy.”
___________________________________________________________________________________
Additional Reading: Vignettes from the Odyssey of a Continental Officer
Samuel did not leave a diary describing the extraordinary challenges and triumphs of his time in the Continental Army. He seems to have left only one letter. For those who are curious to learn more, we are excited to share some remarkable stories of what Samuel Jordan Cabell and his brothers in arms achieved. The links below are to 12 recently researched articles that provide more information. These vignettes aim to bring Samuel experience more to life and connect to the broader strategic context of the momentous events of his day. The writings draw on a variety of reliable sources including 19th century Continental Army pension records, letters in the National Archives, his father William’s commonplace books, university and government archives, scholarly writings on the battles in which he fought, and Alexander Brown’s The Cabells and Their Kin.
In 1895, Brown wrote (p. 199), “How many are there now living among the Cabells” who know that the first company in an elite corps that was key to victory at the celebrated battle of Saratoga was raised in Amherst County and led by Samuel Jordan Cabell? Now, 131 years later, for America’s 250th, we hope these vignettes on Samuel’s life and times will keep that appreciation alive and encourage further discoveries.
Chapter 1 – Student to Soldier
Chapter 2 – A Company of Sharpshooters (March 1776)
Chapter 3 – A Continental Army
Chapter 4 – Marching North to General Washington (3 Sep 1776)
Chapter 5 – The Game is Pretty Near Up (25 Dec 1776)
Chapter 6 – Retaking New Jersey
Chapter 7 – Battle of Saratoga (Sep 1777)
Chapter 8 – Valley Forge (1777-1778)
Chapter 9 – Battle of Monmouth (28 Jun 1778)
Chapter 10 – A Petition to Headquarters (17 Aug 1778)
Chapter 11 – A Reply from the Commander
Chapter 12 – Battle of Charleston (29 Mar 1780)
Works Consulted
- Brown, Alexander. The Cabells and their Kin: A Memorial Volume of History, Biography, and Genealogy. Richmond, Va.: Garrett and Massie, Inc., 1939. First published 1895.
- Fold3 by Ancestry. “Cabell, Samuel Jordan.” In Compiled Service Records of Soldiers Who Served in the American Army During the Revolutionary War, compiled 1894–ca. 1912 (documenting 1775–1784). Accessed February 10, 2026. https://www.fold3.com/file/22393487