John Dagworthy (17211784) was from Trenton, New Jersey, and had a military career that spanned three wars. During

King George's War King George's War (1744–1748) is the name given to the military operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in t ...

Dagworthy recruited a company of soldiers and was given command over them. During the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

he was a captain in command at

Fort Cumberland A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. When

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 th ...

of the Virginia militia, returned with the survivors of the Braddock Expedition Dagworthy became involved in a lengthy dispute with Washington, challenging him over matters of rank and seniority. 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 t ...

he was 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 appointed ...

commanding the Sussex County (Delaware) militia. Essay, General John Dagworthy

Background

John Dagworthy, born in 1721, came from a prominent Royalist family in Trenton, New Jersey and was a devoted member of the Anglican

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. He went on to serve in three different wars during his military career. Sterner, 2017, Essay

King George's War

His first military service occurred when he served in

against France. He was commissioned a captain on August 23, 1746, and recruited a company of soldiers that later would join the regiment of Colonel

Peter Schuyler Pieter Schuyler (17 September 1657 – 19 February 1724) was the first mayor of Albany, New York. A long-serving member of the executive council of the Province of New York, he acted as governor of the Province of New York on three occasions ...

. His company participated in the proposed invasion of Canada up the Hudson valley, which never actually got underway. At this time the Council of New Jersey wrote to the Duke of Newcastle with the intention of getting a commission for Dagworthy. To this end the young captain Dagworthy sailed to England in the interest of his own cause, where he finally got his wish and received a royal commission in His Majesty's service.

French and Indian War

During the

Captain John Dagworthy, was under the overall command of Colonel James Innes, the commander-in-chief of colonial forces at that time. Dagworthy was in command of the troops of the Maryland militia who built

, a crude frontier fort constructed at the confluence of Wills Creek and the Potomac River in the autumn of 1754. The fort at this time marked the westernmost outpost of the British Empire in America. The fort was the starting point for General Braddock's failed expedition against the French at

Fort Duquesne Fort Duquesne (, ; originally called ''Fort Du Quesne'') was a fort established by the French in 1754, at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers. It was later taken over by the British, and later the Americans, and developed a ...

, located in present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When Braddock was killed, George Washington, at the time a young officer of the Virginia militia, led the surviving troops back to Fort Cumberland. In 1746, Dagworthy obtained a royal commission for an intended expedition against the French in Canada that never materialized—he only functioned as a recruiter for the proposed expedition. Schuyler, 1929, p. 740 Dagworthy was under the notion that a royal commission, even though outdated, somehow rendered his rank superior to that of a colonial major. Dagworthy first encountered George Washington, who was then twenty-two, in 1755, on the Maryland frontier at Fort Cumberland. Although Washington possessed a superior rank, Dagworthy refused to recognize his command. As a captain in the British Provincial Troops, Dagworthy disputed the authority of

. At that time, Washington was a major in the Virginia militia, a rank that Dagworthy considered inferior to his own Royal commission as a captain. The fort was built at the confluence of Wills Creek and the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

, by troops of the Maryland militia under Dagworthy's command, in the fall of 1754. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, 1988, p. 252 Washington deeply resented the idea that a British captain considered himself to be of superior rank, especially since Dagworthy had obtained his royal commission for a price. When Dagworthy challenged Washington's authority, Washington in a letter of 5 December 1755, to Virginia Lieutenant Governor Robert Dinwiddie, his long-time friend, protested Dagworthy's challenge and threatened to resign, and declared, "I can never submit to the command of Captain Dagworthy." Smith, Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, Essay Dinwiddie sent a letter of appeal to Massachusetts Governor

William Shirley William Shirley (2 December 1694 – 24 March 1771) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the British American colonies of Massachusetts Bay and the Bahamas. He is best known for his role in organi ...

. Washington wanted Shirley to have his regiment absorbed into the British army. Chernow, 2010, p. 68 Dinwiddie then granted Washington permission to travel to Boston in February 1756 so he could discuss matters with Shirley in person. Shirley reasserted Washington's command over Dagworthy, but never granted Washington a royal commission. Washington's attempts to obtain a royal commission continued to fail, and eventually distanced Washington from his superiors. The matter also increased the doubt in Washington's mind about American colonists' place in the British Empire.

American Revolutionary War

When the American Revolutionary War broke out between the colonies and Great Britain, Dagworthy became a member of the Sussex County Committee of Safety and duly assigned a military post. In the Committee meeting records of September 16, 1775 he is referred to as a colonel in reference to his previous service, but in the January 1776 Committee records he is referred to as a brigadier general of Sussex County. Dagworthy was not given a field command in 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 ...

, but was instead given command of the Sussex County militia. Sussex county was at the southern end of Delaware and often considered of little regard by military and Delaware officials, who were more concerned with British ships making their way through Delaware Bay and up the river to Philadelphia. The Delaware River and Bay also gave the Philadelphia access to the sea. Dagworthy's sister, Mary Dagworthy, married

Abraham Hunt Abraham Hunt (1741–1821) was a wealthy American merchant and farmer in Trenton, New Jersey, first Postmaster of Trenton, and served in the American Revolutionary War as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Hunterton County militia. He was a prominent ...

, a Lieutenant Colonel in the New Jersey militia, famous for his role in befriending Hessian commander

Johann Rall Johann Gottlieb Rall (also spelled Rahl) (December 27, 1776) was a German colonel best known for his command of Hessian troops at the Battle of Trenton during the American Revolutionary War. Early life and education Rall was born as a so-called ...

and keeping him preoccupied while

mounted a successful surprise attack at the

Battle of Trenton The Battle of Trenton was a small but pivotal American Revolutionary War battle on the morning of December 26, 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. After General George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American m ...

in New Jersey. Dagworthy's remains are buried in the cemetery of

Prince George's Chapel Prince George's Chapel is a historic Episcopal chapel of ease located near Dagsboro, Sussex County, Delaware. It was built in 1755 as a chapel-of-ease for St. Martin's Church, Worcester Parish, Maryland. Churches built to serve the outlying are ...

, located near Dagsboro. The town of

Dagsboro, Delaware Dagsboro is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. The population was 805 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Dagsboro, incorporated in the early 1900s, is a town ...

and the Dagsboro Hundred both take their names from General Dagworthy. Salisbury Times, June 29, 1962 Delaware Public Archives

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * *

External links

Letter from John Dagworthy to George Washington, Library of Congress

National Archives: Letter to George Washington from John Dagworthy, 10 July 1757

Letter to George Washington from John Dagworthy, 14 June 1757
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dagworthy, John People of colonial New Jersey Delaware militiamen in the American Revolution Militia generals in the American Revolution 1721 births 1784 deaths People of colonial Delaware Burials in Sussex County, Delaware People of colonial Maryland British military personnel of the French and Indian War