Lachlan McIntosh
Encyclopedia
Lachlan McIntosh was a British
-born American
military and political leader during the American Revolution
and the early United States
. In a 1777 duel, he shot dead Button Gwinnett
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
, Scotland
. McIntosh’s father, John McIntosh Mòr, moved the family to Georgia
in 1736 with a group of 100 Scottish settlers founding the town of New Inverness
, (which was later renamed Darien) at the mouth of the Altamaha River
. John McIntosh led the colonists as they carved out the new settlement from dense forest
. The dangers of frontier life were brought home to Lachlan in 1737 when his younger brother Lewis McIntosh was killed by an alligator
while swimming in the river.
Georgia was then governed by James Oglethorpe
who had founded the colony in 1732. It was a highly militarized colony and clashes with neighboring Spanish Florida
and its fortress city of St. Augustine
were common. In one of these clashes
in 1740, during the War of Jenkins' Ear
, Lachlan’s father was captured by the Spanish
and held prisoner
for two years. The elder McIntosh was eventually released, but his health had deteriorated during his captivity and he died a few years later. Before his death he had supported the Colony's British Board of Trustees in their opposition to the introduction of African slaves into Georgia, which was demanded by an increasing number of colonists in need of labor. This earned him the gratitude of Oglethorpe. The “Mòr” of his title is Scots Gaelic for “big”.
After his father's death, McIntosh was sent to the Bethesda Orphanage
in Savannah under the care of the noted evangelist
George Whitefield
. His elder brother, Colonel William McIntosh, served under Oglethorpe and helped to repulse a Spanish invasion
of the colony. Lachlan spent two years at the orphanage before traveling to Fort Frederica to serve as a military cadet. During this time, the Jacobite Rebellion broke out in Scotland. Lachlan and his brother William planned to travel to Scotland and join the rebellion, but General James Oglethorpe
, who had become a friend and mentor to the young McIntosh, convinced them to remain in Georgia.
Lachlan's brother William has sometimes been confused with another William McIntosh, of the Creek Nation, who is their cousin. The Creek William McIntosh was the son of Capt. William McIntosh, a Tory in the Rev. War., and a high status Creek woman. The senior William McIntosh was the son of Capt. John McIntosh, who had immigrated with his brother Roderick, and with John "Mòr" McIntosh from Scotland. Confusion about the names stems from the fact that on their ship The Prince of Wales, at least five males were named John McIntosh in one form or another.
In 1748, McIntosh moved to Charleston, South Carolina
, and took a position as a clerk for Henry Laurens
, a wealthy merchant and slaveholder, who would become a lifelong friend and mentor.
In 1756 McIntosh married Sarah Threadcraft. He soon returned with her to Georgia where he studied surveying. He acquired land in the Altamaha River
delta and slaves to work it; he became a prosperous rice
planter
.
January 1775 he helped organize delegates to the Provincial Congress from the Darien
District of St. Andrew Parish. On January 7, 1776, McIntosh was commissioned as a colonel
in the Georgia Militia. He raised the 1st Georgia Regiment
of the Georgia Line
, organized the defense of Savannah
and helped repel a British assault at the Battle of the Rice Boats
in the Savannah River
. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general
in the Continental Army
, charged with defense of Georgia's southern flank from British incursions from Florida, by then a British possession. On October 22, 1776, McIntosh ordered his brother William to construct a fort on the Satilla River
to protect Georgia from Florida. The fort was the first to be named Fort McIntosh
.
with Button Gwinnett
, the Speaker of the Georgia Provisional Congress and a radical Whig
leader. Their bitter personal rivalry began when McIntosh succeeded Gwinnett as commander of Georgia’s Continental Battalion in early 1776. The two men represented opposing factions in a deeply divided Patriot movement in Georgia. Gwinnett had been forced to step aside after his election had been called into question by opposing forces within the independence movement. Gwinnett, thwarted in his military ambitions, became a delegate to the Continental Congress
and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence
. He returned to Georgia after his allies gained control of the Provisional Congress and succeeded in electing him speaker. Shortly afterward, he was elected president and commander-in-chief of the Committee of Safety.
