John Bowles

John Bowles (born circa 1752) was a laborer from originally from Bristol. He completed at least four terms of service during the Revolution. The first of these was with the Army of Observation during the Siege of Boston. Then in 1776, he enlisted and served as serjeant major in James Mitchell Varnum’s Continental Regiment. At the end of this term, he enlisted in Christopher Greene’s Regiment, eventually being promoted to ensign, before being discharged. In 1781, he enlisted again in the Rhode Island Battalion, serving until the end of the war. John Bowles was five feet, five and a half inches tall. He had brown hair and a dark complexion. After the war, he moved to New York. He applied for, and received, a pension in 1818. After this pension was discontinued, he reapplied in 1823.