Philip Johnston (New Jersey)

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Philip Johnston of the New Jersey militia died in battle at the head of his regiment at the Battle of Long Island on 27 August 1776. He was a graduate of Princeton University. [1] He was the subject of a debate in the United States Senate on 26 December 1836 concerning compensating his surviving heirs and children: Maria Scudder, Martha A. Lloyd, and Elizabeth Johnston. [2]

New Jersey State of the United States of America

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is located on a peninsula, bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, particularly along the extent of the length of New York City on its western edge; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware River and Pennsylvania; and on the southwest by the Delaware Bay and Delaware. New Jersey is the fourth-smallest state by area but the 11th-most populous, with 9 million residents as of 2017, and the most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states; its biggest city is Newark. New Jersey lies completely within the combined statistical areas of New York City and Philadelphia. New Jersey was the second-wealthiest U.S. state by median household income as of 2017.

Militia generally refers to an army or other fighting force that is composed of non-professional fighters

A militia is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a nation, or subjects of a state, who can be called upon for military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of regular, full-time military personnel, or historically, members of a warrior nobility class. Generally unable to hold ground against regular forces, it is common for militias to be used for aiding regular troops by skirmishing, holding fortifications, or irregular warfare, instead of being used in offensive campaigns by themselves. Militia are often limited by local civilian laws to serve only in their home region, and to serve only for a limited time; this further reduces their use in long military campaigns.

Battle of Long Island first major battle of the American Revolutionary War to take place after the Declaration of Independence

The Battle of Long Island is also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights. The victory over the Americans gave the British control of strategically important New York City. It was fought on August 27, 1776, and was the first major battle of the American Revolutionary War to take place after the United States declared its independence on July 4, 1776. In troop deployment and combat, it was the largest battle of the entire war.

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Military career

He was appointed to the rank Lieutenant Colonel in the New Jersey militia on 14 June 1776 by an ordinance of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey. On 1 August he was promoted to Colonel and was placed in command of a regiment in Brigadier General Nathaniel Heard's brigade of New Jersey troops at New York. The regiment, totaled about 235 men and consisted of three companies from Somerset County and five from Hunterdon County. [3] According to the 1836 memorial of Senator Garret D. Wall of New Jersey, he died "near the side, and under the eye of his immediate commander General Sullivan." Heard's brigade was initially under the command of Nathanael Greene at Long Island, however when Greene fell ill just prior to the battle the command devolved upon Gen John Sullivan and later to Gen Israel Putnam. Johnston and his unit formed part of the guard at the Flatbush Road during the night prior to the battle. [4] After the battle commenced Sullivan commanded an element of about 800 soldiers that moved toward the center of the American advanced position to support units at the passes, including Johnston's. They were overwhelmed and dispersed in the ensuing fight and General Sullivan and the mortally wounded Colonel Johnston were captured. [5] Senator Wall likely inferred that Sullivan was his commander based upon a newspaper account of the time preserved by the family as a keepsake that read:

The Provincial Congress of New Jersey was a transitional governing body of the Province of New Jersey in the early part of the American Revolution. It first met in 1775 with representatives from all New Jersey's then-thirteen counties, to supersede the Royal Governor. In June 1776, this congress had authorized the preparation of a constitution, which was written within five days, adopted by the Provincial Congress, and accepted by the Continental Congress. The Constitution of 1776 provided for a bicameral legislature consisting of a General Assembly with three members from each county and a legislative council with one member from each county. All state officials, including the governor, were to be appointed by the Legislature under this constitution. The Vice-President of Council would succeed the Governor if a vacancy occurred in that office. The Provincial Congress ceased to function when the first session of the new Legislature convened on August 27, 1776, under the New Jersey State Constitution it had prepared.

Colonel is a senior military officer rank below the brigadier and general officer ranks. However, in some small military forces, such as those of Monaco or the Vatican, colonel is the highest rank. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.

Garret D. Wall American judge

Garret Dorset Wall was a military officer and politician from New Jersey.

We hear that, in the late action on Long Island, Colonel Philip Johnston of New Jersey behaved with remarkable intrepidity and fortitude. By the well-directed fire from his battalion, the enemy was several times repulsed, and lanes were made through them, until he received a ball in his breast, which put an end to the life of as brave an officer as ever commanded a battalion. General Sullivan, who was close to him when he fell, says that no man could behave with more firmness during the whole action. As he sacrificed his life in defence of the invaded rights of his country, his memory must be dear to every American who is not insensible to the sufferings of his injured country, and as long as the same uncorrupted spirit of liberty which led him to the field shall continue to actuate the sons of freemen in America.

The day of the battle, August 27 was his thirty-fifth birthday. [4]

Children

At the time of the 1836 memorial to Congress, three of Colonel Johnston's daughters remained alive. One of them, Maria Scudder, had married Joseph Scudder, the son of Colonel Nathaniel Scudder, the only member of the Continental Congress to die in battle during the American Revolutionary War. Philip Johnston was the first colonel of the New Jersey militia to die in battle in the Revolutionary War and Nathaniel Scudder was the last colonel of the New Jersey militia to die in battle in the Revolutionary War. [2]

Nathaniel Scudder was an American physician and patriot leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a delegate for New Jersey to the Continental Congress, where he was one of two delegates from New Jersey to sign the Articles of Confederation.

Continental Congress convention of delegates that became the governing body of the United States

The Continental Congress was initially a convention of delegates from several British American colonies at the height of the American Revolution era, who spoke and acted collectively for the people of the Thirteen colonies that ultimately became the United States of America. The term most specifically refers to the First Continental Congress of 1774 and the Second Continental Congress of 1775–81. More broadly, it also refers to the Congress of the Confederation of 1781–89, thus covering the entire period the Continental Congress served as the chief legislative and executive body of the U.S. government.

American Revolutionary War War between Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, which won independence as the United States of America

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was an 18th-century war between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies which declared independence as the United States of America.

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References

  1. ↑ Lange, Gregg. Rally ’Round the Cannon: Lessons of Motivation and Desperation. Princeton Alumni Weekly December 1, 2016 https://paw.princeton.edu/article/rally-round-cannon-lessons-motivation-and-desperation Accessed April 29, 2017
  2. 1 2 13 Cong. Deb. 123–127 (1837) Remarks of Senator Garret D. Wall of New Jersey on the floor of the Senate
  3. ↑ Johnston, Henry Phelps; The Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn, p112, 130
  4. 1 2 Johnston, Henry Phelps; The Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn, p196
  5. ↑ Johnston, Henry Phelps; The Campaign of 1776 Around New York and Brooklyn, p176, 205
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