Isaac Bissell

Isaac Bissell (January 25, 1749 – July 28, 1822) was a patriot post rider who delivered mail between Boston and Hartford, Connecticut. On April 19, 1775, the British made an attack on Lexington and Concord, igniting the American Revolutionary War. He was assigned to alert American colonists of the news and rally them to assist the Massachusetts minutemen. Traveling from Watertown, Massachusetts, on the Upper Post Road to Hartford, Connecticut, and through Connecticut Colony, he carried the Lexington Alarm message from Joseph Palmer. He rode again in July 1779 to deliver the New Haven Alarm. Bissell served the Connecticut Militia throughout the Revolutionary War.

Early life Isaac Bissell was born January 25, 1749, the daughter of Isaac Kibbe of Enfield, Connecticut. Isaac's father died September 18, 1759.

Bissell was a post rider who rode on horseback between Boston and Hartford, Connecticut Colony on the Upper Post Road, a mail delivery route. After Worcester, he stopped at Springfield, before going to Hartford in Connecticut.

Lexington alarm Dispatch Elias Nason and George J. Varney, Battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775, A Gazetter of the state of Massachusetts, 1890 British soldiers opened the American Revolutionary War with the Siege of Boston and Battle of Lexington, when they marched from Boston to Lexington, outnumbering the patriot soldiers on April 19, 1775. That day, Joseph Palmer of the Committee of Safety met Isaac Bissell at the Lexington Green. He sent Isaac Bissell on a ride to and through Connecticut to warn people that the war with Britain had begun. (Isaac Bissell was to be paid 2 pounds and 1 shilling and given a certificate to alarm colonists in Hartford and then throughout Connecticut of the British invasion for a total of six days, as discussed at the Committee of Safety on July 7, 1775.) In his correspondence about the payment, Bissell identified himself as Isaac Bissell of Suffield. ) fell dead due from exhaustion outside the town meetinghouse. The town clerk, Nathan Baldwin, made copies of the dispatch. From Worcester, another rider carried the alarm south to Brooklyn, while Isaac Bissell traveled west on the Upper Post Road on the morning of April 20. Bissell continued on to Springfield, where the dispatch was recorded with the names of 61 townsmen, and then to Hartford. In Connecticut, the message reached 48 towns and 4,000 men answered the call to arms. Within a few hours of receiving the dispatch, men from the towns that Bissell stopped at were ready to march to Boston.

Timeline

Isaac Bissell traveled per hour across his route. The speed varied depending upon whether he was traveling on a moonless night or in inclement weather. Lexington Green, April 19 Hartford, Connecticut

Two post riders named Bissell Isaac Bissell took a westerly route in Massachusetts, from Worcester, down to Hartford, and then throughout the Connecticut countryside for a total of six days. (Historian Lion G.) Miles states that Bissell rode only as far as Hartford, Connecticut. (McKenna states that there are no vital records about Israel Bissell or records that he delivered messages about the Lexington Alarm.) The copy of the call to arms that arrived in Philadelphia identified the bearer as Trail Bisel or Bisiel.

Revolutionary War At the time that the war broke out, Bissell was living in Suffield, Connecticut. After the war, Bissell worked as a blacksmith in Suffield. Amelia died November 15, 1809, and was buried in Hanover, New Hampshire.

One of his grandsons is George Bissell.