Allan McLane | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Engraved portrait of Allan McLane | |
| Born | (1746-08-08)August 8, 1746 |
| Died | May 22, 1829(1829-05-22) (aged 82) |
| Occupations |
|
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | Continental Army |
| Years of service | 1775–1781 |
| Rank | |
| Battles / wars | |
| Signature |  |
Allan McLane (August 8, 1746 – May 22, 1829) was an officer in theContinental Army during theAmerican Revolutionary War. He was appointed as the firstUnited States Marshal of Delaware in 1789, and asCustoms Collector of thePort of Wilmington in 1797.[1]
Allan McLane was born on August 8, 1746, inPhiladelphia.[2] His father, a Scottish-born merchant, had emigrated from the island ofColl to America in 1738.[3]
McLane traveled to Europe as a young man from 1767 to 1769, touring the continent and visiting relatives in Scotland.[3] Later, in 1774, he settled nearSmyrna, Delaware, to begin a trading business.
In July 1775, he changed the spelling of his family name to McLane; it had previously been spelled McLean or Maclean.[3] The change, he wrote, was made to avoid confusion with a "renegade Scot" of that name who was serving in the British military.[3][a]
McLane served in theContinental Army during the Revolutionary War. In 1775, he was a volunteer in theBattle of Great Bridge nearNorfolk, Virginia, where the Virginia militia repelled a British assault.[4] He was one of the first American officers to suspectBenedict Arnold's loyalty.[2] He joinedCaesar Rodney's Delaware regiment as a lieutenant, and fought at the battles ofLong Island,White Plains,Princeton, andMonmouth.[4]
He used most of the fortune he inherited after his father died to fund his own company, providing payment and equipment for the troops.[3] During thePhiladelphia campaign, according to historian Christopher Ward:
He was Captain of an independent corps, now a small group of horsemen, now a hundred men, mounted and on foot, including sometimes a contingent ofOneida Indians, he was at once forager, scout, and raider everywhere about Philadelphia and even, at times, in that city in disguise.[5]
In December 1777, in personal combat with three Britishdragoons near Philadelphia, Captain McLane killed one, wounded another, and compelled the third to flee.[6] The encounter became the subject of a painting byJames Peale.[6]
During the Continental Army's encampment atValley Forge in 1778, McLane led foraging parties.[3] He and his men cut off British expeditions and took their cattle.
In July 1779, McLane and his company were annexed toLee's Legion, with McLane to command the infantry.[7] McLane served under the command of Major"Light-Horse Harry" Lee at the Battles ofStony Point andPaulus Hook, but tensions between McLane and Lee ultimately caused Washington to send McLane and his company toCharleston, South Carolina, to reinforce GeneralBenjamin Lincoln.[3]
After the British captured Charleston in March 1780, McLane came under the command ofBaron von Steuben, who was then assisting GeneralNathanael Greene in the Southern campaign.[3] He returned north, and wasbreveted to the rank ofmajor in 1781.[3][6]
In June 1781, McLane took ship on the AmericanprivateerCongress to carry dispatches from George Washington to CountPaul de Grasse, who was atCap-François,Haiti, commanding a French fleet.[7] After convincing de Grasse to bring his fleet toChesapeake Bay, McLane returned to New Jersey in September 1781.[7][8][9] Along the way, he commanded theCongress'sMarines during thecapture of HMSSavage, a Britishsloop-of-war.[7][8][9]
McLane continued to serve through theYorktown campaign, scouting the movement of British troops southward from New York City,[3] and capturing British private naval signals.[7] He left the army at the end of 1781.[3]
McLane was a delegate at Delaware's convention thatratified theUnited States Constitution in December 1787.[10] He also served a member of the Privy Council, and as a Judge of theDelaware Court of Common Pleas.
He was appointed byGeorge Washington as the firstUnited States Marshal of Delaware on September 26, 1789,[1] and served until his resignation in 1797.[11] During this period, from October 1791 to January 1793, he also served asSpeaker of the16th Delaware General Assembly.
In 1797, Washington appointed McLane asCollector of Customs for thePort of Wilmington, a lucrative position that provided income from the seizure of contraband. As a well-known and a fervently loyalFederalist, McLane received the strong backing ofJames A. Bayard, who enabled him to keep the position despite the accession ofThomas Jefferson to the presidency in 1801.
McLane retained his appointment under presidents of both political parties, into the administration ofAndrew Jackson, and served until his death on May 22, 1829, at the age of 83.[1]
.jpg)
McLane lived inSmyrna, Delaware, after the Revolutionary War. He moved with his family toWilmington after his appointment as Collector of Customs there in 1797.[2]
He was a member of theSociety of the Cincinnati, and a long-time advocate of theMethodist Church.[2]
His son,Louis McLane, served as theSecretary of the Treasury andSecretary of State under PresidentAndrew Jackson.
Allan McLane, Chapter II, pp. 21–86
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
