Robert Kirkwood

Robert Henry Kirkwood (1756 – November 4, 1791) was a soldier who fought in the American Revolutionary War and the Battle of the Wabash (also known as St. Clair's Defeat).

For the California politician, see Robert C. Kirkwood.

Early life

Kirkwood was born in 1756 in Newark, Delaware, in what was then the Delaware Colony.[1] He was the only son of nine children born to Robert Kirkwood, who was born in Ireland, and Sarah (née McDowell) Kirkwood.[2]

Kirkwood was a graduate of Newark Academy (later renamed the University of Delaware).[2]

Revolutionary War

He was named a lieutenant of the 1st Delaware Regiment in the Continental Army on December 9, 1775. In 1776, the Delaware Battalion, under the command of Colonel John Haslet, was assigned to Mifflin's Brigade under Gen. Thomas Mifflin of Pennsylvania. He participated in every battle in which George Washington fought in 1777.[2]

In the August 16, 1780 Battle of Camden, Kirkwood's troops won fame and were called "The Blue Hen's Chickens" after that. This battle reduced his regiment from eight companies to two by reason of death and capture. At the Battle of Cowpens on January 17, 1781, Captain Kirkwood repulsed the British cavalry, and made a famous bayonet charge ordered by Colonel John Eager Howard. He was with General Washington in his pursuit and defeat of Cornwallis.[3]

As a captain in the regular army, he joined a 1791 military expedition led by Arthur St. Clair, the governor of the Northwest Territory. In November 1791, Kirkwood was killed by Native Americans from the Miami people in a major defeat at present-day Fort Recovery, Ohio, after having survived 32 Revolutionary battles without a disabling wound.

Kirkwood also held a certificate of membership in the Society of the Cincinnati.[2]

Personal life

After his return to Delaware,[2] Kirkwood was married to Sarah England (1761–1788).[4] Together, they were the parents of three children, only two of whom survived to adulthood, including:[2]

  • Robert Kirkwood, who died young.[5]
  • Joseph Kirkwood, who married Margaret Gillespie (1785–1866).[6]
  • Mary Kirkwood, who was married to Arthur James Whiteley (1770–1809).[5][4]

In 1787, Kirkwood purchased 260 acres in Jefferson County, Ohio. In 1788, Ohio granted him additional land in Belmont County, about 20 miles south of his property.[7]

Descendants

Through his son Joseph, he was the grandfather of Elizabeth Kirkwood (1818–1899), who married William Kennon Jr. (1802–1867), an Irish immigrant who became a U.S. Representative from Ohio.[7]

His only daughter was the mother of Brigadier General Robert Henry Kirkwood Whiteley of Baltimore, himself the father of Robert Kirkwood Martin, constructor of the Gunpowder Water works which supply the city of Baltimore.[8]

Legacy
  • A monument was erected near Fort Recovery in Ohio to honor Kirkwood and others who died there. On May 9, 1941, a highway was named in honor of Major Kirkwood. The Robert Kirkwood Highway comprises a part of Delaware Route 2 in New Castle County. Kirkwood, Delaware, a small village at a crossroads on Delaware Route 71, also bears his name.[10] The Major Robert Kirkwood Reserve Center is the headquarters of Detachment 2, 11th Battalion, 98th Regiment (formerly 9th Battalion / 80th Regiment Health Services) of the United States Army. One of the New Castle County public libraries is called the Kirkwood Library. It is located on Delaware Route 2 (Kirkwood Highway) and there is an historical marker for Robert Kirkwood adjacent to the library's parking lot.[11]
  • The Major Robert Kirkwood Chapter of the Delaware Society of the Sons of the American Revolution has a Color Guard whose members wear the frontiersman uniform used when the Delaware Continentals fought in remote regions of the Carolinas, far from good cloth and family seamstresses.
  • A North Carolina unit of the Brigade of the American Revolution (BAR) portrays Kirkwood's Company—the remnant of the Delaware Regiment which fought with the Maryland Brigade after the Delaware Regiment was devastated in the first Battle of Camden.[12]

References
  1. Shepherd, Joshua (23 February 2018). "Forgotten Warrior: The Brave and Meritorious Robert Kirkwood". Journal of the American Revolution. Journal of the American Revolution. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  2. McDonald, Robert M. S. (2013). Sons of the Father: George Washington and His Protégés. University of Virginia Press. p. 290. ISBN 9780813934396. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  3. The Journal and Order Book of Captain Robert Kirkwood of the Delaware Regiment of the Continental Line. Associated Faculty Press, Inc., 1970.
  4. Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Book. The Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. 1915. p. ira145. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  5. Graham, George R.; Poe, Edgar Allan; Peterson, Charles Jacobs; Griswold, Rufus Wilmot; Conrad, Robert Taylor; Chandler, Joseph Ripley; Taylor, Bayard (1846). Graham's American Monthly Magazine of Literature, Art, and Fashion. G. R. Graham. p. 102. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  6. Daughters of the American Revolution (1909). Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution. p. 67. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  7. Caldwell, John Alexander (1880). History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio: And Incidentally Historical Collections Pertaining to Border Warfare and the Early Settlement of the Adjacent Portion of the Ohio Valley. Historical Publishing Company. p. 244. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  8. Adams, Andrew Napoleon (1900). A genealogical history of Robert Adams, of Newbury, Mass: and his descendants, 1635-1900 ... The Tuttle co., printers. p. 454. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  9. McKelvey, A. T. (1903). Centennial History of Belmont County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens. Biographical Publishing Company. pp. 267.
  10. Francis, William (2014). Along the Kirkwood Highway. Images of America. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 7-8. ISBN 9781439645444. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  11. "Capt. Robert Kirkwood (1756-1791)". www.nextexithistory.com. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  12. "FRAZER JONES PAPERS OF THE ROBERT KIRKWOOD SOCIETY, CHILDREN OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION". www.lib.udel.edu. University of Delaware. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
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