Daniel Roberdeau (1727 – January 5, 1795) was an American

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

and merchant residing in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, Pennsylvania, at the time of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He represented Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1779 in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

, where he signed the

Articles of Confederation The Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union was an agreement among the 13 Colonies of the United States of America that served as its first frame of government. It was approved after much debate (between July 1776 and November 1777) by ...

. Roberdeau served as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

in the Pennsylvania state

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

during the war.

Family and early life

Roberdeau was born in 1727 on the Island of St. Christopher in the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. His father was a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

immigrant named Isaac Roberdeau; his mother, a

Scot The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...

, Mary Cunningham. After the death of his father, he immigrated to Philadelphia with his mother and sisters. Roberdeau became a timber merchant.

Early service

Roberdeau was active in establishing

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in Philadelphia, which brought him to the attention of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

and other civic leaders. He served on the Board of Managers for

Pennsylvania Hospital Pennsylvania Hospital is a private, non-profit, 515-bed teaching hospital located in Center City Philadelphia and is part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. Founded on May 11, 1751, by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond, Pennsyl ...

in Philadelphia in 1756-1757. He was elected to the Pennsylvania Colonial Assembly, serving from 1756 to 1760, but then declined further service.

Revolutionary War service

When war neared, he joined the

Associators Associators were members of 17th- and 18th-century volunteer military associations in the British American thirteen colonies and British Colony of Canada. These were more commonly known as Maryland Protestant, Pennsylvania, and Ameri ...

(as the Pennsylvania rebel militia was known) and was made colonel of his regiment. In May 1776 he presided at several public meetings calling for the existing Pennsylvania delegation to the Continental Congress to be replaced with members who supported a

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

. As a result, he was named to the Committee of Safety, and on July 4, 1776 was named a brigadier general in the state militia.

Congressional service

Roberdeau was first elected to the Continental Congress in February 1777 and served there until 1779. Later that year, when the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

entered winter quarters at

Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the ...

, he worked with General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

to set up a militia support network known as the Flying Camp and served as its commander. In April 1778, Roberdeau took a short leave from Congress. He had noted the shortage of powder and shot in the army and used the time off to establish a lead mine in what was then a part of Bedford County, now a part of

Blair County Blair County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 122,822. Its county seat is Hollidaysburg. The county was created on February 26, 1846, from parts of Huntingdon and Bedford counties. B ...

. To protect the mine and camp from

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

attacks, he built a palisade,

Fort Roberdeau Fort Roberdeau, also known as The Lead Mine Fort, is an historic fort, which is located in Tyrone Township, outside Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. History and architectural features Built ...

, at his own expense. Historically, Roberdeau's fort was known as the "Lead Mine Fort". It has been reconstructed near its original site in Sinking Valley, near present-day

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. T ...

. ''Note:'' This includes After the war, he moved to

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, and eventually settled in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, where he died in 1795. He is buried in the Mt. Hebron Cemetery there. ''Genealogy of the Roberdeau Family''
/ref> His son, Isaac Roberdeau, became a civil engineer and U.S. Army officer, who helped

Pierre L'Enfant Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American military engineer who designed the basic plan for Washington, D.C. (capital city of the United States) known today as the L'Enfant Plan (1791). Early life ...

lay out the plan for Washington, D.C.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberdeau, Daniel 1727 births 1795 deaths Continental Congressmen from Pennsylvania 18th-century American politicians Signers of the Articles of Confederation Businesspeople from Philadelphia Huguenot participants in the American Revolution American people of French descent British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Militia generals in the American Revolution Pennsylvania militiamen in the American Revolution Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly People from Saint Kitts Saint Kitts and Nevis people of British descent People of colonial Pennsylvania Burials at Mount Hebron Cemetery (Winchester, Virginia)