Gwinnett began purging the government and military of his political rivals. One of his early targets was George McIntosh, Lachlan's brother, who had opposed Gwinnett’s election. Gwinnett had George arrested and charged with treason against the revolution. In
addition, Gwinnett had ordered Lachlan McIntosh to lead a poorly planned military expedition into British Florida
. The operation was a disaster, and Gwinnett and McIntosh publicly blamed each other for the failure, straining the already tenuous relationship between the two men.
On May 1, 1777, Lachlan McIntosh addressed the Georgia assembly and denounced Gwinnett in the harshest terms, calling him a "scoundrel and lying rascal." Gwinnett sent a written challenge to McIntosh demanding an apology or satisfaction. McIntosh refused to apologize, and Gwinnett challenged him to a duel
.
On May 16, in a field owned by James Wright
a few miles east of Savannah, Gwinnett and McIntosh met to duel with pistols. At a distance of 12 paces, the two men leveled and fired virtually simultaneously. Gwinnett received a ball to the thigh and McIntosh was struck in the leg. McIntosh would recover from his wounds, but Gwinnett’s wound was mortal and he died three days later. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9F06E1D91E39E633A25753C1A9629C946596D6CF Gwinnett’s allies had McIntosh charged with murder, but he was acquitted in the ensuing trial. George Washington
, fearing Gwinnett’s allies would take revenge on McIntosh, ordered him to report to Continental Army headquarters on October 10. He spent the winter of 1777-1778 with the Continental Army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
, where he commanded several regiments of North Carolina
troops.
, headquartered at Fort Pitt
(present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
) on the Pennsylvania
frontier. He restored order along the frontier and conceived a plan to attack the British stronghold of Fort Detroit
. He established several new forts including Fort Laurens
, named for his friend and mentor Henry Laurens
, who had become President of the Continental Congress, and Fort McIntosh
(near present-day Beaver, Pennsylvania
) to prepare for the attack. The expedition against Fort Detroit was doomed however, and the troops were forced to turn back before reaching the fort.
McIntosh was replaced as commander of the Western Department by Colonel Daniel Brodhead
on March 5, 1779. Washington ordered McIntosh to return to the south to join General Benjamin Lincoln
in Charleston, South Carolina
. He marched to Augusta, Georgia
, in command of the Georgia troops, and then proceeded to Savannah, where he commanded the 1st and 5th South Carolina regiments during the siege of Savannah.
After the battle, he retired his troops to Charleston where he remained to defend the city
from the British Army
. On May 12, 1780, General Lincoln was forced to surrender the city to British General Sir Henry Clinton
. McIntosh was taken prisoner and remained in captivity until he was exchanged on February 9, 1782 for Charles O'Hara
. The war was brought to an end in 1783 with the Peace of Paris
which recognized American independence and transferred East and West Florida to Spain.
to find it ruined by the occupying British. McIntosh tried to restore his property and business interests, but he would spend the rest of his life in
relative poverty. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1784, but never attended. In 1785, he was appointed a commissioner to treat with the southern American Indian tribes. In 1787, he was asked to help settle a boundary dispute between Georgia and South Carolina. In 1791, he was part of the delegation that officially welcomed President George Washington to Georgia.
McIntosh died in Savannah, Georgia
on February 20, 1806. McIntosh is buried alongside his great-nephew Colonel James S. McIntosh (1784–1847) at Colonial Park in Savannah's historic district. His great-great-nephews, James M. McIntosh
and John Baillie McIntosh
, were generals on opposite sides in the American Civil War
.
