Editing Richard Gridley (section)

==Early life and military career==
Gridley married Hannah Deming 25 February 1730. They had nine children.<ref name=DCB/> He served as a military engineer during the [[French and Indian Wars]] from the reduction of [[Fortress Louisbourg]] in 1745 to the fall of [[Quebec]]. For his services he was awarded a captain's commission in [[Shirley's Regiment|65th, or Shirley's Regiment of Foot]], a grant of the [[Magdalen Islands]], {{convert|3000|acres|km2}} of land in [[New Hampshire]], and a life annuity. Placed on [[half-pay]] in 1749, he was colonel of a [[Provincial troops in the French and Indian Wars|Massachusetts provincial regiment]] during [[Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet|William Johnson]]'s 1755 expedition against [[Fort Saint-Frédéric]]. In [[John Winslow (British Army officer)|John Winslow's]] failed 1756 expedition against Fort Saint-Frédéric, he served as provincial colonel of artillery and chief engineer. He vehemently supported Winslow's resistance against a merger of the regular and provincial forces.<ref name=DCB>{{cite DCB |first=Stuart R.J. |last=Sutherland |title=Gridley, Richard |volume=4 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/gridley_richard_4E.html}}</ref>

Gridley sided with the [[Thirteen Colonies]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]] and was made Chief Engineer in the New England Provincial Army. He laid out the defenses on [[Breed's Hill]] and was wounded at the [[Battle of Bunker Hill]]. When the [[Continental Congress]] first created a [[Continental Army]] under command of [[George Washington]] in 1775 Gridley was named to [[Chief of Engineers|Chief Engineer]] (artillery). He directed the construction of the [[Fortification of Dorchester Heights|fortifications on Dorchester Heights]] which forced the British to evacuate Boston in March 1776. When Washington moved his army south, Gridley remained as Chief Engineer of the [[Departments of the Continental Army|Eastern Department]].<ref name=USCOE>Anonymous (1775). ''Colonel Richard Gridley, First Chief Engineer: The Forgotten Soldier of the Battle of Bunker Hill.'' United States. Army. Corps of Engineers, ''passim''.</ref>