Suffield Trivia

These trivia questions are derived from stories in the January 2026 issue of the Suffield Historical Society’s newsletter. Become a member of the Society if you are interested in learning more about these topics and more. It’s easy! Applications are available and payments can be made at suffieldhistoricalsociety.org. Choose to get a digital copy in your email or a copy by mail.

1. What were the Suffield Resolves?
   1. A resolution to end the border dispute between Suffield and Southwick.
   2. A resolution condemning British acts, which urged self-governance and the rights of the town against British rule.
   3. A resolution to provide a detailed map from a required survey by the State of Connecticut.
2. Was Alexander King, who built and lived in the house now owned by the Historical Society on South Main Street, a Loyalist (a person who favored British rule over the American colonies)? Yes or no.
3. Were there Black soldiers in the American Revolutionary War? Yes or no.
4. Who was the first man to lead soldiers from Suffield to respond to the British attack on Lexington, Massachusetts in 1775?
   1. Captain Elihu Kent
   2. Lieutenant Oliver Hanchett
   3. Captain Daniel Austin
5. Were Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott the only “Midnight Riders” who alerted people that British troops were marching into Lexington? Yes or no.
6. Why was Oliver Hanchett, a Suffield resident, a character in the Pulitzer Prize-winning historical novelist Kenneth Roberts’ book Arundel?
   1. Hanchett helped to found Arundel, a town in Maine in 1770.
   2. Hanchett was the privateer captain of the ship “Arundel” which fought against the British in the Revolutionary War.
   3. Hanchett was an officer when troops under Benedict Arnold attempted to seize Quebec City during the Revolutionary War.
7. What is the story of the musket on the wall at the King House Museum? Choose which answers are correct.
   1. It was owned by Alexander King during the Revolutionary War.
   2. It is a British musket.
   3. It was damaged in the 1983 fire that occurred at the King House Museum & Barn.
8. Who was Moses Huxley, a Suffield soldier in the Revolutionary War? Choose which answers are correct.
   1. He was the first Suffield resident to die in the American Revolution.
   2. He died from smallpox while imprisoned by the British after the Battle of Quebec.
   3. He died during the Siege of Boston when American soldiers surrounded the British troops in Boston.
9. How did Hessian soldiers come to dance in Suffield? Choose all answers which are correct.
   1. They were Convention Army soldiers.
   2. The Hessian officers thought so well of the residents that they invited Suffield “belles” to a ball.
   3. After the Revolutionary War, many Hessian soldiers settled in the area. To thank residents for their acceptance in the community, the now ex-soldiers staged a ball.
10. Were counterfeiters imprisoned in Old New-Gate Prison? Yes or no.

Answers:

1. b. A resolution condemning British acts, which urged self-governance and the rights of the town against British rule. The Suffield Resolves were published almost two years before the Continental Congress’ Declaration of Independence.
2. No. King became an advocate for independence from British rule but opposed the persecution of Loyalists such as tar and feathering them, raiding their homes and running them out-of-town.
3. Yes, although Black soldiers were not officially allowed to serve until 1777. Titus Kent was a Suffield enslaved man who may have served with Captain Elihu Kent, his enslaver, even before 1777 but he is officially on the enlistment records from 1777 until the war’s end.
4. a. Captain Elihu Kent. Oliver Hanchett marched with Kent. Captain Daniel Austin led the second contingent of soldiers in response to the Lexington attack, the day after Kent led the first group.
5. No, there were about 40 riders who spread the alarm including Isaac Bissell, a Suffield man, who brought the news to several towns including Springfield and Suffield on his way to Hartford.
6. c. Hanchett was an officer when troops under Benedict Arnold attempted to seize Quebec City during the Revolutionary War.
7. b. and c. are correct answers. In the Battle of Long Island Sound, Eliphalet King from Suffield carried the musket, which was captured from the British. The wooden stock of the musket was damaged in the King House fire but was replaced.
8. a. and c. are correct answers. Huxley marched with Captain Elihu Kent in Suffield’s first response to the Lexington attack and then afterwards served under the recently promoted Captain Oliver Hanchett, who commanded a company during the Siege of Boston. Huxley, aged 19, was killed by a British cannonball.
9. a. and b. are correct answers. The Hessian soldiers were part of the Convention Army, who along with British soldiers were captured after the Battle of Saratoga. The battle was the first major victory for the Americans. The Convention Army rested for a night in Suffield on their way to imprisonment in Charlotteville, Virginia.
10. Yes. In addition to Loyalists and British soldiers during the Revolutionary War, the prison also incarcerated burglars, robbers and counterfeiters. Common criminals were sentenced for no more than ten years for a first offense. A second offense was life imprisonment.