0(L Book. C '/3 K ^5 ONEL LAIBERT CADWALADER TKENTON, NEW JERSEY. ■Jju WiW'iarq H e.i^T >j "^■aw\ 4. This sketcli wa?* written at the request of the editor of some forth- coming memi)irs of the New Jersey officers of the Revolutionary army, and a few copies have been privately printed. Philadelphia, June, 1878. (oi. LAMiiEirr cai)Waladi<:k, OF TKKXTOX, NEW .1KI;S1;Y. The paternal eiiiig-ratiiig ancestor ol' Ijainhert f 'adwalader was liis (grandfather, John Cadwahidor, whi>, after Iii.s arrival here, jiiiiied one of the settlements of liis ^\\'lsli coniilrynien near Merlon, a few miles west of Philadeliiliia. He is saiil to have been a man of hij^h character ami much litei'ary culture. His marriage, in 1699, to Martha Jones, appears among the records of tlie Radnor Monthly Meeting, and the names of those who, according to the custom of Friends, subscribed the record as witnesses, entiuently suggest all that was Welsh in their parentage. The father of ]\Irs. Cadwalader was Doctor Edward Jones, an emigrant from Merionethshire. Pier mother was the daughter of Doctor Thomas Wynne, "sometime of Cacrwys, Flintshire, South Wales, chirurgoon," who, an eminent and successful physician hijth at his home and in London, had come over with Penn in thi_" Welcome, was made Speaker of the iirst Provincial Assembly held at Philadelphia, and was, Proud tells us, a preacher among the (Quakers, a person of liote and good charac- ter, and an author in defense of his sect. From Merion, John Cadwalader removed to Pliiladelphia. In July, 1705, he was admitted a freeman of the citv ; in ( )cto- ber, 1718, he was elected a member of Common Council, and in 1729, a member of the Provincial Assembly, which offices he lield until his deatii in 1733. His children were four — three daughters, and one sou, Thomas Cadwalader. (.3) Tlie son, wlio was born in the year 1707, adopted the profes- sion of his maternal grandfatlier. He be^-an iiis medical education at his home, and, what was at tiiat early day more iiiiiHual than it afterwards b(>eame, completed it in London. He returnrd to Philadel[)hia, rose t(j jirofessional eminence, and in 1738 was married, in Trenton, "after tiie manner of the people called Quakers and according to the good order used among them," to Hannah, daughter of Tliomas Lambert, " late of the county of Burlington, in the western division of New Jersey, deceased," and the names of Andrew Hamilton, John Dag- worthy, Thomas Hopkinson, Owen Jones, and a score of others are found upon the record as relatives or friends of the con- tracting jiarties. x\fter his marriage, he made Trenton, at least for a time, his homo. He became a large laud-owner in ami near the town, and in 174S was elected its lirst chief burgess after it had re- ceived its borough charter. In 1700, he oifered large quantities of his laud for sale, and returned to Philadelphia. There he was chosen a member of the Governor's Council (an office held only by those foremost in the colony), and so continued uutil the fall of the proprietary government in 177fj. From the beginning of the troubles l>etween the c(jlony and its parent to the day of his death in 1779, his patriotism and devotion to the country of his birth was unswerving. Of his liberal education — his professional eminence — his prominence as a citizen both in Trenton and Philadelphia — -his energy in start- ing and f )sti'riug institutions which are to this day among the best in the huid — his social intimacy with the lirst men of his time — his public spirit — his gentle, courteous manners and his great personal coolness and courage, there is much wdiich is both matter of histor)' and tradition. Of the seven children of Doctor Tliomas Cadwalader, two were sous; John, the distinguished general otKcer of the revolu- tionary army, ami Lambert, the sidf)ect of this sketch. Lanil)pi'( Cadwaladcr wa^ l)orn in Trenton in flic vcar 1712. Both the hrotliiT.-: rcccivi'd at I'liilailclpliia, al'tiT llirii- liitlici-'s removal there, a tine literary aniir to the sick and infirm. The act to repeal the stamp act received the royal assent on the 18th Man'li, and a copy was brought here in a vessel from Poole. If ever tlie Americans should fall into paganism, place dead men among their gods and worship them, there is .scarce any one that will have a better ehancc of being enrolled in the number of them than Mr. Pitt. This great man, by his abilities, virtues and extraordinary courage, lias gained a iicvor-dvinti' name. ''' * America is again free! God bless her; long may she remain so. As to the act asserting the right of Parliament to ta.