Sion (or Sihon) Martindale (1732-1785) was a sea captain originally from Newport. He moved to Bristol around 1753 when he married Sarah Peck at the Congregational Church. Sion and Sarah had three daughters: Sarah, Nancy, and Patty. During the French and Indian War, Sion served as first lieutenant of the privateer sloop Roby. During the Revolution, he commanded a company in Thomas Church’s Regiment of the Army of Observation. While in the Boston area, he was placed in command of a vessel, called the Washington, which was captured by the British in December of 1775. He and the rest of his crew were sent to England for trial. He was then sent to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and escaped from that place to New Hampshire in July, 1776. Upon his return to Rhode Island, Sion was promoted to major in command of Bristol’s fortifications. During the British raid on Bristol and Warren in 1778, he was captured. After his release, he commanded a privateer schooner named for Deputy Governor William Bradford. At the time of his death, Sion was an insolvent debtor.
Bristol, Rhode Island in the Revolutionary War 1775-1783