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military and political leader during the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
and the early United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In a 1777 duel, he shot dead Button Gwinnett
Button Gwinnett
Button Gwinnett was an English-born American political leader who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was the second of the signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Arrival in Georgia
Lachlan McIntosh was born near Raits, BadenochBadenoch
Badenoch is a traditional district which today forms part of Badenoch and Strathspey, an area of Highland Council, in Scotland, bounded on the north by the Monadhliath Mountains, on the east by the Cairngorms and Braemar, on the south by Atholl and the Grampians, and on the west by Lochaber...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. McIntosh’s father, John McIntosh Mòr, moved the family to Georgia
Province of Georgia
The Province of Georgia was one of the Southern colonies in British America. It was the last of the thirteen original colonies established by Great Britain in what later became the United States...
in 1736 with a group of 100 Scottish settlers founding the town of New Inverness
Darien, Georgia
Darien is a city in McIntosh County, Georgia, United States. It lies on Georgia's coast at the mouth of the Altamaha River about 50 miles south of Savannah, and is part of the Brunswick, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of Darien was 1,719 at the 2000 census. The city is the...
, (which was later renamed Darien) at the mouth of the Altamaha River
Altamaha River
The Altamaha River is a major river of the American state of Georgia. It flows generally eastward for 137 miles from its origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties into the ocean near Brunswick, Georgia. There are no dams...
. John McIntosh led the colonists as they carved out the new settlement from dense forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
. The dangers of frontier life were brought home to Lachlan in 1737 when his younger brother Lewis McIntosh was killed by an alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
while swimming in the river.
Georgia was then governed by James Oglethorpe
James Oglethorpe
James Edward Oglethorpe was a British general, member of Parliament, philanthropist, and founder of the colony of Georgia...
who had founded the colony in 1732. It was a highly militarized colony and clashes with neighboring Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida
Spanish Florida refers to the Spanish territory of Florida, which formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and the Spanish Empire. Originally extending over what is now the southeastern United States, but with no defined boundaries, la Florida was a component of...
and its fortress city of St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida
St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...
were common. In one of these clashes
Siege of Fort Mose
The siege of Fort Mose was a significant action of the War of Jenkins’ Ear which took place on June 26 of 1740. A Spanish column of 300 regular troops, free black militia and Indian auxiliaries commanded by Captain Antonio Salgado stormed the strategically crucial position of Fort Mose, occupied by...
in 1740, during the War of Jenkins' Ear
War of Jenkins' Ear
The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, relates to Robert Jenkins, captain of a British merchant ship, who exhibited his severed ear in...
, Lachlan’s father was captured by the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and held prisoner
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
for two years. The elder McIntosh was eventually released, but his health had deteriorated during his captivity and he died a few years later. Before his death he had supported the Colony's British Board of Trustees in their opposition to the introduction of African slaves into Georgia, which was demanded by an increasing number of colonists in need of labor. This earned him the gratitude of Oglethorpe. The “Mòr” of his title is Scots Gaelic for “big”.
After his father's death, McIntosh was sent to the Bethesda Orphanage
Bethesda Orphanage
Bethesda Academy is a boys orphanage and school located in unincorporated Chatham County, Georgia, USA, near Savannah....
in Savannah under the care of the noted evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
. His elder brother, Colonel William McIntosh, served under Oglethorpe and helped to repulse a Spanish invasion
Invasion of Georgia (1742)
The 1742 Invasion of Georgia saw a Spanish military force invade and attempt to occupy the British colony of Georgia as part of the War of Jenkins' Ear. Local British forces under the command of the Governor James Oglethorpe rallied and defeated the Spaniards at the Battle of Bloody Marsh and the...
of the colony. Lachlan spent two years at the orphanage before traveling to Fort Frederica to serve as a military cadet. During this time, the Jacobite Rebellion broke out in Scotland. Lachlan and his brother William planned to travel to Scotland and join the rebellion, but General James Oglethorpe
James Oglethorpe
James Edward Oglethorpe was a British general, member of Parliament, philanthropist, and founder of the colony of Georgia...
