18 Facts About Daniel Shays

Daniel Shays spent his early years as a landless farm laborer.

Daniel Shays's company took part in the Boston campaign and Siege of Boston, and Shays fought at the Battle of Bunker Hill.

Shortly after Bunker Hill, Daniel Shays was commissioned as a second lieutenant in recognition of the bravery and skill he demonstrated during the fighting.

In late 1776, Daniel Shays joined Varnum's Regiment of the Continental Army, with which he served during fighting in New York and New Jersey.

Daniel Shays subsequently served as commander of a company under the Marquis de Lafayette, which patrolled farmland on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River to prevent British troops from foraging.

Daniel Shays sold his for cash to help pay off debts; he argued that there was nothing wrong with his action, because he already owned a sword, but his decision to sell his was frowned upon by his peers.

Daniel Shays was alarmed to discover that many of his fellow veterans and farmers were in the same financial situation.

Daniel Shays led one group east of Springfield near Palmer, Luke Day had a second force across the Connecticut River in West Springfield, and the third force, under Eli Parsons, was to the north at Chicopee.

Daniel Shays led the rebel force generally north and east to avoid Lincoln, eventually establishing a camp at Petersham.

Eighteen men, including Daniel Shays, were convicted and sentenced to death.

Daniel Shays was pardoned in 1788 and he returned to Massachusetts from hiding in the Vermont woods.

Daniel Shays was vilified by the Boston press, who painted him as an archetypal radical opposed to the government.

Daniel Shays was later granted a pension by the federal government for the five years he served in the Continental Army without pay.

Daniel Shays lived the last few years of his life in poverty, a heavy drinker.

Daniel Shays supported himself on his pension and by working a small parcel of land.

Daniel Shays died at age 78 in Sparta, New York and was later buried at the Union Cemetery in Scottsburg.

The original gravestone for Daniel Shays contained an error; by dropping the "s", Daniel Shays was incorrectly spelled as "Shay".

Philip R Shays, of Clarence Center, New York, a descendant of Daniel Shays, led an effort to correct the error.