Timothy Bedel (1737 – February 24, 1787) was a soldier and local leader prominent in the early history of New Hampshire and Vermont.
[1] On May 26, 1775, Timothy Bedel, a member of the New Hampshire provincial assembly representing Bath,[1] was appointed to command a company of rangers to be raised at Coos, New Hampshire (an Abenaki name for a place variously spelled cowasuk, cohos, or Koes), a military command located in Haverhill, New Hampshire and Newbury, Vermont where natives gathered to transport people and goods into Canada.
His command was criticized by General Richard Montgomery for overspending and wasting of provisions, particularly rum.
[citation needed] At The Cedars, most of Bedel's Regiment was captured by the British and their Native American allies.
[citation needed] Bedel served as a first lieutenant in a militia regiment at the Battle of Bennington under General John Stark, became a staff officer for Generals Philip Schuyler and Horatio Gates at Saratoga concerning Indian affairs, and was restored to regimental command.
On December 11, 1779, General George Washington ordered Colonel Bedel to raise another regiment at Coos to help Colonel Moses Hazen and General Jacob Bayley in the construction of a possible invasion route to Canada and to conduct an investigation of misconduct and fraud against the Continental Army Quartermaster at Coos, New Hampshire.