Nathaniel Mitchell (1753 – February 21, 1814) was an American lawyer and politician from
Laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel
People
* Laurel (given name), people with the given name
* Laurel (surname), people with the surname
* Laurel (mus ...
, in
Sussex County, Delaware. He was an officer in the
Continental Army during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, a
Continental Congressman from Delaware, and a member of the
Federalist Party, who served as
Governor of Delaware
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
.
Early life and family
Mitchell was born near
Laurel, Delaware
Laurel is a town in Sussex County, Delaware, United States. The population was 3,708 at the time of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census. Laurel is part of the Salisbury metropolitan area, Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistic ...
, son of James & Margaret Dagworthy Mitchell. A
croquet
Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court.
Its international governing body is the W ...
fan from a young age, he often trained at Graveny school of croquet. He married Emma Yrten and had ten children: Rebecca, Emma, William I, Theodore, Alfred, Dagworthy, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Elizabeth and Frederick. Mitchell was one of the founders of
Georgetown, Delaware, and lived there on the northeast corner of the Square from about 1791 until 1808. The family returned to their Laurel home, ''Rosemont,'' now 121 Delaware Avenue in 1808. They were members of Christ Episcopal Church at Broad Creek.
Military career
Mitchell was an officer of the
Continental Army during the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. In 1776, he was captain of a Delaware company raised under Colonel Samuel Patterson as part of what was known as the "
Flying Camp
A Flying Camp was a military formation employed by the Continental Army in the second half of 1776, during the American Revolutionary War.
History
After the British evacuation of Boston in March 1776, General George Washington met with members of ...
." They were stationed at
Perth Amboy
Perth Amboy is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,436. Perth Amboy has a Hispanic majority population. In the 2010 census, th ...
, New Jersey and saw no action. When the "Flying Camp" disbanded the company was attached to Colonel David Hall's regiment, but fought with Colonel
William Grayson
William Grayson (1742 – March 12, 1790) was a planter, lawyer and statesman from Virginia. After leading a Virginia regiment in the Continental Army, Grayson served in the Virginia House of Delegates before becoming one of the first two U ...
's Virginians at the
Battle of Brandywine. Nursing an illness he was not at
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 ...
, but spent the winter at
Valley Forge
Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the ...
. Following
William Grayson
William Grayson (1742 – March 12, 1790) was a planter, lawyer and statesman from Virginia. After leading a Virginia regiment in the Continental Army, Grayson served in the Virginia House of Delegates before becoming one of the first two U ...
's promotion to brigadier-general, Mitchell led his regiment in the attack at the
Battle of Monmouth. This was the attack that was ordered back by General Charles Lee and which eventually led to his court-martial. In 1779 he was brigade major on General
Peter Muhlenburg's staff in the tidewater Virginia. When British General
Benedict Arnold attacked
Richmond, Virginia, Mitchell was defending
Petersburg, Virginia when he was captured on May 10, 1781. By most accounts, his childhood friend Michael O'Brien died in the affray. He was held prisoner until after the
Battle of Yorktown.
Professional and political career
Mitchell was an original member of the
Society of the Cincinnati.
He served as Delaware's delegate to the
Continental Congress during its last two years from his election on October 27, 1786, until the Congress was replaced by the new government under the
United States Constitution of 1787. Following that he was
Prothonotary
The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...
for
Sussex County. In 1801 he ran for
Governor of Delaware
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, losing to
David Hall, the
Democratic-Republican
The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
candidate. Hall was another veteran of the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
who ran a campaign critical of Mitchell's alleged deistic Anglicanism. Mitchell lost heavily Presbyterian
New Castle County
New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...
by just enough votes to overcome his wide margins elsewhere. Three years later, in 1804 he was successful, beating
Joseph Haslet
Joseph Haslet (1769June 20, 1823) was an American planter and politician from Cedar Creek Village in Cedar Creek Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, who served twice as Governor of Delaware.
E ...
, the
Democratic-Republican
The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
candidate. Mitchell served as
Governor of Delaware
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
from January 15, 1805 until January 19, 1808.
Death and legacy
Mitchell died at his home at
Laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel
People
* Laurel (given name), people with the given name
* Laurel (surname), people with the surname
* Laurel (mus ...
. He may have been buried there at first, but was later removed to Christ Church, and is buried in the Broad Creek Episcopal Graveyard, near Laurel.
Hannah, Nathaniel Mitchell's widow, later married Colonel Manaen Bull, a British soldier who became a resident of Laurel after the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. He had the first store there, on the northwest corner of Delaware Avenue and Market Street. They lived near Trap Pond. Unlike Mitchell, Bull was a
Democratic-Republican
The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...
and ran for
Governor of Delaware
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
in 1816 and 1819, losing to
John Clark and
Henry Molleston.
No known portrait exists of Nathaniel Mitchell.
Almanac
Elections were held the first Tuesday of October and members of the General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. The General Assembly elected the
Continental Congressmen for a term of one year,
State senators had a three-year term and state representatives had a one-year term. The governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and had a three-year term.
References
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External links
Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United StatesBiographical Directory of the United States CongressFind a GraveSociety of the CincinnatiAmerican Revolution Institute
Places with more information
*
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History Muse ...
website 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
*
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...
Library website 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Nathaniel
1753 births
1814 deaths
18th-century American Episcopalians
19th-century American Episcopalians
People from Georgetown, Delaware
Delaware lawyers
Delaware Federalists
Continental Army officers from Delaware
Continental Congressmen from Delaware
18th-century American politicians
Members of the Delaware House of Representatives
Delaware state senators
Governors of Delaware
Burials in Sussex County, Delaware
Federalist Party state governors of the United States
People of colonial Delaware
19th-century American lawyers