Who Served Here?
John Cadwalader
John and Elizabeth Lloyd Cadwalader
and their Daughter Anne (1772)
by
Charles Willson Peale.
John Cadwalader was born in Pennsylvania in 1742, the son of famous physician Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, and a cousin of John Dickinson, a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congress.
Cadwalader was a member of the Philadelphia Committee of Safety, captain of the city's "silk stocking" militia company, and a commander of a Pennsylvania militia regiment.
He planned to participate in Washington's famous surprise attack on Trenton in December of 1776. The plan was for Washington to cross the Delaware River north of the city, Cadwalader, south of it, and the Americans would surpise the Hessians on both sides.
Unfortuantely, Cadwalader encountered difficulties getting his troops and cannon across the river, and remained on the PA side. Washington still managed to score a victory at Trenton. Cadwalader and his forces crossed the following day.
He redeemed himself a week later at the Bttle of Princeton, earning an appointment as Brigadier General in Washington's Continental army, which he declined. He served instead as a general in the Philadelphia militia.
On the Fourth of July, 1778, Cadwalader, fiercely loyal to General Washington, fought a duel with Thomas Conway, leader of the Conway Cabal. Cadwalader shot Conway in the mouth. Conway survived, maimed and, presumably, chastened.
Maryland plaque honoring Cadwalader
Following the war, he moved from Philadelphia to Maryland, where he became a state legislator. He died at the age of 43 in 1786, leaving behind a large fortune
