Roger Enos Roger Enos ( 1729 - October 6 , 1808 ) was a colonial Vermont political and military leader who commanded the Vermont Militia as a Major General . Early life . Roger Enos , Sr . was born in Simsbury , Connecticut in 1729 . He was raised in Simsbury and Windsor , and became a farmer . In 1759 Enos joined the militia for the French and Indian War . He rose to Sergeant Major , was commissioned as an Ensign , and soon advanced to regimental Adjutant . In 1762 he took part in the British expedition against Cuba during the Seven Years ’ War . In 1764 Enos was promoted to Captain in the regiment commanded by Israel Putnam . In 1773 he served on a commission that included Israel Putnam , Rufus Putnam and Phineas Lyman . The commission surveyed lands along the Mississippi River to identify sites for the grants promised to French and Indian War veterans , and their work led to Lyman ’ s founding of the city that is now Natchez , Mississippi . American Revolution . At the start of the American Revolution , Enos was a Major in the 2nd Regiment of Connecticut Militia . He joined the Continental Army and was commissioned Lieutenant Colonel of Connecticut ’ s 22nd Regiment . In the summer of 1775 he took part in the Battle of Bunker Hill and other activities around Boston , and then joined Benedict Arnold ' s expedition to Quebec as commander of the rear guard . In October of 1775 Enos and the soldiers under his command left the struggling expedition because of a shortage of food and supplies . After marching his troops through the Maine wilderness and home to Connecticut , Enos was called a traitor and a coward , and court - martialed for " quitting without leave . " He defended his decision to leave Arnold ’ s expedition because of poor early winter weather , the lack of boats for transporting soldiers and supplies by river to Quebec , and the shortage of food that had reduced men to near starvation . He was acquitted and returned to service as Lieutenant Colonel of the 16th Connecticut Regiment . John Sullivan , the President of the court - martial , later made public a written statement in support of Enos ' conduct , and a number of other officers also issued a public circular supportive of his actions , including William Heath , John Stark , Joseph Reed , and James Reed . In an oration commemorating Richard Montgomery , which was later published , the Reverend William Smith made comments about Enos ' actions in Maine which Enos found objectionable , and he subsequently argued against Smith ' s speech in letters to the editor . Move to Vermont . Enos resigned from the Connecticut Militia in 1776 and moved to Windsor County , Vermont , settling on a farm in Hertford , the town that later became Hartland . He was almost immediately appointed Colonel in command of a regiment of the Vermont Militia . In 1781 he was appointed Brigadier General and commander of the Vermont Militia . In 1782 he commanded the militia as it took up defensive positions at Mount Independence and other locations along Lake Champlain to ensure that British troops commanded by Barry St . Leger at Fort Ticonderoga did not attempt an invasion of Vermont . St . Leger ' s movements were tied to the Haldimand negotiations , which Enos was aware of and may have participated in . With Vermont unable to attain admission to the union and vulnerable to invasion by the British in Canada , Thomas Chittenden , Ira Allen , Ethan Allen and others conducted talks with the British Governor of Canada that if successful would have had Vermont become a British colony or dominion . Some informants told Haldimand that Enos was willing to raise a regiment for British service if he received a commission in the British Army and if his regiment was treated as a regular Army organization , not as militia . In historical terms , it is debatable whether Chittenden and his allies were serious about joining the British , or whether they were pretending to negotiate in good faith as a way to prevent British troops from entering and occupying Vermont while also pressuring the Continental Congress to consider Vermont ’ s requests to join the United States . In fact , the negotiations ended with no action taken once the British had left New York City and the Revolution was officially ended . Later life . In the 1780s Enos was a proprietor of the towns of Waitsfield and Enosburg . When Vermont reorganized its militia in the late 1780s , Enos was appointed commander of the 1st Division and later the 4th Division as a Major General . In 1791 he relocated to Colchester and resigned his commission . He was a Member of the Vermont Board of War from 1781 to 1792 , served in the Vermont House of Representatives , and was a Trustee of the University of Vermont . Death and burial . After resigning from the militia and his other offices , Enos lived in retirement in Colchester , where he died on October 6 , 1808 . He is buried in Ethan Allen ’ s plot at Greenmount Cemetery in Burlington . ( Some references incorrectly state that he died in Colchester , Connecticut . ) The inscription on Enos ' gravestone reads : Family . In 1763 Enos married Jerusha Hayden . Their children included : Sibil Enos ( 1761 - 1796 ) . She lived in Windsor County , Vermont and was the wife of Noadiah Bissell ( 1761 - 1837 ) , a merchant , innkeeper and militia officer . Her name is variously spelled as Sibil , Sybil , Sibbell , etc . Jerusha Enos ( 1764 - 1838 ) , the wife of Ira Allen . Roger Enos , Jr . ( 1768 - 1841 ) was a proprietor of Irasburg , Vermont . He served as a Justice of the Peace , a Deputy Collector of Customs during the Madison administration , and a member of the Vermont House of Representatives . Pascal Paoli Enos ( 1770 - 1732 ) graduated from Dartmouth College in 1794 , practiced law in Vermont and St . Louis , and was one of the founders of Springfield , Illinois as Receiver of the United States Land Office in Illinois during the Monroe administration .