Charles Turnbull — reconstructed service record
| Date | Rank / status | Unit | What the record shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1775 | Private | Capt. Thomas Proctor's Pennsylvania Artillery | Turnbull entered Proctor's artillery as an enlisted man. A later biographical record gives his enlistment as April 1775. |
| 14 Aug. 1776 | Sergeant | Proctor's Pennsylvania Artillery Battalion | Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati's reconstruction places him as a sergeant on this date. (PA Society of the Cincinnati) |
| 5 Oct. 1776 | 2nd Lieutenant | Proctor's Pennsylvania Artillery | Promoted and assigned to Strobagh's Company. (PA Society of the Cincinnati) |
| Winter 1776–77 | 2nd Lt. | Proctor's Artillery | With the army during the New Jersey/Morristown period. Washington's January 17, 1777 orders specifically mention "Lieut. Turnbull" of the artillery. ([Library of Congress Tile][2]) |
| 14 Mar. 1777 | Captain-Lieutenant | Pennsylvania Artillery / emerging 4th Continental Artillery | Pennsylvania records list Charles Turnbull among the regiment's captain-lieutenants. (Wolfensberger) |
| 13 Apr. 1777 | Captured | Proctor's Artillery | Battle of Bound Brook, NJ. Washington reported that Turnbull, Lt. William Ferguson, about 20 men, and two artillery pieces were captured. ([Library of Congress Tile][2]) |
| 16 July 1777 | Captain | 4th Continental Artillery | Promoted to full captain while a prisoner. Washington's papers specifically record the promotion. ([Library of Congress Tile][2]) |
| 1777–1780 | POW | British custody | Remained a prisoner for roughly three years. |
| 3 Apr. 1780 | Exchanged | 4th Continental Artillery | His exchange is recorded on this date in later biographical and SAR records. (Wikimedia Commons) |
| 1780–1783 | Captain | 4th Continental Artillery | Returned to Continental service. The Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati lists him as captain with the regiment. (PA Society of the Cincinnati) |
| June 1783 | Discharged | Continental Army | Later biographical records state that he was honorably discharged in June 1783. (Library Web Site) |
One date discrepancy worth noting
There is a small discrepancy in the secondary records concerning Turnbull's captain-lieutenant commission.
The Library of Congress's editorial note says he became captain-lieutenant on March 3, 1777, while the Pennsylvania archival officer arrangement lists March 14, 1777. ([Library of Congress Tile][2])
For a formal genealogy, I would record it as:
Captain-Lieutenant — March 1777 (records variously give March 3 and March 14).
That is preferable to silently choosing one date.
His early service is especially interesting
A 1776 muster roll of Proctor's Company actually names Turnbull among the sergeants:
Sergeants: Charles Turnbull, William Ferguson, Jacob Parker, John Stephenson
The same roll identifies Thomas Proctor as captain, Jeremiah Simmons as captain-lieutenant, Hercules Courtney as first lieutenant, and John Martin Strobagh as second lieutenant. (USGenWeb Archives)
This is excellent evidence because it establishes Turnbull inside the original company, rather than simply appearing later as a commissioned officer.
It also establishes an important connection:
Charles Turnbull and William Ferguson were serving together in Proctor's company before both became officers and were captured together at Bound Brook.
Turnbull at Morristown
Turnbull was already an officer by the time Washington's army was at Morristown.
The Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati's reconstruction places him at the Morristown Encampment of 1777 as:
2nd Lieutenant — Strobagh's Company. (PA Society of the Cincinnati)
And Washington's general orders of 17 January 1777 are unusually valuable because they name Turnbull personally. Washington ordered an inquiry into a complaint involving:
- Major Thomas Proctor
- Captain James Lang
- Lieutenant Charles Turnbull
The Library of Congress editorial note identifies this Turnbull explicitly as Charles Turnbull of Proctor's artillery. ([Library of Congress Tile][2])
So we have a primary-source trail for him before Bound Brook, not merely a later pension claim.
Bound Brook — 13 April 1777
This was the pivotal event of Turnbull's Revolutionary War career.
General Benjamin Lincoln had an American force at Bound Brook, New Jersey. Cornwallis launched a surprise attack.
Washington's report states that:
- Charles Turnbull
- William Ferguson
- approximately 20 men of Proctor's Artillery
- and two artillery pieces
were captured. ([Library of Congress Tile][2])
This is stronger evidence than later family histories because it is a contemporary Washington record.
A contemporary prisoner compilation likewise identifies him as:
Charles Turnbull, Captain-Lieutenant, 3d Pennsylvania Artillery, Colonel Thomas Proctor — taken at Bound Brook, 13 April 1777. (Wikimedia Commons)
The terminology can look confusing because the regiment was undergoing organizational/designation changes in this period. That's why I would not interpret "3d Pennsylvania artillery" in that prisoner list as a different man or a different lineage without looking at the actual 1777 Pennsylvania organization.
