John Cadwalader (general)
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John Cadwalader (1742–1786) was a merchant and soldier from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a brigadier general of the Pennsylvania militia during the American Revolutionary War.
Cadwalader's most significant military operation occurred during the Battle of Trenton and its aftermath. Cadwalader was in command of a second column of approximately 2,000 men about 10 miles south of Trenton on the west side of the Delaware River near Bristol in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Cadwalader's forces were ordered to cross the Delaware River to Burlington on Christmas day, 1776 and march to Trenton from the south. Meanwhile, George Washington's column would cross the river to the north of Trenton and attack the city from that direction.[1] After successfully crossing his light forces, Cadwalader discovered that river ice prevented crossing his artillery. He then returned his column to the Pennsylvania side, leaving Washington's forces unsupported in New Jersey. Nevertheless, Washington prevailed in his celebrated surprise attack against the Hessian garrison in Trenton the morning of December 26.[2] Cadwalader did cross the river with his force the next day. [3] Then Cadwalader took part in the further actions in New Jersey, which forced the British commander General William Howe and his principal subordinate, Lord Cornwallis, to surrender the state to the Americans.
After the Conway Cabal, he fought a duel with Thomas Conway in 1778 in which Cadwalader wounded his opponent with a shot in the mouth.
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[edit] Family life
John Cadwallader was born in 1742 of Quaker parentage, the eldest son of Thomas and Hannah (Lambert) Cadwalader. The family resided at Philadelphia and Trenton. He was a merchant with his brother Lambert in Philadelphia. His first wife was Elizabeth Lloyd of Talbot County, Maryland. His second was Williamina Bond of Philadelphia. In 1779, Cadwalader became a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and returned to his estate on the banks of the Sassafras River at Shrewsbury, Kent County, Maryland. He became a member of the Maryland State Assembly.[4]
His daughter, Maria, married Samuel Ringgold, later a congressman representing Maryland. Two of their sons (Cadwalader's grandsons), Samuel Ringgold and Cadwalader Ringgold (named after his grandfather) had distinguished military careers.
Thomas Cadwalader, like his father, became a general of the Pennsylvania militia.
John Cadwalader died February 10, 1786.[5][6] He is buried at Shrewsbury Chapel.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Fischer, David Hackett (2004), Washington's Crossing, New York: Oxford University Press
- Jordan, John W. (1914), Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania biography, New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co., 111: 720-723
- Rodgers Biographical Dictionary, "General John Cadwallader (sic)", p. 224-228
[edit] External links
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