Hometown: Andover, MA
Branch: Continental Army 
Unit: New Hampshire Militia
Date of Sacrifice: September 8, 1780 - in Hackensack, New Jersey 
Age: 44
Conflict: Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Enoch Poor was born on June 21, 1736, in Andover, Massachusetts. The son of a soldier, at age 19 he fought for the British army in the French and Indian War (1756-1763)—a conflict between British and French colonial powers with both having alliances with native tribes.

After his service, Poor returned home and eloped with Martha Osgood. The newlyweds moved to Exeter, New Hampshire, where Enoch found success in the lucrative shipbuilding industry.

With resentment toward the British Crown brewing in the 1760s, Enoch Poor was vocal in his support of anti-British agitators. Following battles at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, Poor joined Gen. George Washington’s Continental Army and was appointed as Colonel in the 3rd New Hampshire Regiment.

Enoch Poor was present for many of the major battles and events of the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) including Quebec (Canada), Saratoga (New York), Valley Forge (Pennsylvania), and Monmouth (New Jersey). Commissioned as a Brigadier General in 1777, Poor served under Gen. Washington and Gen. Lafayette.

In May of 1780, the Poor was selected to train a brigade of light infantry stationed in Hackensack, New Jersey.

On September 8, 1780, Enoch Poor died suddenly at age 44, after days of fighting an illness. The official report from army surgeon James Thatcher is that Poor developed a “putrid fever” on September 6 and succumbed two days later. Some contemporary accounts indicate that he contracted typhus.

There was no controversy about Enoch Poor’s death at the time. But fifty years later rumors spread about a duel between Gen. Poor and a subordinate, Major John Porter of Bridgewater, Massachusetts on September 6, 1780.

The story claims that Poor, well-known to be a demanding commander, ordered Maj. Porter to march his resting troops on a hot August day. The troops remained seated, and Gen. Poor had to repeat his command, prompting a rude response from Maj. Porter. A duel between Poor and Porter resulted in the General being shot and dying two days later.

Duels between officers were forbidden and would result in a court-martial. Some speculate that the army or even Gen. Washington covered up the duel, using illness as the “official” cause of death. Other historians consider the prospect of a duel to be unlikely, as Poor was a highly regarded officer and Porter had been educated as a minister. It is unlikely that either man would throw away their career and reputation over a dispute.

Gen. Enoch Poor is buried in the Dutch Reformed Church burial ground in Hackensack, New Jersey. His funeral was attended by both Gen. Washington and Gen. Lafayette.

The Brigadier General Enoch Poor Monument has been erected in Hackensack in his honor. And his name is inscribed on The National Memorial Arch at Valley Forge.

Sources
Etching by H.B. Hall, 1870: Brig. Gen. Enoch Poor, scan retrieved from the New York Library Digital Collections (Public Domain)
New England Historical Society: The Mysterious Death of New Hampshire’s Enoch Poor, Revolutionary War Hero
Founder of the Day: Enoch Poor Dies Under Suspicious Circumstances
Exeter News-Letter, July 16, 2015: The life and times of Brigadier General Enoch Poor
Historical Marker Database: Brigadier General Enoch Poor
Burial Site: Find a Grave