Revolutionary War Figure. He was the minister in the town of Concord, Massachusetts, from 1765 to 1776. In 1770, near the soon-to-be-famous North Bridge in that town he built his home, which would later become known as the "Old Manse." From his pulpit he preached resistance to oppression by the English Parliament. On April 19, 1775, the first day of the American Revolution, he pleaded with the leaders of the American militia to launch an immediate attack on the British regulars instead of waiting for reinforcements. His demands were ignored, but when the fighting did begin, Emerson anxiously watched the battle unfold from his own land. In August of 1776, he left the Manse to serve as chaplain of the American army at Fort Ticonderoga. It was there he caught dysentery, which lead him to resign his commission to return home. He was able to make it as far as Rutland, Vermont, before becoming too ill to travel. It was there he died and was buried in an unmarked grave. He is the grandfather of the author Ralph Waldo Emerson as well (findagrave.com)