Military officer; born in
Elizabethtown, N. J., Dec. 3, 1756; graduated at Princeton in 1773; taught school in his native village; and in the winter of 1775-76 assisted in capturing, near
Sandy Hook, a British vessel laden with munitions of war for the army in
Boston.
Early in 1777 he entered the
army as captain under his brother Matthias, and fought at
Brandywine.
He was brigade-major under
Lee at
Monmouth, and assistant aide-de-camp to Lord Stirling; aid to
General Maxwell in
Sullivan's expedition; was at the
battle of Springfield (June, 1780); and in 1781 was with
Lafayette in
Virginia.
He led infantry to the storming of a redoubt at
Yorktown, and received the commendation of
Washington.
After the war he practised law, and held civil offices of trust in his State.
He was
United States Senator from 1801 to 1803, and governor of
New Jersey from 1812 to 1813.
In the
War of 1812-15 he commanded the militia of
New Jersey.
At the time of his death, in
Jersey City, N. J., April 19, 1839, he was presidentgeneral of the Society of the Cincinnati.