The remarkable part: he was promoted while imprisoned
This is one of the most interesting facts about Turnbull.
While he was a British prisoner, Congress commissioned him as a full captain.
Washington's papers explicitly state that Turnbull:
was made captain while a prisoner
and give his exchange as occurring in April 1780. ([Library of Congress Tile][2])
A later Sons of the American Revolution biographical record preserves an especially interesting detail: it says his original captain's commission, signed by Samuel Huntington, President of Congress, remained in the possession of his descendants. (Library Web Site)
If that document still survives somewhere, it would be an exceptionally valuable primary artifact.
Three-year captivity
Turnbull's captivity lasted approximately three years:
13 April 1777 → 3 April 1780
That means he missed essentially the entire:
- Philadelphia Campaign
- Valley Forge winter
- Battle of Monmouth
- Sullivan Expedition
while remaining officially a Continental artillery officer.
This explains something that can otherwise look strange in his record: he is a captain of the regiment in 1777, but he disappears from battlefield accounts for several years.
He wasn't necessarily absent from the army because of resignation or illness—he was a prisoner of war.
Return to the 4th Continental Artillery
After his exchange in April 1780, Turnbull returned to the regiment.
The Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati's 1780–81 material lists:
Captain Charles Turnbull — 4th Continental Artillery Regiment. (PA Society of the Cincinnati)
That is important because it establishes continuity:
Proctor's Pennsylvania Artillery → Continental artillery → 4th Continental Artillery → Captain Charles Turnbull.
What we can say about his later campaigns
Here I would be more cautious than my first answer.
The regimental history carries the 4th Continental Artillery into the 1780 New Jersey operations, 1781 Southern Department, Green Spring, Yorktown and the later Southern Theater. (Wikipedia)
But that does not automatically prove that Captain Turnbull personally participated in every one of those actions.
For Turnbull specifically, the strongest evidence establishes:
Definitely documented
1775
- Enlisted in Proctor's artillery.
1776
- Sergeant.
- Promoted 2nd lieutenant.
- With Proctor's artillery at Morristown.
1777
- Captain-lieutenant.
- Captured at Bound Brook.
- Promoted to captain while imprisoned.
1777–1780
- Prisoner of war.
1780
- Exchanged.
- Returned to the 4th Continental Artillery.
1780–1783
- Continued as a captain in the regiment.
June 1783
- Discharged according to later biographical records.
Not yet safe to state without further primary research
I would not yet claim that Turnbull personally fought at Yorktown or Green Spring simply because the 4th Continental Artillery did.
That's an important distinction if you're trying to establish his individual military biography.
A fascinating connection to the Princeton painting
There is another piece of evidence worth investigating.
John Trumbull's famous painting The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton has traditionally generated identification questions concerning the artilleryman standing near the cannon.
One modern identification source labels the figure Charles Turnbull, describing him as a lieutenant in Proctor's Pennsylvania artillery. (Iberdrola Arte)
However, another art-historical identification identifies that artilleryman as Captain Daniel Neil, not Charles Turnbull. (Wikipedia)
So I would not use the painting as proof that Turnbull was at Princeton without resolving the art-historical dispute.
That is a good example of why the documentary record is more reliable for your project.
The lineage in one chain
The clean genealogical/military lineage is:
Thomas Proctor's Pennsylvania Artillery Company
↓
Pennsylvania State Artillery Battalion
↓
Pennsylvania State Artillery Regiment — February 1777
↓
Proctor's Continental Artillery Regiment — June 1777
↓
4th Continental Artillery Regiment — 10 August 1779
↓
Reorganized to 10 companies — 1 January 1781
↓
Southern Department — February 1781
↓
Yorktown/Southern operations — 1781–82
↓
Reduced to 4 companies — January 1783
↓
Furloughed — June 1783
↓
Disbanded — 15 November 1783
And Charles Turnbull can be placed in that lineage from its earliest Pennsylvania period through the end of the war.
Most compelling documentary evidence for Turnbull
1776 muster roll: identifies him as a sergeant in Proctor's company. (USGenWeb Archives)
Washington's 17 January 1777 general orders: identifies him as Lieutenant Charles Turnbull of Proctor's artillery. ([Library of Congress Tile][2])
Washington's report of Bound Brook: identifies him as one of the officers captured. ([Library of Congress Tile][2])
Congressional/army records: show his promotion to captain while imprisoned. ([Library of Congress Tile][2])
Prisoner list: identifies him as Captain-Lieutenant of Proctor's artillery and gives the Bound Brook capture date. (Wikimedia Commons)
1780–81 unit records: place him back in the 4th Continental Artillery as Captain after his exchange. (PA Society of the Cincinnati)
Later SAR biographical record: supplies his claimed enlistment, exchange, discharge and family-held commission information. (Library Web Site)
[2]: https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/mss/mgw/mgw3g/002/002.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com "George Washington Papers, Series 3, Subseries 3G, Varick Transcripts, Letterbook "2"