Coffin plate · primary-source record
Major Benjamin Birdsall
abt 1786 – 12 Jul 1818
Transcribed from the original coffin plate
Editorially verified
At-a-glance facts
Record type
Coffin plate
Date of death
12 Jul 1818
Date of birth
abt 1786
Age at death
32 or 33 (death date exact — 12 Jul 1818; only "32nd year of his age" given, not an exact birth date)
The coffin plate
Inscription transcription
Maj. Benjamin Birdsall
US Rifle Regiment
was basely assassinated on the 12th of July 1818
in the 32nd year of his age
Researcher's notes
This above story is from the Berkshire Star newspaper of July 23, 1818. I did a little hunting around and put what I found below.
In November 1818, Private James Hamilton of the United States Rifle Regiment was executed for the murder of Major Benjamin Birdsall, which had taken place in July. Before his death, Hamilton dictated his life story to Calvin Pepper who published it in New York in 1819.
According to an August 1818 story in the Detroit Gazette and October and November 1818 stories in the Cherry Valley Gazette, major Benjamin Birdsall died Sunday, July 14, 1818, after having been shot by James Hamilton, "an Irishman." The major had been with the U.S. Rifle Corps and was survived by his wife and four children. Hamilton was convicted at a trial in Albany County Court of Oyer and Terminer in October and executed the next month.
Record submitted by
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Possible matches in the 1810 US Federal Census
⚠ Candidate matches — unverified. Researcher to confirm.
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1810 US Federal Census
Benjamin Birdsall Dover, Dutchess, NY 1810
Dover, Dutchess, New York, USA · abt 1810
1810 US Federal Census
Benjamin Birdsall Brooklyn, Kings, NY 1810
Brooklyn, Kings, New York, USA · abt 1810
1810 US Federal Census
Benjamin Birdsall Newburgh, Orange, NY 1810
Newburgh, Orange, New York, USA · abt 1810
1810 US Federal Census
Benjamin Birdsall Hempstead, Queens, NY 1810
Hempstead, Queens, New York, USA · abt 1810
1810 US Federal Census
Benjamin Birdsall Harrison, Westchester, NY 1810
Harrison, Westchester, New York, USA · abt 1810
Search this candidate match on Ancestry →Unverified — opens a search, not a confirmation.
Source & citation
- Source type
- Original photograph
- Provenance
- From the Ancestors at Rest archive — founded 2004 by Brian and substantially built out across two decades by Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy.
- Transcribed by
- Ancestors at Rest archive — original contributor not recorded.
- Last verified
- 2026-05-12
- Permalink
- /records/coffin-plates/birdsall-benjamin-1818/
- Image vs transcription
- Both — original photograph and transcription on this page
Citation: "Coffin plate of Benjamin Birdsall (abt 1786 – 12 Jul 1818)," transcribed and contributed to the Ancestors at Rest archive (https://ancestorsatrest.com/records/coffin-plates/birdsall-benjamin-1818/ : accessed [your access date]).
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