John Doughty (July 25, 1754September 16, 1826) was an American military officer who briefly served as the

senior officer of the United States Army The Commanding General of the United States Army was the title given to the service chief and highest-ranking officer of the United States Army (and its predecessor the Continental Army), prior to the establishment of the Chief of Staff of the ...

in 1784. Holding the rank of major at the time, he bears the distinction of being the lowest ranked individual ever to serve as the senior most United States Army officer.

Biography

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on July 25, 1754, he graduated from King's College (

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

) in 1770 and entered military service through New Jersey state channels in January 1776.

American Revolution

He served as adjutant general of two Morris County battalions and was appointed

captain lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...

of the

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Eastern Artillery Company in March 1776. Doughty became a captain of the 2nd Continental Artillery Regiment in January 1777 and served as an aide-de-camp to

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alb ...

. Later, he was assigned to command the New York State Artillery Company in March 1777. Doughty would participate in the battles of

Brandywine Brandywine may refer to: Food and drink *Brandy, a spirit produced by distilling wine *Brandywine tomato, a variety of heirloom tomato Geographic locations Canada * Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, British Columbia * Brandywine Mountain, British ...

(1777),

Germantown Germantown or German Town may refer to: Places Australia * Germantown, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region United States * Germantown, California, the former name of Artois, a census-designated place in Glenn County * Ge ...

(1777), Monmouth (1778), Springfield (1780), and Yorktown (1781). He was appointed brigade major of the Corps of Artillery in 1779 and was appointed fort major for the

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

garrison in 1782. He was transferred to the Corps of Artillery in June 1783 and was promoted to brevet major in September. Doughty's artillery company was attached to Henry Jackson's 1st American Regiment following in the disbanding of the Continental Army late in 1783.

Post Revolution

Doughty became the Army's senior ranking officer following the discharge of Jackson's regiment in June 1784, leaving Doughty in command of a company of 55 artillerymen at

and a detachment of 25 men at Fort Pitt in Pennsylvania guarding military stores left over from the Continental Army. On August 12 of the same year, an

Infantry regiment Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

was organized under Brevet Brigadier General

Josiah Harmar Josiah Harmar (November 10, 1753August 20, 1813) was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for six years and seven months (August 1784 to Ma ...

, who then became the senior officer in the United States Army. On that date, Doughty was promoted to major and placed in command of a battalion of two companies of artillery. In this position he superintended the construction of

Fort Harmar Fort Harmar was an early United States frontier military fort, built in pentagonal shape during 1785 at the confluence of the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, on the west side of the mouth of the Muskingum River. It was built under the orders of Colone ...

(1785) and Fort Washington (1789) on the Ohio frontier. Doughty was designated major commandant of the Battalion of Artillery in September 1789, and then was dispatched by

President 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 t ...

to the frontier to negotiate with the Choctaw Nation for trading post sites in 1789. He was repelled with serious losses when attacked by

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

, and

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsTennessee River The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other name ...

on a negotiating mission to the

Chickasaw The Chickasaw ( ) are an indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands. Their traditional territory was in the Southeastern United States of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee as well in southwestern Kentucky. Their language is classif ...

Nation in 1790. In March 1791 Doughty was offered the position of lieutenant colonel commandant (i.e. commanding officer) of the newly formed 2nd Infantry Regiment. Doughty declined the appointment and decided to retire from the Army instead. Doughty was appointed brigadier general of artillery, 2d Division, New Jersey militia in 1793 and was appointed lieutenant colonel, 2d Regiment of Artillerists and Engineers, as war with France threatened in June 1798. In May 1800 Doughty resigned from the Army and returned to private life on his estate at Morristown, New Jersey, to engage in agriculture and pursue literary studies. He died there on September 16, 1826. He is buried in the First Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Morristown.

References

Service record
from Francis B. Heitman's ''Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Doughty, John 1754 births 1826 deaths Military personnel from New York City Columbia College (New York) alumni American militia generals Continental Army officers from New Jersey United States Army generals People of the Province of New York People of colonial New Jersey Commanding Generals of the United States Army