Louis Franklin Bache (October 7, 1779 – October 4, 1819) was the son of

Richard Bache Richard Bache (September 12, 1737 – April 17, 1811), born in Settle, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, immigrated to Philadelphia, in the colony of Pennsylvania, where he was a businessman, a marine insurance underwriter, and later served as ...

and

Sarah Franklin Bache Sarah Franklin Bache (September 11, 1743 – October 5, 1808), sometimes known as Sally Bache, was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read. She was a leader in relief work during the American Revolutionary War and frequently served as ...

, the daughter of the American statesman

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 his wife

Deborah Read Deborah Read Franklin ( 1708 – December 19, 1774) was the common-law wife of Benjamin Franklin, polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Early years Little is known about Read's early life. She was born around 1708, ...

. Bache served as a lieutenant colonel in the Pennsylvania State Militia during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

between the United States and Great Britain.

Career

Bache was the commander of a detachment of 351 men in the Pennsylvania State Militia Volunteers which was assigned by Pennsylvania Governor Simon Snyder to defend the City of Philadelphia against the British in the War of 1812. In October 1814, Lt. Col. Bache refused to submit to federal military takeover of his Pennsylvania State Militia detachment because his soldiers originally joined the state militia pursuant to a later-disputed agreement with U.S. Brigadier General

Joseph Bloomfield Joseph Bloomfield (October 18, 1753October 3, 1823) was the fourth governor of New Jersey. He also served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1817 to 1821. The township of Bloomfield, New Jersey is named for him. Bir ...

that Bache's soldiers would always serve under their state (and not federal) militia officers. Standing firm on principle, Bache and his five subordinate officers were arrested. Bache was court-martialed and was dismissed from U.S. military service. The military court decided not to punish Bache further because the court believed Bache's closing arguments... that he acted in good faith based upon Governor Snyder's orders, his motives were pure, and that trust was placed in him by his soldiers and the soldiers' parents who allowed their sons to volunteer only under the command of trusted state militia officers. The Bache court-martial case and the related U.S. Supreme Court case of ''United States v. Peters'' has been the subject of historical discussion regarding federal-state relations and balance of power.Citizen Soldiers in the War of 1812, Ch. 8, Federal-State Relations, p. 141, Vol. 1998, By Carl Edward Skeen.

Personal life

Bache married Margaret Riley (1781–1806) in 1802. They had two children together: * Margaret Bache (1803–1871) * Louis Franklin Bache Jr. (1805–1887) Bache died on October 4, 1818.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bache, Louis Franklin 1779 births 1818 deaths Pennsylvania militia People who were court-martialed Franklin family