Matthias Ogden (October 22, 1754 – March 31, 1791) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in 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 ...
, and served in various political positions afterwards.
Family
Matthias Ogden was a son of Robert Ogden, a lawyer and public official, and Phebe (Hatfield) Ogden. Robert was politically prominent, serving as the speaker of the
New Jersey Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...
on the eve of the American Revolution. The family had deep roots in New Jersey: John Ogden had built a house in Elizabeth in 1664 after having moved from Long Island, where he had settled in 1640 from Hampshire, England. Matthias attended the College of New Jersey (now
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
) as did his younger brother,
Aaron Ogden
Aaron Ogden (December 3, 1756April 19, 1839) was an American soldier, lawyer, United States Senator and the fifth governor of New Jersey. Ogden is perhaps best known today as the complainant in '' Gibbons v. Ogden'' which destroyed the monopoly ...
.
His sister Rhoda was married to
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
's uncle, Timothy Edwards. Burr and Matthias grew up together in the Edwards household and attended Princeton together.
Revolutionary war
After the outbreak of hostilities between the
American colonists
The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the Revolutionary War. In the ...
and the British authorities in 1775, Ogden went along as a gentleman-volunteer on
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
's march to
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, joined by his cousin
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
. Ogden participated in the assault on that city, and was wounded in the
Battle of Quebec on December 31, 1775. In a 1786 painting of the Battle of Quebec,
John Trumbull
John Trumbull (June 6, 1756November 10, 1843) was an American artist of the early independence period, notable for his historical paintings of the American Revolutionary War, of which he was a veteran. He has been called the "Painter of the Rev ...
inaccurately depicted Ogden in place of Burr, holding General
Richard Montgomery
Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...
as he died. Due to his own injuries, Ogden was not actually present at Montgomery's death, according to Ogden's journal of the expedition.
Ogden was named lieutenant colonel of the First New Jersey Battalion in March 1776, serving under Colonel William Winds. At the age of 22, he became colonel of the newly reorganized
1st New Jersey Regiment on January 1, 1777, after Silas Newcomb resigned the position. In 1779, he was a defendant in a court martial in which
Isaac Morrison testified.
Ogden was captured by the British at
Elizabethtown, New Jersey Elizabeth Township, also called Elizabethtown, was a township that existed in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, from 1664 until 1855.
The area was initially part of the Elizabethtown Tract, purchased from the Lenape on October 28, 166 ...
, in November 1780. He was released in a prisoner exchange.
In September 1781, Ogden conceived a plan to capture Prince William Henry (later
King William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
). The plan received Washington's approval, and was to be effected in March 1782, but had to be abandoned.
Ogden was granted military leave by Congress in April 1783 to visit Europe, in order to secure business relations with the French. While there, he was awarded the honor ''le droit du tabouret'' by
King Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...
. Ogden brought back news of the 1783
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
upon his return to America.
He was brevetted to the rank of
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 ...
by Congress in September 1783, and was described by one historian as a "brave and gallant soldier."
Ogden's leadership role was featured prominently by historian William M. Fowler in ''An American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years after Yorktown, 1781–1783''.
Postwar
After the war, Ogden was a founding member of The
Society of the Cincinnati
The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...
in the state of New Jersey, and a member of the state's legislative council (1785). He was one of the agents entrusted with the minting of new state coinage for New Jersey, the "Jersey horsehead" pennies.
New Jersey Coppers 1786-1790
/ref> The coins, which depicted a horse's head and plow, symbols taken from the coat of arms/Seal of New Jersey
The coat of arms of the state of New Jersey includes:
*A shield with three plows, representative of New Jersey's agricultural tradition.
*A forward-facing helmet.
*A horse's head as the crest of the helmet.
*The female figures Liberty and Ceres ...
, on one side, and a "Union" shield taken from the Great Seal of the United States, on the reverse, were produced in a number of locations. Ogden operated his mint in Elizabethtown. In the 1789 presidential election, Ogden was an elector for New Jersey.
Ogden was married to Hannah Dayton, a daughter of Elias Dayton
Elias Dayton (May 1, 1737 – October 22, 1807) was an American merchant and military officer who served as captain and colonel of the local militia and in 1783 rose to become a brigadier general during the American Revolutionary War. Afterw ...
. They had a son, Francis Barber Ogden (1783–1857), who was named after fellow Jersey Continental officer and in-law, Francis Barber, who was married to Matthias' sister, Mary.
Ogden died of yellow fever
Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...
in Elizabethtown on March 31, 1791 at the age of 36.
References
Sources
*Malone, Dumas, editor. ''Dictionary of American Biography.''
*Wheeler, William Ogden. ''The Ogden Family in America''.
*Virtual American Biographies: Robert Ogden
External links
Website of recreated Colonel Ogden's 1st New Jersey Regiment
Website of New Jersey Historical Society
Walking the Berkshires: A blog by an Ogden descendant exploring family and national history
The Society of the Cincinnati
American Revolution Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ogden, Matthias
1754 births
1791 deaths
Continental Army officers from New Jersey
Politicians from Elizabeth, New Jersey
People of colonial New Jersey
Deaths from yellow fever
American Revolutionary War prisoners of war held by Great Britain