While today is Valentine’s Day, 250 years ago today—February 14, 1776—war, not love, was on Nicholas Fish’s mind. The 17-year-old Fish, son of a wealthy New York family, had planned on life as a lawyer, studying law at King’s College in New York City and befriending fellow young patriot Alexander Hamilton. War put a stop to his plans. On February 14, 1776, Fish purchased a book, signing his name and the date on the title page. The book promised to teach him a subject more relevant to his current plans than law.
The book Fish purchased was “Military Instructions for Officers Detached in the Field” by Roger Stevenson. It was originally published in England, but Fish’s copy was an American edition, published in Philadelphia by prolific printer Robert Aitken. Aitken, a supporter of the Revolution and printer of the journals of the Continental Congress, added a dedication to the American edition of the work; the book was the first to be dedicated to “the Honourable George Washington, Esq.; General and Commander in Chief of all the Forces of the United American Colonies.”
Fish would have many occasions to use his new military knowledge in the field. At the time he bought the book, he was serving as a lieutenant in Colonel John Lasher’s 1st Battalion of New York Independents. On August 9, 1776 he was made brigade major to General John Morin Scott, a lawyer whom Fish had clerked for before the war. He now served with him in the defense of New York, including at the Battle of Long Island. After the New York campaign, Fish received a Continental commission as a major. He served in the Continental Army for the rest of the war, fighting at the Battles of Saratoga, Monmouth, and Yorktown.
The war changed the trajectory of Fish’s career for good; he became a politician, but continued in military service as well. He served as a major in the 1st American Regiment of the new United States Army in 1785. In 1784 he was chosen as New York’s first adjutant general, head of the state’s military forces, and served for nearly a decade.
Learn more about the book (object ID 528) on the Ticonderoga Online Collections database: https://fortticonderoga.catalogaccess.com/archives/32453