The Grave of John Kinney
After my recent ride to The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) headquarters building and learning that one of the things the DAR does is install markers at the graves of Revolutionary War veterans to indicate their service, I decided to ride by a cemetery to see a soldier’s grave and NSDAR marker. So on this ride I went to one of my favorite cemeteries in the city, Historic Congressional Cemetery, located at 1801 E Street (MAP), in the southeast portion of D.C.’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood.
During today’s visit to the cemetery I visited the grave of James Kinney. His thoroughly aged and weather-worn gravestone in barely legible engraving reads, “Major John Kinney, of New Jersey, an officer in the Army of the Revolution Died in this city July 17, 1832, aged 75 years.” And next to the gravestone was the brass marker placed there in 2009. Beneath the raised relief NSDAR logo on the marker it reads, “Revolutionary War Soldier John Kinney, Lieutenant, Third New Jersey Regiment, Born October 18, 1757 in Morristown, Morris County, New Jersey, Died July 17, 1832 in Washington, D.C., Marker Placed by the Judge Lynn Chapter, NSDAR, April 18, 2009.”
Very little is known about John Kinney. After attempting to research historical information about him, all I was able to discover was that he was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey, British Colonial America, in 1751. He married Phebe Arnold in Washington County, New Jersey on October 21, 1778, and they were the parents of at least 4 sons and 6 daughters, at least two of whom died in infancy. And he died on July 17, 1832. He began his service in the Revolutionary War as an ensign in the 3rd Regiment of the New Jersey Line on July 29 to November 10, 1776. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on January 6, 1778. And resigned from service at the rank of Brevet Captain, still in in the 3rd Regiment New Jersey Line, on September 26, 1780.
Sadly, much like the vast majority of Revolutionary War soldiers, little else is known about John Kinney. Who he was and his individual accomplishments are lost to history. But he has and continues to be recognized, both personally and as a representative of others, as a hero who played a role in establishing America as a the free and independent nation that it continues to be to this day.
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