, who had become a friend and mentor to the young McIntosh, convinced them to remain in Georgia.
Lachlan's brother William has sometimes been confused with another William McIntosh, of the Creek Nation, who is their cousin. The Creek William McIntosh was the son of Capt. William McIntosh, a Tory in the Rev. War., and a high status Creek woman. The senior William McIntosh was the son of Capt. John McIntosh, who had immigrated with his brother Roderick, and with John "Mòr" McIntosh from Scotland. Confusion about the names stems from the fact that on their ship The Prince of Wales, at least five males were named John McIntosh in one form or another.
In 1748, McIntosh moved to Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, and took a position as a clerk for Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens was an American merchant and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress...
, a wealthy merchant and slaveholder, who would become a lifelong friend and mentor.
In 1756 McIntosh married Sarah Threadcraft. He soon returned with her to Georgia where he studied surveying. He acquired land in the Altamaha River
Altamaha River
The Altamaha River is a major river of the American state of Georgia. It flows generally eastward for 137 miles from its origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Ocean, where it empties into the ocean near Brunswick, Georgia. There are no dams...
delta and slaves to work it; he became a prosperous rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
planter
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
.
Early war
By 1770, McIntosh had become a leader in the independence movement in Georgia. InJanuary 1775 he helped organize delegates to the Provincial Congress from the Darien
District of St. Andrew Parish. On January 7, 1776, McIntosh was commissioned as a colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the Georgia Militia. He raised the 1st Georgia Regiment
1st Georgia Regiment
The 1st Georgia Regiment was raised by Lachlan McIntosh on November 4, 1775, at Savannah, Georgia for service with the Continental Army. The regiment saw action in Florida in 1777 and 1778, the Siege of Savannah and the Siege of Charleston. The regiment was captured along with the rest of the...
of the Georgia Line
Georgia Line
The Georgia Line was a formation within the Continental Army. The term "Georgia Line" referred to the quota of one infantry regiment which was assigned to Georgia at various times by the Continental Congress. The term also included the three infantry regiments in excess of Georgia's quota that were...
, organized the defense of Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
and helped repel a British assault at the Battle of the Rice Boats
Battle of the Rice Boats
The Battle of the Rice Boats, also called the Battle of Yamacraw Bluff, was a land and naval battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place in and around the Savannah River on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Province of South Carolina on March 2 and 3, 1776...
in the Savannah River
Savannah River
The Savannah River is a major river in the southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of South Carolina and Georgia. Two tributaries of the Savannah, the Tugaloo River and the Chattooga River, form the northernmost part of the border...
. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
in the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
, charged with defense of Georgia's southern flank from British incursions from Florida, by then a British possession. On October 22, 1776, McIntosh ordered his brother William to construct a fort on the Satilla River
Satilla River
The Satilla River rises in Ben Hill County, Georgia, near the town of Fitzgerald, and flows in a mostly easterly direction to the Atlantic Ocean. Along its approximately course are the cities of Waycross, Waynesville, and Woodbine. The Satilla drains almost of land, all of it in the coastal...
to protect Georgia from Florida. The fort was the first to be named Fort McIntosh
Fort McIntosh (Georgia)
Fort McIntosh is an American military fortification from the American Revolution located near the Satilla River in Brantley County, Georgia, near the present site of the intersection of U.S...
.
Duel with Button Gwinnett
During the period of 1776 to 1777, McIntosh became embroiled in a bitter political disputewith Button Gwinnett
Button Gwinnett
Button Gwinnett was an English-born American political leader who, as a representative of Georgia to the Continental Congress, was the second of the signatories on the United States Declaration of Independence...
