John Parker Boyd John Parker Boyd ( December 21 , 1764 - – October 4 , 1830 ) was an officer in the United States Army at various periods from 1786 to the end of the War of 1812 . He attained the rank of Brigadier General and commanded during the American defeat at the Battle of Crysler ' s Farm . Early life . Boyd was born in Newburyport , Massachusetts on December 21 , 1764 . Too young to serve in the American Revolution , but decided upon a military career , he served in the militia and joined the Army as an Ensign in 1786 . He served in the force sent to counter Shays ' Rebellion , and resigned after three years in the Army to serve as a Soldier of Fortune in the army of the Nizam of Hyderabad , in Central India . Boyd was a highly successful cavalry commander , but was discharged in July 1798 , due to his " refractoriness , disobedience , and unreasonableness . " Return to the Army . Boyd continued to offer his services as a mercenary in India . After the British conquest ended the conflicts in which he had taken part , he disbanded his units , sold their equipment , and returned to the United States . Boyd rejoined the United States Army in October , 1808 . Commissioned as Colonel of the 4th Infantry Regiment , during the Battle of Tippecanoe he served as a brigade commander and second - in - command to William Henry Harrison , with the rank of acting Brigadier General . War of 1812 . When the War of 1812 broke out , Boyd initially commanded a brigade under Major General Henry Dearborn in Albany , New York and in action in the area around Plattsburgh . He was promoted to permanent Brigadier General in July . In 1813 , he successfully commanded a brigade at the Battle of Fort George . As illness or disgrace removed many of his contemporaries , he eventually commanded the garrison of captured Fort George . After a defeat at the Battle of Beaver Dams , Boyd ' s troops returned to Fort George and remained on the defensive . Moving his troops from Fort George to Sacket ' s Harbor , he later participated in Major General James Wilkinson ' s ill - fated expedition to attack on Montreal ( October , 1813 ) . At the Battle of Crysler ' s Farm in November , 1813 , the illness of Wilkinson and the army ' s second - in - command , Major General Morgan Lewis made Boyd the commander of the attack . His troops , poorly trained and dispirited from the rapid changes of command , straggled into action on unfavorable terrain . Boyd lost control of the battle and was defeated . Boyd remained in command of a brigade in winter camp at Salmon Creek , near Sodus Point , New York . After a half - hearted attack by Wilkinson at Lacolle Mill failed , Wilkinson blamed Boyd , and Boyd was moved into a rear - area assignment . He saw no further combat service , and in 1816 he published a defense of his actions . Later life . After leaving the Army in 1815 , Boyd was involved in several business ventures , often in partnership with his brothers Ebenezer , Robert and Joseph . ( Boyd ' s brother Joseph was Maine ' s first Treasurer . ) He was a founder of the Maine towns of Orneville and Medford . In 1820 he was compensated by Britain for military services he had rendered in India . Originally a Democratic - Republican , and later a Jacksonian and a Democrat , Boyd served as a member of the Boston City Council in the 1820s . He was also active in civic causes , including the Scots Charitable Society . In 1829 President Andrew Jackson appointed Boyd Naval Officer of the Port of Boston , replacing Thomas Melvill , and he served until his death . ( At ports in the United States , it was the job of the Collector , Naval Officer and Surveyor to receive copies of manifests from newly arrived ships , provide permits and clearances for the off loading of cargo , inspect ship contents , estimate the customs duty due , collect the duty , and send collections to the Treasury . The holders of these positions were paid a portion of the fees collected , making them lucrative and sought after political appointments . ) Death and burial . Boyd died in Boston on October 4 , 1830 . He was buried at Christ Church Cemetery . Military reputation . Boyd ' s reputation as a commander is mixed . On one hand , he was praised for his skill , including his success in India . On the other , he was defeated at Crysler ' s Farm by a force only half the size of his . Winfield Scott clearly did not have high regard for Boyd , calling him amiable and respectable in a subordinate position but " vacillating and imbecile beyond all endurance as a chief under high responsibilities . " Others have commended Boyd ' s military performance on specific occasions , including Tippecanoe and Fort George . Will . Boyd prepared a will in November , 1816 . As transcribed , it reads : I John Parker Boyd of Boston , in the County of Suffolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts , being of sound mind and memory , conscious of my dependence upon the Supreme Being , and convinced of the uncertainty of human life , being now about to depart for Europe , do hereby declare this to be my last will and testament , revoking and annulling all by me heretofore made . Inprimia - After my legal and just debts are paid , I give and bequeath one Quarter of all my Estate to Frances Boyd , my natural daughter by Housina , a Mahometan lady born in my camp in the vicinity of Ponah , in the month of June and fourth day , 1797 , and christened the same year in Ponah by the Revd . Father of the Roman Catholic Church of that City , Major Tone being Godfather and Mesdames Franswa and Finglap , Godmothers . But in the case of my daughter , the said Frances Boyd , shall decease without lawful issue , my will is that my brothers and sisters shall be her heirs to the property I have thus bequeathed her , and to her relations in India , to be divided between my said Brothers and Sisters in the same proportion as the property I have herein bequeathed to them , is distributed . I give and bequeath One Quarter of all my Estate to Wallace , my natural son by Marie Rupell , born Oct . 1814 . But in the case this child Wallace should die without lawful issue , my will is that my Brothers and Sisters be heirs to the property I have herein bequeathed to him , in like manner as I have stated with respected to my daughter , the said Frances Boyd , now in India . I give and bequeath one half of all my estate to my own Brothers and Sisters in the following proportions : To my brother , Robert Boyd , one tenth of the aforesaid one half of all my Estate . To my brother , Joseph Boyd , two tenths of the aforesaid one half of all my Estate . To my brother E . L . Boyd , two tenths of the aforesaid one half of all my Estate . To my sister Margaret Storer , Two tenths of the aforesaid one half of all my Estate . To my sister , Frances Little , Three Tenths of the aforesaid one half of my Estate . But nevertheless I will the following legacies be first paid out of the whole Estate before any dividend shall take place : One Hundred Guineas to Miss Maria Smith of Philadelphia to purchase a Ring which she is requested to accept as a testimony to my ardent and unchangeable affection . I commit the care and guardianship of my son Wallace to my Sister Little and would recommend that he should be educated for the army or navy . I do constitute my brothers , J . C . Boyd and E . L . Boyd as Executors . Family . Boyd never married , but according to his will and other sources is known to have had two children . One was a daughter named Frances , born in India in on June 4 , 1797 to a Muslim woman named Housina . The other was a son named Wallace , born in October , 1814 to a woman named Marie Rupell . As indicated in his will , Boyd intended to leave a large portion of his estate to Housina and Frances , but they could not be located . Wallace received 25 percent of Boyd ' s estate . He later changed his name to John Wallace Boyd and became a ship ' s captain based in Boston . Legacy . Boyd Lake in Orneville is named for him . In 2008 a Mississippi woman , Charlotte Dillard , purchased at a Goodwill store in Georgia for slightly more than seven dollars an antique two - volume Bible inscribed " Symphonia A . Little presented by her uncle General Boyd . " At the time of the purchase , Dillard planned to keep the books and display them at her home . Boyd ' s name is included on Plaque 8 in Paul Revere Mall , listed among those from Boston ' s North End who played leadership roles in the American Revolution and War of 1812 . ( Paul Revere Mall is bounded by Hanover , Tileston , Unity and Charter Streets . It is a brick park with benches , a fountain and flowers . It includes numerous bronze plaques to commemorate various historical events and individuals , and features an equestrian statue of Paul Revere . )