John Gano | |
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 | |
| Born | (1727-07-22)July 22, 1727 |
| Died | (1804-08-10)August 10, 1804 (aged 77) |
| Monuments | Gano Chapel atWilliam Jewell College |
| Other names | "The Hero of Chatterton Hill" and "The Fighting Chaplain" |
| Education | Princeton University |
| Occupation(s) | 1st Chaplain of theKentucky Legislature,Minister, andSoldier |
| Known for | Writing "Biographical memoirs of the late Rev. John Gano, of Frankfort" and allegedly baptizingGeorge Washington |
| Spouse | Mary Stites (m. 1755; died 1792) |
| Children | 11 |
| Honours | Membership inSociety of the Cincinnati |
| Military Service | |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Branch | Continental Army |
| Years of service | 1776-1783 |
| Rank | Brigade Chaplain |
| Unit | 19th Continental Regiment |
| 1stChaplain of theKentucky Legislature | |
| In office November 8, 1798 – August 10, 1804 | |
| Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York | |
| In office November 12, 1784 – April 13, 1787 | |
John Gano (July 22, 1727– August 10, 1804) was an AmericanBaptistminister, soldier,patriot, andmilitary chaplain who allegedly baptized his friend,George Washington.[1][2] He was also notable for his bravery at theBattle of White Plains andcrossing the Delaware River with General Washington.[3][4] Gano later served as the first chaplain of theKentucky Legislature in 1798.[5] He was the founder of theGano political family, which included several generations of politicians and military officers.
Gano was born on July 22, 1727 inHopewell, New Jersey.[2] He was raised as aPresbyterian. His father was a descendant of FrenchCalvinists (Huguenots) and his mother ofEnglish Baptists. After a powerfulconversion experience, John Gano eventually became aCalvinist Baptist as a young man after a period of intense study. Gano left the family farm to study atPrinceton University (then the College of New Jersey) but left before graduating. Gano was ordained as pastor of theScotch Plains Baptist Church on May 29, 1754. In 1760, he became the founding pastor of what later became theFirst Baptist Church in the City of New York. Gano served as pastor of the New York Church until 1787, however, he made long itinerant trips evangelizing throughout the thirteen colonies, asserting
I... had a right to proclaimfree grace wherever I went.[6]
Gano travelled throughout the South, Middle Atlantic States, and New England, sometimes being away from home for as long as two years. In 1764, Gano joined several others as an original fellow or trustee for the chartering of theCollege in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the former name forBrown University, originally a Baptist school).[7]
During the American Revolution, Gano served as a soldier and achaplain for theContinental Army.[8] On October 28, 1776, Gano was present at theBattle of White Plains. He was stationed on Chatterton Hill with the 19th Infantry Regiment who were suffering heavy losses from the British. He walked in front of the troops while under fire and encouraged them not to retreat but to keep fighting. He wrote in his memoirs saying "My station in time of action I knew to be with the surgeons, but in this battle I somehow got in the front of the regiment, yet I durst not quit my place for fear of dampening the spirits of the soldiers or of bringing on myself the imputation of cowardice."[1][9] It was after this battle he earned the nicknames "The Hero of Chatterton Hill" and "The Fighting Chaplain".[2][10][3]
On December 26, 1776, Gano participated inGeorge Washington's famouscrossing of the Delaware River and was also present at theBattle of Trenton that followed.[11] In theChaplains and Clergy of the Revolution it states "He (Gano) crossed the Wintry Delaware with the army when it made its fearful midnight march on Trenton, and shared in the dangers of the battle that followed".[4][12][13] Gano served at theBattle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery on October 6, 1777 nearWest Point while serving underGeneral George Clinton.[14] He later took part in theSullivan-Clinton Expedition in 1779.[15] Gano was chosen by General Washington to say a prayer marking the official end of theAmerican Revolutionary War in 1783.[8]
After the War, Gano returned to his congregation in New York. On May 1, 1784, Gano was elected to theBoard of Regents of the University of the State of New York alongsideJohn Jay andAlexander Hamilton.[16] By 1787, Gano moved to Kentucky where he would live at until his death in 1804.[6] On June 17, 1793, future vice-presidentAaron Burr wrote Gano a letter congratulating a friend of Gano's named John Edwards (1748-1837) for getting elected to the Kentucky Senate.[17]
On November 9, 1798, Gano was elected as the first chaplain for theKentucky Legislature as stated in theJournal of the Kentucky House of Representatives "In Senate: Resolved that the Rev. John Gano be appointed chaplain to the general assembly; in which they request the concurrence of this house."[5] He was also a member of theSociety of Cincinnati.[18]
His first wife was Mary Stites. They married in 1755 in Queens, New York. They had the following children:[19][20]
