Joseph McClellan (April 28, 1746 – October 13, 1834) was an American soldier, farmer, and politician from

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, ...

who served as a

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 ...

captain 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 ...

. Wounded during the

Yorktown campaign The Yorktown campaign, also known as the Virginia campaign, was a series of military maneuvers and battles during the American Revolutionary War that culminated in the siege of Yorktown in October 1781. The result of the campaign was the surren ...

and invalidated out of the army, he later served in the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

and became brevet colonel of militia.

Biography

McClellan was born on April 28, 1746, in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. When he was 13 years old, the family moved to Sadsbury Township in

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire or the County Palatine of Chester, a ceremonial county in the North Wes ...

. When the American Revolutionary War erupted in 1775, McClellan was commissioned lieutenant of a musket company on July 15, 1776. He commanded a company in

Samuel John Atlee Samuel John Atlee (1739 – November 25, 1786) was an American soldier and statesman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress for Pennsylvania from 1778 to 1782. Early life Samuel was born in Trenton, New Jers ...

's battalion, which fought in the Battle of Long Island and the

Battle of Fort Washington The Battle of Fort Washington was fought in New York on November 16, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War between the United States and Great Britain. It was a British victory that gained the surrender of the remnant of the garrison of ...

. He joined the

as a captain in Anthony Wayne's brigade, fighting alongside the Marquis de Lafayette at the

Battle of Brandywine The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American Continental Army of General George Washington and the British Army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777, as part of the Ame ...

in 1777. McClellan deployed with the

9th Pennsylvania Regiment The 9th Pennsylvania Regiment was authorized 16 September 1776 and was assigned to the main Continental Army on 27 December 1776. It was organized during the spring of 1777 to consist of eight companies of volunteers from Westmoreland, Lanca ...

through March 22, 1781, before transferring to the

2nd Pennsylvania Regiment The 2nd Pennsylvania Regiment, formed with lauded veterans from the 1st Pennsylvania Battalion, was raised in December 1776. The 1st Pennsylvania Battalion was raised in October 1775, under the command of Colonel John Bull for service with the ...

under Walter Stewart. Now commanding the York Rifle Company of light infantry, Captain McClellan was wounded in a skirmish with British troops during the

in the summer of 1781, resigning his commission and returning home to recuperate. Lafayette, now his commanding general, later wrote to McClellan praising the "strict military discipline and wonderful marksmanship" of the company he had commanded. Becoming a local dignitary after the war ended, McClellan was elected Chester County commissioner in 1784 and lieutenant of the county militia with the brevet rank of colonel in 1790. He served as county sheriff from 1792 from 1795. He was captain of dragoons and major of a regiment mustered to suppress the

Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a violent tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax impo ...

in 1794. From 1797 to 1800, he served in the

, representing

Bucks Bucks may refer to: Places * Buckinghamshire, England, abbreviated Bucks * Bucks, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Illinois, United States, an unincorporated community * Bucks, Michigan, an unincorporated community ...

, Chester, and Montgomery counties as a

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...

. He was elected burgess of West Chester in 1814 and served as the first president of the

Bank of Chester County Bank of Chester County (also known as the National Bank of Chester County, National Bank of Chester County and Trust Company, and Fidelity Bank) is a historic two-story bank building located in West Chester, Chester County, Pennsylvania, the firs ...

(1814–1816 and again 1817–1819). He emerged from retirement to chair a committee to welcome Lafayette on a tour of Chester County in 1824–1825.

Death and legacy

McClellan died at his Chester County farm in 1834 at the age of 88. A five-foot-tall monument, comprising two blocks of Brandywine granite surmounted with a polished granite ball featuring an inscription, was dedicated to honor his service during the Revolutionary War on September 11, 1895. The memorial is located at the

Birmingham Friends Meetinghouse Birmingham Friends Meetinghouse is a historic Quaker meeting house at 1245 Birmingham Road in Birmingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The current meetinghouse was built in 1763. The building and the adjacent cemetery were near the cent ...

. McClellan married Keziah Parke in 1786. His granddaughter, Keziah Ann Hemphill, married

Thomas S. Bell Thomas Sloan Bell Sr. (October 22, 1800 – June 6, 1861) was an American judge, politician, and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party from West Chester, Bell served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania from 1846 to 1851 and as ...

, and their children included

Thomas S. Bell Jr. Thomas Sloan Bell Jr. (May 12, 1838 – September 17, 1862) was an American soldier who served as a Union Army lieutenant colonel of the 51st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. He was killed in action at the Battle of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClellan, Joseph 1746 births 1834 deaths American bankers Continental Army officers from Pennsylvania Farmers from Pennsylvania Mayors of places in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Federalists Pennsylvania sheriffs Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Chester County, Pennsylvania Military personnel from Chester County, Pennsylvania 18th-century American politicians