Return Jonathan Meigs (born December 28, 1740; died January 28, 1823), a colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, was one of the settlers of the Northwest Territory in what is now the state of Ohio. He later served the federal government as an Indian agent working with the Cherokee in southeastern Tennessee. Early life and service in American Revolution Meigs was born in Middletown, Connecticut, on December 28, 1740, to Jonathan Meigs and Elizabeth Hamlin Meigs. Their thirteen children included his brother Josiah Meigs. His father was a hatter. As a young man, Meigs entered a mercantile business. He married Joanna Winborn in 1764. Before her death in 1773, they had four children, including Return Jonathan Meigs Jr. In 1774, Meigs married Grace Starr, with whom he had three children, of whom two survived. Meigs served in the local militia, achieving the rank of lieutenant in 1772 and promoted to captain in 1774. On April 19, 1775, after the Battle of Lexington, he led a company of light infantry to Boston. There he was appointed major in the 2nd Connecticut Regiment, a provincial regiment of the Continental Army. Later that year, serving as a division (battalion) commander under Colonel Benedict Arnold, he accompanied Arnold on his 1,100-man expedition through Maine to Canada. He kept a journal of the expedition, making the ink by mixing powder and water in the palm of his hand. Meigs was captured by the British in the assault on Quebec City and imprisoned, but was paroled on May 16, 1776, by British General Guy Carleton. He was acknowledged to have given decent treatment to a British prisoner, Captain Law, Carleton's chief engineer. Meigs returned to Connecticut by way of Halifax. After Meigs was formally exchanged on January 10, 1777, he returned to active service as major of the 3rd Connecticut Regiment of the newly organized Connecticut Line. Meigs was appointed lieutenant colonel of Sherburne's Additional Continental Regiment on February 10, 1777. On May 12 of that year, he was sent to command the 6th Connecticut Regiment when its colonel, William Douglas, became incapacitated by ill health. One of his most important achievements during the Revolutionary War was leading the Meigs Raid against the British forces in Sag Harbor, New York, in May 1777. With just 220 men in a fleet of 13 whaleboats, he crossed Long Island Sound from Connecticut to Long