, the Speaker of the Georgia Provisional Congress and a radical Whig
Patriot (American Revolution)
Patriots is a name often used to describe the colonists of the British Thirteen United Colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution. It was their leading figures who, in July 1776, declared the United States of America an independent nation...
leader. Their bitter personal rivalry began when McIntosh succeeded Gwinnett as commander of Georgia’s Continental Battalion in early 1776. The two men represented opposing factions in a deeply divided Patriot movement in Georgia. Gwinnett had been forced to step aside after his election had been called into question by opposing forces within the independence movement. Gwinnett, thwarted in his military ambitions, became a delegate to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. He returned to Georgia after his allies gained control of the Provisional Congress and succeeded in electing him speaker. Shortly afterward, he was elected president and commander-in-chief of the Committee of Safety.
Gwinnett began purging the government and military of his political rivals. One of his early targets was George McIntosh, Lachlan's brother, who had opposed Gwinnett’s election. Gwinnett had George arrested and charged with treason against the revolution. In
addition, Gwinnett had ordered Lachlan McIntosh to lead a poorly planned military expedition into British Florida
East Florida
East Florida was a colony of Great Britain from 1763–1783 and of Spain from 1783–1822. East Florida was established by the British colonial government in 1763; as its name implies it consisted of the eastern part of the region of Florida, with West Florida comprising the western parts. Its capital...
. The operation was a disaster, and Gwinnett and McIntosh publicly blamed each other for the failure, straining the already tenuous relationship between the two men.
On May 1, 1777, Lachlan McIntosh addressed the Georgia assembly and denounced Gwinnett in the harshest terms, calling him a "scoundrel and lying rascal." Gwinnett sent a written challenge to McIntosh demanding an apology or satisfaction. McIntosh refused to apologize, and Gwinnett challenged him to a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
.
On May 16, in a field owned by James Wright
James Wright (governor)
James Wright was an American colonial lawyer and jurist who was the last British Royal Governor of the Province of Georgia. He was the only Royal Governor of the Thirteen Colonies to regain control of his colony during the American Revolutionary War.James Wright was born in London to Robert Wright...
a few miles east of Savannah, Gwinnett and McIntosh met to duel with pistols. At a distance of 12 paces, the two men leveled and fired virtually simultaneously. Gwinnett received a ball to the thigh and McIntosh was struck in the leg. McIntosh would recover from his wounds, but Gwinnett’s wound was mortal and he died three days later. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9F06E1D91E39E633A25753C1A9629C946596D6CF Gwinnett’s allies had McIntosh charged with murder, but he was acquitted in the ensuing trial. George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, fearing Gwinnett’s allies would take revenge on McIntosh, ordered him to report to Continental Army headquarters on October 10. He spent the winter of 1777-1778 with the Continental Army at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
The Village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania, United States. The remaining village is in Schuylkill Township of Chester County, but once...
, where he commanded several regiments of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
troops.
Military service on the western frontier and in the South
On May 26, 1778, McIntosh was given command of the Western Department of the Continental ArmyDepartments of the Continental Army
In the American Revolutionary War units of the Continental Army were assigned to any one of seven regional or territorial departments to decentralize their command and administration. This was necessary because the regiment was the largest permanent unit in the Continental Army...
, headquartered at Fort Pitt
Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania)
Fort Pitt was a fort built at the location of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.-French and Indian War:The fort was built from 1759 to 1761 during the French and Indian War , next to the site of former Fort Duquesne, at the confluence the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River...
(present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
) on the Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
frontier. He restored order along the frontier and conceived a plan to attack the British stronghold of Fort Detroit
Fort Detroit
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...
. He established several new forts including Fort Laurens
Fort Laurens
Fort Laurens was an American Revolutionary War fort in what is now the U.S. state of Ohio.-Overview:The fort was built by General Lachlan McIntosh, in 1778, on the west bank of the Tuscarawas River, now in Tuscarawas County near the town of Bolivar. The fort was intended to be a staging point for...
, named for his friend and mentor Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens
Henry Laurens was an American merchant and rice planter from South Carolina who became a political leader during the Revolutionary War. A delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Laurens succeeded John Hancock as President of the Congress...