\ the colonies, we shall regard it as waste pa[)er. Let us only enjoy liberty but half a century longer, and we will dcfv the j)0wcr of England to enslave us." The country had not to wait so long. Within less than eisrht years, the day on which the Boston Port Bill was to take etfect was observed throughout tiie continent as one of fasting, humili- ation and prayer, "to implore the Divine intcrlerenco to avert the heavy calamity which threatened destruction to their civil rights, and the evils of civil war, and," in the same breath, " to give one heart and one mind to the people, firmly to oppose every invasion of their liberties." 6 Wliat followed is trite history. Boston's hope for aid and couitort from Pennsylvania was fiimiled. (Idvernor Penn de- clined to convene the Assembly, and the people acted withont it. The committee to correspond with the other counties and provinces led to the convention which met at Philadelphia in July, 1774, and this to the Congress of Delegates and the Com- mittee of Superintciulenco and Correspondence. To the last, both John and Lambert Cadwalader were sent from Philadelphia. The latter was also a member of the Provincial Convention which met the next January. To the call to arms which rang through the land after the tidings of the battle of Lexington, both brothers promptly responded. The indignant people who met at once n[)on the news reaching Philadelphia, resolved "to asso- ciate together to defend with arms their property, liberty and lives against all attempts to deprive them of it," and forthwith oro'anized into companies, which at once .set to work. Four of the companies thu.s formed were called " The Greens," and of one of these Lambert Cadwalader was chosen captain. Before going into actual service, he was still actively employed in public civil duties. His name is seen as one of the com- missioners on the bills of credit authorized by the Provincial Assembly. He was re-elected to the Committee of Correspond- ence. And later in the year, the war began in earnest. Tiie Congress of Deputies called on Pennsylvania for four battalions. The Committee of Safety at once selected the officers, and Cadwalader's name headed the list of those sent in on the 3d of January, 1776, for lieutenant-colonelcies. The appoint- ment was promptly confirmed, and he was attached to the battalion commanded by Colonel Shee. Of the three others, that which served with Slice's was commanded by Colonel Magaw. There were early difficulties as to recruiting, but towards .spring the two battalions were well filled, well armed and well officered, and constant and steady work made their drill and discipline exceptional. Graydon, a ca[)tain in Slice's battalion, .says, in his strikino- iiu'iiioirs, witli panlaiialilc jii'ldc, (liat in poinl of all exteriors by whidi militai'v corps were lestci], "durs was on a footiiii:; with tlie most proiiiisiiii;- on the continent." It vvonld seoin that, whether Ironi liearsay or observation, tliis was int up as the detachment briskly marched alonn' the line and was jiosted on the let'l of the ]>rooklvn intrenchments extendinn' to the Wallaliout. A dismal day and nii;'ht followed, with a dri/.zlini;' rain, no shelter, tire nor cooked food. All that iii<2;ht Washington waked, and he and Miftiiu went the rounds, for the enemy had, at evening, encamped in front of oiu' works, and in the nigiit broke grotuxl within a few hundred yards of them. By daylight of Thiu'sday, Washington saw the intention to force his lines by regular approaches, and then, confiding only in JlilUin, issued through him two orders lor water transportation. Later in the day, all having been arranged for the I'etreat, a council of war was called, and Miftlin, as had been arranged, proposed it. Though ignorant of what liad been alreadv done, it was unanimously approved, and ]MilHiu claimed from Wash- ington his promise that if a retreat should be agreed upon lie should command the rear, and if an attack, the van. All day there had l)een incessant skirmishinir. After dark the regiments were, to their amazement, ordered to be ready to attack the enemy that night, ^yorn out aniid in safely. The niortilieatiiiii was i;'reat. At once Congress instructed \\'asliini;ton, " by every art and at whatever exj)eMse," so to obstruct tiiu river as to pre- vent the regress of tiiese vessels or tiieir receiving succor from below. Then came a conncil of war on the IGth. There was miieh discussion — it was conceded that the works iiad proved insufficient — it was thought impossible to prevent comnuinieation being cut otf, of which the result must either be to tight at all disadvantages, or to surrender at