John Bull (June 1, 1731 - August 9, 1824) politician, military officer, statesman, and planter. Initially, his military career started under John Forbes in the

Forbes Expedition The Forbes Expedition was a British military expedition to capture Fort Duquesne, led by Brigadier-General John Forbes in 1758, during the French and Indian War. While advancing to the fort, the expedition built the now historic trail, the Forbes ...

during the 1750s. During the American Revolution, he was a delegate in the

Pennsylvania Provincial Conference The Pennsylvania Provincial Conference, officially the Provincial Conference of Committees of the Province of Pennsylvania, was a Provincial Congress held June 18–25, 1776 at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. The 97 delegates in attendance (out ...

which declared Pennsylvania independent from the British Colonies.

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 inte ...

and Bull sat on many committees together. Bull was a very active participant in many different roles during the revolution. He was mainly in charge of the defenses of Fort Billingsport. He held the rank of Colonel in Pennsylvania's 2nd Regiment and eventually rose to the rank of Adjutant General of the Pennsylvania Militia by the Pennsylvania Supreme Executive Council in defense of Philadelphia during the

Philadelphia campaign The Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778) was a British effort in the American Revolutionary War to gain control of Philadelphia, which was then the seat of the Second Continental Congress. British General William Howe, after failing to dra ...

. Bull was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania where he was raised on a farm. By 1758, he participated in the French and Indian War as a captain where he met

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 ...

and the two became friends. During the 1760s he was involved in local politics. In 1770, Benjamin Rittenhouse married Bull's oldest daughter Elizabeth. Bull became good friends with his brother American astronomer

David Rittenhouse David Rittenhouse (April 8, 1732 – June 26, 1796) was an American astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, scientific instrument craftsman, and public official. Rittenhouse was a member of the American Philosophical Society a ...

. During the revolution, George Washington visited Bull's Masonic Lodge while he was in Valley Forge. Bull was attending as the

Worshipful Master In Craft Freemasonry, sometimes known as Blue Lodge Freemasonry, every Masonic lodge elects or appoints Masonic lodge officers to execute the necessary functions of the lodge's life and work. The precise list of such offices may vary between the ...

of the lodge. After the British evacuated Philadelphia Bull continued to proved defense to the city. Bull's son-in-law Benjamin was superintendent of the gunlock factory in Pennsylvania. After the American Revolution while he was in his seventies he briefly held the position of Pennsylvania assemblyman.

History

Bull was born in Providence Township, Philadelphia County now called Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Thomas Bull and Elizabeth Rossiter. His mother died at 92 years old and his father died in 1747. He had two brothers and a sister William, Thomas, and Elizabeth Betson. John married a Welsh woman named Mary Phillps on August 13, 1752. Bull participated in the taking of

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort French colonization of the Americas, established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny River, Allegheny and Monongahela River, Monongahela rivers. It was lat ...

as a captain along with

and other troops under the direction of General Forbes around May 12, 1758. By 1761, he became a justice of the peace in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, and by 1768 he was justice of the

Court of quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

in the same county. By 1771, he was in possession of 534 acres in Norristown, PA. At the onset of the American Revolution, he actively participated and eventually reached the rank of General. In 1774 he was a member of the Committee of Inspection in his county. The American Revolution started to impact different parts of the country and Bull became actively involved, He was a delegate to the

of January 18, 1775, which declared the independence of Pennsylvania from the British Colonies. Bull was also a colonel of the First Pennsylvania Battalion of the Continental Troops from November 25, 1775, to January 20, 1776. He was also a member of the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention in the summer of 1776 which had a profound impact on American public opinion and cleared the way for the issuing of the

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 ...

