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John Cadwalader (January 10, 1742 – February 10, 1786) was a commander of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
troops during the
American Revolutionary War 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 ...
and served under George Washington. He was with Washington at Valley Forge.


Early life

John Cadwalader was born in
Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city, capital city (New Jersey), city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County, New Jersey, Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.
of
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
parentage, the eldest son of Thomas Cadwalader (1707–1779) and Hannah Lambert, his wife.Historical Society of PennsylvaniaKent, p. 15 In 1750, the Cadwalader family removed to Philadelphia where John and Lambert Cadwalader, his brother, were merchants. In 1768 he was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...
. On September 25, 1768, John Cadwalader married Elizabeth Lloyd (1742–1776), the daughter of Edward Lloyd, of Talbot County, Maryland. Her brother, Edward Lloyd IV, was a delegate to the Continental Congress for Maryland. Their daughter, Maria Cadwalader (1776–1811), married Samuel Ringgold, who became a congressman representing Maryland. Two of their sons, Samuel Ringgold and Cadwalader Ringgold, had distinguished military careers.


Revolutionary War

In 1776, Colonel John Cadwalader was elected senior officer of the Philadelphia Associators, a volunteer militia founded by
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a m ...
in 1747. By December, Cadwalader and the Associators were positioned about 10 miles south of Trenton on the west side of the Delaware River in Bucks County, Pennsylvania at the ferry between Bristol, Pennsylvania and Burlington, New Jersey. Cadwalader had received orders to send his column across the river on the night of December 25–26 and march to Trenton from the south. Meanwhile, George Washington's column would cross the river to the north of Trenton and attack the city from that direction. After successfully crossing his light forces, Cadwalader discovered that river ice prevented crossing his
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...
. He then returned his column to the Pennsylvania side, leaving Washington's forces unsupported in New Jersey. It was fortunate for Washington that a Hessian column, having marched from their garrison at Bordentown to Mount Holly where they were engaged in the Battle of Iron Works Hill, were no longer in position to defend Trenton. Washington was successful in his surprise attack on the morning of December 26 against the Hessian garrison in Trenton. Cadwalader and his column did cross the river the next day. Cadwalader subsequently took part in the further actions in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York (state), New York; on the ea ...
, which forced the British commander General William Howe and his principal subordinate, Lord Cornwallis, to surrender the colony to the Americans. After the Conway Cabal, he fought a
duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
with Thomas Conway in 1778 in which Cadwalader wounded his opponent with a shot in the mouth. Supposedly Cadawalader, a supporter of Washington throughout the cabal, boasted, "I have stopped that damned rascal's lying anyway" as he stood over the bleeding Conway.


Post-war

In 1779, Cadwalader became a trustee of the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...
and returned to his estate on the banks of the Sassafras River at Shrewsbury, Kent County, Maryland. He became a member of the Maryland State Assembly.Jordan


Personal life

John Cadwalader married Williamina Bond (1753–1837), daughter of Dr. Phineas Bond, of Philadelphia and niece of Thomas Bond. Their son, Thomas (1779–1841), like his father, became a general of the Pennsylvania militia. Their daughter, Frances (1781–1843), married David Erskine, 2nd Baron Erskine (1777–1855), who was the British Ambassador to the United States from 1807 to 1809. John Cadwalader died February 10, 1786, of pneumonia. He is buried at Shrewsbury Chapel, Kent County, Maryland.
Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
wrote his epitaph:
His early and inflexible patriotism will endear his memory to all true friends of the American Revolution. It may with strictest justice be said of him, that he possessed a heart incapable of deceiving. His manners were formed on the nicest sense of honor and the whole tenor of his life was governed by this principle. The companions of his youth were the companions of his manhood. He never lost a friend by insincerity nor made one by deception. His domestic virtues were truly exemplary and while they served to endear the remembrances they embitter the loss of him to all his numerous friends and connections.


Furniture

John and Elizabeth Cadwalader built a city house on 2nd between Spruce & Union (now Delancey) Streets in Philadelphia in 1770, and they commissioned suites of furniture from cabinetmakers such as
Thomas Affleck Thomas Affleck (1740–1795) was an 18th-century American cabinetmaker, who specialized in furniture in the Philadelphia Chippendale style. Biography He was born in Aberdeen, Scotland to a devout Quaker family. There is no documentation of wher ...
and Benjamin Randolph. Surviving pieces are among the finest and best-documented Philadelphia Chippendale furniture ever made. ''Colonial Grandeur in Philadelphia: The House and Furniture of General John Cadwalader'' (The Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1964) Examples are in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 100 ...
, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Winterthur Museum, and other collections. A Cadwalader easy (wing) chair with hairy-paw feet by Affleck sold at Sotheby's New York for $2.75 million on January 31, 1987, setting a world record for the highest price ever paid for any piece of furniture at auction.Lita Solis-Cohen
"Phila.-made chair sold for record $2.75 million,"
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', February 1, 1987.


Family tree


Notes


References

* Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Biography of John Cadwalader
* Fischer, David Hackett (2004). '' Washington's Crossing''. New York: Oxford University Press. * Jordan, John W. (1914). ''Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography''. New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 111: 720-723
John Cadwalader family history
* Kent County Heritage Committee (2003). ''Guide to Kent County heritage''. Chestertown, Maryland. * ''Rodgers Biographical Dictionary''. "General John Cadwallader ". pp. 224–228. * Weeks, Christopher, et al. (1984). ''Where land and water intertwine, an architectural history of Talbot County, Maryland''. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, *The Ipswich Journal Ipswich, Suffolk, England Saturday, January 11, 1777


External links


Biography and portrait of Gen. John Cadwalader at Virtualology.com
* *

Courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania

Courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania * Th
Cadwalader Family Papers
including correspondence and Revolutionary War materials belonging to General John Cadwalader, are available for research use at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cadwalader, John 1742 births 1786 deaths People from Trenton, New Jersey American people of Welsh descent American duellists Militia generals in the American Revolution Pennsylvania militiamen in the American Revolution People from Kent County, Maryland Members of the American Philosophical Society Burials in Maryland Continental Army officers from New Jersey University of Pennsylvania people People of colonial New Jersey