discretion — but the order of Congress seemed imperative, and it was agreed that Fort Wash- ington should be retained as long as possible. Accordingly, Washington's solemn instructions to Magaw were to defend it to tlie last extremity. Eleven (hiys after, two frigates moved up from below towards the fort, while Lord Percy's troops appeared on Harlem Plains, and both opened fire. The ships were driven back by the guns from l)oth shoi-es, and the troops by the garrison at Fort Wash- ington. The belief of Green and Lee and Piituani in the strength of the works increased, aud the former, at: Putnam's earnest request, strengthened the garrison, at first by a i'ew hun- dred men, and, a few days after, by the Maryland rifle regi- ment. But from the first Washington had not been deceived cither as to the possibility of the forts successfullv commanding the river, or of tlieir own defciise from an attack ])roperlv eon- ducted. And he was now, from Howe's movements, sure that tiie latter was intended. As it was Congress who had ordered Fort Washington to be held, so to Congress he wrote on the 6tli of November, his belief that " the enemy would bend their force against Fort \\'a>liiiigton and invest it innindiately." xVlmostas he wrote, three vessels — a frigate and two transpoi-ts — passed the obstructions with supi)lies for Howe's army above. And then, on the 8th, Wasiiington wrote to Green the well-known letter: "The passage of the three vessels up the North river is so plain 12 a proof of tlie inefficiency of all tlie obstructions tlirown into it, tiiat it will fully justify a change in the (lisjiosition. If you can- not prevent vessels from jxissinj;' up, and the enemy are possessed of the surrounding country, what valuable purpose can it answer to attempt to hold a post from which the expected benefit cannot be had? I am, therefore, inclined to think that it will not be prudent to hazard the men and stores at Mount Washington, but as you arc on the spot, I leave it to you to give such orders as to vacating Mount Washington as yon may judge best, and so far revoking the order given to Colonel Magaw to defend it to the last." Green drew from this letter an oj)tion which its writer never intended, and when Washington, after his visit to the High- lands, returned on the IStli to Fort Lee, he found, to his sur- prise and griet', that Fort Washington, instead of being evacu- ated, had been reinforced. And it was then too late. Two nigiits alter, thirty gunboats passed undiscovered up the Spuy- tea Duyvel creek, and on the 15th, Howe summoned the garrison to surrender, with a threat of no quarter in case of refusal. Magaw may have been deficient in judgment (for he had, before this, assured Green that the fort could stand a siege till December), but he was not in bravery, and retorted that he would defend his post to the very last extremity. He had about three thousand men, of whom the fort itself would hold less than a third, and the whole line of defense extended from south to north about two miles and a half. The heisrhts to the north were to be defended by the Maryland regiment. Magaw was at the fort, with a small reserve, and the lines to the south were intrusted to Cadwalader with the two Pennsylvania I'egiments. They numbered together less than eight hundred men. Howe had planned four separate and simultaneous attacks — on the north, aud the main one, by Knyphausen and the Hessians, who, though nearest the fort, were separated by rough and wooded ground — the secoud, by four battalions under General 1:5 Matthew, wlio was to cross the Harlem river in llat-boats and huul on the riji'lit ot'tlie fort — tlie third, intended as a feint, hy Colonel Sterling; with the Forty-seei)iid I [ii;hlanders, who were also to cross tlie Harlem and land to the left of the lines, and tin; fotn'th, by Percy and his English and Hessian troops, on the south. " Howe," writes Crraydon, " must have had a perfect knowl- edge of the ground we occupied. Tliis he might have acquired from hnudriMls in New York, hut he might iiave Ijeen more thoroughlv informed ol' everything ilesirable to be known from one Dement, jiu otiieer of Magaw's battalion, who was intelligent in points of duty, and deserted to tlie enemy about a week before the assault." Save an intimation to this effect in one or two of tlie (Jermau aeeounts, this has |)assed niniotlced bv history; but Mr. de Laneey's recent research has shown that the traitor who deserted on the 2d of Noveml)er, had tiuaiished Percy with plans of the fort, and full information as to the numbers and disposition of the garrison. About noon of the 16th the attack was nia