Patriot; born in
Trappe, Pa., Oct. 1, 1746; was educated at
Halle, Germany; ran away, and for a year was a private in a
regiment of dragoons; was ordained in 1772, and preached at
Woodstock, Va., until the
Revolutionary War broke out. One Sunday he told his hearers that there was a time for all things—a time to preach and a time to fight—and that then was the time to fight.
Casting off his
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gown, he appeared in the regimentals of a Virginia colonel, read his commission as such, and ordered drummers to beat up for recruits.
Nearly all the able-bodied men of his parish responded, and became soldiers of the 8th Virginia (German) regiment.
He had been an active patriot in civil life, and was efficient in military service.
In February, 1777, he was made brigadier-general, and took charge of the
Virginia line, under
Washington.
He was in the battles of
Brandywine,
Germantown, and
Monmouth, and was at the capture of
Stony Point.
He was in chief command in
Virginia in 1781, until the arrival of
Steuben; and was second in command to
Lafayette in resisting the invasion of the
State by Cornwallis.
At the siege of
Yorktown (q. v.) he commanded a brigade of light infantry, and was made a major-general at the close of the war. Removing to
Pennsylvania, he was elected a member of the council, and, in 1785,
vice-president of the
State.
He was a member of Congress much of the time from 1789 to 1801, and in 1801-2 was
United States Senator.
He was supervisor of the revenue for the district of
Pennsylvania, and, in 1803, collector of the port of
Philadelphia.
He died near
Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 1, 1807.