, who had become President of the Continental Congress, and Fort McIntosh
Fort McIntosh (Pennsylvania)
Fort McIntosh was an early American log frontier fort situated near the confluence of the Ohio River and the Beaver River in what is now Beaver, Pennsylvania....
(near present-day Beaver, Pennsylvania
Beaver, Pennsylvania
Beaver is a borough in and the county seat of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 4,775, having dropped from 5,641 in 1940....
) to prepare for the attack. The expedition against Fort Detroit was doomed however, and the troops were forced to turn back before reaching the fort.
McIntosh was replaced as commander of the Western Department by Colonel Daniel Brodhead
Daniel Brodhead IV
Daniel Brodhead IV was an American military and political leader during the American Revolutionary War and early days of the United States.-Early life:...
on March 5, 1779. Washington ordered McIntosh to return to the south to join General Benjamin Lincoln
Benjamin Lincoln
Benjamin Lincoln was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War...
in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. He marched to Augusta, Georgia
Augusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
, in command of the Georgia troops, and then proceeded to Savannah, where he commanded the 1st and 5th South Carolina regiments during the siege of Savannah.
After the battle, he retired his troops to Charleston where he remained to defend the city
from the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. On May 12, 1780, General Lincoln was forced to surrender the city to British General Sir Henry Clinton
Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)
General Sir Henry Clinton KB was a British army officer and politician, best known for his service as a general during the American War of Independence. First arriving in Boston in May 1775, from 1778 to 1782 he was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America...
. McIntosh was taken prisoner and remained in captivity until he was exchanged on February 9, 1782 for Charles O'Hara
Charles O'Hara
General Charles O'Hara was a British military officer who served in the Seven Years War, American War of Independence, and French Revolutionary War, and later served as Governor of Gibraltar...
. The war was brought to an end in 1783 with the Peace of Paris
Peace of Paris (1783)
The Peace of Paris was the set of treaties which ended the American Revolutionary War. On 3 September 1783, representatives of King George III of Great Britain signed a treaty in Paris with representatives of the United States of America—commonly known as the Treaty of Paris —and two treaties at...
which recognized American independence and transferred East and West Florida to Spain.
Later years
McIntosh returned to his plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
to find it ruined by the occupying British. McIntosh tried to restore his property and business interests, but he would spend the rest of his life in
relative poverty. He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1784, but never attended. In 1785, he was appointed a commissioner to treat with the southern American Indian tribes. In 1787, he was asked to help settle a boundary dispute between Georgia and South Carolina. In 1791, he was part of the delegation that officially welcomed President George Washington to Georgia.
McIntosh died in Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
on February 20, 1806. McIntosh is buried alongside his great-nephew Colonel James S. McIntosh (1784–1847) at Colonial Park in Savannah's historic district. His great-great-nephews, James M. McIntosh
James M. McIntosh
James McQueen McIntosh was a career American soldier who served as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War...
and John Baillie McIntosh
John Baillie McIntosh
John Baillie McIntosh , although born in Florida, served as a Union Army brigadier general in the American Civil War. His brother, James M...
, were generals on opposite sides in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Legacy and honors
- The state of Georgia named McIntosh CountyMcIntosh County, GeorgiaMcIntosh County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Brunswick, Georgia, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of McIntosh, Glynn, and Brantley counties. As of 2010, the population is 14,333. The county seat is Darien.-History:McIntosh County was split...
in honor of his family.
Further reading
- Jackson, Harvey; Lachlan McIntosh and the Politics of Revolutionary Georgia 1979, Univ of Georgia Press, ISBN 0-8203-0459-X; (2003 paperback edition, ISBN 0-8203-2542-2).
- Meserve, John Bartlett. "The MacIntoshes", Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 10, No. 3, September 1932.
- Parker, Anthone W. Scottish Highlanders in Colonial Georgia: The Recruitment, Emigration, and Settlement at Darien, 1735-1748, Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press, 2002.