Father of New York Governor/Senator Hamilton Fish.
Key to figures in the above picture.
Lieutenant-General Nicholas Fish
( 1758 - 1833 )
Nicholas Fish's portrait can be seen at far right bottom row of John Trumbull's The Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown painting.
Painting owned by Hamilton F. Potter III
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearts_of_Oak (then click on Hearts of Oak New York Militia
Nicholas Fish was an American Revolutionary soldier, born in New York City on August 28, 1833.
He attended Princeton at the age of 16 but left before graduating to pursue the study of law at King's College (now Columbia University) through the office of John Morin Scott in New York. There he became actively interested in the organization of the Sons of Liberty.
In 1776 he was appointed by Scott aide-de-camp on his staff. Scott had been commissioned brigadier general. At the close of the Revolutionary War, Fish held the rank of lieutenant colonel. He served as a division inspector under Steuben in 1778, participated in the battles of Saratoga and Monmouth, in Sullivan's expedition against the Native Americans in 1779, and in the Virginia and Yorktown campaigns, in which he served for a time on the staff of Lafayette.
In 1786 he was appointed adjutant general of New York State, which position he held for many years. In 1794 he was appointed by Washington supervisor of the Federal revenue in New York City.
On April 30, 1803 he married Elizabeth Stuyvesant Potter. They had five children Susan Elizabeth, Margaret Ann, Hamilton Fish, Elizabeth Sarah and Petrus Stuyvesant.
In 1811 he was the Federalist candidate for Lieutenant Governor of the State. During the War of 1812 he served as a member of the City Committee of Defense.
With Alexander Hamilton he served in New York Milita Hearts of Oak (1st Battalion/5th Field Artillery Regiment).
At the end of his life he served on the board of Columbia College. This position was later held by his son Hamilton Fish.
Nicholas Fish died on June 20,1833 in his house at 21 Stuyvesant Street, New York City, He is buried at Saint Mark's Church in the Bowery.
Potter Family History