1. John Stites Gano (December 1755 - December 14, 1765), died at 10 years old.
2. Daniel Gano (November 11, 1758 - April 1849), attendedBrown University at age 17 but left and joined theContinental Army during theRevolutionary War. He became acaptain and served on thestaff ofGeneral Clinton. He eventually moved to Kentucky after the war.[21]
3. Maragret Peggy Gano (December 29, 1760 - June 11, 1837)
4.Stephen Gano (December 25, 1762 - August 18, 1828), was a notablephysician andpastor in New York. He was also aFreemason.
5. Sarah Gano (February 4, 1764 - ?)
6. John Stites Gano (July 14, 1766 - January 1, 1822), became aMajor General of the First Division ofOhioMilitia in 1804. He later served in theWar of 1812. In 1791 he "was atopographicalengineer at the head of the engineers making a path for General St. Clair's march to the Indian country, and was present at St. Clair's defeat November 4, 1791."[22][23] His son was Aaron Goforth Gano, one of the earliest graduates of theUnited States Military Academy in the class of 1818. Aaron served as alieutenant in the "Third United States Artillery".[24]
7. Unknown daughter (1768 - ?)
8. Isaac Eaton Gano (May 4, 1770 - October 8, 1811)
9. Susannah Gano (November 8, 1777 - 1856), married John Price inFrankfort, Kentucky.[25][26][27] They were the parents ofMissouri state senator John G. Price, who was the father ofTexas LegislatorWilliam Hubbel Price.[28][29] They also had a daughter named Margaret Hubbel Price, who married Lewis Sanders. Margaret and Lewis were the parents ofWilliam Price Sanders, aWest Point graduate of the class of 1856. William Price Sanders became aColonel in theUnion Army during theCivil War. Lewis Sanders and Margaret Price also had a daughter who married millionaireJames Ben Ali Haggin[30]
10. Richard Montgomery Gano (July 7, 1779 - October 15, 1815), married Elizabeth Ewing in 1797. He became aU.S. ArmyBrigadier-General during theWar of 1812. His son John Allan Gano, became a notable Baptist Minister during theRestoration Movement. John Allan Gano was the father ofRichard Montgomery Gano, who served as aConfederate General during theCivil War.[31]
11. William B. Gano ( 1781 - ?)
Mary Stites had a sister named Margaret Stites who marriedJames Manning, a Baptist minister and the firstpresident of Brown University.[32]
Mary Stites died April 23, 1792 and John Gano then married Sarah Hunt on April 15, 1793. They remained married until his death.[33]
Gano died on August 10, 1804, and is buried in the Daughters Of The Revolutionary War Section of the Frankfort Cemetery inFrankfort, Kentucky, just beyondDaniel Boone's grave. Before his death, Gano wrote and published anautobiography of his life.
Gano's descendants includebillionaireHoward Robard Hughes Jr., whose mother was Allene (Gano) Hughes;Confederate States of America GeneralRichard Montgomery Gano, chemistFrancis Gano Benedict, and Civil War Officers,William Hubbell Price, andWilliam Price Sanders. TheWright brothers Orville and Wilbur, who invented the first successful airplane were Gano's 3rd great nephews through his sister Susannah.[34]
In 1889, two of Gano's grandchildren claimed in an affidavit[35] that Gano's eldest daughter told them that Gano hadbaptized Washington by immersion atValley Forge when he was one of Washington's chaplains.[36]
The story is rejected by a portion of secular historians. Dr. William Grady in his bookWhat Hath God Wrought: A Biblical Interpretation of American history believes the account to be authentic. Washington biographer and uncle ofHoward Hughes,Rupert Hughes, researched the matter and determined that Rev. Gano served withGeorge Clinton's army, not with Washington's, that the location is sometimes given as Valley Forge and sometimes as thePotomac, that there is no documentation of Gano ever being at Valley Forge, that there is nothing in Gano's own correspondence or his biography to suggest that the event took place, and that none of the 42 reputed witnesses ever documented the event.[37][38]
Gano Chapel atWilliam Jewell College in Missouri is named after John Gano, and displays a painting of Gano baptizing Washington. The school takes no stance on whether the baptism of Washington actually took place. The chapel also contains a sword owned by theMarquis de Lafayette that Washington purportedly gave to Gano.
Washington's church,Anglican, believed in infant baptism and hischristening is recorded as taking place on April 5, 1732, about six weeks after he was born.[39]
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