Portrait of James Warren, circa 1763 Oil on canvas. 127 x 101 cm. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
James Warren (September 28, 1726 – November 28, 1808) was the President of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and a Paymaster General of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, among other positions. He was born, and died, in Plymouth, Massachusetts. He was not related to Joseph Warren and John Warren, two other notable Warrens from Massachusetts during the Revolution with which he is sometimes confused because of their similar names and roles.
Warren graduated from Harvard in 1745, and in 1754 married his second cousin Mercy Otis Warren, a historian and playwright. He was a descendant of Mayflower passengers Richard Warren and Edward Doty; his wife Mercy was also descended from Edward Doty. He and Mercy had five sons. During the time of the Revolution, she hosted political meetings in her home, and in 1772, she published her play, The Adulateur. After the war, in 1790, Mrs. Warren published a volume of poetry in her name. In 1805, she wrote History of the American Revolution. She died in Plymouth in 1814.
Warren was more active in the early days of the Revolution than in the war itself. He was a member of the Sons of Liberty, and he fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill alongside Mercy's brother James Otis, Jr.. He was commissioned a general in the Massachusetts militia, but because he refused to serve under Continental Army officers of lesser rank, he took no part in the war after the action moved away from Boston.
James Warren is buried on Burial Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
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