282

KENNARD-KIRKWOOD.

KENNARD, NATHANIEL, at the commencement of the war of the revolution, entered as a volunteer in one of the first. regiments in Massachusetts, for the term of one year. At the expiration of that engagement, he entered on board a private armed vessel; was captured, carried to England, and kept in close confinement at the Mill prison for two years and a quarter, being encouraged with no other prospect, than a still protracted confinement, a termination of it by being hanged as a rebel. Thence he was sent to France in a cartel, where on the 20th April, 1779, he entered on board the Bon Homme Richard, under the celebrated John Paul Jones, and was with him in some of the most desperate enterprises in which that commander was engaged. From that vessel he was put on board a prize and ordered for France. He was again captured and carried into Hull in the north of England, transported to Spithead, put on board the Unicorn frigate and compelled to do duty until, at the eminent hazard of his life, he escaped in the Island of Jamaica. Thence he returned to America, a little before the close of the war. After the peace of '83, he engaged in the merchant service and continued a reputable ship master until near the commencement of the late war, when he was appointed by government to the command of a Revenue Cutter and continued in the same to the close of the war. After that period, until his death, he was employed as an Inspector of the Customs at Portsmouth.

He died June 24th, 1823, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, aged sixty eight years.

KIRKWOOD, ROBERT, a brave and meritorious officer of the Delaware line, in the army of the revolution, whose character and services have not received that notice to which they are entitled. We embrace, therefore, with pleasure, the opportunity, so far as it lies in our power, to preserve the memory of one, who, though from accident, not elevated to conspicuous rank, nor hitherto decorated with eminent historical distinction, was the pride of his native state, and an ornament to the army that defended American independence. We doubt not there are many that held subordinate stations in the army of the revolution, who have not received that meed of renown which they merited; and there can be no task more delightful to a grateful posterity, nor more worthy of a patriot, than to search out the rolls of honorable exploit, and to promulgate it to our country. Whether we consider the intrinsic gallantry of our revolutionary heroes and statesmen, the sufferings they endured, or the inestimable value of the blessings they obtained, no nation bas prouder examples to appeal to than the American people; no nation was ever called on by stronger obligations of gratitude, to honor their characters and to consecrate their memories.

Robert Kirkwood was a native of the state of Delaware. He was born in Newcastle county, near the village of Newark, celebrated for an excellent academy, in which he received a classical education. On the termination of his literary studies, he engaged in farming, and continued his agricultural pursuits until hostilities took place between Great Britain and the colonies. In January, 1776, when it became obvious that the war would be serious and bloody, when unconditional submission to absolute power or resistance, were the alternatives, the intelligent and patriotic mind of Kirkwood did not hesitate as to the proper course. He entered as lieutenant in the regiment of his native state, commanded by colonel Hazlet, and with it joined the army under Washington at NewYork. He was present throughout the campaign at Long Island and its neighborhood, and partook in the disasters that ensued from the misfortunes of our troops in that quarter. On Washington's return to the Jersies, when victory was recalled to the American standard at Trenton and Princeton, he participated in his country's triumphs. In the engagement at Princeton, colonel Hazlet fell, deeply lamented; and the year's enlistment of his men being expired, the regiment was re-organized early in 1777, under colonel Hall, since governor of Delaware. Kirkwood now received the commission of captain in this regiment, and served as such throughout the campaigns of 1777, 78 and '79, being concerned in every battle of importance fought during these years.

In 1780, general Gates took with him the Delaware regiment and the Maryland line, to South Carolina, and they were actively employed under the command of lieutenant colonel Vaughan and major Patton, at the battle of Camden, in which general Gates sustained a serious reverse of fortune, and the American army was totally defeated. In this disaster the Delaware regiment was reduced from eight to two companies, containing together about 195 men, the commanding officers, with the greater part of the regiment, being made prisoners by the British. The two companies that remained continued under the command of captains Kirkwood and Jacquet, the latter of whom yet lives near Wilmington, Delaware, beloved and esteemed for his virtues and patriotism. Under these officers the remains of the regiment served until the close of the war; and when the peculiar circumstances of this corps are considered, the reason will be discovered why an officer so meritorious as captain Kirkwood, was not promoted, notwithstanding promotions as high s colonels were made in the lines of several states. The state of Delaware had but one regiment in the army; and as it was expected from time to time, that colonel Vaughan and major Patton, or

both, would be exchanged, Kirkwood could not be promoted in the line of this state; and in the lines of other states promotions took place among themselves. Besides, the regiment was so reduced in numbers, as not to require an officer of a higher rank than captain. In another line, or under different circumstances, there can be no doubt Kirkwood's gallantry, zeal, and uniform devotion to the cause, would have been rewarded with a higher rank, and a more conspicuous standing in the eye of the nation.

In the southern campaign the two companies were attached as light infantry to Lee's celebrated legion, and Lee placed great confidence in them. In the battles of the Cowpens, in which the corps of the marauding Tarleton was cut to pieces; at Guilford, where lord Cornwallis' army received a shock from which it never recovered; at Camden, the Eutaws, and other places, where victory became familiar to the American soldier, Kirkwood exhibited his usual traits of gallantry. At the Cowpens, he was at the head of the first platoon of colonel Howard's memorable corps; and when the colonel was ordered to charge, Kirkwood advanced ten paces in front of the corps, charged with his espontoon, and called to his men to come on! His example, said general Morgan, who used to relate this anecdote, inspired the whole corps.

