Boyd was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, on December 21, 1764. Too young to serve in the American Revolution, but decided upon a military career, he served in the militia and joined the Army as an Ensign in 1786. He served in the force sent to counter Shays' Rebellion, and resigned after three years in the Army to serve as a Soldier of Fortune in the army of the Nizam of Hyderabad, in Central India. Boyd was a highly successful cavalry commander, but was discharged in July 1798, due to his "refractoriness, disobedience, and unreasonableness."
Return to the Army
Boyd continued to offer his services as a mercenary in India. After the British conquest ended the conflicts in which he had taken part, he disbanded his units, sold their equipment, and returned to the United States. Boyd rejoined the United States Army in October, 1808. Commissioned as Colonel of the 4th Infantry Regiment, during the Battle of Tippecanoe he served as a brigade commander and second-in-command to William Henry Harrison, with the rank of acting Brigadier General.
When the War of 1812 broke out, Boyd initially commanded a brigade under Major General Henry Dearborn in Albany, New York and in action in the area around Plattsburgh. He was promoted to permanent Brigadier General in July. In 1813, he successfully commanded a brigade at the Battle of Fort George. As illness or disgrace removed many of his contemporaries, he eventually commanded the garrison of captured Fort George. After a defeat at the Battle of Beaver Dams, Boyd's troops returned to Fort George and remained on the defensive. Moving his troops from Fort George to Sacket's Harbor, he later participated in Major General James Wilkinson's ill-fated expedition to attack on Montreal. At the Battle of Crysler's Farm in November, 1813, the illness of Wilkinson and the army's second-in-command, Major General Morgan Lewis made Boyd the commander of the attack. His troops, poorly trained and dispirited from the rapid changes of command, straggled into action on unfavorable terrain. Boyd lost control of the battle and was defeated. Boyd remained in command of a brigade in winter camp at Salmon Creek, near Sodus Point, New York. After a half-hearted attack by Wilkinson at Lacolle Mill failed, Wilkinson blamed Boyd, and Boyd was moved into a rear-area assignment. He saw no further combat service, and in 1816 he published a defense of his actions.
Later life
After leaving the Army in 1815, Boyd was involved in several business ventures, often in partnership with his brothers Ebenezer, Robert and Joseph. He was a founder of the Maine towns of Orneville and Medford. In 1820 he was compensated by Britain for military services he had rendered in India. Originally a Democratic-Republican, and later a Jacksonian and a Democrat, Boyd served as a member of the Boston City Council in the 1820s. He was also active in civic causes, including the Scots Charitable Society. In 1829 President Andrew Jackson appointed Boyd Naval Officer of the Port of Boston, replacing Thomas Melvill, and he served until his death.
Boyd's reputation as a commander is mixed. On one hand, he was praised for his skill, including his success in India. On the other, he was defeated at Crysler's Farm by a force only half the size of his. Winfield Scott clearly did not have high regard for Boyd, calling him amiable and respectable in a subordinate position but "vacillating and imbecile beyond all endurance as a chief under high responsibilities." Others have commended Boyd's military performance on specific occasions, including Tippecanoe and Fort George.
Will
Boyd prepared a will in November, 1816. As transcribed, it reads:
Family
Boyd never married, but according to his will and other sources is known to have had two children. One was a daughter named Frances, born in India on June 4, 1797 to a Muslim woman named Housina. The other was a son named Wallace, born in October, 1814 to a woman named Marie Rupell. As indicated in his will, Boyd intended to leave a large portion of his estate to Housina and Frances, but they could not be located. Wallace received 25 percent of Boyd's estate. He later changed his name to John Wallace Boyd and became a ship's captain based in Boston.
Legacy
Boyd Lake in Orneville is named for him. In 2008 a Mississippi woman, Charlotte Dillard, purchased at a Goodwill store in Georgia for slightly more than seven dollars an antique two-volume Bible inscribed "Symphonia A. Little presented by her uncle General Boyd." At the time of the purchase, Dillard planned to keep the books and display them at her home. Boyd's name is included on Plaque 8 in Paul Revere Mall, listed among those from Boston's North End who played leadership roles in the American Revolution and War of 1812.
