Richard Caswell | |
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| 2nd Grand Master of the Masons ofNorth Carolina | |
| In office 1788–1789 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Johnston |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Johnston |
| 1st and 5th Governor of North Carolina | |
| In office November 12, 1776 – April 20, 1780 | |
| Preceded by | none(American Revolution) (British governorJosiah Martin) |
| Succeeded by | Abner Nash |
| In office May 13, 1785 – December 20, 1787 | |
| Preceded by | Alexander Martin |
| Succeeded by | Samuel Johnston |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1729-08-03)August 3, 1729 Harford County (present-dayBaltimore),Maryland,British America |
| Died | November 10, 1789(1789-11-10) (aged 60) Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Resting place | Dobbs County (present-dayLenoir County), North Carolina 35°15′59.9″N77°37′15.1″W / 35.266639°N 77.620861°W /35.266639; -77.620861 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 11, includingWilliam |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service | North Carolina Militia |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands |
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| Battles/wars | |
Richard Caswell (August 3, 1729 – November 10, 1789) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the first and fifthgovernor of theU.S. state ofNorth Carolina from 1776 to 1780 and from 1785 to 1787. He also served as a seniorofficer of militia in theSouthern theater of the American Revolutionary War. As a delegate to theFirst Continental Congress, he was a signatory of the 1774Continental Association.
Caswell was born on August 3, 1729, inHarford County (present-dayBaltimore),Maryland; one of eleven children born to Richard and Christian (née Dallam) Caswell. The Caswells moved toNew Bern, North Carolina, in 1745.[1] He was appointed deputy surveyor for the province in 1750.[2] While a member of the North Carolina House of Burgesses, a position he held for 17 years, Caswell introduced a bill establishing the "Town of Kingston" (which was later changed toKinston as a result of the American Revolutionary War).[2][3] He was a prosperous lawyer, farmer, land speculator, tanner, andgrand master of North Carolina.[4]
Caswell fought the Regulators atAlamance (1771) during theRegulator Movement, where it is thought he commanded the right wing of GovernorTryon's forces.[5]
Caswell represented North Carolina in theContinental Congresses of 1774 and 1775.[6] When themilitia district of New Bern was formed on May 4, 1776; Caswell was appointed to command thatminuteman region. As such, he led theProvincial Congress' force at theBattle of Moore's Creek Bridge (1776). Soon after that, the Provincial Congress disbanded minuteman battalions in favor of militia. In 1780, he was commissioned major general of militia and state troops. At theBattle of Camden Court House in 1780, his troops fled afterVirginia militia broke and ran in panic, exposing him to attack without greater defense, leaving theContinentals behind to suffer defeat.
After his defeat at Camden Court House, Caswell returned home with an unnamed illness. In the meantime, theNorth Carolina General Assembly appointedWilliam Smallwood of Maryland to the command of North Carolina's militia without informing Caswell, so he resigned on October 21, 1780. When Smallwood returned to Maryland in January 1781, the General Assembly once again appointed Caswell major general of militia, and he retained the position until the end of the American Revolution.
Caswell was president of theNorth Carolina Provincial Congress that wrote the firstConstitution of North Carolina in 1776. As the congress adjourned, it elected him acting governor. He took the oath of office on January 16, 1777. Under the new constitution, the state Legislature ("General Assembly") re-elected him as the first governor in April 1777. Caswell stepped down in 1780, as the state constitution allowed only three consecutive one-year terms to command the militia.[2]
Caswell served as the comptroller of North Carolina and as a member of theNorth Carolina Senate between his two gubernatorial terms. Caswell was also chosen to be one of North Carolina's delegates to the United StatesConstitutional Convention of 1787, but he did not attend.[6] At the time of his death in 1789, he had returned once again to the North Carolina General Assembly, this time serving asSpeaker of the Senate.
Caswell married Mary Mackilwean, the daughter of James and Elinor Mackilwean. They had three children, including a daughter that died at birth in 1753,William Caswell born in 1754, and another daughter born in 1757, who died as an infant. Mary Caswell died from complications of childbirth. The family lived on a plantation home called Red House, which is the site of the Richard Caswell Memorial Park in Kinston, North Carolina.[2]
After Mary's death, Caswell marriedSarah Heritage (1740–1794) on June 20, 1758. Mary was the daughter of William Heritage and Susannah Moore. They had eight children: Richard Caswell, born in 1759; Sarah Caswell, born in 1762; Winston Caswell, born in 1764; Anna Caswell, born in 1766; Dallam Caswell, born in 1769; John Caswell, born in 1772; Susannah Caswell, born in 1775, and Christian Caswell, born in 1779.[2]
Caswell's son Richard was colonel ofDobbs Regiment and lieutenant colonel of the2nd North Carolina Regiment during the American Revolutionary War. He was lost at sea in 1784.[8] William, a son by his first marriage, was also colonel of Dobbs Regiment and brigadier general and in command of New Bern District during the war.[9][10]
Caswell died inFayetteville, North Carolina, on November 10, 1789. According to tradition, his body was returned to Kinston for burial in the Caswell family cemetery, near where a memorial and museum stands today.[2]
Among his many accomplishments was Caswell's proposal to use the reimbursement funds for aid rendered to the Crown during theFrench and Indian War for erecting and establishing a free school in every county. His "Address to the General Assembly" in 1760 on this topic was used for many years by other politicians in favor of public education. He also wrote the proposal into the first North Carolina constitution in 1776.[2]Caswell County, North Carolina, andFort Caswell were named for him. The Richard Caswell Memorial Museum was established in Kinston, near where he may have been buried.[11]
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