. In July, he was colonel of the Sixth Associator's Battalion of the State and a member of the Council of Safety of the State. He later became a justice of the peace. By September 1776, he was appointed general superintendent of the construction of defenses at Fort Billingsport. Billingsport was a crucial defense. On January 20, 1777, he was a commissioner to sign a peace treaty with the Indians at Easton, Pennsylvania. By February 1777, he was in charge of the defenses at Fort Billingsport. He was also active in local Pennsylvania politics as an assemblyman and also briefly served on the Board of War. Because of the active war, Bull took many government positions. By May 1777, he was in charge of the Pennsylvania State Regiment, and on the 16th of July of that year, he was appointed adjutant general of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia was occupied by the British during the

on around August 25, 1777, Fort Billingsport also fell. In October 1777, John's house store, and barns were burned down by British troops and his wife's life was threatened by

General Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...

and his soldiers. The United States government hid a sizeable portion of weapons and ammunition on John's estate everything was lost. Luckily his wife was unharmed. By December 1777, General James Irvine was captured by the British and Bull was given command of the Second Brigade of the Pennsylvania militia under

General Armstrong ''General Armstrong'' was an American brig built for privateering in the Atlantic Ocean theater of the War of 1812. She was named for Brigadier General John Armstrong, Sr., who fought in the American Revolutionary War. War of 1812 ''General Arm ...

. When the British moved South and evacuated Philadelphia on June 18, 1778, the government ordered John to continue his service at Fort Billingsport for the rest of the war. He continued constructing defenses his knowledge of Pennsylvania was crucial to the revolution in the years 1778–1779, he helped raise a defense obstacle in the Delaware River named a Cheval de frize to stop British ships. He was also responsible for making repairs to roads, bridges, and cities. By 1880, he was Commissioner of Purchases for Philadelphia County, responsible for purchasing supplies for the Continental Army. At the close of the war, he moved to

Northumberland, Pennsylvania Northumberland is a borough in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,804 at the 2010 census. History A brewer named Reuben Haines, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded the town of Northumberland in ...

. He sold a large amount of land he owned in

Barkeyville, Pennsylvania Barkeyville is a borough in Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 186 at the 2020 census. Geography Barkeyville is located at (41.200251, -79.982891). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a tota ...

. He was venerated in the city of Philadelphia for his service during the war. According to records, he was taxed for one slave he owned, slavery was abolished in Pennsylvania in 1780 but it was a gradual abolition and people still owned slaves until 1847. Bull was elected state assemblyman of the state of Pennsylvania Northumberland district from December 6, 1804 – March 31, 1806, while he was in his 70s. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress around the same period. Regrettably, his wife Mary Phillips Bull died at Northumberland, on February 23, 1811, at eighty years of age. He died on August 9, 1824, in

and is buried there. Brother John Bull was a Freemason and raised in Lodge No. 8 of Philadelphia where he became a

of the lodge. He was also admitted to Lodge No. 22 on August 9. 1786.

Family

He was the father of six children. They had one son, Ezekiel William. He was a surgeon in the United States Army. They also had five daughters: Elizabeth, who married Benjamin Rittenhouse, brother of

; Anna or Animus, who married General John Smith, of Virginia; Mary, married

Joseph Nourse Joseph Nourse (London, England, 16 July 1754 – Washington D.C., 1841) was the first United States Register of the Treasury whose career spanned forty years and six presidential administrations. He played a key role in administering the finance ...

, Rebecca, married Captain John Boyd and Sarah Harriet, married three times. His great-granddaughter Mary Powell Mills married into the prominent Creole family named the Dimitry Family. His great-great-grandchildren John Bull Smith Dimitry, Charles Patton Dimitry, and Virginia Dimitry Ruth were all notable authors.

References

Bibliography

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External links

UNIFORMS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION -- Pennsylvania State Regiment, 1777 - 13th Pennsylvania Line
– useful website
Minutes of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania, from its organization to the termination of the Revolution. [Mar. 4, 1777 - Dec. 20, 1790]
– Pennsylvania Executive Council Minutes, page 247
Colonel John Bull
– genealogy records
Record of the descendents of John and Elizabeth Bull, early settlers in Pennsylvania
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bull, John (general) Continental Army officers 1731 births 1824 deaths Continental Army generals