The southern army finally drove the enemy from the Carolinas, taking successively nine of their forts or fortified places. Captain Kirkwood was always among the first in the enemy's lines or works, and repeatedly received the thanks and applause of generals Greene, Morgan and Smallwood. This distinguished enterprise achieved a high reputation for himself, and acquired, by the co-operation of his brother officers and soldiers, a peculiar renown for the gallant remnant of the Delaware regiment. At the termination of the war, through the solicitation and influence of general Washington, he was brevetted a major, and he returned to his native state, where he was cordially received, and gratefully welcomed, by his numerous friends and admiring fellow citizens.

Major Kirkwood afterwards emigrated to the state of Ohio, and settled on his lands nearly opposite to Wheeling, in the Indian country. This was an adventurous attempt, and would have probably intimidated any but the firm mind of a man to whom danger was familiar: for he was almost the only white person on that side of the river. He had left his family in Delaware, and commenced the building of a log cabin. It was not long, however, before his military skill and intrepidity were wanting to defend his life and property. The Indians approached at night with design to attack him. Being assisted by an officer and some soldiers, who had crossed the river

from Wheeling, he ordered them to lie down, and instructed them when the Indians advanced to rise up suddenly, fire all at once, and then rush on. The stratagem was executed, and succeeded: the Indians advanced boldly, not suspecting danger, and several being killed, the rest fled.

But his country's danger once more summoned him, and for the last time, to the field; and the veteran soldier obeyed the call with alacrity. The whole West was in alarm from the incursions of the savages, and an army being raised by the government of the United States to repel them, and placed under the command of general St. Clair, Kirkwood resumed his sword as the oldest captain of the oldest regiment of the United States. In the decisive defeat of St. Clair, by the Miami Indians, on the 4th November, 1792, Kirkwood fell on the field of battle, fighting with his usual heroism at the head of his detachment. It was the thirty-third time he had risked his life for his country, and he died, as he had lived, brave, patriotic, and full of honour.

Major Kirkwood's character and qualities are always spoken of, by those who knew him, in exalted language. General Lee, in his memoirs, mentions him in terms of approbation and distinction. Colonel Jacob Slough, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who was his intimate associate and brother of ficer in St. Clair's army, in a letter to his friend, a representative in congress from the state of Maryland, written in May, 1824, states some particulars relative to his death.

"I have received the letter you honoured me with," says colonel Slough, "on the subject of the services and virtues of my much-lamented friend, Kirkwood, and will, with pleasure, narrate them. Having heard many of the officers of the revolution, who knew him, when he belonged to Smallwood's, afterwards Howard's, regiment, speak of him in the most exalted terms, I became much prepossessed in his favour, long before I knew him; and when I found him a captain in general St. Clair's army, I took pains to become acquainted with him. I soon discovered that this desire was mutual, and in a little time we became fast friends; so much so, that when not on duty, we were generally together. I passed many nights with him on guard, and benefitted greatly from his experience, as a man of honour, a soldier, and a police officer. Captain Kirkwood had been sick for several days previous to the 4th November, but was always ready for duty. At the dawn of day that morning, after the advanced guard was attacked and driven in, I saw him cheering his men, and by his example, inspiring confidence in all who saw him. When he received the wound, I cannot say. I was at a distance from him, and busily engaged in attending to my own duty. About eight

o'clock, I received a severe wound in my right arm, just above the elbow. As it bled very much, and our surgeon was in the rear, I was advised to go and have it dressed. On my way to rejoin my company, I found my friend Kirkwood lying against the root of a tree, shot through the abdomen, and in great pain. After calling to the surgeon, and commending him to his care, I saw no more of him until the retreat was ordered. I then ran to him, and proposed having him carried off. He said no. "I am dying; save yourself if you can, and leave me to my fate; but as the last act of friendship you can confer on me, blow my brains out. I see the Indians coming, and God knows how they will treat me!" You can better judge of my feelings than I can describe them. I shook him by the hand, and left him to his fate."

Thus fell by the hands of the savages, the hero who had survived the most eventful battles of the revolution, where he had faced danger and death in every shape. But his example will, we trust, long live for the imitation of posterity, and his name merits a portion of that fame which it belongs to Americans to award to those by whom the revolution was achieved.

KNOWLTON, THOMAS, a brave and distinguished officer in the revolutionary war, was a native of Ashford, Connecticut. He was among the first who rallied round the standard of independence, giving the country that warlike attitude necessary to sustain it. At the battle of Long Island, and in the memorable retreat of the American army to New York, in August, 1776, he commanded a regiment of light infantry, which formed the van of the American army. It was to colonel Knowlton, to whom general Washington applied, to devise some mode of obtaining information of the strength and future movements of the British army. Colonel Knowlton communicated the views and wishes of the commander in chief to captain Nathan Hale, an officer in his regiment, and whose ardent patriotism, and bold and adventurous spirit, was well known. Captain Hale, as has already been mentioned in our preceding pages, immediately offered himself a volunteer in this difficult and hazardous enterprise. It has been already mentioned, he fell a martyr to the liberties of his country, and no officer in the American army lamented his early fall more than his friend colonel Knowlton. He, however, did not long survive his young friend Hale. In September, 1776, a skirmish took place between two battalions of light infantry and Highlanders, commanded by brigadier general Leslie, and some detachments from the American army, under the command of colonel Knowlton, and major Leitch, of Virginia. The colonel was killed, and the major badly wounded. The officers and men fought with great bravery, and fairly beat