The Legacy

My grandfather, General James Alward Van Fleet, often said that he “was proud and honored to be a living grandson of Joshua Jan Van Fleet, an American soldier in the Revolutionary War for Independence!” In August 1779, a band of Mohawk Indians, hired by the British to terrorize Dutch settlers into submission, raided their settlement and burned at least twenty farms, including that of the Van Vliet family. Joshua Jan Van Vliet answered New York Governor George Clinton’s call for volunteers and enlisted in the New York State Militia shortly before his 15^th birthday. The spelling of his name on the army rolls was Anglicized to match the Dutch pronunciation; thereafter, he became Joshua Jan Van Fleet. During the War of 1812, Joshua served again, this time as a colonel of the New York State Militia. Grandfather traced both his Dutch and military heritages directly to this man…